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by walrus01 819 days ago
> The thing that immediately jumped into my head is coded military use. Especially since they mention the printer being based on a military design.

a significant portion of the funding for the shuttle came from the USAF, and one of its capabilities (to capture and return a large satellite) was a USAF requirement. They even went as far as building an entire launch pad for it at Vandenberg, which came very close to being used.