4/6/2026
Grainger Engineering is leading a DARPA-sponsored initiative to demonstrate the first true in-space composite materials manufacturing system. If successful, it will open the door to rapid, efficient expansion of space technologies. In addition, the Grainger Engineering SpaceMaRS Center is coordinating research efforts and developing infrastructure to solve the most critical problems of space manufacturing of resilient materials.
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Grainger Engineering is leading a DARPA-sponsored initiative to demonstrate the first true in-space composite materials manufacturing system. If successful, it will open the door to rapid, efficient expansion of space technologies. In addition, the Grainger Engineering SpaceMaRS Center is coordinating research efforts and developing
infrastructure to solve the most critical problems of
space manufacturing of resilient materials.
Written by Michael O'Boyle
Space exploration was primarily motivated by scientific research and public sector services in the past. However, the last decade has seen an explosion of commercial interest in innovative space technologies.
Private companies are beginning to unlock the potential of space for technological innovations such as more advanced remote sensing, global communications and environmental observations with unprecedented detail. This is being facilitated by satellite constellations, new space stations, telescopes and even orbiting data centers. In 2023, the space economy accounted for $142.5 billion of the GDP and 373,000 private-sector jobs in the United States.
The most significant bottlenecks for continued growth are placing structures and technology in space and ensuring their resiliency to the space environment. The current paradigm is building the large, intricate structures needed for space technology on Earth, launching them in a packed configuration and deploying them into orbit. Not only is this process fundamentally limited by the carrying capacity of rockets and the availability of launch windows, but it also poses strict, unnecessary constraints on the design, complexity and cost of such structures.
One proposal is to launch raw materials into space and then manufacturing the needed structures on orbit. Since raw materials such as uncured polymer composites can be tightly packed, launches can send much more material to space for comparable amounts of fuel, greatly reducing the cost of putting finished structures on orbit. This would also resolve the design constraints related to packing large structures in small volumes and deploying them in space.
It started as a literal pie-in-the-sky idea, but Grainger engineers are on the cusp of turning it into reality.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is sponsoring a demonstration of additive manufacturing in space – the Novel Orbital and Moon Manufacturing, Materials, and Mass-efficient Design (NOM4D, pronounced “nomad”) program – led by mechanical science and engineering professor Sameh Tawfick. He and his team of collaborators are working to show that the raw materials for carbon fiber-reinforced polymers can be compactly stored as a pliable woven fabric and uncured resin, launched into space, then transformed into solid structural components via a self-sustained chemical reaction. If successful, Mission ‘Illinois’ will be the first true in-space composite manufacturing effort.
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“Previous efforts of in-space manufacturing have attempted to translate Earth-based concepts onto orbit, but we’re making something uniquely suited to the demands of the space environment for the first time,” Tawfick said. “We’re going in an entirely new direction and taking on a high-risk approach, but the payoff will be something truly revolutionary. What we’re pursuing is going to become the pioneering demonstration of how cutting-edge technologies can be developed on the university scale.”
The demonstration is currently scheduled to launch to the International Space Station in late June 2026 as Mission Illinois, where it will manufacture a 2-foot hollow cylinder with the proposed method that will be returned to Earth for structural testing.
An important reason DARPA selected to work with The Grainger College of Engineering and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is its expertise across multiple engineering disciplines, including aerospace, mechanical and materials engineering. Beyond NOM4D, many faculty members in Grainger Engineering are already addressing the critical technological challenges needed for space manufacturing and on-orbit structures.
To coordinate efforts and build the infrastructure needed to truly address these challenges, eight faculty members with the support of Grainger Engineering have formed the Center for In-Space Manufacturing and Resilient Structures (SpaceMaRS), the first university-led initiative to advance manufacturing in space. It combines the resources and infrastructure of NOM4D with those of efforts sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research on composites and hybrid material structures for space technologies.
“What differentiates Grainger Engineering and the University of Illinois from anywhere else in the country is the emphasis on multidisciplinary work,” said aerospace engineering professor Ioannis Chasiotis, organizer of SpaceMaRS. “We have aerospace engineers trained in materials and composites, but we also have materials scientists, chemists and mechanical engineers. We have experimentalists and computational people. We’re building a truly impressive infrastructure, and we’re also working to demonstrate our research outside the lab in space.”
“NOM4D is going to be completed soon, but we have created so much momentum across the college,” Tawfick added. “We have people working on the materials, structures, robotics and systems space manufacturing will need. We believe that Grainger Engineering is uniquely positioned to become the leader of space manufacturing.”
On Earth, additive manufacturing has enabled small-run builds of highly specialized parts, greatly improving cost effectiveness and efficiency. NOM4D is applying the same principle to in-space manufacturing, where the unique demands of space environment require special considerations in everything that is made.
The idea hinges on self-propelled frontal polymerization, a chemical technique championed by Illinois researchers less than 10 years ago. In it, uncured organic resin solidifies and “grows” into solid structures. This is achieved by tapping into energy stored in the chemical bonds of the uncured resin. Once activated, the reaction is self-sustaining, making it highly energy efficient.
“When I read about this result from my colleagues, I knew right away that this would be perfect for space,” Tawfick said. “Space puts very tight constraints on energy, so having something that provides the energy for itself is ideal.”
The technique was published in 2018, and by 2020 DARPA had funded Tawfick’s proposal.
“DARPA sponsors high-risk, high-reward projects that other agencies won’t touch,” he said. “Taking academic research less than 10 years old and basing a space technology demonstration on it is very bold, but Grainger Engineering has all the expertise needed to make it happen.”
NOM4D needed to solve two sets of problems: the resin itself, and the specialized hardware needed for the demonstration.
First, the researchers needed to extend the shelf life of the liquid resin from a few hours to several months, since it will need to wait in the ISS’s research queue once in orbit.
“Even waiting requires intensive research once you’re in space,” Tawfick said.
They also needed to guard against premature curing and address its chemical stability. These efforts were led by chemistry professor Jeffrey Moore and materials science and engineering professor Nancy Sottos.
In parallel, the researchers needed to build hardware that not only withstands the intense vibrations of rocket launches but meets tricky structural requirements. To make the process material-efficient, the components are going to be made hollow.
“This is challenging even on Earth, let alone in space with a completely automated process,” Tawfick said. “This is where the hardware and machine innovations become the second pillar of the project.”
These efforts were led by Tawfick and aerospace engineering professor Jeff Baur.
Once the demonstration is set up on orbit, a parallel experiment will be run in Houston both to create a control structure for comparison and as a possible aid in troubleshooting. The space-made tube will be tested for chemical, material and structural quality.
“Throughout the project, we have embraced the attitude of taking risks,” Tawfick said. “Whenever we reach a juncture, we always take the riskier path when it could lead to a higher payoff. Even if the result is not what we expect, we will definitely learn something.”
In part to harness the collegewide momentum of NOM4D, and in part to consolidate several existing research efforts related to in-space manufacturing, Grainger Engineering launched SpaceMaRS in March 2025. In addition to developing in-space manufacturing techniques, the center is developing the advanced materials needed for on-orbit structures.
The existing Center for Resilient Multifunctional Space Structures and Surfaces, sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and led by Baur, is developing composite and hybrid materials that can withstand the extreme environments of outer space.
“The space environment can be unforgiving to lightweight structures like composites whether they are made in space or on earth,” Baur said. “We have demonstrated chemistries, composite designs and AI-assisted damage sensing strategies that can resist, report and restore damage from that harsh environment.”
There is also interplay with Grainger Engineering’s Energy Frontier Research Center for Regenerative Energy-Efficient Manufacturing of Thermoset Polymeric Materials (REMAT), funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. Without ready access to fresh materials, it will be necessary to reuse and repurpose existing structures in space. Space manufacturing will eventually need to address regenerative manufacturing and recycling, and REMAT is actively developing those capabilities.
A significant component of SpaceMaRS’s infrastructure is the capability to test materials for in-space resiliency in a laboratory environment. This includes equipment that simulates the effects of atomic oxygen and ultraviolet radiation, common hazards in low Earth orbit, and a two-stage light gas gun that launches projectiles at velocities exceeding 7 kilometers per second, allowing the effects of high-velocity orbital debris to be studied.
“To my knowledge, no other university has this combination of expertise and testing capabilities,” Baur said.
“When combined with Grainger Engineering’s existing capabilities in space research, including active CubeSat programs and the design and testing capabilities of the Laboratory for Advanced Space Systems at Illinois, or LASSI, our college is strongly positioned to not just be an academic research hub, but a key player in the development of the private space industry.”
Compared to even 10 years ago, there is a surge of interest in space technology for commercial use. It is a growing industry, and Grainger Engineering is already solving some of the most important problems before the full potential of space can be unlocked.
“We just have to look at the numbers,” Chasiotis said. “In addition to substantial industrial and economic developments, the current generation of engineering students is gravitating to space. Aerospace engineering undergraduate enrollment has doubled in the past five years, and students interested in space outnumber those students interested in aircraft by two to one. By expanding our capabilities, we’re poising our students for economic impact in an exciting, important and growing field.”
Eight faculty members from Grainger Engineering and Illinois participate in SpaceMaRS: aerospace engineering professors Jeff Baur, Ioannis Chasiotis, Huck Beng Chew, Philippe Geubelle, and Xin Ning, chemistry professor Jeff Moore, materials science and engineering professor Nancy Sottos and mechanical science and engineering professor Sam Tawfick.
In the print edition of Limitless Spring 2026, the launch of Mission Illinois was noted as June 2026. The timeline has since been revised to late 2026.