Dr. Jacob Rome, a visionary in the area of in-space assembly and manufacturing (ISAM), presented at the 2nd ASME SSDM and gave a passionate speech about the need to advance ISAM technologies. Manufacturing space vehicles in space will enable greater flexibility and could result in more efficient space vehicles than if they were launched from the ground, not to mention, these vehicles are not constrained by the fairing volume. Looking forward to seeing these technologies come to to fruition within the next decade. We are also accepting papers in the area of ISAM at the AIAA Scitech Conference: https://lnkd.in/g5tHyumN Title: An Architecture for Orbital Manufacturing in Support of the Future Space Enterprise Abstract: Research and development for in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM) is ongoing to support future national space enterprise efforts. Many government entities, non-profit organizations, and commercial companies are engaging actively in ISAM research while supporting and sharing knowledge through consortiums such as the Consortium for Space Mobility and ISAM Capabilities (COSMIC) and Consortium for Execution of Rendezvous and Servicing Operations (CONFERS). Research and advancements are being made in the area of manufacturing, assembly, servicing, life extension, refueling, repairing, on-orbit debris removal, orbital transfers, maneuvering, and more. The objective of this presentation is to provide an architecture for orbital manufacturing in support of the future space enterprise. Research on specific aspects of the roadmap, specifically, manufacturing of electrical components within a backbone structure, inspection of manufactured components, and autonomous assembly of snap-fit parts are being conducted. While the OSF (orbit satellite factory) has been a catalyst in spawning new research and making advancements that support ISAM, the current OSF concept needs to be expanded and to be re-evaluated in the context of the capabilities being sought by governent and industry (e.g., refueling, lunar manufacturing, etc.) As part of the OSF effort, existing & future capabilities were studied and evaluated. The roadmap has helped to identify high-value opportunities for orbital manufacturing that would complement the ISAM technological landscape. For example, rather than a stand-along factory building free-flying satellites, an orbital manufacturing outpost could produce replacement parts for satellite upgrades. Another opportunity would be to focus on building large structures that would be assembled at another location by robots or humans. In short, the manufacturing roadmap will be expanded to address many other use cases where orbital manufacturing can add value to space missions of all types.
Luciano Demasi
2mo
Loved the talk!
Thank you Jacob Rome for being such a trailblazer! I am grateful to have him mentor our ISAM senior capstone project at CSUN.
Senior Project Leader at The Aerospace Corporation
2moThanks for the ink Dr. Goyal. You did forget to mention my comedic skills, as I had the audience laughing out loud on at least 4 occasions.