First Twilight Rideshare Mission Carries In-Space 3D Printing Test

One small step for man, one giant step for 3D printing in free space: SpaceX launched its first Twilight rideshare mission of 2026, including an experiment testing whether a structure can be manufactured directly in space using 3D printing.

The Twilight rideshare mission lifted off on January 11, 2026, at 5:44 a.m. PST from Vandenberg Space Force Base aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, deploying 40 small payloads into a dawn–dusk sun-synchronous orbit, meaning the satellites follow the line separating day and night on Earth. After stage separation, the Falcon 9 booster successfully returned to land at Vandenberg, while satellite deployment began shortly thereafter. Twilight marks the start of a new series of dedicated small satellite rideshare missions, offering more frequent and flexible access to orbit.

(Photo Credit: SpaceX)

3D Printing Moves Into Orbit

Among the payloads onboard was ARAQYS-D1 from Dcubed, a company developing deployable space structures and in-space manufacturing technologies. Rather than deploying a pre-built component, the ARAQYS-D1 mission aims to produce a 60-centimeter boom directly in space using additive manufacturing.