DARPA is exploring ways to build things in space
The NOM4D program — short for"Novel Orbital Moon Manufacturing, Materials, and Mass Efficient Design" — will test materials science, manufacturing and design technologies that could be used off Earth someday, DARPA officials said.
The trouble with launching things into space, as DARPA indicated, is that such objects are constrained by the dimensions and lift capability of the rocket, not to mention the vibrations. This is why antennas, for example, often are unfurled in space; they are unwieldly objects to otherwise launch. "During Phase 1, program performers are tasked to meet stringent structural efficiency targets supporting a megawatt-class solar array," DARPA stated."In Phase 2, teams are tasked to increase mass efficiency and demonstrate precision manufacturing for radio frequency reflectors. In the final phase, performers are tasked to demonstrate precision for infrared reflectors."
University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, developing predictive material and correlative process models to enable on-orbit use of laser forming.
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