In 2014, NASA (
www.nasa.gov) made important progress toward the in-mission manufacturing necessary for deep space exploration by ‘printing’ tools in space using a 3-D printer on the International Space Station.
In 2018, the space agency will take the next step towards a sustainable in-space manufacturing capability when it launches a machine that can not only print plastic parts, but also recycle them back into reusable raw materials to make more and/or different parts.
The machine, called the ‘Refabricator’, will accept plastic materials of various sizes and shapes, and turn them into the feedstock used to 3-D print items.
Niki Werkheiser, manager of in-space manufacturing at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Centre in Huntsville, Alabama (where the device will be tested before launching to the space station) said: “When we begin launching humans to destinations beyond low-Earth orbit, it simply won’t be feasible to send along replacement parts or tools for everything on the spacecraft, and re-supplying from Earth is cost- and time-prohibitive.
"The Refabricator will be key in demonstrating a sustainable logistics model to fabricate, recycle and re-use parts and waste materials.”
To build the recycling system, in April 2015 NASA awarded a Small Business Innovation Research contract valued at approximately $750,000 to Seattle-based Tethers Unlimited Inc.
The Refabricator will complete final flight certification testing at the Marshall Centre later this year and is scheduled for launch in April 2018. Almost all operations will be remotely commanded and controlled, saving astronaut time and provide greater autonomy for future spaceflight missions.
Refabricator will be the first integrated recycler-manufacturer in orbit and may eventually be able to recycle and print — using metal as well as plastic — with very little monitoring by station crew members.
By 2020, NASA wants to create a fabrication laboratory, known as FabLab, to test an integrated multi-material
on-demand system.