The Exploration Company and LEAP 71 announce cooperation in the field of space engine engineering

Sep 12, 2023

Dubai (UAE)/Munich (Germany) – LEAP 71 and The Exploration Company have announced a cooperation in the field of space propulsion systems. The two companies are teaming up to create a physically and practically validated computational model for the engineering of rocket and orbital engines. This Computational Engineering Model, the first of its kind, is expected to significantly accelerate innovation in the field of spacecraft systems design.

The Exploration Company is the developer, manufacturer and operator of Nyx, a modular and reusable orbital space vehicle, aiming at making space exploration affordable, available, and open. LEAP 71 is pioneering the new field of Computational Engineering, where powerful algorithms generate physical objects, ready for production using advanced manufacturing methods, such as industrial 3D printing.

The cooperation will enhance LEAP 71’s existing computational model for space propulsion, RP/CEM, by incorporating practical feedback and conducting rigorous testing to validate and improve its performance.

Hélène Huby, co-founder, and CEO of The Exploration Company said: “One of the challenges for reducing the cost of space exploration is the conventional approach to engineering. Complex parts like rocket engines are hard to design, and each iteration can sometimes take a significant amount of manual rework with traditional CAD-based tools. Using computational models, we want to engineer faster, so that we can print and test faster – hence accelerating the improvement and validation of our engines.”

Says Josefine Lissner, founder, and Managing Director of LEAP 71, “We are excited to put our Computational Engineering Model to the test and get real-world feedback, to fine-tune it to the point, where we have a robust foundation. I expect a tipping point in the space industry when our model successfully starts producing operational engines across a wide range of parameters. As each new test feeds back into the model, the resulting objects will improve exponentially. This is a key building block on our path to a space-faring society.”

About LEAP 71
LEAP 71 pioneers the use of complex software models in engineering to shape our physical world. The company is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and focuses on space systems, electric mobility, and other advanced fields of engineering.

For more information, please see:          https://leap71.com
LEAP 71 Press Contact:                          press@leap.71.com

About The Exploration Company
The Exploration Company (TEC) is the developer, manufacturer and operator of Nyx, a modular and reusable orbital space vehicle, aiming to make space exploration affordable, available, and open. TEC is one of Europe’s fastest moving start-ups in the space sector and quite unique in the way they tackle certain technological and development challenges.

For more information, please see:          https://www.exploration.space
TEC Press Contact:                                matilda@exploration.space

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Let’s harness the interesting properties of #quasicrystals for engineering structures.

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We have been busy #iterating on all these rocket injector heads. Fortunately our #ComputationalEngineering Models allow us to make last-minute changes to the design without manual work.

We ❤️ small thrusters - 1kN thruster generated by our #ComputationalEngineering model for space propulsion RP/CEM.

Energy use of #datacenters will continue to rise in the coming years, as #ai models are trained. Water cooling of electronics, directly at the component level, can dramatically reduce the energy required for cooling.

Lots of connectors and instrumentation ports on this 5kN thruster. Designed with our #ComputationalEngineering Model for space propulsion, RP/CEM.

Getting ready to move rocket thruster development to a new level, using our #ComputationalEngineering Model for space propulsion RP/CEM.

Let’s build some #turbomachinery

That satisfying feeling when the parts emerge from the #3dprinter - thanks @mimotechnik for another great print of a large #heatexchanger created through our #ComputationalEngineering Model.

With the #cherryblossoms in full bloom while we are visiting Japan, we couldn’t resist posting a #quasicrystal #sakura edition.

Industrial #3dprinting enables us to build electric motors that are significantly more capable than conventional ones. Our #ComputationalEngineering Model for electric actuation EA/CEM can generate highly sophisticated motor geometries flexibly and automatically.

We #opensourced the #ComputationalEngineering Model for this heat exchanger a while ago. Check it out on our GitHub.

#eidmubarak to all our friends in the #uae. Islamic scholars created the patterns that led to the discovery of #quasicrystals - let’s harness the power of these structures for #ComputationalEngineering.

Want to use aperiodic tiling and quasi-crystalline structures for engineering? We just released an #opensource library for this on our #github

Big thank you to @mimotechnik for this beautiful #fdm #multimaterial print (@bambulab_official) of our spherical electric motor prototype. Built through #computationalengineering.

Let’s harness the interesting properties of #quasicrystals for engineering structures.

Extended RP/CEM family picture. The tiny 3.5kN engine is the newest output of our algorithm. Looking forward to a hot fire soon. #ComputationalEngineering

#ComputationalEngineering Models easily create complex piping systems and manifolds and can reroute and reconfigure them in seconds when inputs change.