The first space-station print was a part for the printer itself
NASA’s 2014 demonstration began testing how a familiar manufacturing process behaved in microgravity.
What happened
NASA reported the first object printed aboard the International Space Station in November 2014: a faceplate for the printhead of the experimental printer. NASA and Made In Space collaborated on the demonstration.
The ground team adjusted operating parameters as printing progressed. NASA described the first result as a source of information about printing in microgravity, rather than a finished answer to every in-space manufacturing question.
The modest component helped establish a practical experiment: make objects aboard the station, study their quality and compare the process with printing on Earth. It was an early step toward manufacturing items where they are needed.
Read the sources
Primary-source reporting; this is not a hands-on review. Sources checked Oct 24, 2026.