A Huntsville-based 3D printing startup, born from NASA’s Mars habitat challenge, is now aiding local manufacturers while eyeing extraterrestrial construction.
When architect turned engineer David Malott left New York City for Huntsville, Alabama, he wasn’t just chasing cheaper real estate. He was following a vision one where 3D printing could bridge the gap between terrestrial manufacturing and interplanetary habitats. Today, his company, SpaceFactory, operates from a repurposed middle school in Rocket City, where industrial scale printers hum alongside blueprints for lunar dwellings.
The switch from skyscrapers to space began in 2018, when SpaceFactory joined NASA’s 3D Printed Habitat Challenge. The competition tasked teams with designing and prototyping a 1,000 square foot habitat for Mars, using materials that could be sourced off Earth. For Malott, it was a revelation. “The second phase required actually printing the structure,” he recalls. “That’s when we realized additive manufacturing wasn’t just theoretical it was transformative.”
Now, SpaceFactory’s Huntsville facility houses printers capable of producing parts up to 4 feet wide, 4 feet deep, and 5 feet tall. But while Malott’s long term goal remains supporting NASA’s Moon to Mars missions, the company is grounding itself in local industry. A new pilot program offers Alabama businesses access to design for manufacturing expertise, rapid prototyping, and custom tooling all with minimal upfront costs. The aim? To help manufacturers sidestep tariff induced supply chain headaches by producing components domestically.
“We’re here to strengthen Huntsville’s economy,” Malott says. “But our tech was born from space, and that’s where it’s ultimately headed.”
One of SpaceFactory’s youngest team members, Austin Hacker, embodies this dual mission. A Florida native who grew up watching rockets streak across Kennedy Space Center’s skies, he joined the company fresh out of college. “This isn’t just a job,” Hacker says. “It’s about building something that outlives us whether it’s a factory tool or a Mars habitat.”
NASA’s influence looms large in Huntsville, and SpaceFactory’s ties to the agency run deep. The company’s printers could one day fabricate lunar base components using regolith the Moon’s dusty soil saving billions in launch costs. But for now, Malott is focused on Earth bound applications. “Additive manufacturing lets us iterate faster, waste less, and solve problems traditional methods can’t,” he explains.
The local response has been cautiously optimistic. Small manufacturers, wary of overseas delays, are testing SpaceFactory’s services for jigs, molds, and even end use parts. Meanwhile, the team tinkers with next gen materials, like polymers that withstand extreme heat a must for both engine bays and Martian afternoons.
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Malott’s journey from drafting tables to rocket labs mirrors Huntsville’s own evolution from a cotton town to a tech hub. And as SpaceFactory balances lunar dreams with terrestrial pragmatism, one thing is clear: in the race to redefine manufacturing, 3D printing is no longer a novelty it’s the next frontier.
“Complexity is free with additive manufacturing,” Malott says, echoing a mantra from the industry. “On Earth or in space, that’s the future.”
