JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (December 1, 2021) – Redwire Corporation (NYSE: RDW), a leader in space infrastructure for the next generation space economy, announced today that its Redwire Regolith Print (RRP) has been awarded a 2021 Popular Science Best of What’s New Award in the Aerospace category. Popular Science’s Best of What’s New Awards winners are technologies or products that represent a significant step forward in one of ten categories
RRP, which launched to the International Space Station on a commercial resupply mission on August 10, 2021, is a technology demonstration mission developed in partnership with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The mission demonstrated core components of the fused deposition modeling printing process with regolith feedstock material using Redwire’s Additive Manufacturing Facility currently aboard the ISS. This marks the first time lunar regolith simulant was used for three-dimensional (3D) printing in space.
“It’s an incredible honor for our technology to be recognized by Popular Science as one of the most cutting-edge innovations developed this year,” said Michael Snyder, Chief Technology Officer of Redwire. “Our mission is focused on accelerating humanity’s expansion into space, and RRP and other capabilities are critical to ensuring sustainable exploration and establishing a permanent human presence on the surface of the Moon and beyond.”
The RRP mission supports NASA’s efforts to develop critical in situ resource utilization capabilities for the Artemis program and generates data to support the evaluation of the feasibility of using resources available on the Moon as the raw materials for on demand construction of housing and other structures. RRP technology is ultimately intended to manufacture infrastructure and mission hardware on the lunar surface using local materials, thus reducing launch mass for future Artemis missions. Construction applications may include landing pads, foundations, roads, habitats and habitat furnishings.
“The Best of What’s New Awards celebrates the year’s greatest feats of human ingenuity—the steps towards safer, healthier, more-sustainable and happier days ahead,” said Popular Science Editor-in-Chief Corinne Iozzio. “Despite the supply chain challenges making headlines in 2021, breakthroughs across all our categories have helped us glimpse a future brimming with possibilities. This collection, which includes everything from an artificial intelligence mapping more-efficient airline routes to mountain-bike shocks that adjust themselves on the fly, is full of items we’re proud to dub the Best of What’s New.”
For the mission, Redwire launched three custom-designed 3D printing heads and three print bed surfaces to support RRP’s on-orbit operations. All aspects of performing print operations with regolith simulant were matured through spaceflight testing using RRP. Printed samples have been returned to Earth and are undergoing scientific analysis.
About Redwire
Redwire Corporation (NYSE: RDW) is a leader space infrastructure for the next generation space economy, with valuable IP for solar power generation and in-space 3D printing and manufacturing. With decades of flight heritage combined with the agile and innovative culture of a commercial space platform, Redwire is uniquely positioned to assist its customers in solving the complex challenges of future space missions. For more information, please visit www.redwirespace.com.
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