3D Printers

This morning, commander BarryWilmore installed a 3-D printer at the international space station.The printer was about the size of a microwave oven.The 3D printer installed in the MSG isn't quite that printer yet -- the astronauts will be using it to test how well 3D printing works in microgravity. My question is, when will we have availability to this kind of technology on earth? This printer can strokes objects out of plastic feedstock. Mike Snyder, Made in Space lead engineer, stated this-

"This is a very exciting day for me and the rest of the team. We had to conquer many technical challenges to get the 3D printer to this stage. This experiment has been an advantageous first stepping stone to the future ability to manufacture a large portion of materials and equipment in space that has been traditionally launched from Earth surface, which will completely change our methods of exploration."

 

Hardware and software are both in full operating condition due to mechanical checks done by commander Wilmore. To me, this really shows how much our technology has evolved in time.

This is commander Wilmore installing the printer.

Is "space travel" in our future?

        According to Virgin Galactic's, space travel could be in our future. However, Many people are doubting that this fantasy will ever happen. This is due to safety precautions. Many are criticizing the company. Chris Taylor at Mashable explains how This shouldn't even be called space tourism. He states that "...these people should be called space pioneers.Is not tourism." I believe that this was just a simple falter. Everyone must fail at sometime to succeed. Therefore, Virgin Galactic's has announced that it will be a hefty $250,000 to aboard a space shuttle in the future. Several people have already bought tickets to go to space, such as Justin Bieber, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Ashton Kutcher. If I had this kind of money, I certainly would be on the list as well.