New 3D Printing Method Cuts Solar Array Production Time
Boeing Innovation Speeds Satellite Manufacturing, Reduces Delays
By compressing composite build times by up to six months, Boeing’s new 3D-printed solar array substrate marks a major change in how quickly solar array wings can be produced, the company announced last week. This approach represents a production improvement of up to 50 percent compared to previous process cycles, setting a new standard in satellite component fabrication.
“We reached across our enterprise to introduce efficiencies and novel technologies to set a more rapid pace.”
Michelle Parker, Boeing
Boeing’s breakthrough comes after flight-representative hardware completed engineering tests and advanced to the company’s standard qualification pathway before entering customer missions. The first 3D-printed solar arrays, using high-efficiency Spectrolab solar cells, will launch aboard small satellites built by Millennium Space Systems—both are subsidiaries under Boeing’s Space Mission Systems organization.
"Power sets the pace of a mission. We reached across our enterprise to introduce efficiencies and novel technologies to set a more rapid pace," said Michelle Parker, vice president of Boeing Space Mission Systems. "By integrating Boeing's additive manufacturing expertise with Spectrolab's high‑efficiency solar tech and Millennium's high‑rate production line, our Space Mission Systems team is turning production speed into a capability, helping customers field resilient constellations faster."
The technology enables parallel builds by pairing 3D-printed, rigid substrates with modular solar elements. Features such as harness paths and attachment points are printed directly into each panel, streamlining multiple steps and reducing parts, tools, and assembly tasks into a stronger, more manageable structure. Robot-assisted assembly and automated inspection at Spectrolab further reduce production handoffs, speeding the process even more.
“As we scale additive manufacturing across Boeing, we're not just taking time and cost out, we're putting performance in,” said Melissa Orme, vice president, Materials & Structures, Boeing Technology Innovation. “By pairing qualified materials with a common digital thread and high-rate production, we can lighten structures, craft novel designs, and repeat success across programs. That’s the point of enterprise additive, it delivers better parts today and the capacity to build many more of them tomorrow.”
Across its portfolio, Boeing has incorporated more than 150,000 3D-printed parts, including over 1,000 radio-frequency components on each Wideband Global SATCOM satellite currently in production, and multiple product lines with fully 3D-printed structures. The new array technology is designed to scale from small satellites up to Boeing’s 702-class spacecraft, targeting market availability in 2026.