Space metallurgy: New development opportunities.

The article examines main opportunities in developing space metallurgy; it is noted that metallurgy includes processes of cleaning metals from unwanted impurities, production of metals and alloys, metal thermal treatment, casting, coating the product surfaces, etc. Most of these processes include phase transitions to liquid or gaseous states, where the influence of mass forces magnitude on composition and structure of the final material could be significant. Therefore, transferring metallurgical processes into space opens up fundamentally new possibilities in production of materials with improved characteristics, as well as of those materials that could not be obtained on Earth. Unique crystals and alloys could be produced in space. The article reveals goals of the space metallurgy development, considers the unique conditions of outer space, explores the promising areas of space metallurgy, which includes production of rare ultra-strong crystals and alloys, development of processes for assembling, welding, soldering and repairing metal structures in orbit, production of composite materials, nanostructured composite powders, foam metals. A number of measures is proposed in developing the space industry, special attention is paid to ergonomics of new materials, which should be lightweight and reduce the weight of aerospace vehicles by more than a half. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]