In Space Manufacturing Companies

Redwire

Jacksonville, United States commercial

Redwire Corporation is a leading space infrastructure company pioneering in-space manufacturing, 3D bioprinting, and advanced spacecraft systems. With over 20 facilities developed for the International Space Station and 10 currently operating on orbit, Redwire is advancing capabilities that will enable humanity to live and work sustainably in space. In May 2024, Redwire successfully 3D bioprinted the first live human heart tissue sample through its BioFabrication Facility (BFF) aboard the ISS. This breakthrough tissue returned to Earth in April 2024, opening doors to creating heart patches for damaged tissue treatment and more effective personalized medicine. The company plans to bioprint human blood vessels and knee meniscus tissue on future missions. The MSTIC (Manufacturing of Semiconductors and Thin-Film Integrated Coatings) facility completed its pathfinder mission in 2024, manufacturing 18 thin-film semiconductor samples to explore beneficial effects of microgravity on these structures. Launched on Northrop Grumman's NG-20 cargo mission in February 2024, MSTIC is an autonomous semiconductor manufacturing platform developed with the ISS National Laboratory and NASA. Redwire's Additive Manufacturing Facility produced 3D-printed radiation shielding on orbit, recycling polyethylene from packaging waste into filament for AstroRad radiation vest inserts, addressing a major hazard for deep space missions. The company broke ground on a new state-of-the-art microgravity payload development and space operations facility in Floyd County, Indiana. Redwire continues expanding in-space manufacturing capabilities to meet growing demand for space-based research and production.

Vast

Long Beach, United States commercial

Vast is an American commercial space station company founded in 2021 by billionaire Jed McCaleb (co-founder of Ripple and Stellar). The company acquired Launcher (rocket startup) in 2023 and is developing Haven-1, a single-module commercial space station whose launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 is targeted for the first quarter of 2027 (Vast update, March 2026). Haven-1 would be the first commercial space station in orbit if launched as planned, hosting NASA, commercial, and private astronaut missions. Vast has a Launch Services Agreement with SpaceX and a NASA CLD (Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destination) study contract. The company is also developing Haven-2, a larger multi-module station intended to be operational when the ISS deorbits around 2030. Vast's business model centers on selling research time, tourism stays, and government crew transport slots. McCaleb has personally funded the company with hundreds of millions of dollars, giving Vast unusual financial runway for a space station startup.

Outpost

San Francisco, United States commercial

Founded in 2020 and based in San Francisco, Outpost is a space technology company focused on developing in-space services, in-space manufacturing capabilities, and spacecraft technologies. The company’s core offering is “Heatshield as a Service,” a modular reentry system designed to provide affordable and reliable return of payloads from orbit. Outpost aims to lower the cost and complexity of sample return and other reentry missions. Outpost’s team possesses significant expertise in in-space manufacturing and logistics, stemming from the founding team’s prior work at Made In Space – a company responsible for the first in-space 3D printers and fiber optic manufacturing – which was eventually acquired and went public as Redwire (NYSE: RDW). The company’s leadership also includes experienced professionals from Axiom Space, with a proven track record of securing substantial funding – over $500 million raised and $2.3 billion in contracts secured – and managing complex missions, including support for 12 astronauts and over 50 payloads. While specific missions are not detailed, Outpost is positioned to serve a growing market for in-space services and offers a potentially disruptive solution for affordable reentry, targeting both commercial and government customers. The company’s focus on modularity and service-based offerings suggests a strategy to democratize access to critical space logistics capabilities.

Amergint Space, now operating as part of ARKA AMERGINT Technologies, is a Bothell, Washington-based company focused on the development of in-space services and manufacturing technologies. Founded in 1994, the company currently concentrates on building systems for orbital assembly and space debris removal, indicating a commitment to the growing in-space servicing, repair, and manufacturing (ISRM) sector. While recent information emphasizes integration with ARKA, Amergint’s core expertise appears to lie in advanced technologies for the space domain. ARKA AMERGINT Technologies leverages a 60-year legacy of innovation and offers solutions spanning advanced communications, defense systems, modern software, and mission applications, in addition to space systems. The company provides hardware, software, and cloud solutions, addressing signal, network, and data processing needs. Currently available information does not detail specific missions or customers beyond indicating a willingness to collaborate with partners. However, the focus on orbital assembly and debris removal positions Amergint within a rapidly expanding market driven by the need for sustainable space operations and the development of a space-based economy. Amergint’s value proposition centers on providing critical ground and space-based system solutions, backed by ARKA’s broader capabilities and experience. The company aims to address complex challenges in the space sector through innovative technologies and a commitment to performance and reliability.

Basalt Technology is a newly established company, founded in 2023 and based in San Francisco, focused on the emerging field of in-space manufacturing. The company develops materials specifically designed for utilization in the space environment, indicating a core business centered around material science and its application to off-world production. As a participant in the Y Combinator S23 program, Basalt Technology is currently in a phase of rapid development and validation of its technologies. Currently, details regarding specific materials or manufacturing processes are limited due to the company’s early stage. However, its focus on in-space manufacturing suggests a potential specialization in materials that address the unique challenges of the space environment – such as radiation resistance, extreme temperature fluctuations, or the need for lightweight and high-strength components. This could include novel alloys, composites, or even materials produced *from* space-based resources. Given the limited publicly available information, Basalt Technology’s market position is still developing. However, the company is positioned within a rapidly growing sector. The demand for in-space manufacturing is driven by the increasing ambition for long-duration space missions, lunar and Martian bases, and large-scale space infrastructure. Basalt Technology’s unique value proposition likely lies in its material development expertise, aiming to provide solutions that enable cost-effective and sustainable in-space production, reducing reliance on Earth-based launches and supply chains. Further information regarding their specific material compositions and target applications will be key to understanding their competitive advantage within this evolving market.

ElevationSpace is a Sendai, Japan-based in-orbit manufacturing and experiment return company founded in 2021 as a spin-off from Tohoku University, developing the ELS-R (ElevationSpace Return) small satellite platform — a recoverable spacecraft designed to carry scientific experiments and manufacturing payloads into orbit, conduct research in the microgravity and vacuum environment, and then de-orbit and return experiment samples to Earth under parachute. The fundamental value proposition of returnable satellite platforms is access to the space environment (microgravity, vacuum, radiation, thermal cycling) for experiments that require physical sample return — crystal growth experiments (protein crystals grown in microgravity form with fewer defects, enabling higher-quality pharmaceutical X-ray crystallography), semiconductor material processing (indium phosphide and other compound semiconductors show improved properties when zone-refined in microgravity), biological samples (cells, organisms, tissue cultures), and advanced materials characterization. The ISS has historically been the primary platform for return experiments (through Dragon cargo return), but ISS access requires extended booking timelines, limited capacity allocation, and expensive integration processes. Small dedicated returnable platforms like ELS-R offer faster mission timelines, dedicated experiment control, and potentially lower cost per kilogram of experiment capacity. ElevationSpace's Tohoku University origins connect it to strong materials science and microgravity research programs at one of Japan's top engineering universities. Sendai's academic and industrial ecosystem — including the university's space robotics laboratory and affiliated companies — provides technology and talent access. The company has received support from JAXA's startup support programs and public investment funds as part of Japan's effort to build a commercial in-space services ecosystem. The ELS-R platform is designed to reenter from LEO orbit, protect the payload through reentry aerodynamic heating, and land softly for experiment retrieval. Competitors in commercial microgravity experiment return include Varda Space Industries (California, manufacturing in orbit and returning via reentry capsule), Astro Mechanica, and OrbitFab-adjacent cargo return concepts. ElevationSpace differentiates through the Japanese scientific community customer base and JAXA relationships.

Orbital Matter

Warsaw, Poland commercial

Orbital Matter, founded in 2020 and based in Warsaw, Poland, is a space technology company focused on in-space manufacturing utilizing additive manufacturing, specifically 3D printing. The company is developing technology to decouple space structure production from the limitations of Earth-based launch payload volumes. Orbital Matter aims to manufacture complex structures directly in orbit, offering a potentially faster, cheaper, and more agile alternative to traditional methods. Their core technology centers around a universal 3D printing satellite designed for on-orbit construction. This approach addresses key challenges in space infrastructure development, including the weight penalties associated with launching pre-fabricated structures – which can be up to 70% heavier than required in space – and the operational complexity of assembling large structures from multiple rocket-delivered modules. By shipping raw materials instead of finished components, Orbital Matter anticipates reducing launch requirements by up to three times and improving material efficiency. As of late 2023, Orbital Matter has demonstrated its terrestrial prototype in simulated space conditions and is targeting a 2025 in-orbit demonstration. Their roadmap includes a commercially available 3D printing module for satellites by 2026, followed by a fully capable 3D printing satellite for large-scale universal structures by 2029. The company is led by CEO Jakub Stojek, an experienced entrepreneur with a track record of rapid growth in manufacturing, and CTO Robert Ihnatisin, a 3D printing specialist with experience at 3D printing leader Formlabs.

Outlier Space is developing a reusable Earth-return capsule that carries research and manufacturing payloads into microgravity for weeks to months and brings them back. The vehicle is autonomous and deliberately rocket-agnostic, so it can fly on whichever launcher is available rather than being tied to one provider, and the company is targeting better mission economics than the growing field of re-entry vehicles. The company was founded in 2024 by Jamie France, previously Rocket Lab's global director for the Electron launch vehicle, and is based in Auckland. If it flies as planned it would be New Zealand's first re-entry vehicle — a capability distinct from the launch expertise the country is already known for. Outlier raised a US$7.35 million pre-seed round led by Global From Day One, with Nova Threshold, Airtree, Icehouse Ventures, Investible, Side Stage Ventures and Brian Cartmell participating. Its target customers are in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, advanced materials and scientific research, and a debut mission is scheduled for 2028.

Space Forge

Cardiff, United Kingdom commercial

Space Forge is a Welsh in-space manufacturing company developing the ForgeStar reusable spacecraft platform for producing advanced materials in microgravity. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Cardiff, the company targets high-value semiconductor, alloy, and pharmaceutical manufacturing that benefits from the near-perfect vacuum and microgravity of orbit — conditions that produce material properties impossible to achieve on Earth. ForgeStar is designed as a fully reusable, returnable satellite that deploys a payload module in orbit, runs a manufacturing cycle, then deorbits and lands via a heat shield and parachute. Space Forge has raised Series A funding led by Seraphim Space, the UK-based space VC, and received backing from the UK Space Agency and Innovate UK. The company's technology roadmap targets semiconductors for the EV and aerospace industries as its initial market.