NASA is about to send a 3D printer into space for the first time

[Buster's Uncle]

NASA is about to send a 3D printer into space for the first time
On-demand manufacturing could revolutionize space exploration
The Verge
By Josh Dzieza on September 19, 2014 12:51 pm






Tomorrow, weather permitting, NASA will launch a 3D printer into space for the first time. Carried aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule, the printer will be installed in the International Space Station, where astronauts will test the technology that NASA hopes will one day transform space exploration, eventually playing a vital role in travel to the moon, asteroids, and Mars.

For consumers, the hype surrounding 3D printing has generally far overshot clear uses for it, but space exploration is one case where the technology could actually be revolutionary. "Right now if something breaks, we’re completely dependent on launching a replacement from the ground," says Niki Werkheiser, the project manager for the printer experiment, a process that can take months and cost thousands of dollars per pound sent into orbit. "Imagine launching everything you might ever need for mission to Mars or an asteroid, it would be challenging or impossible."


"We’re taking our first step from launching hardware to space to emailing our hardware to space."


With a printer, astronauts could manufacture replacement parts and tools on demand. The ability to do so also means they would have to bring far fewer replacements with them to begin with, lightening the load and freeing up valuable space. "We’re taking our first step from launching hardware to space to emailing our hardware to space," Werkheiser says. "It sounds pretty science fiction but it’s soon to be science fact."

But space also poses unique challenges for 3D printing, the most obvious being the lack of gravity to make extruded molten plastic drop onto the print bed. Heat also works differently in microgravity. There is hardly any convection — heat transfer through the movement of liquids and gasses — so new ways of managing temperature have to be developed. A space printer can’t emit fumes the way many off-the-shelf ones do, lest it contaminate the enclosed habitat of the space station.

NASA’s printer was designed by Made In Space, a company founded in 2010 and based in Mountain View, California. It’s small, about the size of a microwave, and prints a Lego-like plastic. To get around the lack of gravity, they modified the printer so that the surface tension of molten plastic keeps each layer sticking together. The whole printer had to be built sturdier than off-the-shelf models so that it would survive launch, and constructed in such a way that components wouldn’t float around. "Everything on Earth is built with gravity assumed," says Grant Lowery, Made in Space’s communications director.

Werkheiser is confident the new printer will work, though NASA hasn’t been able to test a full print in microgravity yet. The Made in Space team has taken over 400 flights in the parabolic microgravity simulator — also known as the "vomit comet," a jet that flies in a curved pattern to briefly relieve its passengers of gravity — but it gives them only 30 seconds of weightlessness, not the 15 minutes they would need to complete a print.

On the space station, the printer will first make small plastic patches, called "coupons", to test things like tensile strength, flexion, and compression. After that, it will proceed to small tools, including the winner of a student design competition. The printer is entirely automated: designs are uploaded from Earth, printed out, and monitored via a live stream, with astronauts needed only for removing the finished object.

This printer is a tech demonstration for larger one due to be flown up sometime in the next year or two. That one will be able to print larger objects out of harder plastics. It will also be available for commercial use. "Essentially anyone on Earth is going to be able to contract with us for manufacturing ability in space," says Lowery. Researchers could print lab tools, Lowery says, and microsatellite companies like Tyvak and Planet Labs could print components and assemble their satellites aboard the station.

The next step is a recycler, which both Made in Space and Tethers Unlimited are working on, as part of a NASA grant. Due to launch sometime in 2016, a recycler would allow astronauts to print a tool, use it, and melt it back into feedstock to be used again.

In the more distant future, NASA envisions sending 3D-printing robots to the moon or Mars and having them build structures out of materials on-site. Made in Space has conducted a test using synthetic regolith, the powdery dirt found on the moon. "At the end of the day we hope to use in-situ sources," says Werkheiser. "We consider this printer the first step on that path to sustainable production of what you need when you need it with resources on hand."

In the meantime, printers will likely be solving more mundane problems. "If something like the Apollo 13 filter breakdown happens again," Lowery says, "Instead of MacGyver-ing a solution with duct tape and sweat-socks, we can have an engineer on the ground design something and print it out."


http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/19/6538231/nasa-is-about-to-send-the-first-3d-printer-into-space

[Buster's Uncle]

Astronauts getting 3-D printer for space station
Space station shipment contains 3-D printer; SpaceX aiming for predawn launch Saturday
Associated Press
By Marcia Dunn, AP Aerospace Writer  7 minutes ago



Brad Kohlenberg, a business development engineer with Made In Space, looks over a 3-D printer identical to the one that will be transported to the International Space Station aboard the Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, Sept. 19, 2014. NASA is sending a 3-D printer to the International Space Station in hopes that astronauts will be able to one day fix their spacecraft by cranking out spare parts on the spot. (AP Photo/John Raoux)



CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- The 3-D printing boom is about to invade space.

NASA is sending a 3-D printer to the International Space Station in hopes that astronauts will be able to one day fix their spacecraft by cranking out spare parts on the spot.

The printer is among more than 5,000 pounds of space station cargo that's stuffed into a SpaceX Dragon capsule for a pre-dawn liftoff Saturday from Cape Canaveral.

SpaceX is making the supply run for NASA, the same California company that just won a huge contract to deliver U.S. astronauts to the space station.

Its Falcon 9 rocket with an unmanned Dragon is scheduled to blast off at 2:14 a.m. Forecasters say there's a 50-50 chance that rainy weather may delay the flight.


http://finance.yahoo.com/news/astronauts-getting-3-d-printer-space-station-203316000--finance.html

[Buster's Uncle]

A 3D printer will make its way to the International Space Station tonight
Gigaom
By Signe Brewster  2 hours ago



There is some strange cargo aboard the SpaceX rocket scheduled to launch early Saturday morning. Tiny satellites built to test equipment that could someday mine asteroids, 20 mice and edible plants, among 252 other science experiments, will all make their way to the International Space Station.

And for the first time ever, there is also a 3D printer on board. Built by Mountain View startup Made in Space, the machine could someday replace the spare parts the ISS must keep on board. If the space station runs out of a certain part or if one breaks, Made in Space’s team can design a replacement and then just hit print, prompting the printer to spit out exactly what the astronauts on board need.

“There has always been one way of getting things into space, and that’s been rockets,” Made in Space CTO Jason Dunn said in an interview. “If everything works, we’ve validated a new way to get hardware into space.”

Made in Space CTO Jason Dunn and CEO Aaron Kemmer show off a 3D printed CubeSat, plus other parts that could be made aboard the ISS. Photo by Signe Brewster.

This first version of the printer is actually a test: Made in Space has never actually used it in a true low-gravity environment. Instead, it tested the printer on a plane performing parabolic arcs, which provide brief periods of weightlessness. If a major emergency happened on the space station and 3D printing an object was the best possible solution, it’s possible the printer would be used, but it’s likely that it will only be used for printing test items.

Made in Space will have to wait a month or two once the printer reaches the space station, as other science experiments have priority. The mice, for example, likely won’t have long to live. But once the startup’s turn comes, it will print a first batch of 22 test parts. A second batch will follow, though exactly what and how many items will be printed hasn’t yet been decided.

A movable handle and gears with a Made in Space 3D printer. Signe Brewster

“We have really high expectations for it printing,” Dunn said. “We’ve done all the zero gravity research we could on the airplane. (But) there’s always the things we can’t test that you can only do once you’re up there.”

The printer’s performance will teach Made and Space what it needs to know to build a second version, which will travel to the ISS in 2015 and be installed permanently. NASA and private businesses will be able to contract with Made in Space to have parts printed–from scientific equipment to tiny satellites that can be launched directly form the ISS.

“We’ve been building a Silicon Valley startup, but it’s a space company. It’s always been hard for us to prove to people what we’re doing,” Dunn said. “This is one of those points where we hit a big milestone and show the lean startup method works in the space industry.”


http://news.yahoo.com/3d-printer-way-international-space-213327413.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Made in space: 3D printer heading into orbit
CBS News/September 19, 2014, 4:49 PM



3D printing is going out of this world, literally. Early Saturday morning, a SpaceX Dragon cargo ship will carry the first operating 3D printer to the International Space Station, allowing astronauts to print essential tools for their missions.

"This is the first time that our species, humanity, has built tools off planet Earth," said Aaron Kemmer, CEO of Made in Space, the company behind the innovative technology.

While 3D printing technology has emerged in recent years to build tools for a range of industries including the medical field, the Zero-G Printer is the first of its kind for manufacturing in space.

The four-year-old company's core challenge was creating a printer that is able to withstand the shaky movement during a launch. Made in Space developed additive manufacturing technology to use in a zero gravity environment, and developers performed over 30,000 hours of testing to prepare for the space station debut.

The Zero-G Printer mission, contracted as the "3D Printing in Zero-G Experiment," will be used as a testing ground to study the technology further and streamline advanced manufacturing on demand.

"Space has a supply chain problem," Kemmer told CNET.com's Sumi Das. "It's very difficult to get things from Point A to Point B. With a 3D printer, or 3D printing technology, you can just get around that entire paradigm, and essentially email your hardware to space."

While the printer can only create small tools, developers say that larger items can be assembled from combining a number of printed pieces.

Made in Space developers say that they hope to take 3D printing in space to the next level. In the future, they intend to use 3D printers to create objects using materials found in space, specifically the surface of the moon.

© 2014 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/made-in-space-3d-printer-heading-into-orbit/?ftag=YHF4eb9d17

[Buster's Uncle]

Zero-G 3D Printer Set for Launch: What Will Be Made In Space First?
SPACE.com
By Robert Z. Pearlman, collectSPACE.com  7 hours ago



Sample printed parts from the Made In Space 3D printer, like the type that could be created on the space station.



The first-ever item to be 3D-printed in space is being kept a well-guarded secret.

The first 3D printer designed to operate in zero gravity is set to launch to the International Space Station early on Saturday morning (Sept. 20) on board a NASA-contracted SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft. Once installed on the orbiting laboratory, the device will be put through a series of tests to learn if additive manufacturing — better known as 3D printing — is viable in space.

"Being able to make what you need on orbit when you need it is a real game changer," Niki Werkheiser, NASA's manager for 3D Printing in Zero-G, a joint project with the company Made In Space, Inc. said. "The first printer we're flying is a technology demonstration, and it's that because the station is the only platform in the universe where we can print an entire part in microgravity."


But what part to print first?

"We wanted to print something that was significant, but also not just a toy," Mike Snyder, the lead engineer and research and development director for Made In Space told collectSPACE.com. "It has got to be something functional."

With it set to "begin the era of off-world manufacturing," as Made In Space writes on its website, that first printed part — whatever it is — could someday be considered historic.

"There's historical significance here and hopefully one day the fruits of our labor can be shown [in a museum]," said Snyder.


Test coupons, tools and containers

"The first print right now is the only one that is incredibly secret in terms of telling anybody," Snyder explained.

The printer, which is about the size of a small microwave, can create items that measure up to 2 by 4 by 2 inches (5 by 10 by 5 centimeters). The printed parts are made out of ABS plastic, the same material used to make LEGO toy bricks.



A "machine shop for space," the Made In Space 3D printer will mark the first time that a multi-purpose manufacturing device will be utilized off-world to create parts and tools.


"You could probably print a few hundred standard four by two LEGO bricks," Snyder said, describing how much of the plastic used to print will be onboard the space station.

At first, the goal is simple: see if the 3D printing process works in space and if the material changes as a result of being shaped and set in microgravity.

Made In Space performed numerous tests of the printer on parabolic plane flights, but were limited to the 20 to 30 seconds of weightlessness that each parabola offers. The space station offers the time needed, as much as 15 to 20 minutes, for complete parts to be printed.

"The printer will be producing a bunch of coupons, some functional in nature and some test in nature," Snyder told collectSPACE. "We are going to be getting a good idea of what characteristics this plastic has in microgravity and then compare that to ground samples. So, a good portion of the things we are producing will be to meet that goal of that mission.

After that however, the possibilities open to printing items that could be of real use to the space station's crew.

"The first set of parts are predefined," Snyder said about the parts core to the mission. "And then the other things are going to be functional, such as small tools, containers, things of that nature, just to show that you could actually use this stuff for a purpose up there."

"We have prints lined up that are things we want to print and things NASA wants to print — especially the [crew] tools folks who have gotten in on the action, suggesting what they want to print," he added. "If the astronauts call down and identify something they want to print, we'll try to facilitate that as best as possible."


Significant first step

The printer has been designed to be operated mostly from the ground. The astronauts only real tasks are to remove finished prints and reset the printer for the next item.

"We will be able to uplink the files from the ground directly to the printer," Werkheiser described. "Made In Space has a laptop that they can use to command from their offices in California, as well as we can command from the control center in Huntsville, Alabama, directly to the printer. So you can imagine how cool it'll be when we're able to uplink or e-mail a part to space instead of launching it."

Even cooler, said Werkheiser, may be designing tools that gravity prohibits from being made on Earth, or surviving the trip to space.

"Now, when you design a part to printed in microgravity, you do not have to worry about things like launch loads anymore," she said. "I think it is really going to open up that design space and the possibilities, and I think when we get the first call for that part that none of us really even thought of, out of all the brainstorming that we have done, I think that will be a very exciting day."

Those unknown ideas may be what ultimately lead to the future of space exploration.

"Personally, I think this is a significant first step towards our future in space, when eventually we are going to need to build almost everything up there if we want to further explore and colonize," Snyder stated. "Just knowing that this is the first time that someone has made something functional in space... it's really just a significant first step."

You can watch the 3D printer's launch aboard Dragon Saturday in live webcasts beginning at 1 a.m. EDT (0500 GMT). Liftoff is set for 2:14 a.m. EDT (0614 GMT).


http://news.yahoo.com/zero-g-3d-printer-set-launch-made-space-191150941.html

[Buster's Uncle]

SpaceX Is Bringing Mice, X-Rays and 3-D Printers into Space
The Atlantic Wire
By Polly Mosendz  4 hours ago



SpaceX is having a very exciting week. First, Elon Musk's company was selected along with Boeing to create news spacecraft for the upgraded NASA Commercial Crew Program. Saturday is another thrilling day: SpaceX CRS-4 mission will launch. The spacecraft will be headed to the International Space Station with some very curious and precious cargo. 

On the craft will be 5,000 pounds of supplies, including twenty mousetronauts, a SpinSat satellite, an x-ray machine (for the mice) and a 3-D printer. Animals regularly travel to space, though sometimes tragically, as with Russia's sex space geckos, so while we are happy the furry guys are headed to orbit, they aren't the stand out passenger on the CRS-4 mission. The 3-D printer, however, that is a quite the ground, er, space breaker.



3-D Printer, Made In Space


The 3-D printer is made by Made In Space, and is specifically engineered for space. The Verge notes that the "whole printer had to be built sturdier than off-the-shelf models so that it would survive launch, and constructed in such a way that components wouldn’t float around."

The current version of the printer can only print basic items but the company has high hopes for zero gravity 3-D printing. With this model, the astronauts will test printed items in hopes that if the small things work, they can then move on to printing tools and replacement parts, eliminating the need to have them delivered from the ground.

Aaron Kemmer, CEO of Made In Space, told CNet, "We've been building tools for thousands of years. This is the first time that it's not happening down here, but up there [in space]. That's paradigm shifting. We can actually leave planet Earth if we can start doing this more and more, if we start living off the land, building there, getting independent from planet Earth, rather than being completely dependent." Kemmer has extremely high hopes for the printer and is even considering using regolith (the material on the surface of the moon) as a filament for the printer.

This article was originally published at http://www.thewire.com/technology/2014/09/spacex-is-bringing-mice-x-rays-and-3-d-printers-into-space/380518/

[Buster's Uncle]

This 3D Printer Is Specifically Made To Work In Zero-Gravity In Space
Business Insider
By Ajai Raj  7 hours ago



The Made In Space Zero-Gravity 3D Printer will help us understand how manufacturing will work in space.



Off-world manufacturing is about to begin.

On Saturday, the first 3D printer designed to work in zero gravity will be launched into space, aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule, for use on the International Space Station.

Designed and created by California-based startup Made In Space, Inc., the Zero-G 3D Printer has been in development since 2010. In July through September of 2011, the printer was subjected to three zero-gravity test flights in the infamous vomit comet to prove that it could operate in a microgravity environment like that of the space station.



The Zero-G 3D Printer undergoing microgravity tests aboard a modified Boeing 727


In its new home aboard the International Space Station, this first iteration of the printer will enable scientists to study the long-term effects of zero gravity on the additive manufacturing process, as well as to print tools and parts.

Unlike some of the fancier Earth-bound printers, the Zero-G 3D Printer will use good old-fashioned ABS plastic, the same material used by most standard consumer models.



Made In Space


http://news.yahoo.com/3d-printer-speficially-made-zero-192231288.html