Out of Earth Manufacturing: scope of the workshop day 1
The ability to manufacture spacecraft and associated hardware in space has the potential to have a profoundly transformative impact on a wide range of space activities.
On-orbit manufacturing, by alleviating fairing size limitations and launch load structural requirements, can lead to larger spacecraft components (e.g. antennae reflectors, solar arrays, radiators) thereby enabling higher performance, higher power available for payloads and lighter structures, while reducing the launch costs.
Such capability can lead to novel servicing and maintenance logistics, including eventually repair and recycling of spacecraft parts, lifetime extension and new business models for space assets. These benefits can enhance mission scenarios for various applications, including Telecommunications, Earth Observation, Navigation and Science.
In addition, in-situ manufacturing and recycling capability enables on-demand production of tools and hardware used during long-term Exploration missions, thereby reducing the dependence on cargo missions and the amount of supplies to be carried from Earth.
Recent developments in relevant manufacturing and assembly technologies, as well as ongoing progress towards on-orbit servicing and active debris removal have generated a vibrant context for the development of in space manufacturing technologies, with several processes being tested and on-orbit demonstrations of spacecraft parts manufacturing scheduled for the next few years.
While several past and ongoing ESA studies look at the system-level impacts of in space manufacturing, the identified benefits are dependent on the development of manufacturing technologies able to produce the targeted parts and structures in the challenging space conditions.
ESA’s Out of Earth Manufacturing initiative aims to foster and support the development of manufacturing and assembly technologies adequate for implementation in space.
The initiative covers the various contexts of application on in space manufacturing namely:
(Non exhaustive) aspects of relevance to the initiative include:
After presenting the international context in-space manufacturing technologies and the perspective from actors in Industry and at ESA, round table discussions will be conducted, to help scope future steps for fostering and supporting the development of relevant manufacturing and assembly technologies.
The ability to manufacture spacecraft and associated hardware in space has the potential to have a profoundly transformative impact on a wide range of space activities.
On-orbit manufacturing, by alleviating fairing size limitations and launch load structural requirements, can lead to larger spacecraft components (e.g. antennae reflectors, solar arrays, radiators) thereby enabling higher performance, higher power available for payloads and lighter structures, while reducing the launch costs.
Such capability can lead to novel servicing and maintenance logistics, including eventually repair and recycling of spacecraft parts, lifetime extension and new business models for space assets. These benefits can enhance mission scenarios for various applications, including Telecommunications, Earth Observation, Navigation and Science.
In addition, in-situ manufacturing and recycling capability enables on-demand production of tools and hardware used during long-term Exploration missions, thereby reducing the dependence on cargo missions and the amount of supplies to be carried from Earth.
Recent developments in relevant manufacturing and assembly technologies, as well as ongoing progress towards on-orbit servicing and active debris removal have generated a vibrant context for the development of in space manufacturing technologies, with several processes being tested and on-orbit demonstrations of spacecraft parts manufacturing scheduled for the next few years.
While several past and ongoing ESA studies look at the system-level impacts of in space manufacturing, the identified benefits are dependent on the development of manufacturing technologies able to produce the targeted parts and structures in the challenging space conditions.
ESA’s Out of Earth Manufacturing initiative aims to foster and support the development of manufacturing and assembly technologies adequate for implementation in space.
The initiative covers the various contexts of application on in space manufacturing namely:
- Manufacturing in a controlled environment i.e. in a pressurised module on orbit (microgravity) or on a planetary body (partial gravity): this could include manufacturing in the context of an orbital station or a lunar/Martian base
- On-orbit manufacturing in an uncontrolled environment: this could include manufacturing of spacecraft parts (e.g. solar array, antennae) on orbit
- In-situ manufacturing in an uncontrolled environment on a planetary body: this could include manufacturing and construction of structures in a lunar or Martian settlement
(Non exhaustive) aspects of relevance to the initiative include:
- Process development
- Material selection/development/recycling
- In situ in-process monitoring, inspection and quality control
- Process modelling
- Space environment effect on manufacturing processes and parts functionality
- End-to-end workflow for part maintenance: in-situ data acquisition, part design (e.g. on ground), in-situ manufacturing, manufactured part data acquisition , quality control, use
After presenting the international context in-space manufacturing technologies and the perspective from actors in Industry and at ESA, round table discussions will be conducted, to help scope future steps for fostering and supporting the development of relevant manufacturing and assembly technologies.
