Glasgow University develops 3D printing system for space
Manufacturing in space a step closer
This technology marks a major leap towards enabling orbital factories to print advanced tech on demand in space
Researchers at the University of Glasgow in Scotland have developed a groundbreaking 3D printing system for zero-gravity, advancing space manufacturing technology.

This technology marks a major leap towards enabling orbital factories to print advanced tech on demand in space
In a significant development to space manufacturing, researchers at the University of Glasgow, a leading university in Scotland, have introduced a revolutionary 3D printing system designed for zero-gravity environments. This technology marks a major leap towards enabling orbital factories to print advanced tech on demand in space, potentially transforming the way components are produced for space exploration and industry.
In a press statement, the University of Glasgow says that Gilles Bailet, from the James Watt School of Engineering, has been awarded a patent for a new system that overcomes the challenges of 3D printing in zero-gravity. It adds that his technology has recently undergone rigorous testing during a series of trips aboard a research airplane known as the ‘vomit comet.’
Bailet says solving the challenge of 3D printing in low-gravity could pave the way for orbital fabricators to produce parts for novel equipment never seen before in space.
According to the statement, this equipment could include solar reflectors to generate zero-carbon power for transmission to Earth, improved communication antennas, or drug research stations capable of producing purer, more effective pharmaceuticals.

Bailet has spent years developing a prototype 3D printer tailored for space use
Glasgow University says that Bailet has spent years developing a prototype 3D printer tailored for space use. Unlike Earth-based printers, it uses a granular material designed for microgravity and space vacuum, allowing faster and more reliable delivery to the nozzle.
It adds that Bailet and his team are also exploring embedding electronics into the materials, enabling the creation of functional components and recyclable space systems.
It further adds that their prototype demonstrator proved effective in microgravity during the 85th European Space Agency parabolic flight campaign in November, in collaboration with Novespace in Bordeaux, France. The team tested their kit on three flights, experiencing over 90 brief periods of weightlessness during sharp ascents and descents, a challenge that has earned the planes the nickname ‘vomit comet.’
The statement adds that during each 22-second period of weightlessness, the team closely monitored the prototype’s dynamics and power consumption, confirming that the system functioned as intended in microgravity conditions.

Gilles Bailet
It adds that Bailet and his team are seeking funding for the first in-space demonstration of their technology. They are also working, with support from the UK Space Agency, to ensure future in-space manufacturing projects do not contribute to space debris. The project is funded by the University of Glasgow’s Glasgow Knowledge Exchange Fund, the EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account, and supported by Professor Colin McInnes’ RAEng Chair in Emerging Technologies and the RAEng Proof of Concept award.
“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 optimised for their mission and not for the constraints of rocket launches,” says Bailet.
“Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is capable of producing remarkably complex materials quickly and at low cost. Putting that technology in space and printing what we need for assembly in orbit would be fantastically useful. We have tested the technology extensively in the lab and now in microgravity, and we are confident that it is ready to perform as expected, opening up the possibility of 3D printing antenna and other spacecraft parts in space,” Bailet adds.
“Similarly, crystals grown in space are often larger and more well-ordered than those made on Earth, so orbital chemical factories could produce new or improved drugs for delivery back to the surface. It has been suggested, for example, that insulin grown in space could be nine times more effective, allowing diabetic people to inject it once every three days instead of three times a day, as they often have to do today. However, what works well here on Earth is often less robust in the vacuum of space, and 3D printing has never been done outside of the pressurised modules of the International Space Station. The filaments in conventional 3D printers often break or jam in microgravity and in vacuum, which is a problem that needs to be solved before they can be reliably used in space. Through this research, we now have technology that brings us much closer to being able to do that, providing positive impacts for the whole world in the years to come,” says Bailet.