Northwest Aerospace News February | March 2019 Issue No. 7 | Page 11

T
he name Tethers Unlimited came from
the first project that they did under a contract
with NASA, where they were asked to use
tethers to remove satellites from orbit.
“We got started by winning a
contract with NASA’s small
business innovation research
program.”
They had an interest in space tethers, so they
won contracts to discover how to drag satel-
lites from orbit, but Hoyt added, “We were
25 years from the market being ready for us
to clean up space debris.”
Over the past 10 years he said that they
worked on many satellite missions and how
to transport people and payloads into space.
“When we first started, we were focused on
a long wire or cable deployed from a space
craft. We have branched out into an area that
doesn’t involve tethers, but we have a good
name and brand recognition,” Hoyt said. But
he said that there could be confusion with
the name since their work is much broader
now.
REFABRICATOR™
The Refabricator™, combines a plastic
recycling system with a 3D printer to enable
astronauts to recycle plastic waste into
high-quality 3D printer filament, and then use
that filament to fabricate new parts, medical
implements, food utensils, and other items
that the astronauts need to maintain their
spacecraft and perform their missions.
FEBRUARY | MARCH 2019 ISSUE NO. 7
11