There may be no corner hardware store at the International    Space Station, but that doesnt mean the astronauts cant get    what they need.  
    In a first, the space station crew was able to craft a new tool    in space, using their specially designedZero-G 3D printer    and a design emailed from the ground.  
    The tool, a ratchet, was designed by Made in Space, the    California company that created the 3D printer on board the    orbiting space lab.  
    The 3D printer has been used on the space station before, but    only for designs that were tested and loaded before it left    Earth.  
    This time, the tool was designed and tested on the ground and    then emailed to the printer, which spit it out in about four    hours, the company said in a statement.  
    The ratchet was designed as one print with moveable parts    without any support material, the company said.  
    The parts and mechanisms of the ratchet had to be enclosed to    prevent pieces from floating in the microgravity environment.  
    A prototype was printed at a lab in California and sent to NASA    for safety inspection and then the design file was sent to the    orbiting printer.  
    The whole process took less than a week, from concept to    completion, it added.  
    The ratchet, along with all other items printed at the space    station, will eventually be returned to Earth to be compared    for any differences with their counterparts printed in full    gravity.  
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Space station crew gets new ratchetover email