3D printing in outer space: ISS National Laboratory talks about how to conduct AM in space

China3D printingNet October 3 news, extraterrestrial manufacturing has begun to provide some enlightenment for people on how to live on orbit. For many years, the development of on-site resource capabilities such as space manufacturing to maintain life and space mobility has been a major challenge for NASA space technology. Experts in industry, academia, and government are all trying to use disruptive technologies to create radical systems that may change critical space missions. However, current capabilities are still insufficient to withstand frequent or long-term space travel. However, all hope has not been lost. Additive manufacturing (AM) is expected to become the key to solving the constraints of space manufacturing.

Since the 1990s, the International Space Station (ISS) has been a microgravity and space environment research laboratory, where experts have accumulated key knowledge that will help future survivability, especially when the space agency plans to move to the moon and Mars next time The ten-year period of the launch mission. NASA and its international and commercial partners are in a good position to develop human space exploration plans, but before any plan takes place, they need to create manufacturing facilities and materials to accelerate space exploration.


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NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan (Andrew Morgan) is the biological manufacturing plant (BFF)3D bioprintingMachine provides services. (Picture provided by ISS National Laboratory)

In order to better understand the current trends, research and challenges of additive manufacturing and microgravity R&D, the manager of the National Laboratory of the International Space Station, the Center for Space Science Development (CASIS) held the 2020 Virtual Space Additive Manufacturing Seminar. The event was held in July 2020 and featured presentations and group discussions on materials and processes for microgravity; on-site resource utilization (ISRU) and space production.

Etop Esen, head of business innovation for strategy and business development of CASIS/ISS National Laboratory, explained that the laboratory is working with the company to use the microgravity environment on the ISS for groundbreaking science, technology, and innovation to cope with reality Challenge and try to fill the gaps and promote the development of AM for large-scale industrial manufacturing. Esen described that in space, “when gravity is no longer the main variable” and we don’t have “the normal process of sedimentation or other phenomena”, phase changes between matter become more important.

In terms of materials, Jennifer Edmunson of the Jacobs Space Exploration Team supported NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and pointed out that it is not yet clear on Earth and other planetary bodies. The extent of any material and rock discovered can be economically converted and used as3D printingraw material.And it is suggested that part of the solution may come from conducting AM studies on recycled waste on the International Space Station and then exposing it to the low earth orbit (LEO) environment outside the station for testing3D printingThe durability of the material.

Edmundson said ISRU is necessary to change the paradigm track replacement unit and repair parts inventory so that the next generation of operable habitats depends on repairable, replaceable or repairable systems. She also emphasized that the currently on-orbit spare weighs 12,170 kilograms, and only 450 kilograms of parts fail each year, so “there are many spare parts collection around” and “ISRU is the only economic method to achieve high efficiency. Sustainable human survival .If we have a sustainable habitat on the moon, we can take these materials away, chemically separate them into their constituent elements, and then recombine them to make cement for walls, or to make vitamins and vitamins for the crew. oxygen. There are many steps from acquiring resources to transitioning to printable materials. We must ask ourselves whether these processes even exist on Earth today, are they economically scalable, and how much of these processes are dependent on gravity. “

For other ISRUs on planetary bodies that plan to use heavy gravel-type materials (surface deposits covering hard rock), the material conversion processes used on Earth should be tested to determine whether they are suitable for gravity reduction operations, or whether they are needed New technologies and new materials, Edmundson explained. The ISS AM facility can be used to research different AM raw material “formulations” based on the combination of substances found in the lunar heavy stones.Some people suggest that glass and glass ceramics made of laurel be used for key research in this field, and NASA’s MSFC has already used3D printingThe paste (including Martian artificial stone) printed sub-scale structures.

The ISRU system concept is used for automatic robotic excavation and processing of Martian soil. (Picture provided by NASA)
On the commercial side, Amber Andreaco, chief engineer of materials behavior at GE Additive, said that for “large format” metal structures (such as rocket nozzles), the current limitation of powder bed melting (PBF) AM is that the part must be printed and then “sewn” “Or connect printed parts. Research opportunities explored for ISS include studying how the joining process affects the properties of finished materials, such as fatigue capacity under microgravity, and conducting LEO exposure studies on PBF material samples.The PBF system brings some challenges in terms of space, including the size of the machine and the post-processing heat treatment to achieve certain material properties. GE Additives is actively developing large-format additives suitable for a variety of space applications. Andreaco said: “From the perspective of adoption, it is a challenge for the industry to unite and reach a consensus on standards. Understanding the requirements of regulations and design is the first step towards certification.
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GE Additive 3D printingservice. (Picture provided by GE Additive)
Rob Hoyt, representatives of leading aerospace company Tethers Unlimited, and Justin Kugler of Made In Space discussed ISS facilities installed or planned for space manufacturing.These include Tethers Refabricator, which is a plastic recycling station and3D printingThe combination of machines is designed to demonstrate the closed-loop manufacturing and plastic recycling processes on the ISS.Which contains metal3D printingThe aircraft is used to manufacture precision parts in space on site; and the “Space Manufacturing Additive Manufacturing Facility”, which is the first AM commercial platform installed on the International Space Station.

Tethers CEO Hoyt described space manufacturing as a “cornerstone” that can be closely integrated with different markets in space to achieve functional economy. Tether has been focusing on how to dispose of space junk or debris and reprocess it to produce resources and raw materials for space manufacturing. One of the company’s design challenges was to make the system highly independent and automated to minimize the time required to operate the astronauts.

Tethers FabLab. (Picture provided by Tethers Unlimited)
In addition, according to China3D printingThe network understands that SpaceX’s next flight will transport the first ceramic manufacturing plant of “space manufacturing” to the International Space Station. Compared with similar products on the ground, it will use the three-dimensional lithography technology of ceramic resin to generate highly uniform ceramic parts with fewer defects. For Kugler, the combination of additives and rapid manufacturing processes (such as stereolithography and metal beam forming) will quickly generate high-quality parts and materials in space.“The combination of these processes is a toolkit that we will need when we enter the Moon and Mars,” Kugler, Vice President of Advanced Planning and Concepts of Space Manufacturing, revealed. Produce enough products within the time frame. I think that combining factors and usability for batch processing will bring scalability to the entire industry. “

Ceramic manufacturing modules made in space. (Picture provided by “Made in Space”)
China3D printingNet Comments: In group discussions, experts studied microgravity and how it enables new options, such as the use of soft materials (e.g. elastomers, foams and rubbers), low-viscosity inks and new polymer options (including longer The curing time of thermosetting plastics). Polymer systems, continuous fiber reinforced materials and semi-crystalline polymers). The precise measurement of thermophysical properties and wetting behavior achieved through microgravity research is critical to the additive manufacturing process in space and on Earth, and should be the focus of research on the International Space Station.

In addition, Kugler and Allison Beese, associate professors in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Pennsylvania State University, suggested that understanding the specific requirements, material properties, and design options of space applications is very important for products manufactured and used in space (especially for large, exposed products). . structure. The updated design tools will help to take advantage of the various non-uniform shapes and structures that space-based AM may utilize.

Innovative methods between NASA and other organizations and companies that are already in orbit with additive manufacturing or related activities may bring innovative and indispensable solutions for human space exploration, thereby laying the foundation for technology and materials to be able to Industrialization and scalable processing of space manufacturing.

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