Space-based research has many different faces.

First: studying “what’s outside the window” or, in other words, the universe, both within our solar system and beyond. Second: the mundane (but crucial) questions whose answers are needed to stay on the ISS (International Space Station) for prolonged missions… like “better ways to recycle shower water” or other wastes. Just as important is studying the effects of space on humans or other living things. Finally, and maybe this takes the greatest degree of imagination and creativity… science questions or technologies that are hard to study in “normal” (earth) gravity but well-suited to tackle in microgravity.

The company (SHOT / Techshot / Redwire) has focused mainly on this last category… work that involves a lot of innovation. Accordingly, 35 years of their innovative projects can’t really be summarized in 100 words or less. So, here are some headline items that have “incubated” in the minds of Mark Deuser and Rich Boling during the ISS lifespan, listed in alphabetic order.

Bioprinting. More precisely, 3D-bioprinting was first pioneered in space…by Techshot. It is now also called biofabrication. Redwire is currently the world leader of biofabrication in space with a “permanent” installation on the ISS. 3D-bioprinting differs from “ordinary” 3D-printing which uses filament made of plastics or other polymers. Instead, it digitally prints “structures” using a slurry of living cells plus other materials needed to form a blood vessel, a heart valve or… in the knee, a meniscus (a unique kind of cartilage lining, functioning as a shock absorber inside the knee joint.

Bone densitometry: Decreased bone density inevitably occurs with longer stays in space; it closely resembles osteoporosis. You may be familiar with bone densitometry scans, performed to screen for osteoporosis. It uses X-rays… that’s a problem for studying “in-space” bone density changes (in lab animals, for example). Clinical densitometry (on earth) uses a big heavy “X-ray tube” that requires 50,000 to 80,000 volts. That’s a size problem for the ISS; the high voltage is also a safety risk. Techshot solved both problems, conducting various bone density experiments in space.

Crystallization. Crystals are physico-chemical structures with distinct geometric shapes. Typically, crystals form from very pure amounts of one chemical compound. Think of salt crystals (NaCl, sodium chloride) or quartz crystals (SiO2, silicon dioxide). These are small molecules with just two or three atoms in each molecule. Are you aware that many large molecules can form crystals too? For example, there are hemoglobin crystals. Hundreds of biomolecules… and now, especially biopharmaceuticals… can be crystallized, but the process is often very challenging, bordering on impossible to create a crystal even “as big as a snowflake”. A controlled biocrystallization process behaves differently in microgravity (gravitational force can cause crystals to collapse). It’s one of the most game-changing “space manufacturing” possibilities available in Redwire’s portfolio of capabilities. Very soon, some new and unique biopharmaceutical product that you need for immunotherapy… might come from this process, “originating on an earth orbit near you!”

Microfluidics. Now that’s a word you probably won’t use in everyday conversation! It also goes by the name of “laboratory-on-a-chip”. Microfluidics devices are not much bigger than thumb drives, but they typically contain dozens of ultra-tiny channels, valves and often… various detectors, all digitally controlled. Many processes that involve chemical reactions or biological responses to one thing or another… are adaptable to a microfluidics chip. The flow of fluids and particles (white blood cells, for example) through a channel can differ in microgravity, providing unique ways to study “what’s happening” inside the chip.

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