NASA to Launch 3D Printer in 2014, Plans to Manufacture Spare Parts in Outer Space

[Vunderkind]

3D printers potentially can reduce the cost of resupplying the space stations​

BBC - The US space agency, NASA is making current plans to launch the first 3D printer into outer space to help astronauts in making spare parts and tools in the zero-gravity environment.

This will be officially the first time a 3D printer will be used in outer space, and it is believed that this will help in reducing the cost of future space missions.

The device to be launched will have to be able to withstand jarring and vibrations from the lift-off and also operate in safety in the sealed-off space station environment.

For this project, NASA has contracted the tech start-up company “Made in Space” to produce the 3D printer, which will be as small as a microwave when completed.

As Aaron Kemmer, chief executive of Made in Space puts it, "Imagine an astronaut needing to make a life-or-death repair on the International Space Station. Rather than hoping that the necessary parts and tools are on the station already, what if the parts could be 3D printed when they needed them?"

The Apollo 13 astronauts of 1970 had to improvise on their mission, using a plastic bag, a manual cover, a carbon-dioxide filter and gaffer tape.

It is believed that the 3D printer would have solved that problem and helped them get to the moon.