Existing standards as the framework to qualify additive manufacturing of metals

National security space agencies are funding large programs to develop additive manufacturing (AM) for use in satellites and launch vehicles within the next three years. However, no AM standard for the space industry presently exists, and the government faces the prospect of using AM before a standard has been developed. AM is a process sensitive manufacturing technique that currently displays large variability. In the last 40 years, other process sensitive techniques (such as casting, powder metallurgy, welding, and composites) have been successfully qualified for the space industry under an existing sound framework of standards that include AIAA S-110-2005: Space Systems - Structures; Metallic Materials Properties Development and Standardization (MMPDS); and TR-RS-2014-00016: Test Requirements for Launch, Upper-Stage and Space Vehicles. These standards are used to define requirements that form a framework guidance to qualify additively manufactured metal parts for space systems.