As a part of the White House's Day of Making initiative, Made In Space, Inc. will be showcasing their 'made for space' 3D printer at the White House Maker Faire, demonstrating that making is not limited to this earth.
The White House Maker Faire will bring Makers of all stripes together to celebrate the tradition of building better solutions. Made In Space was selected to demonstrate their additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, hardware that has been customized for use on the International Space Station (ISS). The Made In Space printer will be traveling to the ISS this summer to become the first manufacturing device used off-Earth.
"It is a great privilege and honor to be able to showcase our Space Manufacturing System at the White House. It is important to Made In Space to enable and be apart of the Maker Community by continuing to develop applications for space and on Earth through our culture of rapid iteration and learn-by-doing philosophy," said Michael Snyder, Director of R&D for Made In Space.
During the White House Maker Faire, Made In Space will demonstrate the 3D printer, explaining how astronauts will be able to use the technology to create parts and tools on-demand. The company will bring examples of 3D printed items that will be useful onboard ISS, and discuss how Makers on Earth will soon be able to essentially email their hardware to space.
Made In Space's goal is of enabling humanity's future in space will start with a technological demonstration onboard the ISS intended to showcase the viability of manufacturing on-site, on-demand away from Earth. Developed in partnership with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), the Made In Space hardware will print a series of test parts and tools, including the first item ever manufactured off-planet. This "First Print" will be revealed later this year.
A second printer, the Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF), is being developed by Made In Space for permanent installation on the ISS. The AMF will be an invaluable tool to astronauts but will also be available to people on Earth. Researchers, artists, engineers, makers and even young students will have the capability to 3D print their materials in space.
"Our first 3D printer will be capable of building an estimated 30% of the parts that NASA has already needed to repair on the ISS. Astronauts will use it to build everything from new tools and hardware to emergency fixes that previously cost millions of dollars to build on the ground and launch to space," said Jason Dunn, CTO for Made In Space. "Perhaps even more exciting though is the fact that anyone on Earth will have access to this new space manufacturing capability. Today we are working with researchers, companies, students, and individuals to build their hardware in space with our printer. Imagine having your experiment installed and operated on the space station without ever needing to launch a single item. Or even having your very own satellite launched into space without ever touching the hardware. This isn't science fiction, this is actually happening, and you can be a part of it."
To celebrate this day highlighting the Maker Community, and this year, which sees the launch of the 'In Space Manufacturing' revolution, Made In Space is also pleased to announce the beginning of the Future Engineers program. Future Engineers is a NASA and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Foundation led K-12 program that will challenge young designers to create 3D models for space. Starting this summer/fall, Future Engineers will develop a series of 3D design challenges and curriculum that will challenge students to solve real-world space exploration challenges. For the first challenge, the winning student's design will be 3D printed using the Made In Space printer on the International Space Station, making it one of the first parts in history to be manufactured in space. More information can be found at FutureEngineers.org.
"Made In Space is primarily composed of Makers ourselves. We are a group who loves to test our boundaries by continually looking to build new solutions for the challenges we face in exploring the universe," said Snyder. "In a very short time, Makers from around the world can join us in building in a brand new, untouched environment – Space!"
www.madeinspace.us
