Redwire Manufactures Ceramic Part in Space

Redwire, the new leader in mission critical space solutions announced that its Ceramic Manufacturing Module (CMM) – initially developed by Made in Space – successfully manufactured a ceramic part in space. Its module is based on stereolithography (SLA) and uses pre-ceramic resins. It managed to manufacture a single-piece ceramic turbine blisk along with a series of material test samples. The ceramic blisk and test coupons will be stowed and returned to Earth for analysis, aboard the SpaceX Dragon CRS-21 spacecraft. Redwire launched on June 1 2020, emerging out of a combination of two acquisitions. Just after, the company Made in Space was also acquired by Redwire.

The successful manufacture of these test samples in space is an important milestone to demonstrate the potential for the CMM to produce ceramic parts that exceed the quality of turbine components made on Earth. Tom Campbell, President of Made in Space, commented: “This is an exciting milestone for space enabled manufacturing and signals the potential for new markets that could spur commercial activity in low Earth orbit. Building on our in-space manufacturing expertise and our partnership with NASA, Redwire is developing advanced manufacturing processes on orbit that could yield sustainable demand from terrestrial markets and creating capabilities that will allow humanity to sustainably live and work in space.”

The 3D printed ceramic blisk and test coupons will be stowed and returned to Earth for analysis | Image via Redwire

Made in Space’s primary mission was to bring in-space manufacturing to the global space economy; today, the company has been acquired by Redwire but its mission continues. In fact, its Ceramic Manufacturing Module demonstrates that ceramic AM in microgravity could enable temperature resistant reinforced ceramic parts with better performance, including higher strength and lower residual stress.