Nichols Martin
NASA has awarded three companies $10.2 million in total grants to develop ground-based prototypes of a multimaterial fabrication laboratory.
Interlog, Techshot and Tethers Unlimited will aim to deliver the prototypes within an 18-month period as part of the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships initiative, NASA said Friday.
The agency plans to select partners to further mature resulting technologies.
“FabLab prototypes will provide valuable insights and help lay the foundation for meaningful on-demand manufacturing capabilities needed for sustainable human spaceflight missions,” said Niki Werkheiser, in-space manufacturing lead at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
The project is part of investments managed by the agency’s Advanced Exploration Systems Division and Space Technology Mission Directorate that seek to advance space technology capability areas.
NASA awarded the funds seven months after the agency released a solicitation notice under Appendix B of the NextSTEP-2 broad agency announcement.
