3D printing components in low-gravity environments has been considered a tremendous challenge for space missions. A team of researchers from the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering, under the leadership of Dr. Gilles Bailet, Lecturer in Space Technology, developed a system capable of producing parts and components in orbit.

For the printing process to be successful, the team developed a granular material that works in low-gravity and in the vacuum of space to replace the traditional filaments used when 3D printing components on Earth. The new material can be quickly and reliably delivered from the feedstock tank to the printer’s nozzle.

The prototype demonstrator was evaluated on three flights with weightlessness and sharp ascents followed by rapid descents. The testing proved that the system worked as planned even in these extremely challenging environments including microgravity.

Explaining the project, Dr. Bailet said, “Currently, everything that goes into Earth’s orbit is built on the surface and sent into space on rockets. They have tightly limited mass and volumes and can shake themselves to pieces during launch when mechanical constraints are breached, destroying expensive cargo in the process. If instead we could place fabricators in space to build structures on demand, we would be freed from those payload restrictions. In turn, that could pave the way to creating much more ambitious, less resource-intensive projects, with systems actually optimized for their mission and not for the constraints of rocket launches.”

“We’ve tested the technology extensively in the lab and now in microgravity, and we’re confident that it’s ready to perform as expected, opening up the possibility of 3D printing antenna and other spacecraft parts in space,” Dr. Bailet added.

The researchers are also investigating the possibility of embedding electronics into the new materials as part of the 3D printing process.