3D Printing
Nikon snaps up Boeing-backed supplier of 3D-printed satellite parts
Japanese camera maker Nikon has acquired a controlling stake in U.S. startup Morf3D, an aerospace supplier that has produced 3D-printed hardware for Boeing satellites and helicopters.
Orbex commissions 3D printer capable of producing 35+ rocket engines a year
On the heels of raising $24 million in December, Orbex announced Feb. 24 that it has commissioned AMCM to build a large-volume 3D printer for manufacturing its rocket engines.
2010-2019: The decade in space
It was a decade of enormous change. When it began, SpaceX was on the ropes, cubesats were teaching tools, NASA’s lunar ambitions were back on hold and no one in Washington was calling for a Space Force.
Space hardware manufacturers urge realistic expectations for 3D printing
Space hardware builders say they fully expect 3D printing to revolutionize manufacturing, but cautioned that the technology is sometimes promoted without a full understanding of its pros and cons.
Supply chain expands to meet demand for 3D-printed space parts
It’s not clear whether the additive manufacturing supply chain will expand rapidly enough to meet growing demand for 3D-printed parts for spacecraft or launch vehicles.
Navy’s 3D printing project promises big payoffs for aerospace and defense manufacturing
The aerospace industry is making huge investments in additive manufacturing but producing parts that can pass quality tests in government programs, for instance, remains a challenge.
New version of Aerojet’s RL10 upper-stage engine to be almost entirely 3D printed
Years of Pentagon and NASA investments in nontraditional manufacturing technology appear to be paying off as government contractors step up the use of 3D printed components in space systems.
Made In Space proposes printing large solar arrays for small satellites
Made In Space, the Silicon Valley startup focused on additive manufacturing in orbit, plans to boost the power available to small satellites with Archinaut, the company’s in-space manufacturing and assembling technology.
Printing the next generation of rocket engines
For the last several years, aerospace companies have been examining ways to use additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, to aid the production of rocket engines.
FAA prepares guidance for wave of 3D-printed aerospace parts
“Three to four years ago, none of my peers believed we would see additive manufacturing of safety-critical parts,” the FAA’s chief scientific and technical adviser for fatigue and damage tolerance said Oct. 19 at the Additive Aerospace conference in Los Angeles.
ASRC 3D prints fuel injector prototype for RD-180 successor
ASRC of Beltsville, Md., has test fired a subscale propellant injector built via additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, paving the way for a version that will be able to support whichever engine United Launch Alliance chooses to replace the Russian-built RD-180 on the Atlas 5 rocket.
Lockheed Leaning on 3-D Printing To Bring Tank Work In-house
Lockheed Martin Space Systems could eventually replace satellite propellant tanks now built by longtime partner Orbital ATK with 3-D-printed tanks Lockheed would build in-house.
Op-ed | Open Source: A New Direction for Space
Open source is software or hardware universally accessible and intended to be freely used, shared and improved. The impact on space exploration is in two main places: the use of open source technology and the development of open source systems.
3-D Printer on Space Station Makes Its First Part
The international space station’s 3-D printer has produced its first part, ushering in what proponents hope will be a new age of off-Earth manufacturing.
