Factories in Space, The next Revolution?

[Tywin]

Well if the Varda and others companies have success with her fabrics in space, and with the LIFE technology of Sierra, do you think this can be the next big thing in space?

[Lagranger]

In my opinion, the signs are mixed. There are definitely a lot of exciting developments with companies like Varda and Space Forge, but we don't know if they're making money or if they will make money. It feels to me sort of like a repeat of all the excitement about ZBLAN and exotic optical fibers a few years ago, which didn't pan out.

But if it is about to happen, I'm guessing it will happen very suddenly.

[TrevorMonty]

Factories are likely to be unmanned for few reasons.
 Cost, being biggest. No humans in loop means considerable cheaper facilities with no life support. Service vehicles don't need multiple redundant systems as failure won't kill anybody. Docking ports can be whatever size and shape is cheapest to get job done.

Human''s movements introduce vibrations into station damaging microgravity environment.

Station can operate at any temperature, pressure and even gravity if rotating to meet manufacturing requirements.

Orbit optimized for launch pads and LVs  serving it, neither of which needs to support human flight. Eg orbit that maximize mass from Wallops.

[DanClemmensen]

On Earth, the trend is to automate as much as possible, with ever-fewer humans in a factory. This trend seems to be accelerating, which among other things adds to the industrial base that produces even more sophisticated automation. All of this means that is becomes easier to design factories that do not require any humans. This is especially true for space factories.

[trimeta]

Is there a place for mostly unattended manufacturing, where "factory" modules are launched uncrewed and can operate autonomously, but crewed vehicles can visit (either at the start of operations or periodically throughout) so humans can make adjustments? Or would it be easier to just set everything up for completely automatic operation before launching?

[DanClemmensen]

Is there a place for mostly unattended manufacturing, where "factory" modules are launched uncrewed and can operate autonomously, but crewed vehicles can visit (either at the start of operations or periodically throughout) so humans can make adjustments? Or would it be easier to just set everything up for completely automatic operation before launching?

Build the automated factory into an EDL-capable un-crewed Starship. Send materials up in an EDL-capable Cargo Starship that also brings finished product back down. Land the factory occasionally for maintenance.

[Coastal Ron]

Humans have a hard time building unattended factories here on Earth, so why do we think unattended factories in space will be any easier?

Also, WHAT WILL THEY BUILD?

You have to answer that question first before you start asking yourself WHERE the factory will be located.

Factories in space, at least initially, will build things that can only be built in space, either from a cost standpoint or from a practical standpoint. Not sure we know what those "things" are yet, and until we do, talking about "where" is too premature.

[Asteroza]

Is there a place for mostly unattended manufacturing, where "factory" modules are launched uncrewed and can operate autonomously, but crewed vehicles can visit (either at the start of operations or periodically throughout) so humans can make adjustments? Or would it be easier to just set everything up for completely automatic operation before launching?

For the foreseeable future we are probably going to see man-tended stations with factory modules. Things break. Getting a factory module down to full automation and FRU parts that a robot arm can swap is gonna be hard. But making a factory that is human serviceable but unattended is a decent near-term compromise. But that's basically ISS right now, with many more modules. Which means designing a space station to be nominally zero g and expected to accrete modules regularly (so aggressive expansion).

Which has implications on station design, considering power transfer through rotary joints. Something similar to old ISS power tower gravity gradient designs, or something more aligned with the velocity vector?

[meekGee]

Humans have a hard time building unattended factories here on Earth, so why do we think unattended factories in space will be any easier?

Also, WHAT WILL THEY BUILD?

You have to answer that question first before you start asking yourself WHERE the factory will be located.

Factories in space, at least initially, will build things that can only be built in space, either from a cost standpoint or from a practical standpoint. Not sure we know what those "things" are yet, and until we do, talking about "where" is too premature.

The motivation is a lot stronger, that's what's different.

But yeah, it's all theoretical since the magic product is yet to be discovered.

[Tywin]

Humans have a hard time building unattended factories here on Earth, so why do we think unattended factories in space will be any easier?

Also, WHAT WILL THEY BUILD?

You have to answer that question first before you start asking yourself WHERE the factory will be located.

Factories in space, at least initially, will build things that can only be built in space, either from a cost standpoint or from a practical standpoint. Not sure we know what those "things" are yet, and until we do, talking about "where" is too premature.

The motivation is a lot stronger, that's what's different.

But yeah, it's all theoretical since the magic product is yet to be discovered.

ZBLAN and a lot more in the future...

[Tywin]

Rockandrola...

https://spacenews.com/flawless-photonics-kicking-glass/

[meekGee]

Humans have a hard time building unattended factories here on Earth, so why do we think unattended factories in space will be any easier?

Also, WHAT WILL THEY BUILD?

You have to answer that question first before you start asking yourself WHERE the factory will be located.

Factories in space, at least initially, will build things that can only be built in space, either from a cost standpoint or from a practical standpoint. Not sure we know what those "things" are yet, and until we do, talking about "where" is too premature.

The motivation is a lot stronger, that's what's different.

But yeah, it's all theoretical since the magic product is yet to be discovered.

ZBLAN and a lot more in the future...

Can't argue with the future. There's always maybes.  I didn't say there never will be a magic product, but I will say that the likely course of any on-orbit manufacturing is batch capsules, not space stations.

[Tywin]

Humans have a hard time building unattended factories here on Earth, so why do we think unattended factories in space will be any easier?

Also, WHAT WILL THEY BUILD?

You have to answer that question first before you start asking yourself WHERE the factory will be located.

Factories in space, at least initially, will build things that can only be built in space, either from a cost standpoint or from a practical standpoint. Not sure we know what those "things" are yet, and until we do, talking about "where" is too premature.

The motivation is a lot stronger, that's what's different.

But yeah, it's all theoretical since the magic product is yet to be discovered.

ZBLAN and a lot more in the future...

Can't argue with the future. There's always maybes.  I didn't say there never will be a magic product, but I will say that the likely course of any on-orbit manufacturing is batch capsules, not space stations.

All the beginning are tiny...

[Tywin]

3 companies and maybe even more now, in this sector:

https://www.varda.com/

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/varda-space-industries-launches-w-4-with-the-faas-first-ever-reentry-vehicle-operator-license-and-debuts-an-in-house-satellite-bus-302488811.html


https://www.spaceforge.com/

https://www.spaceforge.com/news/the-forge-awakens-space-forge-successfully-launches-forgestar-1-the-uks-first-in-space-manufacturing-satellite


https://www.reditus.space/





Little by little, the revolution is happening.

[Tywin]

Other examples:

https://spacetango.com/latest/pressreleases/space-tango-auxilium-successful-manufacture-of-3d-printed-medical-device-in-space/


https://redwirespace.com/newsroom/going-for-gold-in-microgravity/

https://redwirespace.com/newsroom/redwire-expands-in-space-drug-development-program-launches-new-pil-box-technology-and-cancer-detection-experiment/

[daedalus1]

The ISS was initially sold as an orbital manufacturing facility. That hasn't quite happened.

[Tywin]

The ISS was initially sold as an orbital manufacturing facility. That hasn't quite happened.

yet...

The new space companies, are trying different things now...

[JulesVerneATV]

There are a lot of problems yet to solve but in the future if we had space elevators at the Moons or Mars, and some type of power stations at the Asteroids or Europa or Callisto or Titan, robotic or manned and a way of moving manufactured produced from the surface or the Moon into orbit or Lunar orbit or selenocentric orbit then use of something like Railguns or 'Aldrin Cycler' could come into play as Low Tech 'Hardened' products and more sophisticated equipment gets shipped around the solar system.



Doing simple chemistry production, Farming at Mars, Harvesting Asteroids is going to have its own challenges it is difficult enough for humanity to live in Alaska, Siberia, the high altitude climates or Antarctica yet alone have the ambitions to make a space colony and for it to be profitable and safe and fully functional. DART inspired a lot of debate a test by NASA and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, an Italian craft made measurements later observations by Hubble, James Webb, Lucy etc it should be interesting to see what ESA mission Hera finds when it arrives at the Didymos system

[spacenut]

What can reasonably be manufactured in space now?  I've heard insulin and ball bearings could.  In zero G with the exact amount of metal injected will pool into a perfect sphere that would need no machining. 

If the moon is to be mined, than the basic raw materials will probably have to be separated out on the surface of the moon.  Then the metals can be spin launched in a container and towed to an in space manufacturing facility.  It would probably have to be an O'Neill sized or Babylon 5 sized facility to handing all the raw material being brought in, smelted, made into the various components, and the finished product come out the other end.  One G can be on the inside outer rim of a spinning station while the center zero G or micro G gravity can be used for the manufacturing area. 

I don't think in space manufacturing will happen until fully reusable rockets are developed and fully operational to make building large facilities in space, mining operations on the moon, or even on Mars can really begin. 

We have to get Starship operational, New Glenn Operational, and get New Armstrong operational first as well as Rocketlab's Neutron rocket and others. 

[lightleviathan]

ZBLAN fibre optics, and other medicines can also be fabricated in space.