Space Station Crew Talks to Student Designer of 3-D Tool04:33

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 47 Commander Tim Kopra and Flight Engineer Jeff Williams of NASA conducted a question and answer session June 15 with a student involved in the design of a concept for 3-D printing aboard the orbital laboratory. Speaking to the crew members from the Marshall Space Flight Center’s Payload Operations and Integration Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Robert Hillan of Enterprise, Alabama, discussed the Space Tool Challenge for the Teen Group (ages 13-19) that included his design of a Multipurpose Precision Maintenance Tool. Like a Swiss Army knife, the tool has a number of important components that allow an astronaut to complete tasks with comfort and ease. Hillan’s design was transmitted from Marshall to the Additive Manufacturing Facility on the station as Hillan watched the printing take place. Hillan is in his junior year at the University of Alabama where he is studying aerospace and mechanical engineering.