NASA’s In-Space Manufacturing Project: Update on Manufacturing Technologies and Materials to Enable More Sustainable and Safer Exploration

NASA’s In-Space Manufacturing (ISM) project seeks to develop the materials, processes, and manufacturing technologies needed to provide an on-demand manufacturing capability for deep space exploration missions. The ability to manufacture and recycle some parts on demand rather than launch them from earth has the potential to reduce logistics requirements on long duration missions and enhance crew safety. With the launch of the first 3D printer (built and operated by Made in Space through a Small Business Innovative Research – SBIR -contract) to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2014, the ISM project demonstrated the feasibility of operating an on-demand manufacturing system in a microgravity environment. This paper will provide an update on recent advancements in ISM under three key technology areas: manufacturing, recycling, and development of a design database. ISM continues to pursue development of manufacturing technologies for space applications and use the ISS as a critical test bed to prove out these technologies before deploying them on next generation exploration systems. Activities under this focus area include: characterization of materials manufactured using the Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF), the second generation commercial 3D-printer on ISS, also owned and operated by Made in Space; development of prototype payloads for metal manufacturing through phase II SBIR contracts with Tethers Unlimited, Made in Space, and Ultra Tech Machinery; development of a multi-material fabrication laboratory capable of processing metals and providing inspection of manufactured parts through a Broad Agency Announcement (Techshot, Interlog, and Tethers Unlimited); an in-line sensing system for ISM platforms; and development of higher strength feedstocks for 3D polymer printers. In the area of recycling, the Tethers Unlimited Refabricator payload (an integrated 3D printer and recycler for ULTEM 9085) launched to ISS in November 2018 and began operating in early 2019. This payload represents the first demonstration of on-orbit recycling; downmassed specimens will assess material degradation in the polymer over multiple recycling cycles to define limits on material re-use. Other work in the recycling area includes development of common use materials intended to be reused and recycled on space missions (Tethers Unlimited and Cornerstone Research Group) and a sterilization capability for multiple-use materials (ERASMUS from Tethers Unlimited). Concurrent with manufacturing technology and materials development work is creation of a design database, a curated list of parts that can be manufactured using the suite of In-Space Manufacturing capabilities. 70th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Washington, D.C., 21-25 October 2019 IAC-19.D3. 2B.5 Acronyms ABS Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene AM Additive Manufacturing AMF Additive Manufacturing Facility AMI Actuated Medical, Inc. ARC Ames Research Center BFF BioFabrication Facility CNC Computer Numerical Control CT Computed Tomography CRG Cornerstone Research Group CRISSP Customizable Recyclable International Space Station Packaging EXPRESS Expedite the Processing of Experiments for Space Station FCE Flight Crew Equipment FFF Fused Filament Fabrication GFE Government Furnished Equipment HDPE High Density Polyethylene ISM In-Space Manufacturing ISS International Space Station IVA Intra-Vehicular Activity LEO Low-earth Orbit MAMBA Metal Advanced Manufacturing Bot-Assisted Assembly MIS Made in Space MSFC Marshall Space Flight Center NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration PC Polycarbonate PEEK Polyether ether ketone PLA Polylactic acid SBIR Small Business Innovative Research SIMPLE Sintered Inductive Printer with Laser Exposure TUI Tethers Unlimited UAM Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing 1. Project Purpose and Overview NASA’s In-Space Manufacturing (ISM) project is managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The primary focus of ISM is to facilitate use of the International Space Station (ISS) as a testbed to mature the manufacturing technologies needed to support sparing, repair, and recycling within the crewed environment on long duration, long endurance missions. Long duration missions correspond to the typical time a crew member spends on ISS (6 months to 1 year). Long endurance refers to mission scenarios where cargo resupply is limited. While ISS is long duration, it is not long endurance since it can be readily accessed by multiple launch vehicles and the time from launch to docking is relatively short compared to non-low earth orbit (LEO) missions. For the class of missions which can be characterized as long duration and long endurance, In-Space Manufacturing shows immense potential to achieve gains in logistics reduction by a) reducing the number of spare parts and orbital replacement units which much be upmassed and b) enabling recycling of materials which would otherwise be nuisance materials (scrap/trash) or consumables [1, 2]. This “make it, don’t take it” philosophy represents a fundamental paradigm shift from traditional logistics models, which rely on changeout of orbital replacement units (stowed on the ISS) rather than repair of a unit at the component level. The implementation of ISM on future space mission thus depends on design of exploration systems which are accessible and intended to be repaired rather than simply changed out with an identical full-scale unit