4. PRODUCTS AND MARKETS

ASI-built products

In order to survive in the harsh environments of space and other planets, humans need a variety of special structures, including pressure vessels, shelters, and solar panels. Many of these are composed of simple shapes that are efficiently manufactured using ASI’s acoustic shaping technology, such as:

• Space-Station outer and interior panels: Large, flat- and curved-wall structures play a major part in human space exploration. These panel shapes are ideally suited to ASI technology, both in fabrication and in design/analysis/simulation.
• Heat Shields: Lunar regolith provides excellent raw material for sintering operations using acoustic shaping, to develop re-entry heat shields to be attached to spacecraft in orbit. This can cut the launch weight from earth enough to make a substantial difference to the payload, and thus to the per-pound launch costs.
• Nozzles: Convergent-divergent nozzles made of high-temperature materials are vital for gas-based space thrusters. Earth-based launch weight and frontal-area drag in atmospheric flight drive the design of these nozzles at present, constraining them to operate far below ideal efficiency. Space-fabricated nozzles obviate these problems. ASI has the expertise in gas/plasma dynamics, materials, aerothermodynamics, and mathematical modeling to construct these for future space propulsion systems.
• Pre-fabricated, pressurized habitation modules: The technical issues are the same as those of space station panels. As the industry develops, habitation modules will represent a standardized mass market, justifying ASI diversification into the other technologies involved in providing complete, pre-fabricated modules.
• Plumbing components: As curved surface fabrication becomes standardized, plumbing systems will be mass-produced using ASI technology.
• Pressure vessels: Again, the technical issues are similar to those of habitation modules.

• Composite Part Manufacturing: ASI can virtually eliminate the cost of tool design for composite parts, as well as eliminate the thermal problems of molds and jigs encountered in Earth-based manufacturing. Though the use of non-contact manufacturing, rapid and flexible automation of prototypes is enabled, resulting in quicker turnaround time for space based operations. Thus it is possible that, with reliable access to launch facilities, space-based composite manufacturing may one day be able to compete with Earth-based manufacturing, even for earth-based applications.
• Pharmaceuticals, Crystals, Semiconductors: All such industries can benefit from the technology of ASI.

The real issues here are:

• Variety and cost of materials obtained from the Moon, from Phobos, and from asteroids.
• Performance of epoxies, melts and other binding mechanisms in acoustic fields.
• Cost of adapting the PCAST chambers to various types of material processing.
• The cost and extent of pre-and post-processing required for each application.

Extension to other forms of manufacturing

ASI aims to lead the Space construction industry. The initial reason for confidence is the ready availability of Acoustic Shaping technology. With revenues generated from this, ASI will diversify to add other technologies as opportunities arise. For example, the synergy between bioengineering and microgravity construction may lead to radically different methods of "growing" structures. Pure crystal growth is already seen as a major industry for microgravity; again this may be absorbed into our technologies. Moreover, we conceptualize that such a method could be used in conjunction with hollow aluminum or aluminum oxide spheres and a bonding, reinforcing epoxy-resin to form regular, virtually perfect spheres, cylinder, curved walls, straight walls, and many other complex shapes simply through the alteration of the resonant field.

Plans for Future Manufacturing Application Research

Plans for future work include:

1. Further development of technology and processes involved therein
2. Acquiring epoxy-resins for use in manufacturing experimentation processes
3. Currently researching possibility of using several types of resins as our medium

1. UV Curable---Epoxies, Etc.—60-7010 & 60-7010-2 (each cures in 5 seconds under 300W/in^2 UV light
2. Heat Curable---Cape Composites---Cape 2000 & 3000 series of resins
3. Various CA’s and epoxy coating systems being explored