Developing a patented in-space manufacturing system that will provide a method of producing huge carbon composite 3D structures in space.
Created: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2023-03-12
Product/Service - COPMA
- Classification
- In-Space Manufacturing
- Category
- In-Space Manufacturing
- Fields
- Large Space Structures
- Status
- Dormant
- First launch
- Dormant
Developing a patented in-space manufacturing system that will provide a method of producing huge carbon composite 3D structures in space.
In-Space Manufacturing (Kleos Space, Magna Parva) has developed a patented in-Space manufacturing system that will provide a method of producing huge carbon composite 3D structures in space. A prototype system has been successfully built and tested under ‘near space’ conditions at our development facility. It demonstrates the potential for the production of assemblies, equipment or even buildings from fully cured and consolidated carbon fibre materials, potentially miles in length. Patented (GB2500786B) precision robotic technology manufactures 3D space structures using a supply of carbon fibres and a resin that are processed by pultrusion through a heat forming die in a continuous process, producing cured carbon composite elements of extraordinary length that also encompass intelligent elements such as sensors, fibre optics or wiring. As the resin and materials behave differently in space, the development has included testing under both ambient atmospheric and vacuum conditions. While pultrusion itself is an established manufacturing process, it has now been scaled down to a size where the equipment can be accommodated on spacecraft, and further work is under way to advance the technical readiness of the concept. Manufacturing speed of prototype system is 1mm/s, equating to 1 mile of structure per 18 days.
Status Comment / Notes
Assuming that the team focused on Kleos Space.
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