Firefly To Develop Ceramic Matrix Composite Rocket Nozzle Extension

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has awarded Firefly Aerospace a contract to develop a ceramic matrix composite rocket nozzle extension for liquid rocket engines.

The second-stage nozzle extension would be fixed and is intended to improve performance and reduce costs, Firefly said on April 23.

The company declined to name the material, but says it would design, build and test the composite nozzle extension to validate the ceramic matrix composite. Firefly plans to use a rapid spin form production process and a composite layup process at its Rocket Ranch facility in Briggs, Texas. The company notes that it also makes carbon composite barrels, domes and tanks.

“Firefly’s composite material solution is expected to reduce the mass of nozzle extensions by more than 50%,” the company says. “Composites also offer significant lead time reduction from months to weeks with domestically available materials and a rapid spin form production process.”

Rocket nozzle extensions on second-stage liquid engines are intended to improve performance in the vacuum of space by optimizing exhaust expansion, resulting in higher specific impulse and greater fuel efficiency.

The rocket nozzle extension would have responsive space applications for the commercial sector and the U.S. Space Force, Firefly says. For its Tactically Responsive Space concept, the Space Force is working to develop launch vehicle and spacecraft technologies that would allow it to rapidly deploy, maneuver, or replace space assets in response to emerging threats from adversaries.

Firefly also aims to use its composite nozzle extension fabrication methods for its second-stage engines, Lightning and Vira, that power its Alpha small launch vehicle and its unnamed medium launch vehicle, being co-developed with Northrop Grumman.