Refabricator to recycle, reuse plastic installed on Space Station

The first integrated recycler and 3D printer was successfully installed onboard the International Space Station into the station's experiment racks. This technology demonstration, called a Refabricator, will turn plastic materials of various sizes and shapes into feedstock used to 3D print items. The entire process happens in a single automated machine about the size of a mini refrigerator.

"The Refabricator is key in demonstrating a sustainable model to fabricate, recycle and reuse parts and waste materials on extended space exploration missions," said Niki Werkheiser, manager of in-space manufacturing at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

The Refabricator was developed and built by Tethers Unlimited, Inc. for NASA's in-space manufacturing project at Marshall with funding from NASA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

Experiment operations on the space station will begin soon.

Related Links
Refabricator
Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Spotlight on Space Station science
Cologne, Germany (ESA) Feb 05, 2019
Though all ESA astronauts are back on Earth, European science on the International Space Station is ongoing. Explore a few experiments underway right now in celebration of science at ESA. Every ESA astronaut who flies to the International Space Station begins their training at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany. Here, they learn the intricacies of ESA's space laboratory Columbus. Many European experiments that run on the International Space Station when ESA astronauts are not ... read more