Space Welding

Boeing s gore weld tool is one of several advanced friction stir welding tools used by nasa to produce the space launch system the largest most powerful rocket booster ever built.

Space welding. Although astronauts find that welding in space can produce similar results as welding on earth they also realize how dangerous welding is in an unpredictable environment. In 1969 russian cosmonauts first performed welding experiments in space. As reported by the sydney morning herald the russian cosmonaut valery kubasov was the first person to attempt vacuum welding in space in the 1960s as part of the preparations to build the first world space station salyut 1. Despite the advancement of welding technology and its role in extraterrestrial emergencies the best way to prevent problems is to avoid them in the first place.

In 2009 the european space agency published a peer reviewed paper detailing why cold welding is a significant issue that spacecraft designers need to carefully consider. In space mechanical problems in early satellites were sometimes attributed to cold welding. Since then other astronauts have conducted welding experiments using many different welding methods. Welding in space can be used to assemble large spacecraft and orbital stations repair spacecraft equipment and produce materials and articles with special properties that cannot be obtained on earth.

Metals that can be welded under space conditions include aluminum titanium alloys and stainless and heat resistant steels.