Advanced Additive Composites Manufacturing and What it Means for High Powered Sub-Orbital Rocketry

Experimental materials and manufacturing techniques have long been used in the aerospace engineering field due to the unique and complex challenges posed by the aerospace environment. Because of the recent renaissance in additive and composites manufacturing, engineers in the aerospace field now have more options for designing and building specialized parts for aircraft and spacecraft. This paper will focus on the applications that additive composite materials have in the field of high powered sub-orbital rocketry and why it is more useful than other manufacturing techniques. Most of the benefits that come with using additive composites are seen in their material properties and unique geometries that can be achieved due to their manufacturing methods. With the addition of these benefits, the research in this study proves that additive composites are the optimal choice for certain applications on high powered sub-orbital rockets.