Revolutionizing Flight Hardware: 3D Printed Aerospace Components in Orbit

Aerospace Additive Manufacturing in Orbit: Engineering a 3D Printed Satellite for Flight

For decades, aerospace manufacturing has been defined by aluminum, titanium, and long lead times. Structural components were machined, fastened, inspected, and assembled through processes that prioritized certainty over speed. 

So what happens when additive manufacturing isn’t just prototyping hardware, but flying in orbit? 

That’s exactly what happened when former NASA scientist Tony Boschi and the team at Sidus Space set out to build LizzieSat, a partially 3D printed satellite designed to launch aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-9 mission. 

What they proved along the way is something every engineering leader should pay attention to: 

Aerospace additive manufacturing is no longer experimental. It’s operational.

Tony Boschi of Sidus Space explains how continuous carbon fiber 3D printing and Markforged materials enabled the development of LizzieSat, a partially 3D printed satellite designed for multi-industry missions.

The Engineering Constraint: 100 Kilograms, No More

LizzieSat was designed under a strict mass limit: the entire satellite must weigh less than 100 kilograms. 

For aerospace engineers, that number immediately defines the problem. 

Batteries consume mass. Flight computers consume mass. Payload systems consume mass. Power systems consume mass. 

Structure is often where weight reduction opportunities remain, but structure also must survive: 

• 5G launch loads
• Solar radiation exposure
• Thermal swings approaching 300°F (200°C)
• Multi-year orbital life 

During launch, gravity multiplies. A five-pound internal component effectively weighs 25 pounds at 5G. A 100-pound structure experiences 500 pounds of force. That load case alone eliminates many materials from consideration. 

The Sidus team wasn’t looking to build a single-purpose spacecraft. They envisioned a flexible satellite bus platform capable of supporting multiple customers, industries, and mission types. Instead of launching dozens of specialized satellites, LizzieSat could adapt to varied payloads. 

That flexibility required a structural system that was lightweight, strong, rapidly iterated, and precisely manufactured. Traditional machining wasn’t going to get them there fast enough.

Why Aerospace Additive Manufacturing Changed the Equation

With conventional aluminum manufacturing, design changes introduce friction. Engineering revisions must be released. Parts must be re-machined. Assembly may need to be reworked. Lead times stretch. 

Boschi had a different goal: design at the speed of innovation. 

Using the Markforged X7, Sidus began producing structural components reinforced with continuous carbon fiber. This wasn’t cosmetic prototyping — it was structural hardware. 

Continuous carbon fiber reinforcement provides strength comparable to aluminum while significantly reducing weight. More importantly, geometry is no longer constrained by subtractive manufacturing. 

If a design changed, it didn’t take weeks to implement. 

It took a day. 

Boschi describes the difference clearly: when something changes, the team can reprint a new structural component and integrate it immediately. For a satellite program operating on aggressive commercial timelines, that speed isn’t a convenience, it’s a competitive advantage. 

This is the unlock that aerospace additive manufacturing provides: iteration without penalty.

The Space Qualification Question

Engineers evaluating additive manufacturing inevitably ask the same question: 

Can it survive space? 

Sidus answered that question with data, not assumptions. The team received a grant to develop a flight test platform, an experimental structure that would be sent to the International Space Station. They rapidly prototyped sample holders using Markforged Onyx and integrated them into the experiment. 

The original plan called for roughly 15 weeks of exposure in orbit. Instead, the parts remained outside the ISS for an entire year. 

In space, materials face relentless stress. Direct solar radiation degrades polymers. Temperature cycles push materials through expansion and contraction extremes. Vacuum conditions expose weaknesses. 

When the samples returned to Earth, some materials showed visible degradation. 

The Onyx parts did not. 

According to Boschi, there was no measurable difference between the parts that had spent a year in space and parts freshly printed on the machine. No structural compromise. No surface breakdown. No unexpected material behavior. 

For aerospace additive manufacturing, this kind of real-world validation matters more than any datasheet; it demonstrated that properly engineered composite 3D printed parts could survive in orbit. 

That validation has now extended beyond testing platforms. With three LizzieSats successfully launched since 2024, and operational in orbit, additive structural components have moved from experimental exposure trials to flight-proven satellite architecture.

Precision That Enables New Structural Design

One of the most overlooked contributors to satellite mass is hardware, particularly fasteners. 

Boschi’s team began asking a simple question: what if we could remove screws entirely? 

Using additive design freedom, they engineered precision interlocking fastening features directly into structural components. Parts slide into position and lock with tolerances within ten-thousandths of an inch, less than the thickness of a sheet of paper divided by three. 

These geometries would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to machine conventionally. But with continuous fiber 3D printing from industrial 3D printers, they are repeatable and reliable. 

By eliminating unnecessary hardware and integrating fastening features into the structure itself, the team reduced mass while maintaining structural integrity under launch loads. 

This is not incremental improvement, it is structural rethinking enabled by additive manufacturing.

Meeting Aerospace Material Requirements: Fire Retardancy and Traceability

Strength alone isn’t enough in aerospace. Material traceability and compliance are essential, particularly for defense, government, and commercial space programs.

Sidus transitioned to printing structural components using Onyx FR, a fire-retardant material, and Onyx FR-A, which adds full material traceability. The “A” designation allows batch-level tracking back to production origin — a requirement for many aerospace quality systems. 

If a crack or shear event occurs, engineers can trace material lineage, analyze root cause, and implement corrective action. That level of accountability aligns additive manufacturing with aerospace-grade expectations. 

For technical managers responsible for compliance and certification, this is often the missing link in adopting additive manufacturing for structural applications. 

Markforged closes that gap.

A 3D Printed Satellite as a Platform, Not a Prototype

LizzieSat is designed for a five-year mission life. That longevity reflects confidence not only in the satellite’s electronics but in its structural integrity. 

The broader significance isn’t just that this is a 3D printed satellite. 

It’s that aerospace additive manufacturing enabled the creation of a modular platform capable of serving multiple industries and customers. Instead of building bespoke spacecraft for each mission, Sidus created a flexible architecture. 

That kind of scalability is critical in the rapidly evolving commercial space market. 

And it was built, tested, launched, and validated using composite 3D printing from industrial 3D printers.

What This Means for Engineering Leaders

Many engineering teams still view additive manufacturing as a prototyping tool. Something for jigs, fixtures, or concept models. 

LizzieSat demonstrates something else entirely. 

Aerospace 3D printing can: 

• Reduce structural mass
• Enable geometries impossible to machine
• Eliminate hardware through integrated fastening
• Accelerate design iteration cycles
• Meet fire and traceability requirements
• Survive a year exposed to space 

For technical managers running advanced manufacturing teams, the question is no longer whether additive works in aerospace. 

It’s whether your competitors are already using it to move faster. 

If you’re evaluating how additive fits into your aerospace roadmap, explore how Markforged supports mission-critical applications in aviation, space, and defense.

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