Comparing the in-space weld to its terrestrial equivalent

Comparing the in-space-made weld, seen left, to its terrestrial equivalent, right. This is the historic result of the very first autonomous welding to be performed in space, and the first ESA has been involved with. No welds have been performed in orbit for four decades – until this recent automated ThinkOrbital experiment, involving an electron beam welding gun, flown on the first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 launched from Cape Canaveral on 6 May.