--- title: See NASA Test These 3D-Printed Rocket Parts description: If you thought the coolest application of a 3-D printer was creating a miniature model of yourself, then NASA has just proven you wrong. canonical: https://time.com/3222331/nasa-3d-printed-rocket/ author: Adam Glanzman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-29T18:01:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:56:10.379Z article:section: Science og:title: See NASA Test These 3D-Printed Rocket Parts og:description: If you thought the coolest application of a 3-D printer was creating a miniature model of yourself, then NASA has just proven you wrong. og:url: https://time.com/3222331/nasa-3d-printed-rocket/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte2db87cd1db285ce/6986a17a06f2c18056330812/nasa-3d-printing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4288 og:image:height: 2412 og:image:alt: nasa-3d-printing og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See NASA Test These 3D-Printed Rocket Parts twitter:description: If you thought the coolest application of a 3-D printer was creating a miniature model of yourself, then NASA has just proven you wrong. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte2db87cd1db285ce/6986a17a06f2c18056330812/nasa-3d-printing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch NASA Test These 3D-Printed Rocket Parts > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Adam Glanzman](https://time.com/author/adam-glanzman/) ## Adam Glanzman Aug 29, 2014 6:01 PM UTC  Engineers just completed hot-fire testing with two 3-D printed rocket injectors Engineers just completed hot-fire testing with two 3-D printed rocket injectors David Olive—NASA by [Adam Glanzman](https://time.com/author/adam-glanzman/) ## Adam Glanzman Aug 29, 2014 6:01 PM UTC If you thought the coolest application of a 3-D printer was creating a [miniature model of yourself](http://time.com/3206731/3d-scanner/) to show to your friends, then NASA has just proven you wrong. Two 3-D printed rocket injectors were recently successfully tested by NASA at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. These powerful injectors mix liquid nitrogen and hydrogen to produce a combustion that can reach temperatures over 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit and generate over 20,000 pounds of thrust. It sounds simple enough — the injectors’ design was entered into a 3-D printer’s computer, and the printer then built each part through a process known as selective laser melting. “We wanted to go a step beyond just testing an injector and demonstrate how 3-D printing could revolutionize rocket designs,” said Chris Singer, director of Marshall’s Engineering Directorate. With conventional manufacturing methods, the rocket injectors would require the creation and assembly of 163 individual pieces; with the 3-D printer, only 2 pieces were necessary. This unique method not only saved scientists and engineers time and money, it is also less likely to fail than the traditionally-built piece. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3222331/nasa-3d-printed-rocket/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3222331/nasa-3d-printed-rocket/"},"headline":"Watch NASA Test These 3D-Printed Rocket Parts","datePublished":"2014-08-29T18:01:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:56:10.379Z","description":"3-D printers can bring rockets to space.","url":"https://time.com/3222331/nasa-3d-printed-rocket/","keywords":["Technology","NASA","Science topic","3D printing","rocket"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte2db87cd1db285ce/6986a17a06f2c18056330812/nasa-3d-printing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Adam Glanzman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/adam-glanzman/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte2db87cd1db285ce/6986a17a06f2c18056330812/nasa-3d-printing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"nasa-3d-printing","caption":"Engineers just completed hot-fire testing with two 3-D printed rocket injectors","creditText":"David Olive—NASA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/technology/","name":"Technology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3222331/nasa-3d-printed-rocket/","name":"Watch NASA Test These 3D-Printed Rocket Parts"}}]}] ```