KCNSC manufactures critical payload vehicle for test rocket
Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC) partnered with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to support a Responsive Development Experiment (ReDX) flight test at White Sands Missile Range on June 13, 2025. Members of the KCNSC team were on- site to watch the successful launch, which was the first test flight using a KCNSC manufactured test vehicle.
ReDX test flights use suborbital rockets to test payloads, including diagnostic and communications systems. These tests provide valuable data on experimental rocket designs that contributes to the safety and reliability of the nation’s nuclear deterrent.
"LANL's ReDX program is an important tool in rebuilding a quick turn capability for prototyping new conceptual designs and gathering environmental flight test data. This capability will provide a test bed for future programs to shorten their design cycles and be more flexible to the needs of our partners,” said Kyle Pressley, KCNSC Lead Program Manager.
As part of the flight test series, KCNSC New Mexico Operations (NMO) facilities additively manufactured the payload test vehicle. This was a first for the enterprise, as traditional production flight bodies are typically forged and manufactured by industry with long lead times. The flight body was machined into final shape using resources from KCNSC and NMO facilities, as well as support from other vendors.
“Collaboration between NMO and the KCNSC production floor leveraged each site’s strengths to the fullest,” said Andrew Beckman, Mechanical Engineer on the project. “NMO rapidly printed the material while KC Special Applications Machining completed the precision machining that transformed NMO’s print into an aeroshell body. The combination of material properties and the overall length proved to be a rewarding technical challenge that came to fruition on the morning of the flight test.”
Working collaboratively, KCNSC has manufactured several versions of the original prototype vehicles that allowed LANL to reuse the same design for several different flight and test series.
“KCNSC’s expertise in machining large substrates, coupled with NMO’s advanced printing technology and ongoing communication with NMO and LANL, has been instrumental in the successful launch of this initiative,” said Muhsin Bakthir, Senior Mechanical Engineer on the project.
The partnership with LANL continues to expand, and KCNSC is manufacturing prototype vehicles for other flight test series scheduled for later this year. By manufacturing these vehicles, KCNSC and NMO have filled a critical gap in providing timely and responsive carrier options to our DOE partners seeking environmental flight test data. The team has put the right tools in place to support a rapid flight-testing capability and inform future program design for years to come.
