【Space Tech Expo USA】New Trends Seen from the Frontlines of Rocket and Satellite Development
Space Tech Expo USA was held in Long Beach, California, on May 13–15. Warpspace CSO Mori attended the conference and participated in a panel discussion.
Space Tech Expo USA is a mid-size conference with over 3,000 attendees. Its unique feature is its emphasis on presentations related to the supply chain essential to rockets and satellites, such as reaction wheels, star trackers, optical communication terminals, and their components (optical fiber, connectors, FPGAs). “I felt there was just like a current field of space development” Mori said.
Will 3D printing (additive manufacturing) create a new wave in rocket and satellite development?
At the Space Tech Expo USA, Mori was particularly impressed with the use of 3D printing (additive manufacturing) to create various shapes by layering metal materials to produce parts for rockets and satellites. About one in ten companies is using this new method to produce parts for rockets and satellites, indicating that the use of 3D printing is gradually becoming mainstream. Of particular note was DMG MORI, one of the world’s largest machine tool manufacturers, which used steel and aluminum nozzle printing to produce many large parts, excluding connectors and ICs. Satellite and rocket components have been molded using molds. While molding with molds is suitable for the mass production of standardized parts, it is very costly for the small-lot production of specialized parts. On the other hand, 3D printing is not as costly as molding for mass production, but for small quantities of specialized parts, all that is needed is the model data to be output and filament.
As of 2023, with the development of large rockets such as NASA’s SLS, it will be possible to transport and utilize many satellites into space, including services provided by constellations such as Starlink. The key to this is the standardization and componentization of launch vehicles and satellites. This is expected to enable the use of custom-designed rocket and spacecraft components, which have been custom-made in the past, to meet the demand for large numbers of launches. However, at the same time, 3D printing, which allows for the creation and testing of various shapes rather than mass production, is beginning to gain prominence. This was an interesting trend to see. It is increasingly important to see how these technological seeds will play a role in the future supply chain of space development.
The Importance of Optical Communications as Seen at Space Tech Expo USA
Mori participated in a panel, “The Growing Role of Optical Communications for Terrestrial and (Deep) Space-based Applications” and the panel was enlivened by splendid guests, such as Tina Ghataore, CCO of Mynalic, Justin Luczyk, GM of Tesat Government (the US branch of Tesat, the German opticom terminal provider, for government security), Mark Lapenna, CEO of Xenesis. More than 150 people attended as an audience, and the venue was packed with them.
The panel discussedthe benefits of optical communications on the ground and in space, the needs, and the challenges to implementation, each in detail from their respective professional perspectives. Optical communications attracted a great deal of attention at this year’s Space Tech Expo USA because it is an important technology in the implementation of satellite constellations, which have become increasingly active in recent years. It is also symbolic that three of the six companies introduced as main speakers in this year’s brochure are optical communication companies (Mynalic, Tesat, and Warpspace). These facts reaffirmed that the industry recognizes that optical communication is an indispensable technology for the future development of satellites.
