Posted on

UK company aims to turn lunar soil into oxygen

Artist’s depiction of a future lunar base 3D printed from local materials. Credits: ESA/Foster + Partners

A British company called Metalysis as been funded by ESA to study their industrial-scale production of metals and alloys for application in a lunar environment. Metalysis has already demonstrated that they can extract 96% of the total oxygen content from ilmenite, a black iron-titanium oxide with a chemical composition of FeTiO3 found by Apollo astronauts to be abundant in lunar regolith. The process leaves a metallic powder alloy that can be used for in-situ 3D printing on the Moon.

In a press release last month, Metalysis states that “The project will provide an assessment to prepare and de-risk technology developments, focused towards oxygen production for propellants and life support consumables. The ability to extract oxygen on the moon is vital for future exploration and habitation, being essential for sustainable long duration activities in space. In-Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) will significantly reduce the payload mass that
would be needed to be launched from Earth.”

Posted on

Redwire manufactures the first 3D printed ceramic in space

Image of Ceramics Manufacturing Module (CMM), a commercial manufacturing facility that produces ceramic parts in microgravity for terrestrial use. Credits: Redwire/Made in Space

Made in Space, a recent acquisition of Redwire, has just for the first time successfully manufactured a ceramic part in their Ceramics Manufacturing Module on the ISS using additive manufacturing. The demonstration could stimulate demand in low Earth orbit from terrestrial markets which will be a key driver for space industrialization. Redwire claims that the parts, which included a turbine blisk (bladed disk) and other test pieces, demonstrate that the CMM can produce ceramic parts that exceed the quality of turbine components made on Earth.

According to Redwire’s press release: “CMM aims to demonstrate that ceramic manufacturing in microgravity could enable temperature-resistant, reinforced ceramic parts with better performance, including higher strength and lower residual stress. For high-performance applications such as turbines, nuclear plants, or internal combustion engines, even small strength improvements can yield years-to-decades of superior service life.”

Image of CCM 3D printed part fabricated in LEO. Credits: Redwire
Posted on

Rapid bootstrapping for faster ignition of off-Earth industry development

Artist’s concept of an O’Neill space colony. Credits: Blue Origin

In a thread on Twitter Philip Metzger, a planetary physicist at the University of Central Florida, updates his bootstrapping vision from a few years back in which he and colleagues at NASA published a paper on how robotics, 3D printing and in situ resource utilization could be leveraged to accelerate a solar system civilization. In a series of 9 Tweets, Metzger makes the case for his “Rapid Bootstrapping Scenario” as the preferred course out of three possible alternatives to get us there faster.

Many space enthusiasts, including Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos, advocate for what Metzger calls a solar system “Civilization Fully Revolutionized”. This is a future where most industrial manufacturing is done sustainably in space and Earth is preserved as a beautiful natural environment.

If we continue on the current path, down what Metzger calls “The Slow Growth Scenario”, space agencies like NASA will continue paving the technological highway for private entities to slowly develop their profitable enterprises. But because space exploration and development is difficult, a different approach is needed to prime the pump. Metzger suggests the preferred course of action is intentional pre-economic bootstrapping in which “…visionary individuals with means, citizen-led movements, or governments that see the long-term benefit of getting beyond our planetary limit…create a coalition of likeminded citizen movements and enlightened governments committed to a good future so we reach the ‘ignition’ point first by being fast”.

Source: Philip Metzger/UCF. @DrPhiltill. www.philipmetzger.com
Posted on

Redwire adds Made in Space to its nascent portfolio

3-stage illustration of a Made in Space Archinaut platform assembling a satellite platform much larger than itself. Image credit: Made in Space

Made in Space, who’s mission is to develop state-of-the-art space manufacturing technology to support exploration, national security, and sustainable space settlement, has been acquired by Redwire, a company just formed earlier this month by AE Industrial Partners (AEI) through the acquisition of Deep Space Systems and Adcole Space. Redwire aims to be a leader in mission critical space solutions and high reliability components for the next generation space architecture. With the acquisition of Made in Space and its Archinaut platform designed to manufacture large structures in space, AEI is well positioned for solving the complex challenges of future space missions needed for space settlement.

Posted on

Print your own Dynetics Human Landing System model at home

Dynetics, one of three companies awarded a contract by NASA to develop a Human Landing System (HLS) for the Artemis Program, has just come out with a 3D printing file accompanied by a booklet of step-by-step instructions for hobbyists to make their own scale model of the company’s HLS. This is great way to inspire young people to get into STEM fields and hopefully get involved in space exploration and settlement.

Image of Dynetics’ 3D Printing Instructions and completed HLS Model. Image Credits: Dynetics
Posted on

Relativity Space to 3D print entire rocket

The California company is opening an autonomous factory in Long Beach which will use additive manufacturing to print both its Aeon engine and Terran 1 rocket. The unprecedented agile manufacturing process will slash production costs by reducing parts count and increasing throughput enabling a competitive advantage in this class of launchers (1250 Kg to LEO).

Relativity Space Autonomous Factory. Image courtesy of Relativity Space via SpaceWatch.Global
Posted on

What’s missing from space exploration?

“Manufacturing” says Made in Space CEO Andrew Rush as quoted in the Jacksonville Daily Record. “You need a reason to go. Every frontier we’ve ever opened as a people was because there was an economic reason for us to go and live and work in that place … That’s what we think is the missing piece in space exploration, . . . that economically-focused motivator to go and innovate and do new things.”