QuesTek Innovations and Stoke Space have developed a novel nickel-based superalloy tailored for additive manufacturing and extreme high-pressure, high-temperature oxygen environments—an achievement critical to enabling fully reusable space launch systems.
The alloy, designed using QuesTek’s ICMD digital materials engineering platform, has been qualified for use and meets all targeted performance benchmarks. It is engineered to withstand the punishing conditions of the Zenith engine, Stoke Space’s full-flow staged combustion rocket engine—a system that demands materials capable of surviving combustion environments that would compromise conventional alloys.
Additive manufacturing compatibility was a key requirement, enabling the production of complex geometries and integrated cooling channels that would be difficult or impossible using traditional fabrication methods. The digital design approach also accelerated alloy optimization, reducing development timelines from decades to months.
“This printable, burn-resistant alloy is essential for building reusable rockets that fly daily,” said Jason Sebastian, Executive Vice President of QuesTek. “Once this hurdle is removed, I don’t see a limit to the growth potential for the space industry.”
