NASA Funds Program to 3D Print and Assemble Spacecraft in Orbit

NASA is funding a $73.7 million program to manufacture and assemble spacecraft components in low-Earth orbit. California-based Made In Space Inc. has won the multi-million dollar funding to demonstrate in-space robotic manufacturing and assembly technologies using a small spacecraft named Archinaut One.

The contract is the start of the second phase of a partnership established through NASA’s ‘Tipping Point’ solicitation. The public-private partnership is said to guide the development of critical space technologies while also saving the agency and American taxpayers’ money.

According to NASA, Archinaut One will launch on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from New Zealand in 2022. Once it’s positioned in low-Earth orbit, the spacecraft will 3D print two beams that extend 32 feet out from each side of the spacecraft. As manufacturing progresses, each beam will unfurl two solar arrays that generate as much […]

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