A drink among the stars on Spaceship Neptune

With the successful first flight of Spaceship Neptune-Excelsior (and second overall uncrewed test demonstration) completed; Space Perspective is now taking a moment to reflect on the extraordinary accomplishments that have been completed. We join them by reproposing this interview we conducted with Co-CEOs Taber MacCallum and Jane Poynter for our AM Focus 2020 eBook (you can download the full issue here) on their use of additive manufacturing (AM) to help make their Spaceship Neptune dream into a reality

In just a few short years, Spece Perspective’s world-class team of engineers has designed and built a SpaceBalloon™, a fully operational, first-of-its-kind capsule that is supported by a reserve descent system, and retrofitted the first marine spaceport for human spaceflight, MS Voyager.

All of this has culminated in the recent launch of Excelsior, a capsule that will provide Explorers with a safe, gentle, and transformative ride to space. Space Perspective’s work continues to pioneer a new way to experience space travel, getting one step closer to its mission of making space accessible to more humans than ever before.

How 3D printing will give us all a new Space Perspective

Led by Co-CEOs Taber MacCallum and Jane Poynter, both space industry veterans and life support system experts, Space Perspectives is the startup realizing the vision of taking people to the edge of space, aboard a stratospheric balloon. At about 100,000 feet above the planet’s surface, SpaceShip Neptune will give more regular people the opportunity to see the Earth, floating against the blackness of space, while sipping a cocktail from the comfort of a private bar. Space Perspectives’ balloon is expected to take off for the first commercial rides by 2024 and – you guessed – 3D printing is going to play a big part in making this happen. To understand exactly how 3D printing fits into this picture we spoke with Mr. MacCallum on the occasion of the new company’s official launch.

MacCallum and Jane Poynter are no strangers to 3D printing. They also founded two other companies that make intensive use of these technologies, Paragon Space Development and World View. Paragon is the company that provides life support systems and other components for complex space structures such as the ISS, or upcoming space vehicles such as Sierra Nevada’s Dreamchaser and Boeing’s Starliner. World View was the first company founded to bring humans to space in a stratospheric balloon however it shift to using this technology in order to provide high quality stratospheric imagery services. As the technology and materials continue to evolve, they will play an even greater role in the development of the Spaceship Neptune capsule.

Let’s get right to it. Why is 3D printing necessary for making this project a reality?

Taber MacCallum: “Let me start by giving you an actual example, a project we conducted with Paragon Space Development Corporation: in 2014 we broke the skydiving record taking senior Google executive Alan Eustace, who is a former pilot and expert skydiver, to 40 km (25 miles) above the Earth. He then leaped out in a specially-designed space suit, reaching speeds of more than 1,300km/h. Many parts of the suit were custom-made and 3D printed, including the entire control system in the front. It wasn’t just a matter of customizing the parts, but also the ability to produce multiple iterations, very quickly. There is a whole range of systems that will benefit from additive manufacturing in space, not just for life support but also for many types of plumbing and ducting components inside the capsule.

How will this knowledge be applied to the Neptune Spaceship project?

TM: “3D printing is not only cheaper than producing parts with molds, it is also a lot faster. Especially if we use internal machines. At World View Enterprises we have internal 3D printers just to make parts. We use those for about 25% of the printed parts we need and we outsource the rest to the large service bureaus, depending on the quantities and material requirements.”

Did you already identify the parts that may be 3D printed in the new capsule?

TM: “We are not far into it, but I imagine there will be several. In general, I think that we will need to have a lot of 3D printed ducts. These will be used, for example, in the complex structure needed to support the full-size windows, that let guests get the full view of space around the Earth. In order to make sure they don’t get clogged up a -80°C we will need to keep the boundary layer next to the glass moving all the time, so there will be a lot of air flowing through it. All that ducting and the vents that circulate the air will be 3D printed. So I do see a very large amount of 3D printing, not only for shapes that we could not make otherwise but also for weight optimization and for the possibilities that this technology offers to use materials that are very hard to machine.”

Do you think that 3D printing is one of the reasons why so many startups are emerging in the new space economy?

TM: “There is no doubt that AM is an enabler. Keeping to schedule and containing the team size end up being key factors in determining the success or failure of a startup. CAD programs are going a very long way in making people and teams more productive. Many of these programs are developed specifically with additive manufacturing in mind. We recently started using Onshape and it has enabled us to set up online collaborations with several people working on a part and the inherent process management. SaaS, and now MaaS with 3D printing, are opening up new possibilities to address projects that would otherwise be too expensive. It’s the combination of good structural and thermal analysis tools with new-generation CAD tools that are easy to use and to learn. Startups that are born with these practices have an advantage over companies using more traditional approaches.”

What are the limits of these technologies?

TM: “I wouldn’t talk about limits as much as further improvements. In order to fully leverage the benefits of AM, the software still needs to improve in terms of system engineering. AM doesn’t just make better parts but it can be also used to shape parts in order to make better systems. Our spacecraft – and any aircraft – is a perfect example of a very integrated system. When you tweak one part you need to tweak a number of parts connected to it. 3D printing lets you create parts that can enable optimized systems and software needs to help engineers seamlessly optimize these systems.”

With this in mind, what is your timeline now?

TM: “We will run the first unmanned test of the Neptune by the first quarter of next year. This will not be a pressurized capsule but it will be a full-scale test to the full altitude. Within two and a half years we are looking to launch the first unmanned pressurized capsule and in three and a half years we are looking to start human test flights. Within four and a half to five years, we now expect to start commercial operations.”

Who will be able to go on Spaceship Neptune?

TM: “Let’s be clear, our goal is to make space accessible to as many people as possible. Seeing the Earth from space can be an enlightening experience and that’s exactly what many astronauts report. Additive manufacturing will help us make this project a reality while containing costs. The very first flights will likely cost no less than $100,000 per person. It will be an opportunity mainly for corporations, organizations and artists, as well as educational opportunities. We are in touch with an organization called Space for Humanity which shares our same goals of expanding access to space. As demand grows, our main priority is getting costs down so that even more people will be able to experience it.”