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    Friction Stir Welding and Spin Forming of Al-Li 2050 Plate to Produce Domes for Space Applications

    By Michael Niedzinski, Constellium. Introduction Friction stir welding (FSW) of Airware 2050 was investigated as a method for making custom blanks for spin forming large, single-piece flight articles. The objective of this study was to evaluate the behavior of 2050 parent material in addition to the FSW regions after spin forming and subsequent heat treatment. […]

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    NASA Tests Innovative 3D-Printed Aluminum Rocket Nozzle for Deep Space Missions

    NASA recently built and tested an additively manufactured rocket engine nozzle made of aluminum as part of the Reactive Additive Manufacturing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (RAMFIRE) project. By implementing 3D printing, the innovative design is able to be comprised of a single piece, which reduces manufacturing time and makes the nozzle lighter than conventional […]

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    Relativity Space Develops Reusable Launch Vehicle Using 3D-Printed Aluminum

    Relativity Space, a company dedicated to building humanity’s multi-planetary future, revealed plans for the Terran R, a reusable medium-to-heavy lift orbital launch vehicle made from 3D-printed aluminum. This development builds on the company’s seven years of experience developing its Terran 1 program — the world’s first 3D-printed aluminum rocket to fly and reach space. “Our […]

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    Aluminum Reaches for the Moon

    On November 16, 2022, NASA kicked off its Artemis I mission at the Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, FL, with the lift off of its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket carrying the uncrewed Orion spacecraft. The Orion craft completed its journey around the moon and successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on December […]

  • NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter deployed on Mars

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    Ingenuity Helicopter’s First Flight on Mars Supported by Aluminum

    On April 19, NASA announced that the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter achieved a successful first test flight from the surface of Mars — making it the first aircraft in history to make a powered, controlled flight on another planet. In its initial autonomous flight, the helicopter achieved a maximum altitude of 10 ft (3 m) and […]

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    Mars 2020 Perseverance Mission Prepares for Launch with Aluminum

    The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. Each Mars mission is part of a continuing chain of innovation, relying on past missions for proven technologies and contributing its own technical developments to future missions. As with previous missions, aluminum […]

  • An SLS engine section, comprised of aluminum panels fabricated by AMRO, being taken off the Vertical Assembly Center after weld testing at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. (Photo: NASA.)

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    ARTICLE: Key Aerospace Supplier in Southern California Expands with New Machining Capabilities

    By Andrea Svendsen, Managing Editor. Headquartered in South El Monte, CA, AMRO Fabricating Corporation is a 42 year old company specialized in the fabrication, forming, and heat treating of aluminum and titanium components for the aerospace, commercial aircraft, and defense industries. Among the key programs it serves, the company supplies panels for parts of the […]

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    Lockheed Martin Completes NASA’s Orion Crew Module For Mission To The Moon

    Lockheed Martin completed building the capsule for NASA’s Orion spacecraft for the Artemis missions to the Moon and then Mars. The crew module capsule for the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission to the Moon has been stacked on top of the Orion service module, which was also recently finished. The ceremony for the completion was held in […]

  • Astronaut Edwin E."Buzz" Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module pilot, is photographed during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity on the Moon.

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    50th Anniversary of Apollo 11 – Mission to the Moon Made Possible with Aluminum

    By Andrea Svendsen, Managing Editor. On July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 mission culminated in Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landing the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on the Moon — a mission decades in the making and which effectively ended the Space Race. Getting to the Moon required the development of new advanced technologies under Project […]