In the future, the International Space Station will only need metal powder instead of finished spare parts – for the first time, the additive manufacturing of a component in space has been successful.
Instead of flying metal spare parts into space on spacecraft to operate the International Space Station (ISS), it will now be sufficient to transport metal powder. The astronauts on board the station use this to produce the required components using a 3D printer specially developed for this purpose. This saves time above all, especially since the vehicles that can dock with the station are prone to failure, meaning that flight dates cannot be predicted very well.
Earthly quality control
The printer landed on the space station earlier this year. ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen installed it in the European Drawer Rack Mark II of the Columbus module. The device has now produced the first components, which will be brought back to Earth for quality control before practical applications of these printer products are used on board the ISS. Two of the samples will go to ESA’s technical centre in the Netherlands, another to ESA’s astronaut training centre in Cologne and the last to the Danish Technical University in Lyngby.
The printer was developed by Airbus and its partners, with the British Cranfield University playing the most important role. Its researchers were involved in the development of the melting device, the printer hardware, the laser source, the feed optics, the storage of the raw material and the feed system. Terrestrial 3D printers do not work in zero gravity. The metal powder that flows out of the nozzle would spread throughout the space station. It must be guided in such a way that it only reaches its target. The designers also had to ensure that the laser beam, which briefly liquefies the powder, does not blow it away with mechanical forces.
First step towards all-production
“With the printing of the first 3D parts in space, we have reached an important milestone in creating manufacturing capabilities in space. This paves the way for long-distance and long-duration missions where the production of spare parts, structural components and tools on demand will be essential,” says Daniel Neuenschwander, Director of Manned and Robotic Exploration at ESA.
As exploration missions expand to the Moon and Mars, mission durations will increase, and the importance of autonomy for the mission and its crew will also increase, as resupply becomes more difficult and expensive. Additive manufacturing in space is a solution to this problem. It allows the required parts to be produced, equipment repaired, or special tools to be constructed during the mission, instead of relying on supplies and redundancies.
Source: www.com-magazin.de
