Picture: LEAP 71
LEAP 71, a company specializing in computer-aided development, has announced that it is extending its computational methodology for designing rocket engines to thrust systems in the meganewton range. Following successful tests of smaller engines, LEAP 71 is now focusing on two new reference designs: the 200 kN XRA-2E5 aerospike engine and the 2000 kN XRB-2E6 bell-nozzle engine.
The central component of the project is “Noyron”, a generative development model that maps engineering logic in software form. This platform enables the fully automated creation of designs suitable for production, including the turbomachinery required for operation.
“The aerospike and bell-nozzle engines we are developing are not separate efforts—they are different phenotypes of the same computational DNA,” said Josefine Lissner, Managing Director of LEAP 71 and principal architect of the Noyron model. “This unified approach allows us to explore fundamentally different engine architectures without reinventing the wheel every time. It’s a systematic way of scaling complexity.”
The technological basis for the production of the engines is industrial metal additive manufacturing. The use of large-format 3D printing systems with installation space dimensions of more than 1.5 meters enables the production of highly complex individual components. This significantly reduces assembly costs, as many assemblies no longer have to consist of several individual parts. One example is the 600 mm injector head component of the XRB-2E6, which is manufactured with a nozzle geometry of around 1.6 m in height.
“The hardest challenge remains translating a computational model into real, testable hardware,” said Lin Kayser, Co-Founder of LEAP 71. “Especially in turbomachinery, where sealing, material fatigue, and transient conditions during startup and shutdown are critical. These are not just design problems — they demand practical testing, iteration, and close collaboration with manufacturing partners.”“This is a long journey, but the speed at which we can progress with computational engineering and modern manufacturing tools is encouraging,” added Lissner. “We believe this approach has the potential to change how propulsion systems are engineered and built.”
The development program is divided into several phases. Initial tests with simplified cycle systems such as gas generator configurations are intended to create a resilient basis. The first test run of the aerospike engine is scheduled for 2026, while the large-scale bell-nozzle propulsion system should be ready for testing by 2029.
