Revisiting the shapes of spacecraft structures according to 3d additive manufacturing

The objective of this study is to investigate how additive manufacturing (AM) technologies may influence the architecture of satellite systems, namely the spacecraft design process. The benefits of AM for the “Space 4.0” are first examined and the possible consequence of the use of AM for “in space” manufacturing are highlighted. The influence of AM on satellite systems are then evaluated for the mechanical adjustments of the sub-systems, namely for the structural one. Topology optimization and design to cost approaches as part of the new design procedures suitable for AM are also investigated. The above concepts are finally evaluated in a simple test case relevant to a CubeSat. For the case study an innovative assembly logic is also proposed to illustrate the advantage of AM processes not only in terms of weight saving and shape optimization but also in view of a reduction of the number of parts and towards a significant simplification of the assembly process.