Dubai company builds 3D-printed rocket engines as big as Elon Musk's

Company combining artificial intelligence and 3D printing to shake-up space industry

The SpaceX Starship crafts are powered by Raptor engines, which could soon be matched by Dubai's Leap 71. AFP

An AI engineering company in Dubai is scaling up its 3D-printed rocket engines to match the size of Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship Raptors, which could redefine how next-generation space hardware is built.

Leap 71, which uses AI algorithms to design complex propulsion systems, is moving from small test engines to models powerful enough for full-scale orbital launches.

With major advances in metal 3D printing, the company says it can now produce engines nearly two metres across, sizes that were previously too large for 3D printers to handle.

“Our customers want to fly to space with our engines, so now we are scaling them massively,” Lin Kayser, co-founder of the company, told The National.

Unlike traditional aerospace companies that rely on teams of engineers to manually design rocket components, Leap 71 uses a computer system powered by AI to generate engine designs.

Dubai company's engine design could revolutionise space travel

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How does it work?

The AI model, called Noyron, involves an algorithm that can generate rocket engines, including software codes that command the engine how much thrust and propellant it needs to have.

Once the AI generates a design, it can be fed directly into a 3D printer to create the hardware.

“After an initial test last year, we test-fired eight more rocket engines, all of them different and designed by our computational system,” said Mr Kayser.

Until now, Leap 71’s engines have been relatively small, at about 30cm in diameter, making them useful for spacecraft like lunar landing vehicles. But to move into orbital launches, Mr Kayser said the engines needed to be much bigger.

A 3D-printed rocket engine tested by Leap 71 last year. Photo: Leap 71

The company is now developing engines that require industrial 3D printers with build volumes close to two metres. Such printers, which use metal powder to build parts layer by layer, have become available only in the past 18 months, driven mostly by rapid progress in China.

“There’s a number of 3D-printer manufacturers that can now support these extremely large-build volumes, which is really difficult because it’s tonnes of metal powder that go in into these things,” said Mr Kayser.

The company’s newer designs include meganewton-class engines, those capable of producing thrust in the range of 1,000 to 2,000 kilonewtons, putting them in the same category as some of the world’s most powerful rocket engines.

But those engines would still have to be test-fired to ensure they work as expected.

A key hurdle for Leap 71 is a lack of test stands, specialised sites where rocket engines are fired, in the country.

These are essential but difficult to build due to safety, noise and regulatory requirements.

Leap 71 hopes to set up its first rocket engine factory in the UAE, where it can take advantage of the country’s growing ambitions in space.

An Aerospike engine that Leap 71 developed. Photo: Leap 71

Sahith Reddy Madara, an aerospace engineer and founder of advisory firm Bumi & Space, told The National that Leap 71’s work could be a game-changer.

“What Leap 71 is doing represents a promising step towards redefining how we approach rocket engine development,” he said.

“This method could democratise access to advanced propulsion technologies, lowering barriers for smaller players by reducing the need for large in-house engineering teams and long development cycles. That said, widespread adoption will depend on how these designs perform under real-world conditions and whether they can meet the rigorous reliability standards of spaceflight.”

Expanding the market for rocket engines

Leap 71’s current business model is built around supplying what it calls “reference engines”, which are functional, baseline models that space companies can adapt to their own needs.

It hopes to eventually carve out a niche supplying engines that can power everything from small orbital rockets to larger reusable systems.

The company’s AI-led method can dramatically shorten development times and lower costs, which could be especially appealing to smaller or newer players in the space sector.

It already has a partnership with The Exploration Company, a European firm which is developing and manufacturing a reusable space capsule called Nyx.

The collaboration would integrate Leap 71’s AI-designed engines into future missions.