Structural testing
// FRANK MILLARD
Cosmic
3D printers and robots offer a way to remotely build
structures such as space stations and satellites in
orbit, but first they have to be tested on Earth
n space manufacturing,
where 3D printers and robots
construct large structures
and parts while in orbit, is
being touted by a number of companies
and experts as the way to work around
expensive and technically challenging
rocket launches.
Made In Space is one of the
proponents of this new way to tackle and
commercialize humanity’s final frontier.
The company’s president and CEO,
Andrew Rush, asserts that in-space
manufacturing (iSM) is not a future
aspiration, but a reality today. On board
the International Space Station (ISS)
astronauts are exploring manufacturing
methods and testing hardware.
Rush says, “We pioneered
manufacturing in space with NASA in
2014 with the Zero Gravity Printer. Since
then we have developed and operated an
additive manufacturing facility in space
and made advances to robotically
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manufacture and assemble space
optimized structures in space.”
Despite Rush’s claim, iSM can trace its
beginnings back to 1973, when a
feasibility study for in-space construction
was conducted on the Skylab space
station. Engineers have always been
attracted to in-space manufacturing’s key
benefit. “One of the advantages of
in-space manufacturing and assembly is
that it allows you to overcome the
tyranny of the launch fairing. You can
deploy structures to orbit that are larger
than you can pack inside of a rocket and
launch from Earth,” explains Rush.
ARCHINAUT ONE
In July 2019, NASA awarded US$73.7
million to Made In Space to demonstrate
the manufacture and assembly of
spacecraft components in low-Earth orbit.
Archinaut One is expected to launch on a
Rocket Lab Electron rocket from New
Zealand in 2022. The mission will focus
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