# Berkeley researchers send 3D printer into space

**Source**: https://calparents.berkeley.edu/berkeley-researchers-send-3d-printer-space
**Parent**: https://calparents.berkeley.edu/get-involved/letter-home

by Marni Ellery

Imagine a crew of astronauts headed to Mars. About 140 million miles away from Earth, they discover their spacecraft has a cracked O-ring. But instead of relying on a dwindling cache of spare parts, what if they could simply fabricate any part they needed on demand?

A team of Berkeley researchers, led by Ph.D. student [Taylor Waddell](https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-waddell/), may have taken a giant leap toward making this option a reality. On June 8, they sent their 3D printing technology to space for the first time as part of the [Virgin Galactic 07](https://press.virgingalactic.com/virgin-galactic-completes-12th-successful-spaceflight?collection=6j7fvy6VqHYQ9sR7GEPGZK) mission. Their next-generation microgravity printer — dubbed SpaceCAL — spent 140 seconds in suborbital space while aboard the VSS Unity space plane. In that short time span, it autonomously printed and post-processed a total of four test parts, including space shuttles and benchy figurines from a liquid plastic called PEGDA...

[https://engineering.berkeley.edu/news/2024/07/berkeley-researchers-send-...](https://engineering.berkeley.edu/news/2024/07/berkeley-researchers-send-3d-printer-into-space/)

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