Description: We are proposing an to develop a direct write electronics and avionics printing capability within the Techshot BioFabrication Facility currently funded and anticipated to be deliver to the International Space Station in late 2018. We are calling this new system Software and Tools for Electronics Printing in Space or STEPS as it will be another step forward to truly having multimodal digital manufacturing ability in space. Throughout this program we will develop the direct write tools, software and platform to test various combinations of conductive and nonconductive materials for antennas, circuit masks and circuit layouts to prepare to move forward to add pick and place capability and substrate printing to build complete circuit boards and eventually complete 3D circuit structures. Although many of the necessary technologies exist, a key feature in out platform will be a unifying open-source software package. We believe that moving to open-source will broaden the potential user base but will also provide the control, training, security and stability that can only occur when the user community is allowed access to the source code. This is a paradigm shift in the commercial controls world but is readily embraced in the 3D printing world. Now as a dual use system, the BioFabrication Facility plus STEPS will not be limited to crew demands or vehicle availability which may limit biological systems. It will be able to print replacement or upgraded electronics or avionics when it?s not printing tissues. Our end goal is to have enough added capability that the facility will never need to sit idle, space on an exploration vehicle is too valuable.

Benefits: The space services segment is the core of Techshot?s business plan. In the initial stages of our new product introduction, Techshot?s commercialization strategy is largely dependent on infusion into NASA programs. Through its Space Act Agreement and its IDIQ contract, Techshot will offer both the STEPS equipment and the services associated with flight hardware, which are expected to be highly desired by NASA-funded researchers and personnel within NASA?s Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) division. AES pioneers new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems ? demonstrating key capabilities, and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond low-Earth orbit. AES activities are uniquely related to crew safety and mission operations in deep space, and are strongly coupled to future vehicle development. STEPS could prove to be a key resource that enables human pioneering beyond low Earth orbit.

Techshot?s commercial space history traces to co-founder John Vellinger?s 1989 Kentucky Fried Chicken-funded space flight experiment with chicken embryos. Later, throughout the 1990?s, Techshot was a pioneer in commercial space flight research, becoming one of the first companies of its kind to be paid by non-NASA, non-space centric organizations to process materials in space. As an official CASIS Implementation Partner, Techshot has been successfully marketing its hardware and services to a new generation of commercial companies that may not have previously participated in space research and/or materials processing. Companies such as Novartis and Eli Lilly have recently used Techshot on-orbit equipment. The wearable electronics market is expected to break $20 billion this year. The old way of making electronics by laying copper on rigid printed circuit boards is not cutting it anymore. Like everything else in our lives; faster, smaller, cheaper is the driver but softer, tactile and aesthetic are also key. This is where we will shine with what we learn. Multi-material, 3D high tech electronics packaged in new ways to withstand the rigors of space in small packages. These could be game changers in consumer products also. Techshot is partnering with nScrypt, a leading digital manufacturing company, to terrestrially commercialize intellectual property resulting from SBIR contracts.