The history here is one of technological succession. Silicon was the industry-standard solar cell material for spacecraft from 1958, when the earliest photovoltaic-powered satellites began operating, until 1977. In that year, gallium arsenide cells displaced it, offering better conversion efficiency and superior resistance to the radiation environment of space. The technology then evolved further into triple-junction cells built from gallium, indium and germanium, layered semiconductor structures that capture different portions of the solar spectrum in stacked absorbers. Those triple-junction devices have been the standard ever since, powering everything from communications constellations to deep-space probes. Their efficiency is genuinely impressive, but their price reflects the small, specialised, hand-finished production lines on which they are made, a manufacturing model fundamentally at odds with the scale the modern space economy now demands.

The cost gap documented by the Surrey team is stark. Triple-junction space cells cost between $250 and $450 per watt, whereas silicon cells cost tens of cents per watt. As of November 2025, the three main silicon designs used across the terrestrial photovoltaic industry, namely PERC, TOPCon and heterojunction architectures, averaged $0.275, $0.285 and $0.39 per watt respectively. The raw materials tell a similar story: silicon itself costs a few dollars per kilogram, while gallium and germanium, the critical elements in space-grade compound cells, cost thousands of dollars per kilogram. In other words, the price differential is not merely a matter of incremental manufacturing improvements but of an entire industrial ecosystem, one that produces silicon cells by the billions of watts every year in highly automated gigafactories.

Efficiency, of course, has been the traditional argument for the expensive option, and here the picture is more nuanced than the industry’s decades-old assumptions might suggest. Today, silicon heterostructure cells hold a record efficiency of 27.8 per cent, while perovskite/silicon tandem cells, which add a second light-absorbing layer on top of the silicon wafer, hold a record of 34.85 per cent. Those figures sit comfortably within the range that has historically justified spaceflight qualification. To make the comparison tangible for real missions, the Surrey researchers modelled two concrete formats: one face of a 3U CubeSat, a satellite roughly the size of a large loaf of bread, and a Micro Sat built by Surrey Satellite Technology Limited, which co-funds the lead author’s doctoral research and supplied the spacecraft data used in the study. When the space-qualified glass that protects the cells was included in the calculation, the saving was as large as 85 to 90 per cent.

Perhaps the most striking insight from the review concerns where the remaining money actually goes. Coverglass, not the cell itself, dominates the cost of a silicon array. Tommy Richards, lead author and postgraduate researcher at the University of Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute, explained that the interesting finding was not simply that silicon is cheaper, but where the residual cost sits: once silicon cells are placed behind space-qualified glass, the glass is what the customer is paying for. He argued that this changes what engineers should be working on, noting that if the cell itself can be made tougher against radiation, thinner glass or substrates can be used, cutting cost and weight simultaneously. In his framing, the problem shifts from a materials contest into an engineering challenge that the community already knows how to attack, a reframing with significant implications for how research funding and design effort should be directed.

On the crucial metric of power per unit mass, silicon delivers a genuine performance leap. In the review, silicon heterojunction cells delivered roughly twice the specific power of the triple-junction option, at around 920 to 1,000 watts per kilogram against 455 to 505 watts per kilogram. In practical terms, a mission could carry half the solar cell mass for the same power output, a benefit that cascades through the entire spacecraft design, from the deployable array mechanisms to the attitude control budget. Silicon does produce less power for a given area, with the review putting the reduction at around 28 per cent at the start of a mission compared with triple-junction devices. But when the researchers scaled the silicon panels to match triple-junction output, and even included the cost of the extra panel structure required, silicon remained several times cheaper on beginning-of-life performance, suggesting that the area penalty is easily absorbed by the cost advantage.

Honesty about the technology’s weaknesses is what gives the review its credibility. Silicon is not the winner on every measure. For a given coverglass thickness, silicon is around 2.6 times less resistant to radiation than triple-junction cells, and triple-junction devices are also expected to retain more of their performance after five years in orbit. This end-of-life gap highlights the central technical challenge: improving the radiation resistance of silicon devices so that their beginning-of-life advantage survives the harsh environment of space. The review also identifies ultraviolet light as the least understood risk for bare devices. Modern silicon architectures degrade under ultraviolet exposure, and heterojunction cells, the best performers on efficiency, degrade more than PERC cells. Almost all testing conducted so far has used UVA, the lower-energy ultraviolet that reaches the Earth’s surface, rather than the more energetic vacuum ultraviolet found in space, leaving a significant gap in the qualification data.

The scale of future demand is what makes the argument urgent rather than merely academic. An average satellite needs close to a kilowatt of electrical power, and the constellation boom has multiplied that demand many times over. More ambitiously, proposed space-based solar power stations, which would collect sunlight in orbit and beam it to Earth as microwaves, could require structures kilometres across delivering gigawatts of output. The review argues that demand on that scale would consume the entire triple-junction market but would barely register against global silicon production capacity. Dr Jae Sung Yun, corresponding author from the Advanced Technology Institute, emphasised that collecting solar power in orbit and sending it back to Earth would require solar cells by the square kilometre, and that silicon is the one material humanity already knows how to make on that scale and can afford to make in such quantities.

The review does not simply declare silicon the victor; it sets out a concrete research agenda. The authors identify three priority areas for testing: modern cells under the high-energy ultraviolet found in space, across the temperature swings of a real orbit, and for radiation damage while the cells are actually generating power, a condition known to influence degradation behaviour. The review also revisits older ideas worth another look, including lithium doping, an approach first reported in 1966 that allowed cells to repair their own radiation damage over time but which was later set aside as the industry moved to compound semiconductors. Professor Ravi Silva, Director of the Advanced Technology Institute, argued that satellites should now be treated as infrastructure, underpinning weather forecasts, navigation, broadband, crop monitoring and disaster response, and that anything making satellites cheaper to build and lighter to launch widens access to that infrastructure for smaller nations, universities and start-ups rather than only the largest agencies and operators. If the vision of gigawatt-scale orbital power stations is ever to be realised, he suggested, the technology on rooftops and in solar farms could turn out to be the technology that powers the next generation of spacecraft.

Subject of Research: The use of terrestrial silicon photovoltaic technology to reduce satellite solar power costs

Article Title: Silicon solar cells could cut satellite power costs by up to 90 per cent

Article References: Silicon solar cells could cut satellite power costs by up to 90 per cent. (n.d.). Original publication

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: Not provided

Keywords: silicon solar cells, satellites, photovoltaics, triple-junction cells, space-based solar power, radiation resistance, coverglass, specific power, CubeSats, University of Surrey, Acta Astronautica, space technology

The mission is among the first projects supported by the National Space Agency of Singapore (NSAS) under the country’s Space Access Programme, part of the national Space Technology Development Programme. Since 2022, the Singapore government has committed S$210 million to that programme to fund research and development in space technologies and to build national capabilities. The rationale is straightforward: spaceflight heritage is the currency of the global space economy, and technologies that perform well in a laboratory still count for little until they have survived a rocket launch and operated reliably in orbit. The Space Access Programme gives Singaporean researchers and companies the chance to test advanced materials, solar cells and edge computing systems in space, accumulate flight heritage, and shorten the path from laboratory bench to commercial validation. The satellite’s operations are additionally supported by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), which secured satellite spectrum and orbital resources from the International Telecommunication Union.

Ms Ngiam Le Na, Chief Executive of the National Space Agency of Singapore, framed the mission as a gateway for domestic innovation. “Perovskite solar cells will provide a compelling advantage over conventional solar panels – their thin, lightweight properties make them particularly well-suited for space applications, where every gram matters,” she said. “Missions like CRIMSON-1 represent a pathway for homegrown innovations to gain flight heritage needed to progress towards commercial application. By giving our researchers and companies the opportunity to test and validate their technologies in orbit, we are helping them build the credibility and track record needed to compete in the global space economy.” Her comments underscore a strategic reality: in an industry where launch costs are calculated per kilogram, a solar technology that delivers comparable power at a fraction of the mass is not a marginal improvement but a potential competitive revolution.

The solar cells aboard CRIMSON-1 were developed by NTU researchers together with Singfilm Solar, a deep-tech spin-off from the National University of Singapore. Perovskites are a class of crystalline materials with a distinctive structure that has electrified the photovoltaics community over the past decade. They can be fabricated into thin, flexible, lightweight films using commonly available and relatively inexpensive materials, and they achieve power-generation efficiencies that rival or exceed conventional silicon in laboratory settings. For satellite designers, the appeal is obvious: solar arrays are among the heaviest components of a spacecraft, and replacing rigid silicon panels with featherweight perovskite films could free precious mass budget for payloads, propellant or batteries, while flexible substrates open up new form factors for small satellites and constellations.

NTU’s involvement with these materials stretches back more than a decade to a landmark 2013 paper in the journal Science, in which a research team demonstrated that electrical charges could travel unusually long distances through perovskite materials. That finding helped explain why perovskite solar cells achieve such high efficiencies despite being made by comparatively simple fabrication processes, and it cemented NTU’s position as a pioneer in the field. In the years since, NTU researchers have scaled perovskite solar cells up towards module sizes suitable for industrial applications and developed prototypes aimed at improving both performance and long-term stability. CRIMSON-1 now takes that research programme to its most demanding test environment yet, and it also marks the first time Singfilm’s technology has flown in space.

The engineering challenge the cells must overcome is considerable. Any new solar technology destined for orbit must first survive the violent vibration and acoustic environment of a rocket launch, then endure the thermal swings of Low Earth Orbit, where a spacecraft cycles between blazing sunlight and frigid darkness roughly every 90 minutes. Radiation adds a further hazard, as high-energy particles gradually degrade semiconductor materials over time. CRIMSON-1 will assess the cells’ physical durability and efficiency after the journey from ground to space and measure precisely how much electrical power they generate in orbit. NUS Assistant Professor Hou Yi, Founder of Singfilm Solar, emphasised the significance of the flight: “This mission marks the first spaceflight of a flexible perovskite solar module built on ultrathin glass and the first deployment of a Singapore-made solar module in orbit. It will provide valuable data on how our technology performs in the harsh environment of space, helping us advance lightweight solar power for future satellites and explore its application for space-based AI data centres.”

The second major experiment aboard CRIMSON-1 tackles a different constraint of modern space operations: the bandwidth bottleneck. Conventional satellites capture images and transmit essentially everything back to ground stations, a process that consumes scarce communications bandwidth and introduces delays. CRIMSON-1 will instead test edge AI computing, in which data collected by the satellite is analysed directly on board. During the mission, the spacecraft will run AI-based image-processing tasks in orbit while researchers study how well the computing system manages heat dissipation and power consumption under heavy workloads, two of the most persistent challenges for electronics in the thermally hostile environment of space. If the approach works, future satellites could identify the most useful information before transmitting anything to Earth, dramatically reducing the volume of raw data pushed through limited satellite communication links and enabling faster responses to events on the ground.

The mission is led by NTU’s Satellite Research Centre (SaRC), the birthplace of Singapore’s satellite and space programmes and one of the few university-based centres worldwide with end-to-end capabilities spanning spacecraft engineering, launch preparation, mission control and in-orbit operations. Since the launch of X-SAT, Singapore’s first locally built satellite, in 2011, NTU has designed, built, tested and operated spacecraft ranging from small CubeSats to larger platforms, and has now launched 14 satellites into space. Its most recent previous mission, VELOX-AM, launched in July 2023 as the university’s thirteenth satellite, completed its operations and deorbited in August 2026. Data and lessons accumulated across those missions helped pave the way for CRIMSON-1 and continue to inform NTU’s development of future satellite operations. For the launch itself, SaRC scientists worked with launch integrator Exolaunch, which provided launch capacity, mission management, satellite integration and deployment services, deploying the satellite using its EXOpod Nova system.

Professor Christian Wolfrum, NTU Deputy President and Provost, highlighted the institutional breadth behind the mission. “CRIMSON-1 carries next-generation perovskite solar cells and edge AI computing into orbit. These technologies can only be validated under real space conditions, and this is what NTU’s satellite programme has been doing for three decades. CRIMSON-1 is our fourteenth mission,” he said. “What makes this possible is that NTU brings satellite engineering, artificial intelligence, and advanced materials research together in one place. The satellite was developed with local industry partners, so each mission builds capability not just in the university but across Singapore’s space sector.” That integration of disciplines under one roof is increasingly rare, and it reflects a deliberate strategy of treating space technology as a national ecosystem rather than a collection of isolated research projects.

The orbital and ground sides of the mission point toward a broader vision of AI-assisted space operations. While CRIMSON-1 tests autonomous processing aboard the spacecraft, SaRC is also exploring how artificial intelligence could help manage growing satellite fleets from the ground. Earlier this year, NTU and Japanese technology company Fusic Co., Ltd. announced a collaboration to develop AI-enabled ground systems that could assist satellite operators with mission scheduling, ground-station allocation, routine operations and earlier detection of technical problems. Together, the two efforts examine how AI could support both ends of the pipeline: processing information autonomously aboard spacecraft and helping human operators manage increasingly complex missions from Earth. Complementing SaRC’s engineering work, NTU’s Earth Observatory of Singapore applies satellite data to real-world challenges, from rapid mapping of earthquakes and floods to monitoring climate change and land subsidence. If CRIMSON-1’s perovskite cells hold up and its onboard AI performs as hoped, the mission could mark an early step toward lighter, smarter and more autonomous satellites, and perhaps, as Singfilm’s founder suggests, toward the solar-powered space data centres of the coming decades.

Subject of Research: In-orbit testing of perovskite solar cells and edge AI computing aboard the CRIMSON-1 satellite

Article Title: NTU Singapore launches CRIMSON-1 satellite to test next-gen perovskite solar cells and AI computing in space

Article References: NTU Singapore launches CRIMSON-1 satellite to test next-gen perovskite solar cells and AI computing in space. (n.d.). Original publication

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: Not provided

Keywords: CRIMSON-1, NTU Singapore, perovskite solar cells, edge AI computing, satellites, Low Earth Orbit, SpaceX Falcon 9, Singfilm Solar, National Space Agency of Singapore, space technology, satellite research, photovoltaics

Researchers from Tsinghua University, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and other institutions developed a closed-loop modeling and assessment framework based on multi-attribute decision-making. The study highlights that existing competency models, which were constructed around deterministic systems and process control, fail to explicitly address the unique risks associated with AI integration. These risks include black-box opacity, the difficulty of allocating accountability for AI-driven errors, and the need for traceable review of AI outputs. By failing to account for these factors, traditional models leave a critical void in the governance of modern aerospace projects.

To construct the new model, the research team began with a qualitative exploration, conducting RepGrid interviews with thirty experienced aerospace engineering managers. This process allowed the researchers to identify the core characteristics and challenges that managers face when integrating AI into their workflows. Following the interviews, the team applied principal component analysis to an exploratory sample to identify underlying patterns in the data. This statistical approach revealed five distinct dimensions of competency that are essential for effective AI management in the aerospace sector.

The resulting competency model comprises five primary dimensions: AI risk control and management, lifecycle AI coordination, AI cognitive readiness, AI compliance and safety assurance, and aerospace AI scenario enablement. Within these dimensions, the researchers identified a total of twenty specific attributes that define a manager’s proficiency. To validate the structure of this model, the team performed confirmatory factor analysis on a separate validation sample. The results demonstrated that both the first-order five-factor model and the second-order hierarchical model achieved satisfactory fit indices, confirming the reliability and validity of the proposed framework.

Understanding how these competency dimensions interact is crucial for effective management, so the researchers used the DEMATEL method to map the influence network among the attributes. Fourteen experts with extensive experience in aerospace engineering management provided pairwise evaluations of the direct influence relationships. The analysis revealed that AI risk control and management acts as the upstream driving dimension, indicating that safety and risk boundaries must be established before AI scenarios can be fully deployed. This finding aligns with the high-reliability culture of the aerospace industry, where zero-failure requirements dictate a safety-first approach.

The lifecycle AI coordination dimension emerged as the central hub, connecting all other dimensions within the network. This centrality underscores the importance of integrating AI considerations throughout the entire project lifecycle, from initial design to final delivery. In contrast, the aerospace AI scenario enablement dimension was identified as an outcome-oriented downstream dimension, meaning it is influenced by the preceding governance and coordination efforts. The DANP method was then used to derive global weights for each attribute, highlighting the relative importance of specific skills. Attributes such as AI use-case identification, critical evaluation of AI outputs, and human-AI decision boundary management ranked as the most critical competencies.

To test the practical applicability of the framework, the researchers applied the improved VIKOR method to assess five real candidates for aerospace engineering management roles. Four independent experts evaluated these candidates across the twenty identified attributes. The assessment process demonstrated high inter-rater reliability, with an average intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.912, indicating strong consistency among the evaluators. The VIKOR method calculated the weighted total gap and maximum weighted regret for each candidate, providing a nuanced view of their strengths and weaknesses relative to the ideal competency profile.

The results of the candidate assessment showed that one candidate, designated H5, performed optimally on both the total gap and maximum regret metrics. However, the analysis also revealed that the gap between the top candidate and the third-ranked candidate did not reach the VIKOR acceptable advantage threshold. This finding suggests that both candidates should proceed to the final review stage, with targeted verification conducted based on the specific bottleneck characteristics identified in the assessment. This approach ensures that the selection process is not only data-driven but also robust against minor variations in decision preferences.

Sensitivity analysis further validated the stability of the ranking results. The researchers tested the model under different risk preference coefficients and found that the candidate rankings remained stable regardless of the specific decision preference settings. This robustness is a significant advantage for the framework, as it provides a traceable and interpretable decision-support tool that can be reliably used in high-stakes selection processes. The framework’s ability to identify specific bottlenecks in a candidate’s competency profile also offers valuable insights for training planning and career development.

This new competency model provides a structured approach to addressing the governance challenges of AI in aerospace engineering. By explicitly defining the interdependencies between risk control, lifecycle coordination, and safety assurance, the framework offers a clear roadmap for managers to navigate the complexities of AI integration. As deep-space missions continue to advance, the ability to assess and develop these specific competencies will be critical for ensuring the delivery quality, safety, and compliance of future exploration efforts. The study thus represents a significant step forward in the field of engineering management, providing a rigorous tool for the AI era.

Subject of Research: AI competency assessment framework for aerospace engineering managers

Article Title: AI competency model for aerospace engineering managers: a multi-attribute decision-making approach

Article References: AI competency model for aerospace engineering managers: a multi-attribute decision-making approach. (n.d.). Original publication

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: Not provided

Keywords: aerospace engineering, artificial intelligence, competency model, project management, deep-space exploration, decision-making, safety compliance, risk management, human-AI interaction, space technology, competency, model

In-space manufacturing has moved rapidly from concept to demonstration in recent years. Space agencies and commercial companies have printed tools on the International Space Station, produced fiber-optic materials in microgravity, and explored ways to fabricate large structures such as antennas, solar arrays, and habitat components directly in orbit. The economic logic is compelling: launching finished hardware is expensive and volume-constrained, while launching compact raw materials that can be transformed into large structures in space promises far greater returns per kilogram of payload. Yet the raw materials themselves pose their own problems, and that is where this new work focuses its attention.

The materials at the heart of the study are frontally polymerizable composites. Frontal polymerization is a process in which a localized trigger, typically heat applied at a single point, initiates a self-propagating reaction wave that travels through the material, converting liquid or semi-solid monomer resin into a solid polymer as it goes. Because the reaction sustains itself, only a small initial energy input is needed to cure an entire part, which makes the technique attractive for space applications where power is scarce and equipment must be simple. The cured products can be fiber-reinforced composites, combining a polymer matrix with reinforcing fibers to produce rigid, strong structures suitable for booms, panels, and other structural elements.

However, the very chemistry that makes frontal polymerization so appealing also makes its precursor materials difficult to store. The resin formulations typically contain monomers, initiators, and other reactive components that can begin to react slowly at ambient temperatures, a phenomenon known as premature or background polymerization. Over weeks or months, this slow reaction can thicken the resin, alter its composition, and ultimately ruin its ability to undergo a clean frontal cure. A mission to Mars or a multi-year orbital platform operation cannot rely on materials that spoil like perishable cargo, so long-term storage stability becomes a mission-critical requirement rather than a convenience.

The second major problem is outgassing. In the vacuum and closed-atmosphere conditions of spacecraft, volatile compounds that escape from materials can condense on sensitive surfaces such as optics, thermal radiators, solar cells, and sensors, degrading their performance. Space agencies therefore impose strict outgassing limits on materials used in spacecraft, particularly in payload volumes. Reactive resin systems are especially prone to releasing volatile monomers, additives, and reaction byproducts, both during storage and during the curing process itself. A container that vents these compounds into a cabin or payload bay creates contamination risks that could compromise an entire mission’s scientific instruments.

The containment strategy described in the study tackles both problems simultaneously by sealing the frontally polymerizable composite precursor within a flexible barrier package. The flexibility of the containment is not a cosmetic choice. Rigid containers add mass and volume, both of which are at a premium on any launch, and they can complicate the handling and activation steps in microgravity. A flexible package can conform to the material, be stowed efficiently, and potentially be integrated into the manufacturing process itself, serving as both the storage vessel and part of the reaction setup. The sealed nature of the package is designed to prevent the escape of volatile species into the surrounding spacecraft environment while also protecting the reactive contents from atmospheric contaminants such as oxygen and moisture that could degrade them over time.

According to the study, this dual function, containment of outgassing species and protection of the reactive formulation, is what enables the long-term storage that in-space manufacturing demands. By keeping the precursor material in a controlled, sealed environment, the approach suppresses the pathways through which resin formulations normally age: evaporation of volatile components, ingress of inhibiting contaminants, and gradual background reaction. The result is a material that can sit in storage for extended periods and still perform when it is finally triggered, a property the authors connect directly to the logistical realities of missions where resupply is infrequent or impossible.

The implications for mission architecture are significant. If frontally polymerizable composites can be stored reliably for the duration of a long mission, spacecraft designers can treat them as a versatile feedstock rather than a liability. A compact package of resin-impregnated material could be transformed into a rigid structural element with minimal equipment: a heat source to initiate the frontal wave, a support fixture to hold the geometry, and little else. This stands in contrast to traditional composite manufacturing on Earth, which relies on autoclaves, controlled ovens, and energy-intensive processes that are impractical to fly. The low energy demand of frontal polymerization, combined with storage-stable precursors, points toward manufacturing systems that are light, simple, and robust enough for autonomous operation far from Earth.

The low-outgassing aspect of the strategy also matters for crewed operations. On the International Space Station and future commercial stations, air quality is carefully managed, and any process that releases volatile organic compounds into the cabin must be controlled or avoided. A containment approach that captures volatiles during both storage and cure reduces the burden on life support systems and environmental monitoring, making polymer-based in-space fabrication more compatible with human presence. For uncrewed platforms, the same containment protects optics and electronics from contamination films that could otherwise accumulate over months of manufacturing activity.

The work arrives at a moment when interest in orbital and lunar manufacturing is accelerating. Programs across government space agencies and private companies are investing in technologies to fabricate structures in space, driven by ambitions for large space telescopes assembled in orbit, expansive solar power systems, deep-space habitats, and rapidly deployable spacecraft components. Frontally polymerizable composites have been identified as a leading candidate material system for several of these applications precisely because they combine high structural performance with a manufacturing process that is forgiving of the space environment. What has been missing is a practical answer to the storage and contamination questions, and the sealed flexible containment strategy presented in npj Advanced Manufacturing offers a direct response to that gap.

As with any materials technology transitioning from laboratory to spaceflight, the path forward will involve qualification testing under launch vibration, thermal cycling, radiation exposure, and vacuum conditions, along with demonstrations on parabolic flights or orbital platforms. The study’s contribution lies in establishing a storage and handling framework that addresses the failure modes most likely to derail such demonstrations: degraded resin, contaminated cabins, and unreliable curing. By packaging the solution into a form that is flexible, sealed, and compatible with the frontal polymerization process itself, the researchers have outlined a practical route for turning reactive chemistry from a mission risk into a mission asset, bringing the vision of building large, strong structures in space one step closer to routine reality.

Subject of Research: Sealed flexible containment for long-term storage and low-outgassing of frontally polymerizable composites used in in-space manufacturing.

Article Title: Sealed flexible containment strategy for long-term storage and low-outgassing to fuel in-space manufacturing of frontally polymerizable composite

Article References: Wu, I. C. L., Zheng, Z., Perakalapudi, U., Abdullah, A., Rahman, M. A., Rasheed, N., Tindall, B. J., Lee, M., Shanmugam, L., Sottos, N., Tawfick, S., & Baur, J. W. (2026). Sealed flexible containment strategy for long-term storage and low-outgassing to fuel in-space manufacturing of frontally polymerizable composite. npj Advanced Manufacturing. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44334-026-00115-7

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1038/s44334-026-00115-7

Keywords: in-space manufacturing, frontal polymerization, frontally polymerizable composites, long-term storage, low-outgassing, sealed flexible containment, polymer composites, space materials, orbital fabrication, spacecraft contamination, resin curing, space technology