In space manufacturing

Varda Space Industries successfully reentered its W-5 capsule on January 29, 2026, landing at the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia operated by Southern Launch. W-5 is the first mission using Varda's in-house developed satellite bus — a full vertical integration milestone. The capsule also used a Varda-manufactured heatshield made from C-PICA (Conformal Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator), technology licensed from NASA Ames under a Tipping Point award. The payload was carried on behalf of the U.S. Navy. Varda has now flown five W-series missions, targeting quarterly return cadence in 2026 with W-6 launching in 2026.

On December 31, 2025, Space Forge confirmed its ForgeStar-1 satellite successfully generated plasma in low Earth orbit — the first commercial free-flying orbital plasma generation ever achieved outside the ISS. The miniature manufacturing furnace reached temperatures above 1,000°C in microwave-induced plasma, validating conditions for gas-phase crystal growth of wide-bandgap semiconductors (GaN, SiC, AlN, diamond). ForgeStar-1 launched June 2025 on SpaceX Transporter-14 and operates at ~540km LEO. The Pridwen heat shield onboard will also test controlled demise technology. The satellite is not designed to return materials to Earth — that capability is planned for ForgeStar-2.

Space Forge successfully generated plasma aboard its ForgeStar-1 in-space manufacturing satellite — claimed as the first commercial semiconductor manufacturing tool operated in orbit.

UK in-space manufacturing startup Space Forge successfully ignited its miniature furnace and generated plasma at ~1,000°C aboard ForgeStar-1 — the first commercial semiconductor manufacturing tool operated in orbit.

Orbital Matter's Replicator CubeSat — carrying a polymer 3D printer designed to work in vacuum and microgravity — flew as a secondary payload on Ariane 6's inaugural flight on July 9, 2024. The 3U CubeSat deployed successfully from the rocket, becoming the first in-orbit demonstration of open-space 3D printing outside the ISS. Separation confirmed and deployment achieved; two-way communications not confirmed as of July 25. Main objective of proving launch survivability and demonstrating the technology concept validated.

Polish-German startup Orbital Matter raised over €1 million in pre-seed funding led by Sunfish Partners, with Dhyan VC and angel investors participating. Thales Alenia Space is also an industrial partner via the Space Business Catalyst accelerator. Funds will support development of Orbital Matter's in-orbit 3D printer technology ahead of a planned Ariane 6 demonstration.