Boeing has introduced a 3D-printed solar array substrate design that cuts composite build times by as much as six months for a typical solar wing assembly, representing up to a 50 percent faster production cycle compared with current methods.

The company has already completed engineering tests on flight-ready hardware and is moving through standard qualification steps ahead of operational missions.

"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 t

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