Chromatic 3D Materials Opens Camp Ripley for Rocket Propellant Testing

A test facility inside a National Guard base

Chromatic 3D Materials has established rocket propellant static-fire testing capability at Camp Ripley, a 53,000-acre Minnesota National Guard training facility near Little Falls. The Minneapolis-based company can now print a solid rocket motor segment and test-fire it on the same site, something that previously required shipping propellant between separate facilities.

The access came through Defense Innovation OnRamp Hub: Minnesota, a program that connects commercial technology companies with military testing environments. LEMA, a Minnesota expeditionary power company, is also involved. The pair are exploring portable solar generation to support forward-deployed manufacturing and testing operations.

How the printing works

Chromatic developed RX-AM, a reactive extrusion additive manufacturing process that adapts conventional polybutadiene binder chemistries for 3D printing. Earlier in 2026, the company completed prototype printing and static-fire testing of its 3D printed propellant, sustaining combustion pressures above 1,800 psi without structural failure. The multi-material capability lets propellant be printed directly onto or within structural components, opening geometries and thrust-control options that conventional manufacturing cannot reach.

Camp Ripley removes the logistical delay between printing and testing. Instead of moving sensitive motors across the country, Chromatic can iterate faster: print, test, analyze, repeat.

Defense manufacturing is shifting

The strategy mirrors what larger defense primes are already doing. Ursa Major built a 400-acre solid rocket motor test facility in Colorado and completed nearly 300 static test fires in one year. Raytheon and Ursa Major flew a 3D printed SRM on a U.S. Army flight test. Chromatic's move shows that smaller specialized manufacturers are trying to copy that same rapid iteration loop at lower volume and lower cost.

The company supplies design and engineering support to customers running their own printers rather than acting as a standalone print shop. That model fits the defense market well, where program offices want to own the process and the data, not just buy finished parts.