Additive Manufacture for Space: Past, Present, and Future

Additive manufacture has proven to be an enabling technology to decrease the cost of rocket engine manufacture, increase design flexibility, and utilize hard to process materials not previously available. As a result the launch vehicle market has undergone a revolutionary change by commercial companies, thanks in large part to additive manufacture. Ongoing development efforts are focused on a broader range of AM methods, materials, post-processing, and applications. The long term vision of robotic and human sustained permanent presence in various locations throughout the solar system require the use of local resources that can then be made into feedstocks, which is potentially well suited for additive manufacture to produce a range of items from replacement parts to habitats.