Researchers Develop In-Orbit Construction Method with Carbon-Fiber Tubes and 3D-Printed Connectors

Researchers from the Shenyang Institute of Automation in northern China have developed key technologies for building large structures in orbit, echoing NASA's past SpiderFab project, the South China Morning Post reported. The team produced building blocks from a carbon-fiber composite, shaping them into long, hollow tubes using heat and pressure.

They added 3D-printed connectors and bonded the tubes to the joints with lasers, creating strong, lightweight links without bolts or glue.

The scientists built a scaled-down antenna structure in the lab to demonstrate the approach. They reported the structure in the journal Space: Science & Technology on April 3, 2026. NASA funded the SpiderFab project for years, envisioning a spider-like robot that would crawl through orbit and weave solar power stations and giant antennas from spools of carbon fiber.

These structures would be too large for any rocket to carry whole. SpiderFab never ended up in space. The Shenyang team's work addresses similar goals, offering a lightweight, high-strength and reliable method for in-orbit construction, according to the institute.

'Building structures in orbit removes the need to fold them into rockets or worry about size limits. Parts can be made, joined and assembled directly in space – potentially a core technology for next-generation space systems,' the institute said. Today's spacecraft are built on Earth and launched into orbit, but rocket fairings limit object sizes, and launch forces restrict delicate structures.

This makes systems hundreds of meters or more difficult to deploy. The Shenyang Institute of Automation, part of China's broader space research efforts, faces international restrictions including its 2022 addition to the US Entity List, which limits access to certain technologies.