You may hear about some of the more game changing developments occurring at NASA with regards to 3D printing, such as the SpiderFab project, the 3D-printed pizza, or the NIAC project for molecular bioprinting. But, while those applications may grab the most headlines, the space agency has been working with the technology on a regular basis to solve more ordinary – but still extraordinary – astronautic problems. The Internal Research and Development program at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland has spent the past two years applying 3D printing technology to a series of NASA projects.
Chief Technologist at Goddard, Peter Hughes, explained that NASA is not looking to reinvent the wheel or pursue applications that industry already can do with 3D printing for manufacturing. Rather, they are interested in finding out how this technology can enhance NASA’s ability to create one-of-a-kind instruments and components geared exclusively to studying and operating in space; in other words, improve what it already does well.
Among the different instruments and components in development is Jeffrey Didion’s electrohydrodynamic-based thermal control device, now being used aboard the International Space Station…and another technologist at Goddard, Jason Budinoff, is working to use metal sintering to print fully integrated telescopes as a proof-of-concept. By 3D printing the entire device as a single object, Budinoff believes that he can reduce the number of parts in the telescopes, thus reducing mass and cost.
Assistant Chief for technology for Goddard’s Mechanical Systems Division, Ted Swanson, also said that part of the mission is to get the word out about this technology and that we are just at the start.
So, at 3DPI.TV, we suspect there is lots more to come from NASA…
