Humans have always been striving to explore space and have used a variety of technologies for this purpose, among which is 3D printing technology. Although only a few decades old, the use of 3D printing in space has become increasingly popular. 3D printing is used to create rockets, satellites, and other devices.
3D printing used to make rockets, satellites
3D printing can be used to manufacture parts with complex structures, which can lead to two advantages: 1) fully support topology optimization, and 2) can integrate multiple parts into a whole, and ultimately realize the lightweight of parts. In addition, 3D printing has a cost advantage when used to produce small quantities of parts. Therefore, in the aviation field, many organizations and companies are using 3D printing technology to produce parts for rockets and satellites.
For example, last year Airbus 3D printed radio frequency (RF) components for two Eurostar Neo satellites and the MIT nanosatellite.
Astrobotic's Griffin Mission One (GM1) team partnered with Agile Space Industries to 3D print thrusters for the Griffin lunar lander.
Spanish company Pangea has designed a 3D-printed rocket engine that is 15 percent more efficient than conventional engines.
NASA is also designing future rockets through the RAMPT (Rapid Analysis and Manufacturing Propulsion Technology) program. In addition, rocket companies SpaceX and Relativity Space are both using 3D printing technology to create parts for their rockets.
Space Station 3D Printing
With the current technology of human beings, the ability to send materials into space is still relatively limited, mainly in two aspects, one is the high cost, and the other is the limited load. As a result, researchers have begun to study the possibility of 3D printing various parts in the space station. For example, Incus and the European Space Agency (ESA) have partnered to test Incus's lithography-based metal fabrication process to see if it can be used to make parts on the moon base using scrap metal or existing surface materials. The International Space Station is also currently conducting experiments to determine if bioprinting technology can be used in the future.
Moon, Mars bases
In sci-fi movies, setting up bases on other planets is a very easy thing to do. But for humans nowadays, it is still very difficult to build bases on the Moon and Mars. Which is very difficult just to transport the construction materials to the moon or Mars. So the researchers thought of 3D printing again, based on 3D printing technology, to build bases on the moon or Mars with materials in place. There have been a number of such projects so far, starting with ICON's Project Olympus which aims to test and develop prototypes of a possible future full-size additive construction system that could print infrastructure on the moon.Redwire has a similar idea, as they have sent supplies from Redwire's weathered layer printing (RRP) research to the International Space Station to determine if it's possible to 3D print with lunar weathered layers, loose rock and soil to create on-demand habitats and moons on other planets. There's more, including AI SpaceFactory's Marsha Design, which is a winner of NASA Centennial Challenge's 3D Printed Habitat Challenge, Luyten, and ESA programs.
3D Printed Clothing
Another application of 3D printing in space is the creation of clothing needed for space missions. spaceX 3D printed space suits and helmets that can be easily replicated with desktop 3D printers. Each helmet has a visor, valves, locks, and microphone, and the suits meet the requirements for space travel. The FDM method used to print the helmets has been used to create this garment as it offers a wider range of advanced materials such as PEKK.
