Post Cure: CFRP landing leg supports reusable launcher capabilities
MT Aerospace AG, as part of the EU’s Horizon Europe project SALTO, has successfully developed a 7-meter-long carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) landing leg demonstrator using advanced automated fiber placement and 3D printing technologies.
Source | MT Aerospace AG
As part of the European Union’s Horizon Europe project, SALTO, which aims to mature European reusable rocket technologies, international aerospace company MT Aerospace AG (Augsburg, Germany) has successfully developed a 7-meter-long carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) landing leg demonstrator.
MT Aerospace used Coriolis Composites’ (Quéven, France) C1 robot automated fiber placement (AFP) system to lay up the landing leg — including the aerocover — in one piece, aided by a 3D printed composite tool manufactured with Ingersoll’s (Rockford, Ill., U.S.) large-format 3D printer. The leg is then vacuum bagged and cured via autoclave.
During the flight phase, the leg is folded in and rests on the rocket mainstage. On return, together with a telescopic leg with an integrated latching mechanism (which MT Aerospace is also building), it guarantees a stable landing and the reusability of the launcher. The company notes that, in addition to its high strength, the landing leg is so light that it only requires three to four people to carry it. A deployment test is scheduled for the middle of this year.
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