Lifeboat Foundation

A new space race is in the works, thanks to 3D printing. This time around, it’s not about large government agencies vying to blast human astronauts into uncharted territory. Instead, today’s competitors are aerospace startups like Rocket Lab and Relativity Space that are trying to launch satellites into orbit.

After two years in development, Project MELT (Manufacturing of Experimental Layer Technology) has resurfaced with a prototype microgravity 3D printer.

Made for the European Space Agency (ESA) the Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) breadboard machine is designed to 3D print high performance polymers aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and other off-world locations.

Engineering.com lists some of the most exciting companies that are using 3D printing to take humans into space.

The VULCAN system from Made In Space combines metal deposition with machining to create metal parts.

This incredible 3D printer can create living human tissue.

The CEO of Inglewood space start-up Relativity is trying to automate aerospace production by using robotics and 3D printing to make satellite-launching rockets. The company plans its first test flight in 2020.

Digital Trends recently paid a fascinating visit to the headquarters of Cellink, one of the most exciting companies working on 3D bioprinted organs. Here is how the up-and-coming bioprinting company from Gothenburg, Sweden is hoping to change the future of medical science as we know it.

Meet the startup hoping to colonise the final frontier, one zero-gravity 3D printer at a time.

Olivia Solon

In case you weren’t already terrified of robots that can jump over walls, fly or crawl, Army researchers are developing your next nightmare — a robot squid.