Reduce launch vehicle volumes as compared to an equivalent spacecraft and.It is natural for NASA and the Air Force to explore opportunities for using additive manufacturing technologies in space where additive manufacturing could offer the potential to In addressing its charge ( Box 1.1), the committee explored the missions and space operating environments of the Air Force and NASA, assessing the applicability of additive manufacturing approaches, and identifying promising and potential results.
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The platforms the committee examined included ground-based test beds, the International Space Station (ISS), and human-tended platforms (both internal and external to the platform), free flyers (e.g., satellites), and non-terrestrial planetary-based platforms (e.g., in situ resource utilization and habitats). Although the report is aimed at in-space additive manufacturing and the benefits to space and non-space products it might bring, it will also make clear that space systems will have long-term benefits from and dependence on terrestrial additive manufacturing as well. This report identifies the benefits, gaps between current and desired capabilities, and technology development paths for additive manufacturing’s use in space systems. THE POTENTIAL OF ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING IN SPACE The Air Force and NASA have jointly asked the National Research Council (NRC) to conduct a study exploring the possibilities presented by new approaches to manufacturing space hardware, and especially to address the promise of additive manufacturing, specifically in space.