New Lab Aims to Help Space Industry Test Space-Made 3D Printed Materials

Insider Brief

• The University of Glasgow has unveiled the world’s first dedicated facility, the NextSpace Testrig, to test materials for in-space manufacturing under simulated space conditions.
• Developed by Dr. Gilles Bailet and backed by the UK Space Agency, the system evaluates structural integrity of 3D-printed materials across extreme vacuum and temperature cycles ranging from -150°C to +250°C.
• The facility aims to prevent debris-causing failures in orbit by stress-testing polymers, ceramics, and metals, supporting the safe advancement of space-based manufacturing and strengthening the UK’s growing role in the global space industry.

A new testing facility in Glasgow could play a critical role in making 3D printing in space safer and more viable.

Researchers at the University of Glasgow‘s James Watt School of Engineering have developed the NextSpace Testrig, the first dedicated platform for testing the structural integrity of materials intended for in-space manufacturing, according to the university.

Funded by the UK Space Agency, the project is led by Dr. Gilles Bailet in collaboration with the Manufacturing Technology Centre. The facility uses a custom-built vacuum chamber that simulates space conditions, cycling between temperatures from -150°C to +250°C. These extreme conditions help assess how 3D-printed polymers, ceramics, and metals hold up under orbital stress.

“3D printing is a very promising technology for allowing us to build very complex structures directly in orbit instead of taking them into space on rockets,” Bailet noted in a press release. “It could enable us to create a wide variety of devices, from lightweight communications antennas to solar reflectors to structural parts of spacecraft or even human habitats for missions to the Moon and beyond.”

In-space manufacturing could transform how space missions are equipped by allowing structures to be built in orbit, reducing payload weight and cost. However, without rigorous testing, the risk of structural failure increases. Imperfections such as microbubbles or weak welds, benign on Earth, could cause parts to shatter in space, the university pointed out. Any resulting debris would contribute to the growing problem of space junk, posing a threat to satellites and spacecraft.

The NextSpace Testrig is designed to mitigate these risks. It applies up to 20 kilonewtons of force to test breakage points and includes an autonomous magazine system to evaluate multiple samples in a single run. The goal is to create a data foundation for setting future safety standards in orbital manufacturing.

“The NextSpace TestRig is open to academic colleagues, researchers and commercial clients from around the world to help them ensure that any materials they plan to 3D print in space will work safely,” Bailet added. “We also expect that the data we’ll be gathering in the years to come, which can’t be replicated anywhere else in the world at the moment, will help regulatory authorities to make safety standards for in-space manufacturing, informed by real-world testing.”

Bailet’s team has also developed a prototype space-ready 3D printer, tested aboard a reduced-gravity aircraft, as part of broader research into additive manufacturing in microgravity.

“We are proud to have supported the University of Glasgow in developing the world’s first facility for testing 3D-printed materials in space-like conditions,” Iain Hughes, Head of the National Space Innovation Programme at the UK Space Agency said in a statement. “This innovation will help to drive UK advancements in space manufacturing, unlocking numerous benefits and meeting the government’s growth ambitions while ensuring safe and sustainable space use.”