NASA has 3D printed an object in space for the first time

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- NASA has officially 3D printed an object in space for the first time, on board the International Space Station.

The printer was delivered at the end of September, with help from SpaceX, and it was tested for the first time this week. The object they decided to make is a small placard that says "Made in space, NASA."

NASA astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore created the test object.

"This first print is the initial step toward providing an on-demand machine shop capability away from Earth," said Niki Werkheiser, project manager for the International Space Station 3-D Printer at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. "The space station is the only laboratory where we can fully test this technology in space."

The printer was made by a California company named Made in Space, which spent a large portion of two years learning how to 3D print an object without the aid of gravity.

The test found that the part adhesion was stronger than they had predicted, and they intend to study how printing differs in low gravity. NASA will have the printed pieces sent back to Earth for further investigation.