3D printer first printed product in space

On September 22, the Zero G 3D printer, designed by Made In Space in collaboration with NASA specifically for zero gravity, was delivered to the ISS . After a series of calibration tests (only two calibration parts needed to be printed), astronaut Barry Wilmore (Barry Wilmore) successfully printed the front panel for the printer itself: Aaron Kemmer, the CEO of the company that created the printer, put it this way: be a little better. ”

If 3D printing on Earth is already a fairly mundane phenomenon, then the same cannot be said about space so far. The most “habitable” place outside the planet is the International Space Station (ISS), and the scenario in which the cosmonaut breaks something, instead of waiting for the required part from Earth, searches for a CAD file on a laptop and prints it, looks like really quite attractive.


Zero G Printer
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It is difficult to call a printed panel difficult - it is just a plate measuring 7.6 by 3.8 centimeters and 6 millimeters thick, and since there were no microgravity conditions before printing, it would soon return to Earth after the “field tests” to be studied by Made in Space engineers. In total, many details will be printed, including those obtained as a result of the Future Engineers project, where everyone could send their CAD file for printing in space.

Kemmer says that Zero-G is only the beginning of future innovations for 3D printing in space. Among the planned improvements is the creation of a plastic reuse mechanism for parts that have been damaged, which should have a positive impact on the autonomy of space flight without the need to have a reserve for printing.

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