If you're already 3D-printing homes and designing structures for the moon, why not also print rocket pads?
That’s what Austin-based startup Icon Technology has been up to, among other things, as they 3D-printed a lunar launch and landing pad prototype at a military camp in Bastrop. Icon teamed up with students from 10 colleges who are part of NASA’s Artemis Generation that designed the reusable launch pad, which one day could be printed with moon dust — although they used a special cement mixture for this Earthly test project.
The students on the team first conceptualized the project in 2019, and they started work with Icon to print the prototype in October. Then, earlier this week, the team got together at Camp Swift east of Austin to conduct its first static fire test, meaning the rocket fired as would be expected but didn’t leave the launch pad. The team reports that it worked as designed.
“This is the first milestone on the journey to making off-world construction a reality, which will allow humanity to stay - not just visit the stars,” Michael McDaniel, Icon's head of design, said in an announcement.
Icon was founded in 2017 by CEO Jason Ballard, Alex Le Roux and Evan Loomis. It has raised more than $44 million. Last fall, the company announced a $14.55 million federal Small Business Innovation Research contract, awarded by the U.S. Air Force, to develop an automated construction system that may be used on the moon. Its 3D-printed homes recently went on sale for the first time to the general public.
Check out the slideshow from Icon below, as well as a video highlighting different phases of the projects.
ICON's 3D printed rocket pad
This story has been updated to correctly describe the partnership between Icon and NASA’s Artemis Generation program.
