Recently, UAE launch company Aspire Space and LEAP 71, an innovation leader in computational engineering for space propulsion, signed a formal agreement to jointly develop the Oryx reusable rocket engine.
Oryx is a fully reusable, orbital-class launch vehicle designed to deliver up to 15 tonnes of payload to low Earth orbit. The two parties are exploring two parallel propulsion architectures:
A conventional rocket engine, and
A novel aerospike (also known as an aerodynamic spike) engine design.
What we know so far is that LEAP 71’s “computational engineering” is essentially a highly intelligent, fully automated engineering design system. By learning and applying the laws of physics, the AI frees engineers from vast amounts of repetitive and trial-and-error modeling work, allowing them to focus on defining the problem and making final decisions. This represents a fundamental shift in the paradigm of engineering design.
The aerospike engine, meanwhile, is considered a major advancement in rocket propulsion. It delivers exceptional efficiency across both atmospheric and vacuum flight, making it particularly suitable for reusable launch systems. However, the structure of an aerospike engine is extremely difficult to manufacture using traditional production methods. With 3D printing, highly complex geometries can be created—including regions that would normally result in machining interference—thus enabling designs that were previously impractical.
The freedom of geometric creation offered by additive manufacturing has reignited interest in developing this next-generation rocket engine. In the years before the rise of modern AI, roughly between 2015 and 2022, there was a small wave of research on 3D-printed aerospike engines, demonstrating the enormous potential of the technology to push engineering limits. However, despite years of investigation, none of these designs ever progressed to actual flight testing.
LEAP 71 is currently one of the only organizations advocating the use of AI technology to develop 3D-printed rocket engines. In December 2024, the company successfully tested a 5 kN aerospike engine, validating key aspects of its design and earning international recognition.
