NC State sending crafted coin to space aboard Orion craft

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — A titanium alloy coin that North Carolina State University engineers assembled from a 3-D printer is flying into space.

The coin displaying the NC State Bell Tower is slated to be aboard an unmanned test flight of the Orion spacecraft launching from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station today.

Orion is NASA’s first new spacecraft for humans in more than a generation, succeeding the now-retired space shuttles. Orion is meant to corral an asteroid sometime in the next decade, followed by Mars in the 2030s.

NC State is taking a lead in 3-D printing technology. The titanium alloy used for the coin is typically used in advanced aerospace and medical device applications.

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