Tag: Tethers Unlimited
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Tethers Unlimited wins NASA grant to work on future FabLab for 3-D printing in space
Tethers Unlimited’s Refabricator is a recycler and 3-D printer in one unit, which is about the size of a dorm-room refrigerator. This is the tech demonstration unit that’s been undergoing tests at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. The unit is to go to the space station next year. (NASA Photo / Emmett Given)…
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NASA tells SSL and Tethers Unlimited to move forward on orbital assembly system
California-based SSL, formerly known as Space Systems Loral, says it’ll receive continued funding from NASA for an on-orbit satellite assembly program known as Dragonfly. SSL and its partners, including Bothell, Wash.-based Tethers Unlimited, recently completed a successful ground demonstration of the Dragonfly system, which is designed to assemble pieces of space hardware in orbit robotically.…
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Video: How Made In Space plans to 3-D print huge structures in orbit
The Archinaut system can use robotic arms to assemble large structures in space. (Made In Space Illustration) Made In Space, best known for building the first 3-D printer for outer space, has laid out its plan for building large structures in orbit in two new videos. Archinaut is a system of technologies to make large space…
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NASA puts $50M into creating fusion thrusters, space robots and more
An artist’s conception shows a fusion-driven rocket powering a probe toward Mars. (MSNW / University of Washington Illustration) Fusion-driven rockets, remote control systems for space robots, and satellites that build themselves up in orbit are among the made-in-Washington projects getting a share of $49.9 million in NASA grants. Seven businesses in Washington state will benefit…
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NASA backs Kymeta’s mini-antennas and Tethers Unlimited’s 3-D printer/recycler
Foot-long nanosatellites tumble through space after their deployment from the International Space Station. Kymeta is working on flat-panel communication antennas that could be placed on such satellites. (NASA Photo) Flat-panel antennas that are tiny enough to fit on a nanosatellite and a 3-D printer that can recycle space station trash are among the Seattle-area projects that…
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Tethers Unlimited’s Firmamentum strikes deal to demonstrate orbital manufacturing
An artist’s conception shows a future satellite building scaffolding from carbon-fiber composites. (Credit: Tethers Unlimited) A division of Tethers Unlimited Inc., a space technology company based in Bothell, Wash., says it has signed a contract with a big-name spacecraft provider to demonstrate how future satellites could build their own frameworks in space. The deal calls…
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Tethers Unlimited wins $2.2 million in contracts for satellite mini-thruster system
Tethers Unlimited Inc.’s Hydros thruster fires during a test. (Credit: TUI) Tethers Unlimited Inc. says it’s won $2.2 million in contracts from NASA and Millennium Space Systems to provide its miniaturized, water-fueled Hydros thrusters for satellite missions. The company, based in Bothell, Wash., is developing the Hydros as a safe-to-launch propulsion system for CubeSats and other small…
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NASA picks Firmamentum to build a 3-D printer/recycler for use in space
TUI/Firmamentum’s Positrusion device turns 3-D-printed items back into plastic filament. The recycler would be paired with a 3-D printer in Firmamentum’s Refabricator. (Credit: Tethers Unlimited) Firmamentum, a division of Tethers Unlimited Inc. in Bothell, Wash., says it has won $750,000 in NASA funding to build a combination 3-D printer and plastic recycler for the International…