Last Monday on the International Space Station a 3D printer was installed, the first designed to work in space in microgravity. For the moment it’s an experiment to see if this type of instrument is working properly in that kind of conditions. Once the testing phase is completed, they can begin to produce objects of practical use on the Station.
The commander of the International Space Station Barry “Butch” Wilmore installed the 3D printer, produced by Made In Space, Inc., in the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG), one of the scientific facilities of the Station in the Destiny module. The device was launched last September on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
This printer uses the acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), a thermoplastic polymer already used to create objects that are lightweight and rigid at the same time. The ABS will be used by the 3D printer to verify the possibility of creating useful objects in the Station. It’s a technology with enormous potential for space missions because it would make it necessary to send into space only the material for printing.
Today, if on the International Space Station a component or a work tool fails or breaks they must hope to have at least a spare one or wait for another one to be sent. In some cases they can add something to a cargo spacecraft to the last moment but there’s still the basic problem of the total dependence on supplies from Earth.
If in the future we want to establish colonies in space they must be able to produce on their own their work tools and the components needed to produce their machinery. On Earth, 3D printers are already beginning to change this type of production, now the experiments to do it in space as well can start.
In the test phase, they will produce more than 20 types of items that will be sent to Earth to be compared with other objects produced by a 3D printer of the same type on the ground using the same models. The comparison between the objects produced on the International Space Station and those produced on Earth will tell if the process works properly in microgravity.
If the tests are successful, a second-generation 3D printer will be sent on the International Space Station to begin the production of components and tools. This new 3D printer, again produced by Made In Space, Inc., will use different types of materials for printing.
The success of 3D printing technologies in space could really revolutionize the projects for future space missions. If they could use materials found on the Moon, Mars or asteroids that could allow factories and even space colonies to work by being as autonomous as possible from Earth.
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