#NASA April 2020 #Micrometeoroids and #SpaceDebris will strike an #orbiting Station throughout its lifetime, as is evident on the #ISS, where several #solar arrays show #damage caused by micrometeoroids. The #hope is that the #meteoroids will not hit any #critical areas and cause #emergency #evacuation of the structure. Damage from meteoroids may include damage to #habitation modules.
#Welding is one of the best ways to create hermetic seals. The ability to #weld these structures without waiting for new equipment may limit the #risks to #astronauts in the event of damage.This ability for rapid #repair may also become more significant as orbiting Stations such as #Gateway move further from #Earth and the associated #cost of shipping parts increases. It is important to #develop these technologies now.

#NASA has recently funded work on #development of #spacewelding capabilities https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20200002259/downloads/20200002259.pdf