SpaceX is getting into the cosmic manufacturing business

Having revolutionized the space launch system and space-based telecommunications, SpaceX has fixed on a new industry to conquer. Elon Musk’s company is developing a business called Starfall which will facilitate space-based manufacturing.

SpaceX’s approach is something of a departure from other companies such as Vast and Axiom which envision private space stations serviced by spacecraft such as the Crew Dragon. 

The Starship would take a number of capsules outfitted as miniature labs or factories to low Earth orbit. After a period of research into high valued products such as pharmaceuticals or computer chips or their outright manufacture, the capsules would return to Earth independently.

SpaceX is already in talks with potential customers for Starfall. The company envisions the new business beginning at the end of the current decade.

A recent piece in Forbes has an excellent rundown about the state of play in regards to space manufacturing. Experiments on the International Space Station by companies such as Merck and Redwire have shown the promise of products that use the unique properties of the space environment, including microgravity, hard vacuum and even radiation is very real. 

The question is, when will the promise become reality: decades from now, or sooner?

The author of the Forbes article thinks that a space manufacturing sector is decades away, say in the time of our grandchildren. A number of companies building private space stations are betting that the time will come much sooner, perhaps as early as the 2030s.

What kind of products might be created in space that can’t be manufactured on Earth? Redwire, a space manufacturing and infrastructure company first founded in 2020 and most famous for deploying a 3D printer on the International Space Station, has a few ideas.

• Pharmaceuticals, particularly in regards to “uniform crystal production and formulation” important for developing new drugs.
• Tissue bioprinting, which could lead to the production of transplantable organs derived from a patient’s stem cells.
• Manufactured products, including fiber optics, laser components and turbomachine parts.

The timing of the Starfall business is interesting in that the International Space Station is scheduled to end its operational life by 2030. Companies like Redwire will be able to switch over to the SpaceX-derived business seamlessly to continue their research and perhaps start making things for paying customers.

Starfall will have several competitors in the space manufacturing game.

Vast Aerospace is likely to be the first out the gate with its Haven-1 space station, a small-scale facility capable of hosting four astronauts for 30-day stays. Haven-1’s launch has been pushed back to May 2026. Haven-1 could be followed by Haven-2, a much larger facility to be built between 2028 and 2032.

Axiom Space is planning a space station, starting no earlier than 2027 with construction to conclude in the early 2030s. Axion has already mounted four private space missions to the International Space Station.

Orbital Reef is a joint venture between Blue Origin and Sierra Space. The facility is not only designed to facilitate research and space manufacturing, but tourism as well. Operations may begin in 2027 or later.

Starlab is a commercial space station envisioned by Starlab Space and is planned for launch no earlier than 2028. It will consist of a service module and a habitat/laboratory module. Starlab will specifically not cater to the space tourism market.

It should be noted that however each of these and perhaps other commercial space stations come to fruition, SpaceX is likely to make money on them, as well. 

The company currently possesses the only commercial means to send people to and from low Earth orbit in the form of the Crew Dragon. NASA and Boeing are trying to fix the problems with the Starliner, a long, difficult and expensive process.

How fast the process of space-based manufacturing proceeds is an open question. Blue Origin’s Jeff Bezos dreams of a time in which all heavy industry moves off planet, leaving Earth relatively free of pollution and human-caused climate change. That development, if it happens at all, is likely to take many decades if not centuries.

SpaceX was at the center of the first two commercial space industries, space launch with its Falcon family of rockets and telecommunications with its Starlink system. 

Whether the company decides to build its own space station based on the Starship or just stick with Starfall, it is likely to also be at the center of the next great space commercial development, the manufacture of products in low Earth orbit.

No wonder Musk is the richest man on the planet.

Mark R. Whittington, who writes frequently about space policy, has published a political study of space exploration entitled “Why is It So Hard to Go Back to the Moon?” as well as “The Moon, Mars and Beyond,” and, most recently, “Why is America Going Back to the Moon?” He blogs at Curmudgeons Corner.