Varda Space has partnered with SpaceX to build a manufacturing facility in space to produce materials using the low gravity
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to carry the first industrial factory into space.
Image: Chandan Khanna / AFP
A space research company called Varda Space wants to become the first to build a manufacturing facility in space. The firm is set to partner with SpaceX to accomplish this unlikely challenge, with the goal of producing materials using low gravity. The first launch is expected to take place in early 2023.
An industrial factory in space? Varda Space's project may seem far-fetched—after all, there's no shortage of room on Earth to build factories—but the concept could well serve industries here on Earth. Varda's aim would be to use microgravity to manufacture new materials or to further the research of the International Space Station on certain specific products. According to TechCrunch, this kind of in-space facility could, for example, manufacture bio-printed organs or specialist semiconductors, even if, for the moment, nothing has been officially revealed by the firm, since no client contracts have yet been signed.