August 17, 2018 – Parabilis Announces Three NASA Program Wins
Parabilis Space Technologies, Inc. of San Marcos, CA today announced that it was awarded three additional NASA contracts to design, develop, and test new space technologies. “We are extremely pleased with these important NASA program wins,” stated Dave Streich, Chief Executive Officer. “These programs contribute directly to the achievement of NASA’s strategic goals, and add substantially to the product portfolio of Parabilis.”
December 20, 2017 – Extended Burn Achieved on 3D-Printed RCS Thruster
Parabilis Space Technologies, Inc. of San Marcos, CA announced that it had successfully completed the first round of hotfire testing of an additively manufactured (3D-printed) Reaction Control System Thruster at its Lakeside Test Facility. The cryogenic oxygen and liquid natural gas thruster testing culminated in a smooth 12-second burn demonstrating thermal steady state operation.
“Congratulations to our engineering team for achieving an important ‘first’ in space technology,” said Dave Streich, CEO of Parabilis. “This was a huge step toward demonstrating that a 3D-printed LOX-methane thruster can be used in space. This innovative technology, when commercialized, will dramatically change the relationship between cost and performance.”
October 30, 2017 – Parabilis Test Fires Innovative 3D-Printed Thruster
Parabilis Space Technologies, Inc. of San Marcos, CA announced that it had successfully hotfired an additively manufactured (3D-printed) Reaction Control System Thruster at its Lakeside Test Facility. “The thruster was successfully fired using cryogenic oxygen and liquid natural gas. The thruster ignited and ran smoothly for the duration of the test,” said Chris Grainger, Vice President of Engineering.
The goal of the additively manufactured RCS Thruster program is to harness recent advances in additive manufacturing technology, and demonstrate that making a rocket engine ‘art to part’ is now feasible, and cost-effective compared to more traditional techniques. Parabilis expects to proceed with further development and testing of the RCS Thruster to expand its operating envelope. The development plan includes innovations to the cooling channels, propellant injectors, and combustion chamber. A functional test unit will be delivered to NASA upon the conclusion of the program.
June 8, 2017 – Parabilis Wins NASA Contract to Advance Additive Manufacturing Methods
Parabilis Space Technologies, Inc. of San Marcos, CA announced that it was awarded a contract by NASA to develop a novel additive manufacturing method to enable the use of multiple dissimilar materials in an additively manufactured parent part. “This additive manufacturing method will be especially beneficial for in-space thrusters and spacecraft structures,” said Chris Grainger, Vice President of Engineering for Parabilis. The goal of this work is to dramatically extend the economic and design advantages of additive manufacturing into areas where tolerances, available homogeneous materials, or print support constraints are insufficient for part production. “Our innovative approach should significantly advance the state of the art of additive manufacturing technology, not only for thrusters and in-space components, but for aerospace and general mechanical parts as well,” said David Streich, Parabilis CEO.
June 7, 2017 – Parabilis Wins NASA Phase II Contract to Develop Novel Propulsion System for Sample Return Missions
Parabilis Space Technologies, Inc. of San Marcos, CA announced that it was awarded a Phase II contract by NASA to develop an innovative hybrid motor propulsion system utilizing its proprietary Aft-injection, Center Exhaust (ACE) design for use in a Mars sample return mission. “Sample return from extraterrestrial bodies is critical to the advancement of human understanding of the solar system, and is a core part of the NASA Science Plan,” said Frank Macklin, Chief Technology Officer at Parabilis. This Phase II contract will build on previous work in which a motor configuration was designed, assembled, and successfully hot fired. It will further address key risk areas for the Mars mission using a combination of material testing, subscale development, testing and analysis, and near full-scale development, testing and analysis. Design work will be conducted at Parabilis’ headquarters in San Marcos, CA. Cold flow and hot fire testing will be conducted at Parabilis’ test facility in Lakeside, CA.