Nano Dimension, a leading additive electronics provider announced in an official release that it has received grant approval from the Israel Innovation Authority, for developing hardware that will fly on the International Space Station (ISS) and communicate with Harris’ ground-based satellite tracking station in Florida. This unique project is being conducted in collaboration with Harris Corporation, a leading technology innovator that provides solutions that connect, inform and protect its clients.
This project will provide a systematic analysis of 3D printed materials for radio frequency (RF) space systems, especially for Nano-satellites.
The total approved budget for the Israeli portion of this project is approximately $416,000 of which the Israel Innovation Authority will finance 40%. According to the terms of the grant, Nano Dimension will pay royalties on future sales up to the full grant amount.
The Harris portion of the project is sponsored by a grant from Space Florida. During this one-year project, both companies will optimize the designs of the 3D printing process and RF components and prepare a system for the flight studies at the ISS.
This project has been selected by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, the manager of the ISS U.S. National Laboratory, to fly the space flight experiment on the ISS, using the team’s 3D printed materials and circuits. In this project, the companies will pioneer the first of a kind space flight experiment, that will fly in space at low earth orbit for one year on the ISS, helping to understand how 3D printed circuits, systems, and materials will endure in various space environments.
This project will demonstrate innovative methods for manufacturing new RF systems. Until now, manufacturing of RF systems has remained static for the last 30 years with each circuit in its own “gold box/boxes” interconnected with cables and connectors. With 3D printing, the industry can explore a new manufacturing paradigm, that eliminates manual labor and streamlines production. Another benefit to this technology is a reduction/elimination of wasted material, making it a “green” process.
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