Qualified Production for the Millennium Falcon

Conference Abstract: If Han Solo stopped by Earth for a repair panel for the Millennium Falcon, he would want to purchase a component that has been qualified for spaceflight. Additive manufactured parts can be qualified for spaceflight using NASA-STD-6030. This technical standard published by NASA is an outstanding resource for qualification of all the critical requirements of manufacturing – facility, equipment, personnel, materials, process and product. This presentation will explain how Big Metal Additive is implementing NASA-STD-6030 for aluminum 2319 alloy to meet demanding spaceflight acceptance for structures such as docking rings and other crewed spaceflight hardware. The implementation method extends to other industry qualification standards, and similarities will be shown to qualification standards from AWS, ASME and API. Importantly, these standards become less of a mystery and less intimidating when you can see how they are actionably implemented. And if you’re ready for NASA, you can be ready for Han Solo and really, ready for anything.