New photosensitive resin harnesses solar radiation for low-power 3D printing in vacuum
TOKYO — (BUSINESS WIRE) — May 16, 2022 — Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO:6503) announced today that the company has developed an on-orbit additive-manufacturing technology that uses photosensitive resin and solar ultraviolet light for the 3D printing of satellite antennas in the vacuum of outer space.
The novel technology makes use of a newly developed liquid resin that was custom formulated for stability in vacuum. The resin enables structures to be fabricated in space using a low-power process that utilizes the sun’s ultraviolet rays for photopolymerization. The technology specifically addresses the challenge of equipping small, inexpensive spacecraft buses with large structures, such as high-gain antenna reflectors, and enables on-orbit fabrication of structures that greatly exceed the dimensions of launch vehicle fairings. Resin-based on-orbit manufacturing is expected to enable spacecraft structures to be made thinner and lighter than conventional designs, which must survive the stresses of launch and orbital insertion, thereby reducing both total satellite weight and launch costs.
For the full text, please visit: www.MitsubishiElectric.com/news/
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220516005401/en/
Contact:
Customer Inquiries
Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
www.MitsubishiElectric.com/ssl/contact/company/rd/form.html
www.merl.com
Media Inquiries
Takeyoshi Komatsu
Public Relations Division
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
Tel: +81-3-3218-2346
prd.gnews@nk.MitsubishiElectric.co.jp
www.MitsubishiElectric.com/news/
