Category: Energy & Environment – Sponsored by Mazak
Project: NextSpace Testrig
Partners: University of Glasgow and the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC)
In-space manufacturing is a rapidly developing research area, with several experiments having already been conducted onboard satellites and the International Space Station (ISS). The technology has the potential to significantly reduce launch costs as well as enable new methods of space exploration and create new forms of material. But manufacturing in space also comes with heightened risk.
Materials in space are subjected to a hard vacuum that cycles rapidly between extremes of temperature. This means that imperfections such as tiny bubbles or poorly melted sections that might be inconsequential on Earth can behave differently in space. Until now, no research facility has been dedicated to ensuring that polymers, ceramics and metals printed in orbit will be able to withstand the extreme physical strains they will face in space.
Our C2I winner in the Manufacturing category seeks to address this issue. Developed by Glasgow University’s Dr Gilles Bailet in partnership with The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), NextSpace Testrig is a world-first facility for testing the structural integrity of materials 3D-printed in space. The facility uses a vacuum chamber capable of generating temperatures between -150°C and +250°C to simulate conditions in orbit. Its magazine system can autonomously test multiple samples in a single cycle, applying up to 20kN of force to break samples and analyse their properties in vacuum conditions.
According to the project partners, there is no other system in the world that can perform mechanical characterisation under these combined conditions, making NextSpace Testrig the standard for space material qualification. It supports the emergence of sustainable in-space manufacturing (ISM), where parts are printed and used in orbit or on the Moon. The facility’s design has also informed a proposed in-orbit demonstrator alongside future plans for a deployable lunar version, highlighting the adaptability of this innovation from lab to mission.
“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,” said Dr Bailet. “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.
“However, the potential also comes with significant risk, which will be magnified if efforts to start 3D printing in space are rushed out instead of being properly tested. Objects move very fast in orbit, and if a piece of a poorly made structure breaks off it will end up circling the Earth with the velocity of a rifle bullet. If it hits another object like a satellite or a spacecraft, it could cause catastrophic damage, as well as increase the potential of cascading problems as debris from any collisions cause further damage to other objects.”
Supported by the UK Space Agency, the NextSpace collaboration delivered the world’s first compact platform capable of applying mechanical loads to materials while simultaneously simulating ultra-high vacuum and dynamic thermal cycling. Now known as the Multi-Purpose Environmental Chamber (MPEC), the system has already demonstrated its critical importance. For example, one testing campaign revealed that 3D-printed Nylon PA12 lost up to 43 per cent of its fracture strain in vacuum conditions – a degradation conventional ambient tests simply could not predict. These insights are vital to space hardware designers, enabling better risk modelling and more efficient structural design.
The project partners were motivated by this key shared objective from the outset: to improve the safety, reliability, and certification processes of space manufacturing. The University of Glasgow led the conceptual design, environmental modelling, and scientific validation of the facility, while the MTC contributed manufacturing and integration expertise, ensuring that the system could meet industrial requirements for repeatability, robustness, and scalability.
Throughout the project, collaboration was sustained through regular joint reviews, shared work packages, and co-authored deliverables. Technical exchange was enhanced by collocating engineers for key integration phases and conducting validation testing in parallel with design optimisation.
The collaboration extended beyond the immediate partners. Workshops and end-user engagements were held with key UK and international stakeholders including ESA and industrial users in the US, Australia, and Europe. Feedback from these sessions directly informed the design of the MPEC facility and shaped its use cases, including for lunar InSitu Resource Utilisation (ISRU) testing and in-orbit manufacturing
Importantly, the collaboration has also helped set the stage for long-term impact. The success of the partnership has led to the formation of a spin-out company, backed by the Scottish Enterprise High Growth Spin-Out Programme, to commercialise in-space 3D printing technologies. The MPEC facility is now open for external use, enabling other researchers, startups, and large aerospace firms to test their components in true space-like conditions.
“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,” said Dr Bailet.
“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.”
Policy and safety impact have also emerged from the project. MPEC’s results are being shared with ESA’s Advanced Manufacturing Division and national regulators, informing future qualification protocols for 3D-printed materials in space. In addition, the project achieved exceptional public engagement. Over 60 media features, including a widely circulated article in The Engineer and an interview on BBC Scotland Radio, have helped demystify the challenges of building in space.
