NASA recently awarded a $73.7 million contract to develop and launch an autonomous space robot that can manufacture and assemble itself and other materials in orbit—a feat that could transform the future of space exploration.
The agency is working with Made in Space on a cutting-edge spacecraft called Achinaut One, with the goal of launching by 2022. The project also demonstrates the necessity of public-private partnerships in preparing for future missions to the moon and Mars.
“This is really going to enable remote in-space construction of items, including things like communication antenna, large scale space telescopes and other complex structures,” Dayna Ise, a program executive for NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions told Nextgov. “This is very exciting for them and for us.”
Ise has worked at NASA for nearly two decades, first building computer models for the space shuttle’s main engine, to now managing an entire portfolio of the agency’s flight programs. But she said she’s not presently aware of any previous mission or entity that would allow for manufacturing to happen autonomously in space. This collaboration marks the second phase of NASA’s Tipping Point contract. Announced in 2015 through the "Utilizing Public-Private Partnerships to Advance Tipping Point Technologies” solicitation, it encompasses the agency’s far-reaching goal of helping private industry partners deliver technologies that will help NASA meet its future mission needs, while also stimulating the commercial space industry with new applica ..
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