SmallSats, including CubeSats, are quickly maturing technologically towards advanced capabilities, which will result in significant contributions to the achievement of NASA?s scientific and exploration missions. In fact, SmallSats are seriously being considered for complex, long duration missions to deep space locations and for Earth observing constellations. However, while SmallSats have the benefit of small size and mass, making them generally easier and cheaper to launch, many space applications require larger physical sizes or alternate structural architectures. These applications can be realized through the innovation of novel In-Space Manufacturing ?Constructable? techniques that can drive the utility of SmallSats even further.
In addition to direct NASA applications, the advancements from the proposed "MakerSat Demonstration Mission" effort for In-Space structural construction technologies would be directly applicable to constructing large structures in-space and enabling new missions in both the commercial space industry and the DoD. To support this assertion, TUI is already developing complementary in-space manufacturing technologies with both the DoD and commercial partners.
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