ARTSAT 3D Printed Satellite Sends ‘Poetry’ Back from Space

IMTS

Share this Article

InternalStructureThe last pair of signals to reach Earth from the ARTSAT came from the lonely void some 4.7 million kilometers away in space during January.

Akihiro Kubota

Akihiro Kubota

The first 3D printed satellite in history, the ARTSAT was both a sculpture and a space vehicle, and it was a project launched by a collaborative initiative between Tama Art University and the University of Tokyo.

Made up of two groups, the satellite manufacturing engineering group and a satellite utilization art group, the Japanese team say they wanted to “help build a society where satellites and the universe are familiar in our daily lives.”

“Although satellites are usually invisible, they silently orbit the earth at ultra-high speed, transmitting various data,” says Professor Akihiro Kubota of Tama Art University. “The art satellite has no specific mission such as scientific exploration or engineering demonstration. We hope to introduce an awareness of satellites and the universe into our lives. This will be achieved by creating media art works, for example, that appeal to human perception and sensation using familiar data transmitted from the satellite such as temperature, brightness, and attitude. Another example is the design of everyday products and applications such as furniture and accessories linked to the satellite’s motion, status, and environment.”

ARTSATOne month after the Deep Space Sculpture “ARTSAT2:DESPATCH” was put into an Earth-escape orbit as a part of H-IIA F26 rocket’s launch payload from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the device stopped sending radio signals, but the signals were never really the point of the project.

According to Kubota, the project had an artistic mission to create a “deep-space sculpture” and create “generative poetry” while transmitting that poetry back to Earth. It was also meant to “test the use of 3D printed parts for spacecraft,” and it succeeded on both counts.

Kubota says the sculpture’s 3D printed design took into account structural, thermal, and electromagnetic characteristics to perform on-board verification of the effectiveness of its 3D printed parts and instruments. He adds that the project will gather information about design methodologies of space instruments and manufacturing techniques.

Some of the key specialists participating in this project came from Nishi Musen Kenkyuusho Co., Ltd. and Yuki Precision Co., Ltd.; the device was 3D printed by the SOLIZE Corporation.

Calling the satellite a “sculptural object in deep space” and an “artificial asteroid sailing through the void eternally,” Kubota says he hopes the object “will live on in people’s memories and imaginations.”

What do you think of ARTSAT? Let us know in the 3D Printed Satellite forum thread on 3DPB.com.

artsat students  460px-CoordSystem 600px-DespatchFm_4

Share this Article


Recent News

Know Your Würth: CEO AJ Strandquist on How Würth Additive Can Change 3D Printing

Stanford Researchers 3D Print Elusive Shapeshifting Structures



Categories

3D Design

3D Printed Art

3D Printed Food

3D Printed Guns


You May Also Like

3D Printing News Unpeeled: Fatigue Strength, Electrochemical Transistors and Anycubic Hack

KTH Royal Institute of Technology along with Stockholm University has made electrochemical transistors using a Nanoscribe 3D printer. This may allow them to relatively easily make small scale and custom...

3D Printing Webinar and Event Roundup: February 4, 2024

It’s going to be another exciting week of 3D printing webinars and events, starting with our own Additive Manufacturing Strategies in New York City! Speaking of events, AMUG is holding...

3D Printing News Briefs, December 24, 2023: EBAM, DLS, & 2GL, Construction, & More

In this Christmas Eve edition of 3D Printing News Briefs, we’re starting with EBAM, DLS, and Two-Photon Grayscale Lithography (2GL) 3D printing news. Moving on, Airtech Advanced Materials Group is...

Cracks Emerge in 3D Printed Toilet, Titomic Cold Spray Used in Satellite and Nanoscribe 2GL

We previously spoke about Dubbo Regional Council implementing a $300,000 (Australian dollar) 3D printed block of toilets. That same block is now exhibiting hairline cracks and needs to be repaired....