3D Print NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in Honor of its 25th Anniversary, Thanks to SketchFab, 3D Hubs & NASA

When it comes to 3D printing, one organization which is not shy by any means in showing their enthusiasm toward the technology is NASA. While many groups are quick to criticize 3D printing for its weaknesses which are constantly being improved upon, NASA has fully embraced 3D printing as a technology of, and for the future.  3D printing will be one of the leading factors in the evolution of manufacturing, not only here on Earth, but in outer space and on other planets as well.

Whether it is 3D printing objects on the International Space Station with help from Made In Space, or if it is planning ways in which we will one day create settlements on other plants by 3D printing large protective structures, NASA has been making incredible strides as of late.

This past Friday marked the 25th Anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope being in Earth’s orbit. It marked 25 years of studies that have allowed us to become better acclimated with our solar system, our galaxy, and other far reaching galaxies up to several billion light-years away. If it weren’t for the Hubble Telescope, our knowledge of space probably would still be very close to where it was 25 years ago.

In January of this year, NASA made special 3D printable files available to download of the Hubble Space Telescope, via their 3D Resources website. This weekend, however, this initiative was taken a step further as the files encompassing the entire 3D printable version of the telescope have been uploaded to Sketchfab, where users can download and view each file individually prior to printing them out at home.

“The printable models of the NASA Hubble Telescope, are now available on Sketchfab,” Corentin Metgy of Sketchfab explained to 3DPrint.com earlier this weekend. “Hubble is 25 years old today! We have the complete folder of parts that visitors can download and print (at home or) with 3D Hubs directly.”

The great thing about this is that you don’t need to own a 3D printer in order to get your very own 3D printed Hubble Space Telescope. Because of SketchFab’s recent partnership with 3DHubs, you can now order a print directly from the Sketchfab website or the embedded rendering. At the same time, each and every part of the Hubble Telescope is viewable in 3D via Sketchfab’s software. If you have your own 3D printer, you can download and print the telescope now, free of charge!

Have you 3D printed the Hubble Telescope yet? We’d love to see how your’s came out. Show it off, and discuss in the 3D Printed Hubble Space Telescope forum thread on 3DPB.com.