San Francisco, March 8, 2013 (DIYROCKETS/Sunglass PR) – Today DIYROCKETS and Sunglass are announcing a partnership to launch the world’s first open source competition to create 3D printed rocket engines through collaborative design.

The competition opens for registration at South By Southwest (SXSW) on March 9, and challenges makers, designers and space entrepreneurs to create open source rocket engines that will serve the growing market for small payload delivery into low earth orbit and ultimately, disrupt the space transportation industry.

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PULLMAN, Wash. (WSU PR) — Imagine landing on the moon or Mars, putting rocks through a 3-D printer and making something useful – like a needed wrench or replacement part.

“It sounds like science fiction, but now it’s really possible,” says Amit Bandyopadhyay, professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Washington State University.

Bandyopadhyay and a group of colleagues recently published a paper in Rapid Prototyping Journal demonstrating how to print parts using materials from the moon.

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International Space Station

Made in Space, a company formed out of the most recent Singularity University summer session, is getting a bit of publicity on its efforts to send a 3-D printer to the International Space Station. Space.com reports:

Three-dimensional printers make objects by sequentially depositing thin layers of “feedstock,” which can be metal, plastic or a variety of other materials.

Printing out parts in space would save a great deal of time and money, according to Made in Space. And the technology could eventually be transplanted to other worlds such as the moon, where it could help human colonies gain a foothold by printing out robot parts or buildings, piece by piece.

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International, Legal and Economic Considerations
Chairman: Brad Blair

“Mining Law and Property Rights for Outer Space”
Wayne White, Oceaneering Space Systems

“Economic Incentives and Tax Credits for Space Resource Development”
Eva Jane Lark, BMO Nesbitt Burns

“The ILO as Property Rights Agent”
Steve Durst, International Lunar Observatory Association and Space Age Publishing Company

“3D Metal Printing in Space: Enabling New Markets and Accelerating the Growth of Orbital Infrastructure”
Jason Dunn, Aaron Kemmer, Michael Chen, David Hutchinson and Brad Blair — Made in Space
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