Researchers Create Satellite Sensors with 3D Printing

Liputan6.com, Jakarta – Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) created the first plasma sensor for satellite which is entirely produced using the approach 3D Printing (3D printing) to orbit the spacecraft.

These plasma sensors, also known as Retarding Potential Analyzers (RPAs), are used by satellites to determine the chemical composition and energy distribution of ions in the atmosphere.

Compared to conventional methods, sensors 3D printing these can be produced for tens of dollars in a matter of days. Due to their low cost and fast production process, these sensors are ideal for CubeSats.

CubeSats are satellite small, inexpensive, low power, and light weight that is often used for communications and environmental monitoring in Earth’s upper atmosphere.

The researchers developed RPA using a glass-ceramic material that is more durable than traditional sensor materials such as silicon and thin-film coatings.

Using glass-ceramic in a fabrication process developed for 3D printing with plastic, the sensors are constructed in complex shapes that can withstand the temperature changes that spacecraft would encounter in lower Earth orbit.

“Some people think that when you print something 3D, you have to admit the lower performance. However, our research has shown that this is not always the case,” said Luis Fernando Velásquez-García, principal investigator at Microsystems Technology Laboratories (MTL) at MIT and senior author of the paper.

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