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Rocket Lab raises $75 million for production of electron rocket with 3D printed engine Aerospace

by Aerospace

US and New Zealand based rocket manufacturer Rocket Lab has closed a $75m Series D financing round, led by Data Collective, with additional investors Promus Ventures and an undisclosed investor. The company has partnered with this group of investors because of their experience in the space industry. They have also renewed participation in this round from existing investors – Khosla Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners and K1W1 – who have provided continued expertise and support in the company’s effort to make space accessible to everyone. The closure of the round brings the total funding Rocket Lab has received to date to $148 million, with the company value now in excess of $1 billion (USD). Currently, small satellite companies wait years to get on orbit, often at the mercy and schedules of larger payloads. With Electron, they will be provided a high-frequency, quality launch service that will take customers where they want to go, when they want to fly. The commercial and humanitarian applications this will open up are endless. The satellites Electron will launch are used to provide optimized crop monitoring, natural disaster prediction, Internet from space, improved weather reporting, up-to-date maritime data and search and rescue services.

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EnvisionTEC Bioplotter Used at Northwestern to 3D Print with Lunar and Martian Soil 3D Printing Processes

by Aerospace

A team at Northwestern University developed a comprehensive approach for creating robust, elastic, designer Lunar and Martian regolith simulant (LRS and MRS, respectively) architectures using ambient condition, extrusion-based 3D printing of regolith simulant inks. The LRS and MRS powders were characterized by distinct, highly inhomogeneous morphologies and sizes, where LRS powder particles are highly irregular and jagged and MRS powder particles are rough, but primarily rounded. The inks are synthesized via simple mixing of evaporant, surfactant, and plasticizer solvents, polylactic-co-glycolic acid (30% by solids volume), and regolith simulant powders (70% by solids volume). The Study was published in Nature Journal.

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EOS North America Awards Incodema3D the First AM Quality Certification 3D Printing Processes

by Aerospace

EOS, a global technology leader for industrial 3D printing, awarded the first Additive Manufacturing Quality (AMQ – AM Quality) certification in North America to Incodema3D, a leader in direct metal 3D printing. The AMQ certification strengthens Incodema3D’s position in the AM market by ensuring customers a reliable supply chain for additively manufactured (AM) parts and components.

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Quality Assurance Software Provider Sigma Labs Forms Alliance with Engineering Solutions Experts Morf3D 3D Printing Processes

by Aerospace

Sigma Labs, Inc, a provider of quality assurance software under the PrintRite3D brand, today announced that it has signed a commercial alliance with engineering solutions experts Morf3D to bring enhanced solutions for additive manufacturing (“AM”) to the aerospace and defense (“A&D”) sector. Morf3D, based in El Segundo, California, is an AM product developer specializing in high-level consulting and manufacturing services including conceptualization, optimization, metallurgical examination, certification and data analysis.