Masten Space Systems: How AM Will Get NASA Back to The Moon
NASA has named the nine US companies, including Lockheed Martin Corp, that will compete for funding under the space agency’s renewed long-term moon program, the Nasa Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS). It is a $2.6 billion private-public undertaking to develop technology that will explore the lunar surface. Compared to the first “moon race” of the 60’s, advanced manufacturing technologies – and in particular additive manufacturing – are making it more cost effective to develop and deploy space systems. So much so that startups and private companies can play a major role. We recently spoke with Masten Space Systems, one of the private companies selected for the CLPS, and learned how they – and their partner Elementum 3D – are using AM to go where no private company has gone before.