French Astronaut Thomas Pesquet Brings 3D Printing to the ISS

Two weeks ago, French astronaut Thomas Pesquet flew for the second time to the International Space Station (ISS) for a six-month trip, becoming the ISS’s first French commander. What we found particularly interesting was that 3D printing accompanied him on the journey, he embarked with 3D printed parts, including packaging for meals provided by the Hénaf group as well as a protective case for the French astronaut’s sleep headband. These parts were designed from a recyclable and edible foam made from PHA, a naturally occurring polymer synthesized by bacteria. These foams, designed by the ComposiTIC technical platform, offer a high level of protection, isolating shocks and vibrations, particularly important as you could image for the flight to space.

The ComposiTIC technical platform was created in 2014 at Southern Brittany University (UBS). Its goal is to develop innovative composites thanks to a robotized fiber placement technology. The platform was requested by CNES as part of the ESA’s Alpha mission carried out by Thomas Pesquet. During the next six months, the French engineer will conduct several maintenance operations as well as a hundred scientific experiments on board the ISS. And additive manufacturing has been involved in the implementation.

PHA granules were transformed into filament to 3D print the parts (photo credit: UBS)

A 3D printed foam to protect scientific equipment

Conducting scientific experiments in space has different constraints from those on Earth, especially in terms of packaging: any test on board the ISS must be carefully stored in a kind of box made of foam that protects against vibrations, the objective being to ensure that the equipment is functional and reliable once it arrives on the ISS. For the Alpha mission, one of the requests made by the French astronaut was to replace the traditional material from the oil industry with a recyclable foam, which would take up less space and above all generate less waste.