Leap71 fire up their powerful AI designed rocket engine
Increasingly AI is designing more sophisticated products and this is the second rocket engine its designed.
Key takeaways
- LEAP 71 fired the engine for 3.5 seconds, producing 500kg of thrust and roughly 20,000 horsepower.
- The test, carried out at the Airborne Engineering site in Wescott, UK late last year marks a significant step forward for the AI-based engineering industry in the Emirates.
- LEAP 71 has a partnership with Europe's The Exploration Company, which is developing and manufacturing a reusable space capsule called Nyx.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2025) 'Leap71 fire up their powerful AI designed rocket engine', 311 Institute, 28 March. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/leap71-fire-up-their-powerful-ai-designed-rocket-engine/ (Accessed: 25 October 2026).
Years after I reported that Hyperganic, a German company, had used an Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create a revolutionary new kind of rocket engine a Dubai company has test-fired a 3D-printed space rocket engine that was also designed by AI.
LEAP 71 fired the engine for 3.5 seconds, producing 500kg of thrust and roughly 20,000 horsepower. It is the first liquid rocket engine to be developed in the UAE and uses computational modelling developed by the organisation.
The test, carried out at the Airborne Engineering site in Wescott, UK late last year marks a significant step forward for the AI-based engineering industry in the Emirates.
The Future of Space Travel, by technology speaker Matthew Griffin
Lin Kayser, co-founder of LEAP 71, told The National that the data collected will help train and improve their computational models.
"The goal is to be able to autogenerate engines across a range of thrust/propellant ranges, so each engine can be customised," he said.
The AI model, called Noyron, involves an algorithm that can generate rocket engines, including software codes that command the engine how much thrust and propellent it needs to have. It then powers the engine without any human intervention. In this test, it powered the rocket using cryogenic liquid oxygen and kerosene fuels.
"We chose them (the fuels) because they are 'hard' propellants to use, so many start-up companies try to get by with simpler fuels," explained Mr Kayser.
Post on X So proud of @LissnerJosefine, steely-eyed rocket woman. We just test fired a 5kN kerolox thruster, designed completely in-house at @leap_71, it performed flawlessly and reached steady state. Kerosene regeneratively cooled and cryogenic liquid oxygen as oxidizer. Koaxial swirl… pic.twitter.com/dZFCIjvk7v Lin Kayser (@linkayser) June 15, 2024
"Liquid oxygen is not easy to handle because it is cryogenic. It can, for example, freeze kerosene in the cooling channels and then the rocket explodes.
"We wanted a challenging combination that is quite common in larger rockets, like the SpaceX Falcon 9, but unusual for smaller chambers like ours. Smaller chambers are very hard to cool because you have little surface area."
Kayser said Noyron is close to market-ready, but they will carry out more tests on engines that different companies are developing.
"From our side, the computational model is market-ready and can be used to produce functional rocket engines. This is what the test showed," he said.
LEAP 71 has a partnership with Europe's The Exploration Company, which is developing and manufacturing a reusable space capsule called Nyx.
It marks a big win for the start-up as it looks to sell its AI model to more players in the space industry.
What this means for your organisation
AI designs, printers build.
An algorithm generated the engine and a 3D printer made it. That removes much of the slow manual design work. Product cycles can shrink.
Customisation at scale.
The aim is to generate a new engine for each set of needs. Custom designs become as easy as standard ones. Buyers gain parts tailored to their mission.
Tests feed better models.
Data from each firing trains the next design. The more it is used, the better it gets. Early users of such systems build an advantage.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
- Which of our products could AI design faster than our engineers?
- Could 3D printing let us build custom parts on demand?
- How would we capture test data to improve designs?
The trends and technologies behind this story
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s article and 311 data. First published on Fanatical Futurist.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
Increasingly AI is designing more sophisticated products and this is the second rocket engine its designed.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, President and Futurist, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 17-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder, President and Futurist of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity programme, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Sources and further reading
- View on X → twitter.com