3D printing is great for making trinkets, but NASA has some much more ambitious plans in mind: Take, for instance, this 3D-printed rocket injector assembly that NASA, in collaboration with Aerojet Rocketdyne, recently put through a successful "hot-fire" test (which is basically what you think it is—a test burn of a rocket on the ground).
The best thing about this rocket injector—which is similar in nature to the fuel injector on your car—is that it only took about four months to produce, according to New Scientist. By comparison, the part would've required a full year to produce using traditional methods. According to Aerojet Rocketdyne, this method also cuts the cost of fabrication by about 70 percent.
[Aerojet Rocketdyne via New Scientist]
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This story, "NASA test-fires a 3D-printed rocket part—and it didn't melt under the heat" was originally published by TechHive.