3D printing in the Space industry could bring huge futuristic opportunities.

Over the past few years, 3D printing has seen a greater spike in terms of usage across various industries. It opens a new way wherein products are created and offers a wide array of advantages against the traditional manufacturing methods. In the Space industry, 3D printing could bring a major revolution by assisting spacewalkers to create objects in Space and on demand such as parts for repairs, custom equipment for scientific experiments, and much more. As 3D printed objects are very cost-effective and can be recycled and formed into entirely different objects, it can be very useful for aerospace applications.

Like other manufacturing processes, 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, appeared from the integration of previously existing technologies, the coming together of Computer Aided Design (CAD), inkjet nozzles and automated machine systems. According to ASTM F2792-12 (Standard Terminology for Additive Manufacturing Technologies), Additive Manufacturing (AM) can be described as, a process of joining materials to make objects from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer.

3D Printing and Space Exploration

3D printers in Space allow astronauts to print objects whenever they need, instead of relying on shipments from Earth. For instance, the 3D printer onboard the ISS (International Space Station) in 2014 created its first part. The printer, which was designed and developed by California-based startup Made In Space, created a manufacturing of piece itself called extruder plate.

According to Tracie Prater, a materials engineer at Marshall Space Flight Center, to support spaceflight missions, NASA sends up around 7,000 pounds of spare parts to the ISS every year. However, this costs much more and heavy in weight. Thus, to ease these challenges, NASA is using 3D printing technique for in-space manufacturing.

Since astronauts on the space station have long been reliant on launches from the earth to bring spare parts, 3D printing in this context is playing a key role in reducing this dependency. According to a study by NASA, around 30 percent of parts aboard the orbiting lab could be manufactured with a 3D printer. Researchers could even use such machines to develop tiny satellites, or CubeSats, onboard the space station, instead of launching them from Earth.

3D Printing for Space Applications

3D printing can be used to quickly construct structures, even in a zero-gravity environment. As the European Space Agency (ESA) is experimenting with 3D printing, architects are assessing the feasibility of this technology using materials on the moon to create buildings. This would certainly lead to an eventual Moon Village constructed from the Moon’s soil. The space agency currently is experimenting with 3D printing satellites in a special thermoplastic called PEEK. Having intrinsic properties in terms of strength, stability and temperature resistance, with a melting point up around 350ºC, PEEK is so robust that it can do analogous jobs to some metal parts. As its first test of a new printable hard, electrically conductive plastic, ESA has 3D-printed CubeSats, which are satellites about 10 cm in size, with stackable and can be connected with other CubeSats to create a satellite system.

On the other side, 3D printer specialization provider Made In Space, along with NASA, has decided to take 3D printing into orbit. In 2017, they were introduced Archinaut, a Technology Demonstration Mission (TDM) where 3D printing large structures were tested within an earth-like environment. The project consists of a robotic arm to develop large structures.

Currently, 3D printing holds much promise to build objects at a lower cost, ranging from less waste to reduced errors and reduction of production time to production on demand.