Accessing Lower Earth Orbit Through 3D Printed Wrenches and the Space Infrastructure
Jane DaviesHostile environments beyond Earth's surface, such as Low Earth orbit (LEO), require material innovation to allow humans to survive in harsh conditions which include radiation, vacuum, and extreme temperatures. Another characteristic of the space environment, which is not fatal to humans, is microgravity. Utilising microgravity as an experimental factor, the first 3D printer was sent to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2014 to test the capability of additive manufacturing in microgravity. Among the first files printed aboard the ISS was a 3D ratchet wrench, which was later released to the public through NASA's website permitting any person with access to a 3D printer to print for themselves.
This 3D printed wrench is hailed as an important milestone in the progress toward off-world manufacturing, including the development of lunar and Martian habitats, as well as the in-orbit and lunar economy. Though the wrench is a demonstration of an enabling technology for outer space colonisation, it is also the result of an extensive existing infrastructure. For the wrench's file to be sent to the ISS, or downloaded terrestrially, it requires the physical infrastructure that connects the internet to both. By marking the 3d printed wrench as a milestone in the development of space missions, and thus planetary colonisation, the wrench becomes embedded in a neoevolutionary narrative. In other words, travelling beyond Earth’s confines is an inevitable evolution necessary for the future of human civilization.
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