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Radwire Corporation, a next generation space economy infrastructure company, made the #1 sale of its optical crystals manufactured at the located industrial crystallization facility. International Space Station (ISS, its abbreviation in English). The purchaser was the Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis at Ohio State University, USA.
According to a newsletter published by Quartz Portal, although samples of Moon rocks have already been sold at auction, this is the first time a product manufactured taking advantage of the space environment has been marketed on Earth.
Andrew Rush, Space President and COO, said in a statement, “This is an exciting milestone that validates our commercialization plan to manufacture space-capable products in low Earth orbit and continues to drive demand for production in space.” enhances.” Redwire.
In the transaction, Professor John Horack obtained a two-gram sample of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) crystals used to make high-powered lasers. The amount paid was US$4,000 (approximately R$21 thousand). They received the product in a small bottle in a FedEx box.
Now, researchers and university students will cut the crystal into thin sections and closely examine its properties, so that they can be compared to crystals grown on Earth. RadWire hopes this analysis will show that increasing the element in microgravity resulted in fewer defects and more useful products.
Rush noted that his team has spent decades researching space in order to find materials that are both viable and economically interesting. He also pointed out that the strategy is to work with the launch and operations infrastructure that currently exists, and in collaboration with NASA and the Center for the Advancement of Space Studies (CASIS), it may be possible to increase crystal production. ISS.
“This is a defining moment for the commercialization of space. As we continue to refine production techniques for various products, we are now shifting our focus beyond Pathfinder demonstrations to enable the production of space-enabled products in a sustainable, sustainable manner.” Profitable and large-scale to grow. Redwire’s orbital factory is open for business and we are expanding our in-orbit capabilities to serve new markets.
Despite this, Quartz believes that achieving greater amounts of manufacturing means more infrastructure in orbit. Thus, “commercial free-flying spacecraft or habitats will be needed, with more spacecraft regularly visiting them and returning to Earth.” The US space agency predicts that this ecosystem will be developed over the next decade.
