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    Friction Stir Welding and Spin Forming of Al-Li 2050 Plate to Produce Domes for Space Applications

    By Michael Niedzinski, Constellium. Introduction Friction stir welding (FSW) of Airware 2050 was investigated as a method for making custom blanks for spin forming large, single-piece flight articles. The objective of this study was to evaluate the behavior of 2050 parent material in addition to the FSW regions after spin forming and subsequent heat treatment. […]

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    NASA Tests Innovative 3D-Printed Aluminum Rocket Nozzle for Deep Space Missions

    NASA recently built and tested an additively manufactured rocket engine nozzle made of aluminum as part of the Reactive Additive Manufacturing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (RAMFIRE) project. By implementing 3D printing, the innovative design is able to be comprised of a single piece, which reduces manufacturing time and makes the nozzle lighter than conventional […]

  • Ready for space – and ready for industrialized AM production: The 3D-printed aluminum antenna cluster for next-generation communication satellites, made to orbit the earth.

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    Airbus Signs Contract with Oerlikon for 3D-Printed Aluminum Components for Satellites

    Airbus and Oerlikon AM have successfully industrialized the additive manufacturing (AM) process for complex serial production of 3D-printed aluminum components. These antenna clusters will be used in communication satellites, which will soon be orbiting the earth. This achievement has resulted in a €3.8 million contract to additively manufacture these satellite components. Advanced technologies like additive manufacturing […]

  • EGA-Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre

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    EGA’s CelestiAL Solar Aluminum to Reach the Stars in New Commercial Satellite

    Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) signed an agreement with Gulf Extrusions and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) to send CelestiAL aluminum produced from solar power into space. The metal will be used to produce extruded components for MBRSC’s MBZ-SAT, the region’s most advanced commercial satellite in the field of high-resolution satellite imagery. “At EGA, we […]

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    Relativity Space Develops Reusable Launch Vehicle Using 3D-Printed Aluminum

    Relativity Space, a company dedicated to building humanity’s multi-planetary future, revealed plans for the Terran R, a reusable medium-to-heavy lift orbital launch vehicle made from 3D-printed aluminum. This development builds on the company’s seven years of experience developing its Terran 1 program — the world’s first 3D-printed aluminum rocket to fly and reach space. “Our […]

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    Aluminum Reaches for the Moon

    On November 16, 2022, NASA kicked off its Artemis I mission at the Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, FL, with the lift off of its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket carrying the uncrewed Orion spacecraft. The Orion craft completed its journey around the moon and successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on December […]

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    Elementum 3D and SLM Solutions to Develop Aluminum Alloys for Additive Manufacturing

    Aluminum- and metal-based additive manufacturing (AM) has a need for collaboration between hardware equipment manufacturers and material providers to address customer problems. In order to solve these challenges, Elementum 3D and SLM Solutions have agreed to collaborate on the design of exclusive aluminum alloys on SLM® technology. In this way, both companies are teaming up […]

  • NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter deployed on Mars

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    Ingenuity Helicopter’s First Flight on Mars Supported by Aluminum

    On April 19, NASA announced that the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter achieved a successful first test flight from the surface of Mars — making it the first aircraft in history to make a powered, controlled flight on another planet. In its initial autonomous flight, the helicopter achieved a maximum altitude of 10 ft (3 m) and […]

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    Mars 2020 Perseverance Mission Prepares for Launch with Aluminum

    The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. Each Mars mission is part of a continuing chain of innovation, relying on past missions for proven technologies and contributing its own technical developments to future missions. As with previous missions, aluminum […]