Ursa Major Partners with America Makes for Copper Additive Manufacturing in Hypersonic Flight

Ursa Major has secured a $5 million contract with America Makes to further develop and qualify its copper additive manufacturing process for hypersonic flight. This funding will support Ursa Major in scaling its production capabilities and refining the copper 3D printing process for aerospace and defence applications, specifically targeting flight-qualified components for rockets and propulsion systems.

Advancing Copper Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace Applications
The partnership between Ursa Major and America Makes, which dates back to 2021, has already yielded significant progress in additive manufacturing. Ursa Major has successfully developed a process to print NASA’s GrCop-42 copper-chromium-niobium alloy, creating prototype thrust chambers for the Hadley liquid rocket engine. The new phase of the project, backed by the $5 million investment, will see Ursa Major qualify its additive manufacturing process for full-scale production of flight hardware, supporting both the Hadley and Draper rocket engines.

Scaling Production with New Technology
To enable large-scale production, Ursa Major will install a Velo3D Sapphire XC Metal 3D printer to enhance its copper 3D printing process. The addition of this advanced system will ensure that Ursa Major can meet the production requirements of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the National Center for Defence Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM). This step represents a major leap toward solving supply chain and manufacturing challenges in the aerospace and defence sectors.

Strengthening Aerospace and Defence Manufacturing
The new contract is a significant milestone for Ursa Major as it continues to expand its presence in the aerospace and defence industries. Through its collaboration with America Makes, Ursa Major aims to establish itself as a scalable and trusted manufacturing partner, ensuring that it can meet the growing demand for advanced propulsion components.

“By leveraging additive manufacturing, we are able to produce high-performance parts faster, with less waste and greater precision,” said Nick Doucette, COO of Ursa Major. John Wilczynski, Executive Director of America Makes, underscored the importance of these advancements in overcoming manufacturing challenges within the defence sector.