The AXON connector will facilitate in-space assembly of satellites, exploration probes, and habitats for robotic and manned missions to the moon, Mars, and deep space destinations. Specific NASA Technology Roadmap topic areas that can benefit from the AXON connector include very large solar array structure (12.2.1.4), reusable modular components (12.2.5.4), deployables, docking, and interfaces (12.3.1), power management and distribution (3.3), structures and antennas for observatories (8.2.2), and systems engineering for robotic and autonomous systems (4.7).
Beyond spacecraft applications, the advancements the AXON connector enables for in-space structural construction technologies will be directly applicable to constructing large structures in-space and enabling new missions in both the commercial space industry and the DoD. TUI is already developing complementary in-space manufacturing technologies with both the DoD and commercial partners.
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