Origami-Inspired Space Structures Expand After Launch

Flexible, lightweight waveguides can be folded for compact launch, then deployed in space.

Published on Feb. 5, 2026

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a novel origami-inspired design for electromagnetic waveguides used in high-powered satellites. These waveguides can be launched in a compact, folded state and then expanded to full size after deployment in space, offering significant advantages over traditional rigid metal tubes.

Why it matters

Typical satellite waveguides are heavy and inflexible, which creates challenges for space applications. The origami-inspired design provides a flexible, lightweight alternative that can be efficiently transported and deployed, potentially enabling new capabilities for high-powered satellite systems.

The details

The team, led by aerospace engineering professor Xin Ning, used origami folding techniques to create several design concepts for deployable waveguides. The simplest design was based on a brown paper shopping bag, with a rectangular bottom portion acting as the flange. More advanced bellows-like structures were also developed, allowing the waveguides to twist and bend as they unfurl. The researchers faced challenges in ensuring the structures could deploy smoothly without damage, ultimately arriving at a design with the optimal number of folds to reach the desired length without exceeding the force threshold.

  • The research team began exploring the idea of using origami for deployable waveguides a few years ago.
  • The study, "Shape-morphable origami electromagnetic waveguides," was published in 2026.

The players

Xin Ning

Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who led the research team.

Nikhil Ashok

Graduate student who helped create the origami waveguide designs.

Sangwoo Suk

Graduate student who also contributed to the origami waveguide designs.

Sven G. Bilén

Professor at Penn State University and an expert in electromagnetics, who collaborated with Ning on the project.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“My former colleague at Penn State, Sven Bilén, is an expert in electromagnetics. I showed him some origami structures I'd been working on a few years ago. He was intrigued and asked if origami could be used for deployable electromagnetic waveguides. We started exploring this idea since then.”

— Xin Ning, Professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Communications Engineering)

“With the first bellows shape, we knew we had a foldable, deployable design that could perform, but we wanted to explore more possibilities with origami principles. We needed to find other designs that could twist and bend as it unfurls at the right angle and the right distance between the flanges.”

— Xin Ning, Professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Communications Engineering)

What’s next

The research team has a pending patent on their origami-inspired waveguide design and plans to further explore its potential applications beyond spacecraft, including in naval, electrical, and communications systems.

The takeaway

This innovative use of origami principles to create flexible, deployable waveguides showcases the potential for advanced materials and structures to enable new capabilities in high-powered satellite and other microwave energy transfer systems, overcoming the limitations of traditional rigid components.