---
title: "NASA Approves Plan to 3D Print Giant Spaceship Parts in Orbit"
description: "NASA just awarded Made In Space a $73.3 million contract to demonstrate 3D-printing spacecraft parts while in orbit using a small spacecraft."
date: "2019-07-15"
modified: "2019-07-15"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-approves-plan-3d-print-giant-spaceship-parts-orbit"
categories:
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "3d printing"
  - "made in space"
  - "NASA"
  - "the digest"
---

# NASA Approves Plan to 3D Print Giant Spaceship Parts in Orbit

![NASA just awarded Made In Space a $73.3 million contract to demonstrate 3D-printing spacecraft parts while in orbit using a small spacecraft.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/nasa-approves-plan-3d-print-giant-spaceship-parts-orbit.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Made in Space

Launching large man-made structures into orbit poses extraordinary challenges. But cutting-edge 3D-printing technology could make space manufacturing far more practical — by moving the manufacturing process into the near-zero gravity environment of outer space.

NASA just awarded Made In Space [a $73.3 million](<https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-funds-demo-of-3d-printed-spacecraft-parts-made-assembled-in-orbit>) contract to demonstrate 3D-printing spacecraft parts while in orbit using a small spacecraft called Archinaut One. The craft will attempt to print two 32-foot beams that will eventually be used to hold solar arrays to both sides of itself.

https://youtu.be/DCLD-ilfdUE

## Archinaut One

Archinaut One is scheduled to launch on a [Rocket Lab Electron](<https://futurism.com/rocket-lab-successfully-launched-electron-rocket-orbit>) rocket from New Zealand "no earlier than 2022" [according to NASA](<https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-funds-demo-of-3d-printed-spacecraft-parts-made-assembled-in-orbit>).

"In-space robotic manufacturing and assembly are unquestionable game-changers and fundamental capabilities for future space exploration," said Jim Reuter, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate in a statement.

Today's news is actually the start of the second phase of NASA's partnership with Made in Space. Made in Space has already successfully 3D-printed a structural beam in a NASA facility that mimics the conditions of space in 2017.

But actual orbit will undoubtedly pose its own set of challenges.

**READ MORE:** [NASA backs demo that will 3D-print spacecraft parts in orbit](<https://www.engadget.com/2019/07/14/nasa-backs-3d-printed-spacecraft-part-demo/>) \[*Engadget*\]

**More on manufacturing in space:** *[Billionaires Are Dead Serious About Moving Factories to Space](<https://futurism.com/billionaires-dead-serious-space-factories>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)