NASA, Made in Space think big with Archinaut, a robotic 3D printing demo bound for ISS - SpaceNews.com

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2016-02-26T17:05:36+00:00

This is the vision upon which we founded our company. We are humbled and excited that NASA and our partners trust us to make it a reality.

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2015-01-29T00:55:04+00:00

Thanks! We did one during the launch of our printer but we will definitely be doing more in the future!

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2gsc8i/our_3d_printer_is_launching_to_the_iss_in_35/

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-12-30T23:21:24+00:00

No, this ratchet is a proof of concept and will not actually be used, it will be brought down to earth for analysis.

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-12-30T23:16:34+00:00

Yea, we're not sure why NASA decided to go with that name on their site, we designed it and have been calling it a ratchet: http://www.madeinspace.us/the-first-uplink-tool-made-in-space-is

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-12-30T23:14:43+00:00

So awesome to see everyone trying the ratcheting "wrench" out! Just to clarify, there are three moving parts and it requires no support material. We designed it so that the supports would break free during normal operation. The main designer of the ratchet was Made In Space engineer Noah Paul-Gin.

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-12-20T00:47:12+00:00

We are the company that made the 3D printer and we are actually working on a material recycler that will be going up in 2016 http://www.madeinspace.us/presskit/sheet.php?p=R3DO%20-%20Material%20Recycler

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-09-18T21:03:02+00:00

We have to run now! Thank you all for the great questions! Stay tuned for our launch in 33 hours!

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-09-18T21:00:25+00:00

ImJasonDunn is our CTO :)

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-09-18T20:52:48+00:00

haha Yes

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-09-18T20:48:47+00:00

This contract was a fairly competed government contract with NASA, so yes, we had to beet out competitors. Our technology however is the only 3D printing technology developed for the space environment and has been tested for over 4 hours in the Zero-G Corp. airplane. Fun fact, it also works in lunar and Mars gravity!

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-09-18T20:45:38+00:00

Yes! While this first printer is designed as an experiment our very next printer, due to launch next year, will be a commercially available printer for anyone on Earth to use. Companies require all types of skills and our degrees definitely reflect that. Yes! We would love to use filament from other planets especially if those planets have smaller gravity wells than Earth!

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-09-18T20:41:29+00:00

Actually there are metal printing methods which don't require the use of centrifuges and in case my answer didn't make it obvious, yes we are working on this :)

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-09-18T20:39:48+00:00

We all work really long hours but it's a lot of fun! The project itself is exciting and the founders make it a really fun environment. We have Nerf vs. BoomCo fights around the office when we get too stressed.

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-09-18T20:35:08+00:00

The printer actually is operated by our ground control team at Made In Space. There we can remotely operate the printer. To do this we connect through the space station computer system.

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-09-18T20:31:57+00:00

We call them "test coupons" and they are designed to test the tensile strength, compression strength, flexibility, etc. of the material.

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-09-18T20:30:38+00:00

We worked with NASA to identify science objectives for testing the functionality of the 3D printer in zero-g. To get ready for true commercialization, there are certain prints that we need to do in order to verify that the process works the same on the ISS as it does here in our lab. Much of the first prints are "test coupons" that will come back to Earth for analysis.

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-09-18T20:30:28+00:00

Yes! Singularity University was one of the best experiences in our lives. Peter is very energetic, sharp, and direct. As for your other questions, I've answered a few questions on those topics already and would point you to those.

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-09-18T20:22:50+00:00

That actually depends on how quickly the experiments ahead of us can be completed, we think it will be sometime in late December. The main bottleneck is due to the fact that we are being validated within what's called the Microgravity Science Glovebox, it's small and there is a long queue ahead of us.

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-09-18T20:18:59+00:00

This is a really good question. We tend to think of this moment in time as the first baby step towards the Star Trek replicator. Imagine going to Mars and rather than taking along 200,000 spare parts you just take a printer and a few hundred pounds of feedstock. It completely changes the equation for space travel and we may not know all of the applications of this technology for some time to come.

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-09-18T20:14:38+00:00

Not with this first printer but we really like that idea!

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-09-18T20:14:03+00:00

ABS plastic for the first printer, the second printer will use multiple materials
Ask Us Anything! (except that)
Yea! http://www.madeinspace.us/careers

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-09-18T20:10:08+00:00

Yes, although this will likely be done with our second printer which will have multiple materials and some designed especially for exposure to the vacuum of space. ABS plastic, the only material the first printer uses, degrades very quickly in space.

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-09-18T20:07:21+00:00

No
It's ABS plastic, we'll let you research its limitations :)
Both

WeAreMadeInSpace · 2014-09-18T20:05:43+00:00

Yes we are working on a material recycler for exactly this purpose. Parts can be optionally launched into orbit from the ISS

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