As all sci-fi seems to forecast, human space travel is only just beginning. With a number of commercial spacecraft companies attempting to kick off the space race and NASA’s Orion spacecraft, possibly destined for Mars in seven years or so, launching its big test flight tomorrow, its possible that true human space exploration will really hit the ground running. One company, Deep Space Industries, is thinking long and hard about what such a future will look like and, today, has announced a partnership with Solid Prototype Inc. to develop spacecraft with less mass.
Deep Space Industries, as you’ll learn from this 3DPI interview with CEO Daniel Faber, has the high-concept goal of mining asteroids and, then, using those materials for 3D printing in space. With the Rosetta spacecraft being the first and only craft to touchdown on a comet (losing battery power shortly thereafter), those space mining missions may still be a long way off. As DSI develops towards those goals, with two NASA contracts pushing them forward, the company has partnered with Solid Prototype to aid in the design of its CubeSat prototypes.
DSI Vice Chair, David Gump, said of the new partnership, “Solid Prototype’s technology services will enable Deep Space Industries to achieve the rapid turnaround and fast iteration that is crucial to bringing down the cost of space exploration. We are intending, over time, to see how much of the contents of our spacecraft can become integrated with the structure, thereby reducing the mass required to reach a desired structural strength.”
Barton Bollfrass, CEO of Solid Prototype, added, “We are about to witness a product development revolution for space, and the obvious first step will be through 3D-printing. We are thrilled to be providing Deep Space Industries with the prototypes needed for its CubeSat projects.”
DSI CEO Daniel Faber concluded, “The ability to solve intricate design and manufacturing programs is an important component of our business success. The partnership with Solid Prototype will help provide the resources and innovation that we need to further our corporate vision.”
Their CubeSats are only a small first step, but, years down the line, when DSI has automated, self-replicating bots harvesting nearby asteroids for resources, possibly as a maniacal attempt to hold the Earth hostage for trillions of BitCoin, we can laugh and say, “Oh, hey, I remember those guys!” before we’re all annihilated by death rays from above.
