NASA succeeds in sending data from the ground that missing tools on the space station and sending it via 3D printer

Invested in a company that manufactures 3D printers that can output pizza in 2013Consider baking pizza in spaceNASA, which is showing a positive attitude towards the introduction of 3D printers in outer space, has succeeded in transmitting the output data of the 3D printer from Earth and using that data to output in space.

"Emailing" Hardware To Space - Backchannel - Medium
https://medium.com/backchannel/how-we-email-hardware-to-space-7d46eed00c98

One day, NASA is the captain of the International Space Station (so-called ISS)Barry WilmoreMr. listens over the radio that talking "I need a ratchet type socket wrench for work" and will send a socket wrench from Earth to the ISS, but it takes a lot of time to send by rocket Since we need funds, we sent out the socket wrench output data from Earth to the ISS and planned to have a socket wrench output in outer space.

The plan is a 3D printer that can be used even in the zero gravity space deployed in the ISS "ZERO-G PRINTER"Developers of"Made In Space"Output data of the socket wrenchCADStart with work to produce with.


The output data of the completed socket wrench is sent to NASA headquarters by NASA special software.


This time, NASA sends the received output data to ZERO-G PRINTER deployed in ISS.


The ZERO - G PRINTER which received the data output the ratchet type socket wrench.


Wilmore is taking out the completed socket wrench.


Wilmore has a socket wrench outputted by a 3D printer.


NASA in September 2014Deploy 3D printers to ISSAfter that, I made the nameplate for a while and succeeded in outputting 3D printers for the first time in space. After that, about 20 items were output in outer space, but it used the data that was loaded in advance on the supply ship, and outputted in space using the output data transmitted from the earth This is the first time this time.