Additive manufacturing

For every spacecraft that NASA and commercial space companies want to launch to low-Earth orbit and beyond, thousands of tiles must be manufactured to ensure these vehicles land more or less unscathed from the searing temperatures of plowing into the atmosphere. A Colorado company may have devised a way to make tiles more quickly and more cheaply. Keith Button learned about the upcoming laboratory tests that could be a turning point.

Flying a 3D printer on a satellite could lay the groundwork for the in-space manufacturing of large hardware that otherwise would not survive launch nor fit inside a rocket’s fairing. Adam Hadhazy walks through the mission and its motivations.