STTR Phase I: Additive Manufacturing of Advanced Satellite Panels

This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project will develop a process to fabricate advanced satellite structures using the combination of ultrasonic consolidation and direct write deposition technologies. The project will help validate ultrasonic consolidation and direct write technologies for use in the space environment and demonstrate advanced embedded component designs within aluminum structures. The recent market introduction of two novel additive manufacturing technologies, ultrasonic consolidation (UC) and direct write (DW) deposition, makes possible the fabrication of advanced metal structures containing encapsulated electronics, wiring, heat pipes, fibers, sensors, antennas, and other satellite-related capabilities. Although these advanced capabilities have been demonstrated to varying degrees, these technologies have never been combined in a single manufacturing operation, nor have they been tested to determine the robustness of manufactured products in a launch or space environment. This project will determine the feasibility from a cost, time, process planning, and technology standpoint of integrating UC and DW in a single manufacturing process chain to fabricate advanced satellite structural panels with embedded functionality. The broader (commercial) impact of this technology will be the ability to build small satellites, as platforms for scientific investigation, communication, military operations, and humanitarian coordination. Commercial and governmental customers are pushing to reduce cost and time to manufacture satellites, while improving performance. This project will have a significant benefit on the cost, time to deliver, and capabilities of small satellites and will help make feasible opportunities that are now too expensive or not technologically feasible for small satellites to perform. These opportunities include clusters of satellites for scientific observation and measurement, rapid deployment of satellite assets for short-term military objectives and the use of highly capable small satellites to repair high value space. The product capability enhancements made possible by integrating UC/DW technologies will positively affect manufactured products that include structural, thermal and computational elements within a mass and/or volume restricted environment. These include, among many others, aircraft and missile avionics, mobile diagnostic equipment, and any portable electronic apparatus.