Method of making cooled rocket combustion chamber construction

A method of making a rocket combustion chamber/nozzle assembly incorporating a finished cooling liner, said method comprising:

• providing a die having a centerline axis defined therethrough and first and second axial ends, said die comprising a first piece which mates with a second piece, said die having a narrowest diameter along the centerline axis, and said first piece mates to said second piece at the narrowest diameter, said die having a fluted outer surface defining the forming surface of the die, said forming surface of the die extending between first and second axial ends of said die;
• providing a cooling liner blank of thin, high temperature resistant material, said liner blank having opposed first and second ends;
• positioning the liner blank in operative contact with the forming surface of the die;
• deforming the liner blank to conform to the shape of the forming surface, thereby forming a finished cooling liner having a fluted outer surface comprising a plurality of longitudinally extending channels and a plurality of ridges extending the length of the channels, each channel having a first end, and a second end opposite the first end, and each channel separated from each immediately adjacent channel by one of said ridges;
• filling each of the channels with a removable casting material, leaving only the radially outermost surface of each ridge exposed;
• electro-forming a structural jacket radially outward from the channels of the cooling liner, said jacket secured to the cooling liner along the length of each ridge by electro-deposition;
• removing the removable casting material from the channels, thereby exposing the axial ends of each of the channels;
• and,
• securing a first fluid flow manifold to the first ends of the channels, and securing a second fluid flow manifold to the second ends of the channels for circulating a coolant through the channels.