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Design

Here's the First Object 3D Printed in Space

It's one small step for space-based manufacturing...

ISS Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore holds up the first 3-D printed part made in space. Images courtesy of Made in Space.

After hitching a ride on SpaceX’s Dragon resupply mission in September, the first 3D printer in space has made history by successfully printing its very first object.

The part, a faceplate for the printer's own extruder printhead, was produced last night at 9:28 PM GMT. “When the first human fashioned a tool from a rock, it couldn’t have been conceived that one day we’d be replicating the same fundamental idea in space,” states Aaron Kemmer, CEO of Made In Space, Inc., the company behind the spacefaring machine. “We look at the operation of the 3D printer as a transformative moment, not just for space development, but for the capability of our species to live away from Earth.”

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As the press release explains, "The presence of a 3D printer onboard the ISS will allow hardware designs to be made on Earth and then digitally beamed to the space station, where the physical object will be created in a matter of hours. Says Mike Chen, Chief Strategy Officer for Made In Space, “For the first time, it’s no longer true that rockets are the only way to send hardware to space.”

Watch Motherboard's excellent documentary, When Will Humans Live on Mars?, and stay tuned for more on 3D printing in space.

The ‘First Print’ in space is a part of the printer itself. The printhead faceplate holds internal wiring in place within the 3D printer’s extruder.

Visit Made in Space's website for more information on the project.

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