IGF::OT::IGF THE PHASE II POSITRUSION EFFORT HAS BEEN ADVANCING THE IN-SPACE RECYCLING SYSTEM TO TRL 4 BY D…

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IGF::OT::IGF THE PHASE II POSITRUSION EFFORT HAS BEEN ADVANCING THE IN-SPACE RECYCLING SYSTEM TO TRL 4 BY DEVELOPING AN ENGINEERING UNIT OF A RECYCLING SYSTEM FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS) THAT IS CAPABLE OF MELTING DOWN PLASTIC COMPONENTS AND FORMING THEM INTO FEEDSTOCK FOR 3D PRINTERS. FIGURE 1 (A) SHOWS A RENDER OF THE IN SPACE RECYCLER EXPRESS LOCKER PAYLOAD DESIGN. DURING THE PHASE II EFFORT, THE ISS COORDINATION OFFICE IDENTIFIED THAT INTEGRATION WITH THE CURRENT ISS PRINTER AND THE REQUIRED ASTRONAUT TIME ARE RISKS TO THE SUCCESS OF THE IN-SPACE RECYCLER DEMONSTRATION ON THE ISS. TO OBTAIN ISS APPROVAL, IT WAS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED TO INCLUDE BASIC PRINTING CAPABILITIES IN THE RECYCLING UNIT. THE SOLUTION DISCUSSED BY THE IN-SPACE MANUFACTURING PROGRAM OFFICE AND TETHERS UNLIMITED (TUI) IS TO AUGMENT THE CURRENT IN-SPACE RECYCLING SYSTEM WITH A SELF-CONTAINED PRINTING SYSTEM, RESULTING IN THE ENHANCED IN-SPACE RECYCLING SYSTEM. FIGURE 1 (B) SHOWS A POTENTIAL SINGLE-LOCKER CONFIGURATION SHOWN. THE IN-SPACE MANUFACTURING PROGRAM OFFICE AND TUI PROPOSE USING THE PHASE II-X OPTION TO FUND THE MATURATION AND INTEGRATION OF THIS ADDED FUNCTIONALITY. SPECIFICALLY, THE PURPOSE OF THE PHASE II-X IS TO SIGNIFICANTLY ADVANCE THE PHASE II WORK BY: (1) BRINGING THE DESIGN OF THE ADDED SELF-CONTAINED PRINTING SYSTEM TO THE SAME DESIGN MATURITY AS THE CURRENT RECYCLING SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT, (2) ADDRESSING THE INTEGRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE CURRENT RECYCLING SYSTEM AND SELF-CONTAINED PRINTING SYSTEM, AND (3) PERFORMING DESIGN AND TESTING CYCLES FOR THE IN-SPACE ENHANCED RECYCLING SYSTEM TO REDUCE RISKS EARLY AND RESULT IN A MATURE FLIGHT READY ENGINEERING UNIT GOING INTO THE CRITICAL DESIGN REVIEW (CDR). IN THIS PHASE II-X EFFORT, NASA INTERNAL INVESTMENT AND SBIR MATCHING FUNDS WILL FUND SEPARATE TASKS AND DELIVERABLES. THE DETAILS OF THIS SEPARATION OF TASKS AND DELIVERABLES ARE GIVEN BELOW IN SECTIONS 1.2.2, 1.2.3, AND 1.2.4.