The NOM4D program successfully performed the first automated assembly of a truss structure in orbit yesterday, marking a major step toward large-scale space construction.
A gantry robot assembled custom-jointed components into a truss while simultaneously applying a thin reflective mesh that mimics a space-based antenna.
The effort, a collaboration between Caltech and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, was accelerated after early laboratory tests, with the payload launched by SpaceX in March 2026.
The team plans to follow this demonstration with an ISS test that will use a monomer resin to produce high-strength composite structures in microgravity.