3D printing – once the domain of nerdy hobbyists – is gaining momentum across multiple industries including the satellite sector thanks to the efforts of NASA to advance 3D printing in space, as well as early commercial innovators.

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Today, antenna and propulsion rocket companies lead the charge to print fewer components on key systems using this innovative technique where successive layers of material are layered to produce parts. Several of satellite’s top additive-manufacturing evangelists predict that 3D printing’s move to mainstream is not a question of if, but when. Some say it will be ubiquitous within the next five years, while others say mainstream status is already here.

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“I think we’re still three to five years out from that watershed moment when it is ubiquitous on the platforms and places it makes sense,” says Michael Hollenbeck, CTO of Optisys, an antenna design company that specializes in the use of […]

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