BUZZ TV – “On a Mission” with Kevin DiMarzio from Made in Space

Each week on “On A Mission,” Penny Kievet interviews people who are on a mission to impact their community. Today, she interviews Kevin DiMarzio from Made in Space.
Made In Space (MIS) is commercializing the outer space environment by developing innovative products and concepts that benefit life here on Earth. These products use the unique environment in outer space of microgravity and thermal vacuum to create components, systems, and satellites that cannot be made on Earth. MIS focuses on three key development areas: In-Space Manufacturing & Assembly, Space Enabled Manufacturing, and Exploration Manufacturing. Each of these areas have unique applications that are interdependent and have simultaneous developments across them.
The core of in-space manufacturing & assembly is a technology suite called Archinaut. The combination of MIS developed technologies using extended structure additive manufacturing, autonomous robotic assembly, and quality verification tools allows for one-of-a-kind satellites to be constructed and assembled on-orbit using robotics for designs that could previously not be achieved. In early 2018, MIS manufactured a 37.7 meter long beam in California which currently holds the Guinness Book of World Records for “printed non-assembled piece.” This type of additive manufacturing in microgravity is only limited by the amount of material that is brought with the satellite and depicts how large structures can be generated in space that were previously limited by the size of a rocket faring.
The Space Enabled Manufacturing portfolio is comprised of payloads that manufacture products using microgravity with a final result of delivering the product back to Earth, such as optical fiber and high-grade metal alloys. Microgravity allows for sedimentation and convection to be dramatically reduced or eliminated, which prevents many types defects during the manufacturing process. This benign environment shifts the philosophy of what materials can be used and combined that allow for brand new applications and products not possible in Earth’s gravity field.
Exploration Manufacturing is a product portfolio that enable humans to travel further into the universe by providing manufacturing capabilities with many types of materials to create a swiss army knife that is used by astronauts on demand. Metals, polymers, electronics, and other processes are actively being refined that provide an entire ecosystem of manufacturing capability for producing necessary tools, spare parts, and enhancing systems that were not conceived of in the initial mission design. A representation of this type of manufacturing currently resides on the International Space Station called the Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF). AMF is the first commercially owned and operated manufacturing device on-orbit that prints parts on demand for astronaut and commercial use.
Penny Kievet is no stranger to the non-profit world having spent her entire professional career as a teacher, principal, college professor, trainer and executive with the American Management Association and now the Executive Director at City Rescue Mission. Prior to her move to Florida Penny lived and worked in Heidelberg, GR, Kansas City, MO, West Des Moines, IA and New York, NY, Kievet has served on 26 for-profit and non-profit boards as director and Board Chair and has also held local, state and national offices in numerous professional organizations and currently serves on the board of Feeding Northeast Florida, Safe To Hope, Inc. and the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions national board. Some of her recent awards include: Girls Inc. Woman of Vision, The Jacksonville Business Journal’s Woman of Influence Award, 2000 Most Notable Women in the United States, Who’s Who VIP Professional, National President of Pi Kappa Delta, 100 Top Female Executives in the Southeast , National President Cross Examination Debate Association, Outstanding Women in the Mid-west, Who’s Who in Executives and Professionals and numerous sales achievement awards.