Stefan Siarov 3D printing

Belgian national trainee Stefan Siarov investigates the impact of recycling 3D-printed thermoplastics to determine how this technique could be used in in-space manufacturing.

The ability to recycle and reuse high value plastics that retain their strength and chemical resistance even at very high temperatures could help reduce energy usage and costs while increasing our independence from Earth.

Based at ESA's Astronaut Centre as part of the Spaceship EAC initiative, Stefan worked with material science colleagues at ESA's technical heart in The Netherlands, ESTEC, to undertake this study.