Reflections on the Power of Making Real Things

http://www.space.com/24599-nasa-launches-3d-printing-in-space.html

When you search for 3d printing applications in space exploration, the results are overwhelming. While CubeSats utilize 3d printing, there are other aspects of smaller scale space exploration that utilize 3d printing. The photograph above is a 3d printed battery harness made by NASA interns last summer. I was fortunate enough to meet the students who worked on this particular project. This battery harness is for what is called a “sounding rocket”.  Sounding rockets are small rockets (about as tall as person) that are inexpensive to launch and used mostly by universities and researchers thanks to their low cost. The big difference between sounding rockets and CubeSats are that sounding rockets do not go into orbit. Instead, they fly parabolic trajectories exposing them only momentarily to space. This is great for experiments that don’t need to remain orbit. Putting a payload into orbit is not only technically more challenging, but also significantly more expensive.

I found the two photographs on my Facebook feed. They were posted by a fellow NASA intern and student at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. The gray component is a piece that was 3d printed to hold their particular experiment. This makes me rethink my model for CubeSat Farm. Even as CubeSats gain in popularity, a lot of research does not require an orbital flight. A short parabolic space flight is sufficient for a lot of researchers, and from what I’ve read, a sounding rocket can be launched with a small payload for less than $5000. Compare that to the current price range of a CubeSat flight ($50-100k).

In addition to this. Space exploration related technologies and themes are becoming more accessible. LitteBits just announced a partnership with NASA on a series of products for education. It’s worth mentioning that we used LittleBits products in our Maker Space Day.