America returns to space, and metal fabrication plays its part – The Fabricator

In May 2020 American astronauts returned to space on an American rocket with NASAs SpaceX Demo-2 mission. From the early days of SpaceX, the company questioned designs and used certain metal fabrication techniques, churning out prototypes within hours or days. The manufacturing processes were important, but collaboration between designers and manufacturers mattered even more. Photo by Joel Kowsky/NASA

In 2008 I spoke with Chris Thompson, then vice president of structures for a somewhat obscure company that had recently moved into the old Vought Aircraft complex. On the vast shop floor, where barrel-section fabrication for the Boeing 747 occurred decades before, workers bump-formed and rolled tank sections. A friction stir welding system with a retractable pin joined certain sections of aluminum and aluminum-lithium alloys, similar to those used on the Space Shuttle.

This was SpaceX, of course. Thomspon has since moved on to other firms in the burgeoning private space exploration sector. But in 2008 he was reveling in SpaceXs efficient decision-making culture. The company had developed a new way to design and manufacture a rocket. In essence, SpaceX applied speedy process improvement to what was then a slow-to-change industry.

I recall learning about SpaceX, seeing the companys early Crew Dragon spacecraft mockups, and thinking that, well, the idea was certainly aspirational, but was it realistic? Not only did Elon Musk and his team of visionaries want to launch people into space and return to the moon and Mars, they wanted to make engineering leaps in rocketry, such as with a booster that landed itself.

What a difference a dozen years make. SpaceX has successfully transported three astronauts to the International Space Station, and the booster landed itself onto a drone ship in the middle of the Atlantic. The feat showed just whats possible when smart people question assumptions.

A dozen years ago The FABRICATOR covered how they questioned designs and used rotary-draw tube bending, plate rolling, friction stir welding, and more, churning out prototypes within hours or days. The manufacturing processes were important, of course, but collaboration between design and manufacturing mattered even more. I recall the excitement in Thompsons voice when he told me about several component prototypes his team had recently worked on. When they had a question, they simply walked out to the shop and asked the engineers and technicians who ran the equipment.

Alas, that direct contact between design, engineering, and manufacturing is still lacking in many supply chains. In July our press brake columnist Steve Benson will be writing about one anonymously submitted situation where a press brake lead spent hours struggling with a part. After days of frustration, he found the print had several critical errors, including a bend deduction that was nearly half what it should have been. If designers, engineers, and manufacturing personnel were on the same page, the part would have been designed with the shops available tooling in mind.

Back in 2008 Thompson talked about similar manufacturing inefficiencies that were common in the aerospace industry, mainly thanks to communication problems between numerous component suppliers, hence his excitement working at SpaceX. The organization has grownits not just a prototype operation anymoreand Im sure some operational changes have come with that growth. But those changes are apparently working.

Throughout most of the history of human exploration, governments have taken the lead. A monarchy financed Christopher Columbus; a socialist state and a republic financed the space race. Exploration at that level simply was too risky for private enterprise to go it alone. SpaceX, Blue Origin, and others have apparently changed the risk equation.

As Colin Powell once wrote, Capital is a coward. It flees from corruption and bad policies, conflict, and unpredictability. He wrote that in the context of investors need for stable, predictable societies, but you could also apply it to endeavors too risky and expensive for the free market. Elon Musks team at SpaceX has effectively made space exploration a little more predictable and a lot less costly.

Whats next? Mars, of course. It still sounds a little far-fetched, considering all the obstacles, but a lot less so after Saturdays historic feat. When and if SpaceX helps us get to Mars, a small part of me will think of Thompson and his metal fabrication team during the companys early days. When smart people communicate well and oftenbe they designers, engineers, or on the fab shop floorgreat, even historic things can happen.

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America returns to space, and metal fabrication plays its part - The Fabricator