The in-space robotic manufacturing and assembly technologies could be important for America’s moon to Mars exploration approach. The contract is the start of the second phase of a partnership established through NASA’s Tipping Point solicitation.
The public-private partnership combines NASA resources with an industry contribution of at least 25 per cent of the program costs, shepherding the development of critical space technologies while also saving the agency, and American taxpayers, money.
Archinaut One is expected to launch on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from New Zealand no earlier than 2022. Once it is positioned in low-Earth orbit, the spacecraft will 3D-print two beams that extend 10 metres out from each side of the spacecraft. As manufacturing progresses, each beam will unfurl two solar arrays that generate as much as five times more power than traditional solar panels on spacecraft of similar size.
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Jim Reuter, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, said, "In-space robotic manufacturing and assembly are unquestionable game-changers and fundamental capabilities for future space exploration."
The potential of these technologies is profound and includes such benefits as:
- Enabling remote, in-space construction of communications antennas, large-scale space telescopes and other complex structures;
- Enabling small satellites to deploy large surface area power systems and reflectors that currently are reserved for larger satellites;
- Eliminating spacecraft volume limits imposed by rockets; and
- Avoiding the inherent risk of spacewalks by performing some tasks currently completed by astronauts.
Made In Space began working on Archinaut as a ground demonstration in 2016 and, just a year later, successfully 3D-printed structural beams in a unique NASA facility that mimics the conditions of space.
In a thermal vacuum chamber at the agency’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, it was able to prove that the printing equipment and printed hardware can withstand the pressure, temperature and other rigours of space.
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"By taking the lead in the development of this transformative technology, the United States will maintain its leadership in space exploration as we push forward with astronauts to the moon and then on to Mars," Reuter said.
The Archinaut team includes Made In Space; Northrop Grumman of Falls Church, Virginia; NASA Ames; and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions program within the Space Technology Mission Directorate matures groundbreaking technologies to extend mission capabilities as well as government and commercial opportunities in space. The program is based at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
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