3D Printing in Space Could Lead to Safer Space Missions

Learn more about the 3D space printer that could help make space missions safer and open the doors for more in-space manufacturing.

By Monica Cull
Jan 13, 2025 9:00 PMJan 13, 2025 8:49 PM
3D-printed-astronauts
(Credit: MarinaGrigorivna/Shutterstock)

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Researchers from the University of Glasgow unveiled a 3D printer that can create material in microgravity, which could improve space flight and may also help create better resources to use back on Earth. 

The patent for this new technology has been awarded to Gilles Bailet from the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering. This printer could help improve communication transmissions back to Earth and eventually help create purer forms of essential pharmaceuticals. 

“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,” said Baliet in a press release. 

Printing and Defying Gravity 

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