The global space economy is growing fast, expected to surpass $511 billion by 2029, according to GlobalData.
While satellite launches and communication services currently dominate that figure, a more radical idea is beginning to gain serious momentum: manufacturing in space.
Once considered a speculative fantasy, orbital manufacturing is being taken seriously by a growing number of aerospace firms, venture capitalists, and national agencies.
But why manufacture anything in space in the first place? What can be made there that can’t be made more easily – and more cheaply – on Earth?
The answer lies in the unique physical conditions of orbit and the emerging belief that space may be the ideal location for creating next-generation materials and products.
Why manufacture in space at all?
Manufacturing in space offers a number of physical advantages that are difficult or expensive to replicate on Earth:
- Microgravity enables the production of materials with fewer defects and greater structural uniformity, such as ultra-pure semiconductors and fiber optics.
- Vacuum conditions allow for manufacturing without contamination, eliminating the need for complex cleanrooms.
- Stable thermal conditions and the absence of gravity-driven convection help improve the precision of certain chemical and physical processes.
- Radiation exposure, while a challenge for electronics and humans, may be harnessed in specific high-energy applications, such as crystal formation.
Experiments conducted on the International Space Station (ISS) have already demonstrated these benefits.
Companies like Made In Space (now part of Redwire Space) have successfully 3D printed tools and fiber optic materials in orbit, proving that space-based manufacturing is not only possible, but also potentially commercially viable.
What can actually be made in space?
While space isn’t likely to replace Earth as the hub of global manufacturing any time soon, there are a few high-value products that are well suited to orbital production:
- ZBLAN fiber optics: A fluoride-based glass material with superior transmission properties compared to traditional silica fibers. ZBLAN suffers from imperfections when made on Earth, but not in microgravity.
- Pharmaceuticals: Proteins and crystals for drug development often form more effectively in microgravity, potentially improving treatment efficacy.
- Semiconductors: Manufacturing ultra-pure wafers in orbit could overcome Earth-based yield limitations in advanced chip fabrication.
- Precision optics: Mirrors and lenses for telescopes or space sensors can be made more accurately in zero gravity.
- Satellites: In the long term, building satellites or components directly in space could avoid the constraints of rocket size and drastically reduce launch costs.
Some futurists also suggest building solar arrays or structural components for space stations or lunar bases in orbit – effectively creating an industrial supply chain off Earth.
Who’s building space factories – and where?
Several companies are actively working on turning orbital manufacturing into a business:
- Redwire Space is a leader in in-space manufacturing, developing 3D printers and assembly platforms for the ISS and future free-flying stations.
- Varda Space Industries is focused on producing high-value pharmaceuticals in orbit, with the aim of returning them to Earth using re-entry capsules. Varda has successfully returned three flights. These missions involved returning capsules from orbit to Earth, marking a significant step in commercial in-space manufacturing and hypersonic re-entry capabilities.
- NASA and DARPA continue to fund initiatives such as OSAM (On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing), targeting satellites and large-structure construction.
- Sierra Space and Blue Origin are developing private space stations like Orbital Reef that may one day serve as hubs for orbital industry.
- SpaceX, Rocket Lab, and other launch providers are critical enablers, lowering the cost of getting materials and tools into orbit.
These early ventures may resemble remote labs more than traditional factories, but their success could lay the foundation for a permanent industrial presence in space.
The challenges ahead
Despite its promise, space manufacturing faces a number of unresolved challenges:
- Debris and collision risk: The increasing density of satellites and space junk raises safety concerns for large orbital structures.
- Cost of re-entry: For products that must return to Earth, safe, affordable re-entry systems are still a work in progress.
- Thermal and radiation exposure: Industrial equipment must be hardened against extreme heat cycles and ionizing radiation.
- Autonomy and maintenance: Most space factories must operate with minimal or no human presence, requiring advanced robotics.
- Legal and regulatory uncertainty: Questions of ownership, liability, and resource rights remain murky under existing space treaties.
For now, only a few ultra-high-value items – like specialized fibers or drugs – justify the enormous cost of orbital production. But that equation may change rapidly as technology improves and space infrastructure matures.
What this means for automation and robotics
All space-based manufacturing is, by necessity, automated. Human crews are expensive and vulnerable, so robotic systems are critical to building, inspecting, and maintaining orbital facilities.
Canada’s Canadarm and the upcoming Canadarm3, used on the ISS and planned for the Lunar Gateway, are some of the most iconic robotic systems in space.
They demonstrate how large robotic arms can assist with satellite deployment, module relocation, and equipment servicing.
Motiv Space Systems, a California-based firm, builds robotic arms and autonomous platforms for use in orbit and on planetary surfaces.
The company has contributed to projects such as NASA’s OSAM-2 mission and robotic systems for the Mars Perseverance rover.
Other players include:
- Maxar Technologies, which is developing satellite servicing arms and space assembly tools.
- GITAI, working on humanoid and multipurpose robots for zero-gravity tasks.
- Astrobotic and Oceaneering Space Systems, which focus on robotic landers and tools for lunar missions and the ISS.
These companies are creating the infrastructure that will one day make orbital factories not only viable – but also reliable and scalable.
A future built above the clouds
Manufacturing in space may still sound like science fiction, but the foundation is already being laid.
As launch costs fall, space infrastructure expands, and automation systems become more capable, orbital manufacturing may find its place as a niche – yet indispensable – part of the global industrial landscape.
Whether it’s fiber optics, pharmaceuticals, or full-scale satellites, the next generation of high-value products could be made not in a factory on Earth, but in a robotic workshop floating high above it.
