3D Printing

Airbus 3D Printed Components to Launch on Next UK Satellite

After spending two years in R&D on the project, UK defense manufacturer Airbus Defence and Space is 3D printing space-qualified satellite components for the UK Space Agency and Innovate UK’s National Space Technology Programme. As a part of a program to explore the production of parts that cannot be made with traditional manufacturing technologies, Airbus has produced a structural bracket for Eurostar E3000 telecommunications satellites, 3D printed with an aluminum alloy.
the design of airbus 3D printed satellite bracket
The bracket, meant for mounting the telemetry and telecommand (TMTC) antennas onto the E3000, significantly improves upon previous designs made with traditional methods.  With 3D printing, the team was able to transform a bracket made up of four main parts and 44 rivets into a single, laser-melted piece that is 40% stiffer and 35% lighter than its predecessor.  The bracket has already been qualified for spaceflight and will be launched with the next E300 satellite.
airbus 3D printed satellite bracketSenior Spacecraft Structures Engineer on the project, Amy Glover, said of the endeavor, “Producing the first flight qualified ALM component is a major milestone and the result of two years of great teamwork funded by Innovate UK in partnership with our suppliers. Through developing and proving the design and manufacturing process, which significantly reduces the testing required, we can now look at what other opportunities there are for ALM components that will be lighter and quicker to manufacture.”
The bracket was 3D printed by Newbury-based 3T RPD Ltd and is only one of many future 3D printing projects being pursued by Airbus.  Along with the bracket, the company is considering the construction of waveguides, heat pipes, propulsion parts, and secondary structures with the technology.  This news comes just after Aerojet Rocketdyne announced yet another successful test-firing of a 3D printed rocket engine part.  It seems that, not only is the 3D printing race heating up around the world, but it is doing so specifically in the aerospace and defense industries, with a good deal of government funding in multiple countries geared towards industrial 3D printing in that manufacturing sector.