Recently, Made In Space won a new contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which will develop a new system for hybrid 3D printing in space. As early as 2014, the world's first space 3D printer was successfully installed on the International Space Station, and a series of space-specific parts were printed successively, ushering in a new era of human "space manufacturing".

U.S. International Space Station (Source: Chinanews.com)

The booming space parts factory

Receive the design drawings in the email, select the print button, and a space wrench comes into being under the astronaut’s gaze. This is not a scene in a sci-fi blockbuster, but a "maiden show" of parts manufacturing completed by a space 3D printer in a zero-gravity environment.

Consistent with the concept of traditional printers, 3D printing is based on model files, using powdered metals and plastics and other bondable materials to construct objects by layer-by-layer rapid prototyping technology. It is currently in industrial design, Key applications have been obtained in construction, medical industry and other fields. In the process of human exploration of space, the ground supply of equipment and materials has long been a recognized "bottleneck" for completing space missions. The idea of ​​moving 3D printers into space and realizing "self-sufficiency" of parts for space came into being.

As we all know, the size of spacecraft is mainly limited by the size of the vehicle. Space parts manufacturing plants can be built using space 3D printing to realize space manufacturing of space equipment. At present, people have begun to design a space manufacturing system, which will directly print antennas, battery panels and other parts and necessities for work and life in space. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is developing a standard space 3D printing process, which can be compatible with different metal materials through new technologies and make parts that are more suitable for space application environments.

In the future, NASA’s goal is to directly 3D print the entire satellite in space, and place it directly into orbit after being produced and assembled by the "Space Parts Factory". In addition, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the American Manufacturing Company launched a 3D printing Mars habitat competition, and the European Space Agency also began to explore the use of 3D printing technology to build a lunar base in the future. Space 3D printing will bring about tremendous changes in the supply and support of human space exploration, and will also provide a broader platform for space flight.

The obsessive all-round maker

Once upon a time, after the Hubble Space Telescope, which gathered human wisdom, was launched into space, due to tiny errors in the mirror manufacturing, the Hubble Telescope changed from "hyperopia" to "myopia". Under the constraints of aerospace technology at that time, the only option that people can think of is to launch another space shuttle and install a "near-sighted mirror" for the Hubble Telescope. The entire repair process requires the completion of ground manufacturing, air-to-ground transportation and space assembly. A little carelessness may make previous efforts fall short.

The Hubble Space Telescope (Source: China Net)

Now, with space 3D printing technology, it is possible to print oddly shaped and functional parts directly in outer space. The significance of 3D printing in space is much more than that. Modern people pay attention to "travel light", and space flight is no exception. Carrying a 3D printer into space can save you from the huge hassle of carrying tens of thousands of various parts, just a few kilograms of 3D printing consumables are enough. At the same time, space 3D printing can also save spacecraft’s stringent requirements for structural strength during launch, and the parts printed in space will be thinner than those launched into space, thereby achieving greater economic benefits.

At present, 3D printing technology has demonstrated strong application value and development potential in the aerospace field, which not only shortens the production cycle of aerospace products, reduces costs, and further improves product performance. As a brand-new production method, products made by space 3D printing can handle tasks that are difficult to complete with traditional manufacturing processes. Especially when a part needs to withstand high temperature on one side and high strength on the other side, 3D printing can show its skills.

The more amazing thing about space 3D printing is that it can turn space waste into magic. Once the products made in space are damaged, they can be reused by melting them into raw materials. In the future, space 3D printing can also use obsolete satellites in the earth's orbit or even directly take materials from some planets for space manufacturing. It is truly a well-deserved space maker.

A great show of power to help air and sky flight

Space 3D printing technology not only saves time, effort and money, but also greatly reduces the dependence of space flight on the ground. Compared with the semi-annual space replenishment, 3D printing only takes a few hours to produce parts that need to be replaced. In the future, with a space 3D printer, you can make various kinds of experiment and maintenance tools and parts needed in a weightless environment, which will greatly improve the flexibility of space station experiments and the timeliness of maintenance, while effectively reducing all kinds of spare parts for the space station The type and quantity of the space station will reduce the dependence of the space station on the ground system, thereby providing new impetus and hope for mankind to explore the planet.

In the future, space 3D printing technology can be used to manufacture aerospace parts in orbit, and will also be organically combined with robotic systems. The intelligent spider robot SpiderFab developed by the United States will directly use 3D technology to print and assemble spacecraft components and even satellites in space, and can produce several kilometers of metal frames in space. The "Phoenix" research project carried out by the US Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency aims to clean up all kinds of space junk by disassembling the components of the old satellite, and reassemble the parts of the old satellite into a new space equipment, space 3D Printing provides an important technical solution for this.

In fact, space 3D printing can not only print all kinds of components, but also food. Using space 3D printers, various edible raw materials can be printed into various nutritional packages that meet the needs of astronauts. At present, the US military has announced that it will provide "customized nutrition" services based on the physical condition of the astronauts, and will realize this idea through 3D printing technology. In the future, astronauts busy in the sky can detect their physical or nutritional status through wearable devices and formulate customized space diets.