How NASA is Leveraging AM to Accelerate Space Exploration
Paul Gradl, a principal engineer at NASA, discusses the integration of additive manufacturing (AM) into space exploration, highlighting the transition from early plastic prototypes to flight-qualified metal components like combustion chambers and injectors. He details NASA's collaboration with private companies through data sharing and commercial space act agreements, emphasizing the importance of understanding the entire process chain, including post-processing and certification. Gradl also addresses the lessons learned from field failures, such as witness line issues in GRCop-42 parts, and outlines the future of AM in space, including larger scale printing and in-situ resource utilization on the Moon and Mars.