nasa to send \'star trek replicator\' to space station
It will allow astronauts to make everything from replacement buckles and toilet tubes to parts that repair damage to the space station and the space suit.
Jason Dunn, director of Space Technology (left)
Mike Snyder prepared the first 3D printer for space. (Made in Space)
The technology has been likened to a replica of the science fiction series Star Trek, which will be delivered to the International Space Station in June 2014.
Nasa wants it to pave the way for more advanced 3D printers that can produce rocket engine parts in orbit, even the entire spacecraft.
The researchers warned that the 4g tariff sale of the first 3D printer for the home 3D printer could lead to a stroke compared to Maplin, using a 3D printer to make a car before release, blueprints for replacement parts and tools will be loaded onto new devices, while plans for new projects can be uploaded from Earth.
The space manufacturing team tested during the flight of the gravity drop (Made In Space)
Astronauts can also design their own products to help them solve any problems they may face.
The system should help reduce the number of replacements and spare parts shipped from Earth to the International Space Station.
It should also help astronauts board the space station in an emergency.
On 1970, the crew of Apollo 13 had to resort to tape, the cover of the flight manual and a plastic bag to repair the carbon dioxide filter in their craft after the oxygen tank exploded.
Earlier this month, Italian astronaut Luca palmitano had to suspend the spacewalk as water began leaking into his helmet through a ventilation system that provided him with air, and Nasa was forced to ship in one supply.
In the future, astronauts will be able to simply print out the replacement parts and tools they need to solve these problems.
Jason Dunn, manufactured in space, showed a 3D printing test experiment Niki Werkheiser, the leader in zero gravity 3D printing at Nasa\'s Marshall Space Flight Center, who said: \"Our goal is to take it to weightlessness and use it on the International Space Station.
\"As you can imagine on the ISS, whatever they have available in orbit, they have to use it.
\"As they do on the ground, the parts will be damaged or lost, they have to wait for the replacement parts, or we have to launch multiple spare parts.
\"The idea here is that we will print the replacement or spare parts as needed.
We can pre-install the plan on the printer or upload it directly on the ground.
\"The exact details of the technology are still a tight and conservative secret, but it is believed that a sticky plastic paste injected into the plate is used before being heated and solidified in the box.
This printer has been tested on parabolic zero for the last two weeks
Gravity Simulation flight to demonstrate how it works.
Nasa has also released a video showing the system running.
The companies that helped Nasa develop printers were made in space, and they said they envisioned technology for repairing and upgrading basic components.
It can also be used to make new tools such as hexagonal wrenches, or new clips, buckles, and containers.
NASA astronaut Timothy Creamer, who spent six months on the International Space Station in 2010, said: \"3d printing gives us the ability to do our own star trek replication on the spot, help us replace lost or damaged things, and make what we think of possible useful.
\"For example, there are a lot of hexadecimal
We can replicate the requirements of these tools, the first 5/37.
We took them with us and we lost them.
\"It is most convenient to not need to manifest the quality, nor to launch it to replenish its own capabilities.
\"The technology has even raised the prospect of producing more complex items in orbit, such as rocket engines, and even the entire spacecraft.
In a separate project, Nasa tested a rocket engine made with 3D printed parts last month.
The rocket injector used to inject liquid oxygen and hydrogen into the rocket engine is to use high
A power laser beam that melts and melts the metal powder into a 3D structure.
\"NASA recognizes that in Earth and potential space, additive manufacturing can change the rules of the game for new mission opportunities, through\" printing \"tools, engine components, and even the entire spacecraft, NASA\'s deputy director of Space Technology in Washington, Michael ghazarik, said. \"3-
D. manufacturing provides an opportunity to optimize the assembly, form and delivery system of materials, which will enable our space mission to be realized while directly benefiting American enterprises on Earth.
The most normal Earth
A product based on a 3D printer can be placed with a layer of powder or liquid, gradually forming an object and used to make everything from toys, puzzles to the whole car.
This technology allows the production of objects made of a piece of material, and it is not possible to use other manufacturing processes.
The technology is being compared with the Replicators in the sci-fi series Zero Gravity Star Trek, however powder, liquid and objects can float when created.
If the layer of the 3D printed object is even a small part of the millimeter, then it will break up.
Tests on NASA\'s specially modified Boeing 727 aircraft show that commercial printers are not working.
Traditional 3D printing processes can also produce extremely fine particles and gases that can accumulate and harm astronauts inside the speed station.
New equipment is trying to overcome these problems by using techniques that prevent objects and new materials from floating.
It is estimated that the final version of the printer will be able to make about the third required spare parts on ISS by the time it arrives at ISS next year.
Jason Dunn, chief technology officer for Space Manufacturing, said: \"We have now done a lot of testing on 3D printers.
\"A few weeks ago we were driving it in a zero-gravity parabolic flight, where we verified the design of our printer to work in a weightless environment, a big step to reach the space station.