Lifeboat Foundation

Montana this month gave a City of Billings contractor approval to build homes using 3D-printed walls for new construction in the state. The technology Tim Stark, the contractor, is using comes from Apis Cor, a Florida-based technology company that emphatically states on its website, “We print 3D buildings.”

The first time I encountered Apis Cor was when I wrote about the state of 3D-printed buildings back in 2016. Then Apis Cor was Russia-based and was working with a U.S. company. The website links in my posting back then for both the Russian and U.S. company no longer work. So I am guessing that the Apis Cor of today represents the evolution of both the technology platform as well as the business.

The current version of Apis Cor has constructed a number of pilot homes in the U.S. and the biggest 3D-printed building in the world in the United Arab Emirates. The technology has complied with some international building code standards but not yet in the U.S. Getting regulatory approval from the state of Montana, however, will likely open the door to seeing 3D printers being used more extensively here in North America, and can help lower the cost of home builds and solve growing demand.

And their method is faster, cheaper, and more sustainable.

Recently, many projects have been carried out using recyclable materials for sustainability. One of these projects was implemented by the Los Angeles-based architectural startup Azure.

Azure is using recycled plastic to 3D print prefab homes. The startup is now selling many house models ranging from a backyard studio to a two-bedroom ADU.

Continue reading “Backyard Studios, ADUs & Homes” »

Azure.

Azure is using recycled plastic to 3D print prefab homes. The startup is now selling many house models ranging from a backyard studio to a two-bedroom ADU.

Painting playgrounds blue to reflect visual and infrared sunlight to reduce surface temperatures to fight the urban heat island effect.

Painting roofs white is seen as a way to reduce surface and building interior temperatures. Using blue paint adds infrared reflectivity.

The start of the Moon base begins with the Lunar Space Station going online. This is where Elon Musk’s SpaceX Lunar Starship, the HLS (Human Landing System) docks — picking up astronauts to take to the Lunar surface.

It only takes 3 days to reach the Moon. So technological development happens rapidly. From Lunar dust shields, a crater telescope, and a Boring Company tunnel digger digging out lava tubes for Lunar habitats, to a Lunar railroad using levitating cargo robots.

Continue reading “MOON BASE — THE FIRST 10,000 DAYS (Timelapse)” »

China, which face population collapse due to low fertility rate, is starting to take steps to encourage more births.

China’s fertility rate is 1.1 children per woman. Replacement level to maintain a stable population size is 2.1 children per woman.

A total of 17 Chinese government departments on Tuesday jointly released a guideline on support policies in finance, tax, housing, employment, education and other fields to create a fertility-friendly society and encourage families to have more children, as the country faces growing pressure from falling birth rates.

Continue reading “17 Chinese govt departments issue guideline to boost population growth amid falling birth rate” »

I find the following interesting because Firefly Aerospace is just a few miles from my house plus it is an example of one more company pulling out of Russia for good. Russia’s economy will be much weaker by the time this war is over and their space industry will be decimated.

Northrop Grumman is moving production of the engines and structures for its Antares rockets to the U.S. from Russia and Ukraine, a move that will have cascading effects throughout the space industry.

The aerospace giant said Monday it will move Antares production fully to the U.S. through a partnership with Texas-based Firefly Aerospace. Northrop Grumman had purchased Russian RD-181 engines to power the Antares 230+ series, and the rocket’s main body was manufactured by Ukraine’s Yuzhmash State Enterprise.

Continue reading “Northrop Grumman moves Antares rocket work to U.S. from Russia and Ukraine with Firefly partnership” »

Sustained space exploration will require infrastructure that doesn’t currently exist: buildings, housing, rocket landing pads.

So, where do you turn for construction materials when they are too big to fit in your carry-on and there’s no Home Depot in outer space?

“If we’re going to live and work on another planet like Mars or the moon, we need to make concrete. But we can’t take bags of concrete with us—we need to use local resources,” said Norman Wagner, Unidel Robert L. Pigford Chair of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Delaware.

With the push of a button, a messy bedroom becomes a spotless living room. America’s housing crisis isn’t going away, but technology that allows small spaces to serve multiple purposes could help.