Airbus

Bartolomeo enables the hosting of external payloads in low-Earth orbit, on-board the International Space Station ISS.

Created: 2018-11-07

Updated: 2022-09-18

Classification

In-Space Manufacturing

Category

ISS Utilization Service
ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization)

Status

1) Active

First launch

2020

Application areas include (but are not limited to) Earth observation, robotics, material science or astrophysics; payloads can be hosted for institutional and private organizations alike.
Airbus Defence and Space’s All-in-One Mission Service comprises all mission elements into one commercial contract (mission preparation, payload launch, payload on-orbit installation, commissioning, operation, payload data processing and delivery), in order to provide the customer a reliable integrated mission solution. The offer includes the option to return the entire payload or a selected sample to Earth.
Bartolomeo launch on Dragon CRS-20 in March 2020.
Successfully completed the on-orbit commissioning in March 2021 of the Bartolomeo platform, the new payload hosting facility on the International Space Station. Following the successful connection of a majority of the necessary cabling during EVA-73 mid-March, a couple of days of intense work in Bremen were concluded with a successful final test of functionality and reliability of the downlink. The ISS Crew were informed of the successful commissioning – for which their installation work during two recent EVAs was indispensable – on March 31st.
The platform has now been put in standby mode, with power and bandwidth resources released, while awaiting the arrival of first payloads, currently scheduled for early 2022.
The European aerospace giant Airbus has commenced the study phase of a factory for assembling an antenna and a satellite in earth’s orbit. Consisting of two robotic arms, a demonstrator of this concept is expected to be functional by as early as 2025. An industrial team is also working on developing a 3D printer for the International Space Station. Through the Horizon 2020 Program, Airbus will lead the PERASPERA In-Orbit Demonstration, or PERIOD project, focusing on building spacecraft while orbiting the Earth.

An international team led by Airbus Defence and Space (Friedrichshafen, Germany) with scientists from Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM (Dresden, Germany), Boston University (Massachusetts, USA) and Abengoa Innovación (Seville, Spain) has successfully demonstrated the production of oxygen and metals from simulated lunar dust (regolith) with the Airbus-invented process named ROXY (Regolith to OXYgen and Metals Conversion). Airbus believes ROXY could revolutionise human space exploration.
Metal3D, developed by Airbus for the European Space Agency (ESA), is a real game changer. It uses metal as source material and prints it at 1,200 degrees Celsius to produce new parts such as radiation shields, tooling or equipment directly in orbit. Future versions of the 3D printer could also use materials such as regolith (moondust), or recycled parts from decommissioned satellites. As early as the end of this decade, 3D printers could also be used on the Moon, enabling a sustainable human presence there by printing structures for lunar rovers or habitats. 3D printing in space or on the Moon is only the beginning. Airbus wouldn't be Airbus if it didn't take in-space manufacturing to the next level. As soon as in the next three to four years, it will be producing and assembling entire satellites in space. So its next satellite factory will not be in Europe or the United States, but in space, hundreds of kilometers above us!

Classification

In-Space Manufacturing

Category

ISS Utilization Service
ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization)

Status

3) Development

First launch

2020

Bartolomeo enables the hosting of external payloads in low-Earth orbit, on-board the International Space Station ISS.

Application areas include (but are not limited to) Earth observation, robotics, material science or astrophysics; payloads can be hosted for institutional and private organizations alike.
Airbus Defence and Space’s All-in-One Mission Service comprises all mission elements into one commercial contract (mission preparation, payload launch, payload on-orbit installation, commissioning, operation, payload data processing and delivery), in order to provide the customer a reliable integrated mission solution. The offer includes the option to return the entire payload or a selected sample to Earth.
Bartolomeo launch on Dragon CRS-20 in March 2020.
Successfully completed the on-orbit commissioning in March 2021 of the Bartolomeo platform, the new payload hosting facility on the International Space Station. Following the successful connection of a majority of the necessary cabling during EVA-73 mid-March, a couple of days of intense work in Bremen were concluded with a successful final test of functionality and reliability of the downlink. The ISS Crew were informed of the successful commissioning – for which their installation work during two recent EVAs was indispensable – on March 31st.
The platform has now been put in standby mode, with power and bandwidth resources released, while awaiting the arrival of first payloads, currently scheduled for early 2022.
The European aerospace giant Airbus has commenced the study phase of a factory for assembling an antenna and a satellite in earth’s orbit. Consisting of two robotic arms, a demonstrator of this concept is expected to be functional by as early as 2025. An industrial team is also working on developing a 3D printer for the International Space Station. Through the Horizon 2020 Program, Airbus will lead the PERASPERA In-Orbit Demonstration, or PERIOD project, focusing on building spacecraft while orbiting the Earth.

An international team led by Airbus Defence and Space (Friedrichshafen, Germany) with scientists from Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM (Dresden, Germany), Boston University (Massachusetts, USA) and Abengoa Innovación (Seville, Spain) has successfully demonstrated the production of oxygen and metals from simulated lunar dust (regolith) with the Airbus-invented process named ROXY (Regolith to OXYgen and Metals Conversion). Airbus believes ROXY could revolutionise human space exploration. The core of the ROXY technology is based on electrochemical reduction by molten salt electrolysis. AIRBUS US feels this proposal for a Regolith to Oxygen and Metal Conversion demonstrator is an excellent fit to the scientific goals and objectives of NASA to enable sustainable lunar exploration. The demonstrator is also a robust sturdy design, is self-contained with modest demands on the lander and its landing site and can achieve its objectives within one lunar day. Future applications of this technology can easily be scaled to a future lunar-based pilot plant for oxygen and metal conversion, and some aspects can be applied usefully to terrestrial applications e.g. for rare-earth metal extraction.
Metal3D, developed by Airbus for the European Space Agency (ESA), is a real game changer. It uses metal as source material and prints it at 1,200 degrees Celsius to produce new parts such as radiation shields, tooling or equipment directly in orbit. Future versions of the 3D printer could also use materials such as regolith (moondust), or recycled parts from decommissioned satellites. As early as the end of this decade, 3D printers could also be used on the Moon, enabling a sustainable human presence there by printing structures for lunar rovers or habitats. 3D printing in space or on the Moon is only the beginning. Airbus wouldn't be Airbus if it didn't take in-space manufacturing to the next level. As soon as in the next three to four years, it will be producing and assembling entire satellites in space. So its next satellite factory will not be in Europe or the United States, but in space, hundreds of kilometers above us!

Updated: 2022-09-18

Classification

In-Space Manufacturing

Category

ISS Utilization Service
ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization)

Status

3) Development

First launch

2020

Bartolomeo enables the hosting of external payloads in low-Earth orbit, on-board the International Space Station ISS.

Application areas include (but are not limited to) Earth observation, robotics, material science or astrophysics; payloads can be hosted for institutional and private organizations alike.
Airbus Defence and Space’s All-in-One Mission Service comprises all mission elements into one commercial contract (mission preparation, payload launch, payload on-orbit installation, commissioning, operation, payload data processing and delivery), in order to provide the customer a reliable integrated mission solution. The offer includes the option to return the entire payload or a selected sample to Earth.
Bartolomeo launch on Dragon CRS-20 in March 2020.
Successfully completed the on-orbit commissioning in March 2021 of the Bartolomeo platform, the new payload hosting facility on the International Space Station. Following the successful connection of a majority of the necessary cabling during EVA-73 mid-March, a couple of days of intense work in Bremen were concluded with a successful final test of functionality and reliability of the downlink. The ISS Crew were informed of the successful commissioning – for which their installation work during two recent EVAs was indispensable – on March 31st.
The platform has now been put in standby mode, with power and bandwidth resources released, while awaiting the arrival of first payloads, currently scheduled for early 2022.
The European aerospace giant Airbus has commenced the study phase of a factory for assembling an antenna and a satellite in earth’s orbit. Consisting of two robotic arms, a demonstrator of this concept is expected to be functional by as early as 2025. An industrial team is also working on developing a 3D printer for the International Space Station. Through the Horizon 2020 Program, Airbus will lead the PERASPERA In-Orbit Demonstration, or PERIOD project, focusing on building spacecraft while orbiting the Earth.

An international team led by Airbus Defence and Space (Friedrichshafen, Germany) with scientists from Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM (Dresden, Germany), Boston University (Massachusetts, USA) and Abengoa Innovación (Seville, Spain) has successfully demonstrated the production of oxygen and metals from simulated lunar dust (regolith) with the Airbus-invented process named ROXY (Regolith to OXYgen and Metals Conversion). Airbus believes ROXY could revolutionise human space exploration.
Metal3D, developed by Airbus for the European Space Agency (ESA), is a real game changer. It uses metal as source material and prints it at 1,200 degrees Celsius to produce new parts such as radiation shields, tooling or equipment directly in orbit. Future versions of the 3D printer could also use materials such as regolith (moondust), or recycled parts from decommissioned satellites. As early as the end of this decade, 3D printers could also be used on the Moon, enabling a sustainable human presence there by printing structures for lunar rovers or habitats. 3D printing in space or on the Moon is only the beginning. Airbus wouldn't be Airbus if it didn't take in-space manufacturing to the next level. As soon as in the next three to four years, it will be producing and assembling entire satellites in space. So its next satellite factory will not be in Europe or the United States, but in space, hundreds of kilometers above us!

Updated: 2022-09-18