Today, China has conducted its first 3D printing experiment in space in a newly launched spacecraft, which was put into low-Earth orbit by China's Long March 5B heavy lift carrier rocket.
Video broadcast on CCTV showed that the printer has printed a flat section of a honeycomb-shaped (蜂巢状) structure as well as a symbol of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. , the parent company of the China Academy of Space Technology. The experiment was done by a 3D printer, developed and built by its Beijing Spacecrafts Manufacturing Factory, inside the prototype of China's new — generation manned spacecraft.
The printer, named the Space-Based Composite Material 3D Printing System, uses carbon fiber-reinforced materials to autonomously print objects. It is installed in the reentry module of the experimental spaceship, and will be brought back to Earth once the module returns.
The printer features advanced technologies in material modeling, precision control and automation. Once the space-based 3D printing technology becomes operationally ready, it can extensively benefit space programs as astronauts can use it to manufacture a lot of things they currently need to obtain from resupply flights by cargo spacecraft.
Wang Yanan, editor-in-chief of the Aerospace Knowledge magazine, said the 3D Printer will be very useful in extended space missions, such as those in a space station, because it will allow astronauts to make components quickly and conveniently in space. The technology will save future space journeys considerable resources and costs.
In fact, the device is not the only representative of 3D printing onboard the Prototype
A CubeSat deployer, designed and made through 3D printing by CoSats Space Technology, is also carried by the spacecraft to check the adaptability of 3D-printed equipment in space. CoSats Chief Operating Officer Bai Ruixue said the 3D-Printed deployer is much lighter and stronger than its counterparts and it will have huge Potential in the space industry.
