The latest step in manufacturing in space

Microgravity may improve the manufacturing of precision parts.
Sign up for the Freethink Weekly newsletter!
A collection of our favorite stories straight to your inbox

The startup Made In Space will soon be, well, making in space, TechCrunch reports. The company is sending a 3D printer to the International Space Station (ISS) on a resupply launch scheduled for September 29 — a potential proof-of-concept for space manufacturing.

Heading to the ISS is a Turbine Ceramic Manufacturing Model, which 3D prints parts that require extremely detailed and precise work. Specifically, it makes what are called turbine blisks — an esoteric engine part used in the aerospace industry, per TechCrunch. 

The goal is to prove that turbine blisk manufacturing in space is feasible. The potential upside: gravity here on Earth can cause defects in their manufacturing, causing the material to settle in an in-opportune way. 

Being able to produce the turbine blisks in microgravity may lead to fewer errors, TechCrunch reports, as well as paving the way for the creation of other precision pieces up above.

3D Printing In Orbit

Manufacturing in space using 3D printers has been a focus for years. NASA sees it as a potential fix to issues that will arrive in long-term space flight, providing astronauts manufacturing capabilities for parts or tools that would be otherwise unavailable. Made In Space — they’re all over this … space — sent up a printer to begin testing just that in 2014.

Using that tool, NASA launched 3D Printing in Zero G investigation, which ended up producing dozens of parts that did not seem to suffer any adverse effects in microgravity. In 2019, Made In Space sent up a plastic recycler, with the intent of turning trash into 3D printing material.

More recent efforts have taken a turn to the biological, as a team of researchers managed to 3D print human tissue in space. Russian startup 3D Bioprinting solutions managed to print human cartilage aboard the ISS in 2018. 

Whether dealing with tissues or turbines, manufacturing in space looks to plug a void in the viability of long-term exploration or life beyond Earth: the capability to create necessities without relying on expensive and time-consuming launches.

Related
Life on Mars, together
Researchers spent two weeks at the Mars Desert Research Station conducting an analog mission for potential future trips to Mars.
NASA hopes private space companies can rescue its $11 billion Mars rock mission
If this ambitious NASA mission unraveled, scientists would lose their chance to learn much more about the red planet.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft was set to launch on May 6 — but was delayed again
Boeing’s Starliner launch – delayed again – will be an important milestone for commercial spaceflight if it can manage to launch.
Persistent “hiccups” in a far-off galaxy draw astronomers to new black hole behavior
Scientists have found a large black hole that “hiccups,” giving off plumes of gas, revealing another black hole.
3D-printed skin could heal wounds with less scarring
Penn State scientists have 3D-printed skin directly on top of open wounds — an achievement that could improve reconstructive surgery.
Up Next
Subscribe to Freethink for more great stories