In a future deep-space mission, a cracked half on a spacecraft tens of millions of miles from Earth would most probably result in catastrophe. However a staff of researchers from the College of California, Berkeley is already working to alter that. On June 8, 2024, their cutting-edge 3D printer, SpaceCAL, took a quick however groundbreaking journey into area aboard Virgin Galactic‘s 07 mission. In simply 140 seconds of suborbital flight, the printer efficiently created check components, displaying the potential for on-demand manufacturing in area. This functionality will likely be essential for future missions far past our present attain.
SpaceCAL 3D printer on VSS Unity, awaiting launch on June 8, 2024. Picture courtesy of Virgin Galactic.
Main this undertaking is Taylor Waddell, a Ph.D. scholar and Graduate Scholar Researcher within the Division of Mechanical Engineering at Berkeley. Waddell has a formidable background, together with his function as a Pathways Engineer at NASA’s Kennedy House Middle, the place he works on quite a lot of cutting-edge tasks, from designing {hardware} for NASA’s House Launch System (SLS) rocket to growing digital actuality (VR) instruments for engineering functions.
At Berkeley, Waddell spearheads the SpaceCAL undertaking underneath Professor Hayden Taylor‘s steerage, famend for his pioneering work in Computed Axial Lithography (CAL), a revolutionary 3D printing course of. Collectively, they’re pushing the boundaries of area manufacturing, aiming to make on-demand printing of important components and medical provides a actuality for future deep-space missions.
Flight-hardware model of the CAL (Computed Axial Lithography) printing expertise. Picture courtesy of Taylor Waddell through LinkedIn.
SpaceCAL’s journey is a part of an ongoing evolution in area manufacturing. Whereas 3D printing in area isn’t new—there are already printers on the Worldwide House Station (ISS)—Waddell and his staff at Berkeley need to go additional. They’ve been working to excellent SpaceCAL, a next-generation expertise that goals to scale back the dependency on Earth much more by increasing the vary of supplies and objects that may be printed in area. The potential functions are huge, from creating important spacecraft parts to even medical provides for astronauts.
SpaceCAL staff members on the Virgin Galactic launch website (left to proper): Sean Chu, Jake Nickel, Austin Portinause, Taylor Waddell, and Brian Chung. Picture courtesy of Virgin Galactic.
Throughout its transient 140-second journey into suborbital area aboard the Virgin House Ship (VSS) Unity area aircraft—a part of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo fleet designed for industrial area tourism and scientific analysis—SpaceCAL autonomously printed and post-processed 4 check components. Amongst these had been tiny fashions of area shuttles and the ever-popular 3D printing benchmark, the Benchy figurine or 3DBenchy, a small, extremely detailed mannequin. The fabric used for these prints was PEGDA, a liquid plastic that hardens when uncovered to mild within the presence of a photoinitiator.
“SpaceCAL carried out nicely underneath microgravity situations in previous checks aboard parabolic flights, but it surely nonetheless had one thing to show. This newest mission, funded by way of NASA’s Flight Alternatives program and with assist from Berkeley Engineering and the Berkeley House Middle, allowed us to validate the readiness of this 3D printing expertise for area journey,” mentioned Waddell. “We hope that sometime it might be used to fabricate every little thing from components and instruments for spacecraft to new contact lenses and dental crowns for crew members.”
The success of this mission marked a big milestone for the undertaking, as this check in precise area situations validated the printer’s readiness for extra formidable missions.
House shuttle figurine printed by SpaceCAL, floating in microgravity and totally post-processed. Picture courtesy of Taylor Waddell.
The expertise behind SpaceCAL is CAL, developed in 2017 by Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore Nationwide Laboratory (LLNL) researchers. CAL makes use of mild to form strong objects out of a viscous liquid, permitting for the speedy creation of components with complicated geometries.
The truth is, CAL can print components in as little as 20 seconds. However it’s not simply the pace that units CAL aside; it’s additionally its capacity to perform successfully in microgravity. This makes it an excellent candidate for area functions.
In accordance with Waddell, “With CAL, we had been capable of exhibit — first on these zero-G[ravity] missions and now on this spaceflight — that we are able to print components in microgravity that aren’t potential on Earth.”
Up to now, CAL has proven that it may efficiently print with greater than 60 completely different supplies on Earth, resembling silicones, glass composites, and biomaterials. Waddell says versatility could possibly be helpful for each the cabin and the crew.
“So, with the cabin, in case your spacecraft is breaking down, you possibly can print O-rings or mechanical mounts and even instruments. However CAL can be able to repairing the crew. We are able to print dental replacements, pores and skin grafts or lenses, or issues personalised in emergency medication for astronauts, which is essential in these missions, too,” identified the skilled.
The truth is, LLNL has already acquired a grant from NASA to check bioprinting utilizing CAL expertise on the ISS. The long-term aim of that mission will likely be to print human organs in area and produce them again to Earth to be used in transplants.
SpaceCAL staff members at NASA Ames (left to proper): Dillon Balk, Sean Chu, Ameera Elgonemy and Brian Chung. Picture courtesy of Taylor Waddell.
Waddell credit the success of this undertaking to the contributions of many individuals, from fellow college students in Hayden Taylor’s nanoscale manufacturing lab to the engineers at Virgin Galactic who ensured the mission’s success. Waddell additionally mentioned his advisor, Professor Taylor, gave him the liberty to discover his passions and lead the undertaking within the course he believed was most promising.
This undertaking was made potential by way of a $1.4 million grant and engineering assist supplied by NASA. As well as, Virgin Galactic performed a pivotal function in taking this undertaking to the subsequent stage. With this profitable mission underneath their belts, Waddell and his staff hope to work intently with NASA to develop CAL expertise additional.
As area exploration continues to evolve, the power to fabricate components and provides in area will grow to be more and more necessary. Whether or not it’s printing a dental crown for an astronaut or a surgical software for emergency medical procedures, the chances are limitless, and SpaceCAL may be simply the printer for the job.
SpaceCAL mission patch, marking the primary time the 3D printer traveled to area. Picture courtesy of Kirk Mendoza.
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