TOMSK, Feb 1 – RIA Tomsk, Karina Sapunova. Developers of the
3D-printer designed for work in zero gravity, on Wednesday for the first time
demonstrated its work to crew of the International Space Station (ISS), the
rector of Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU), which scientists participate in
the project, Petr Chubik reported to RIA Tomsk.
Earlier it was reported that on Wednesday there took place the communication
session of the Tomsk school students with astronauts of the ISS within the
project "Lessons from Space". School students of Tomsk and the Tomsk
region participated in the lesson, via video there was broadcasting to several
pedagogical universities of Russia. Young residents of Tomsk communicated to
onboard the ISS Andrei Borisenko, Sergey Ryzhikov and Oleg Novitskiy.
"Imagine, you study in the fifth or seventh grade, and your question
answered you from space! If I had an opportunity in the childhood to ask a
question to astronauts who are in orbit, perhaps, it would change my destiny.
This is a very important event for children. But, besides, one more purpose of
the lesson was to show to crew of the ISS how the printer works", – said
Chubik after the lesson.
According to TPU, while in "class" the image with the ISS was
broadcasted, the crew of the space station saw the hall in Tomsk where children
sat and where the 3D-printer prototype was delivered. During the session on it
was printed the detail which was "ordered" by astronauts.
"We look forward when it (3D-printer) appears at us onboard – it will
allow to press necessary details in the conditions of zero gravity, in the
conditions of long space flight. And then we will be able to perform small
repair work directly in space, without waiting for the help from Earth", –
astronauts told during the conversation with school students.
Earlier it was reported that TPU scientists and Institute of Strength Physics
and Materials Science of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science
create the 3D-printer for work on spaceships and in an outer space. It is
supposed that the experimental device to be delivered to the International
Space Station (ISS) in 2018. So far it prints polymers, but in the future it's
planned to also use other materials, including reinforced ones.