Abstract: Deployment of welding and additive manufacturing (AM) technologies in the space environment has the potential to revolutionize how orbiting platforms are designed, manufactured, and assembled. These technologies offer the option for repair of sustained damage to habitat structures on space missions, as astronauts would be able to manufacture new parts (using welding-derived AM processes suitable for use in the external space environment) and weld cracks. An added benefit is that required repa...

Source: A Review of Welding in Space and Related Technologies