Press. Voanews.
More than 100
parts for U.S. space agency NASA's deep-space capsule Orion will be made by 3-D
printers, using technology that experts say will eventually become key to
efforts to send humans to Mars. U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin, 3-D
printing specialist Stratasys, and engineering firm PADT have developed the
parts using new materials that can withstand the extreme temperatures and
chemical exposure of deep-space missions, Stratasys said Tuesday.
"In space,
for instance, materials will build up a charge. If that was to shock the electronics
on a space craft, there could be significant damage," Scott Sevcik, Vice
President Manufacturing Solutions at Stratasys told Reuters. 3-D printing, or
additive manufacturing, has been used for making prototypes across a range of
industries for many years, but is being increasingly eyed for scale production.
The technology
can help make light-weight parts made of plastics more quickly and cheaply than
traditional assembly lines that require major investments into equipment. "But
even more significant is that we have more freedom with the design ... parts
can look more organic, more skeletal," Sevcik said.
Stratasys'
partner Lockheed Martin said the use of 3-D printing on the Orion project would
also pay off at other parts of its business. "We look to apply benefits
across our programs — missile defense, satellites, planetary probes, especially
as we create more and more common products," said Brian Kaplun, additive
manufacturing manager at Lockheed Martin Space.
Orion is part of
NASA's follow-up program to the now-retired space shuttles that will allow
astronauts to travel beyond the International Space Station, which flies about
260 miles (420 km) above Earth. The agency's European counterpart, ESA, has
suggested that moon rock and Mars dust could be used to 3-D print structures
and tools, which could significantly reduce the cost of future space missions
because less material would need to be brought along from Earth.
Fuente: Reuters.