NASA selects three companies to develop FabLab prototypes

NASA is taking the next step in the development of a space-based, on-demand fabrication capability by partnering with three U.S. companies, under NASA’s Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) program, to create prototypes.

The selected companies are Interlog Corp. of Anaheim, Calif.; Techshot Inc. of Greeneville, Ind.; and Tethers Unlimited Inc. of Bothell, Wash. Combined funding for the awards is about $10.2 million. These companies will have 18 months to deliver the prototype, after which NASA will select partners to further mature the technologies.

In early 2017 NASA sought proposals for ground-based prototypes of a multimaterial fabrication lab, or FabLab, under Appendix B of the NextSTEP-2 Broad Agency Announcement. With these new partnerships, the agency is prepared to take the effort to the next level.

"NASA is challenging industry partners to expand possibilities for making, repairing, and recycling items in space," said Niki Werkheiser, lead for in-space manufacturing at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "The FabLab prototypes will provide valuable insights and help lay the foundation for meaningful, on-demand manufacturing capabilities needed for sustainable human spaceflight missions."

FabLab is part of a broad agency strategy and series of investments managed by NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems Division and Space Technology Mission Directorate to advance key technology capability areas.