The best in-space manufacturing space startups
10 in-space manufacturing companies in the directory, ranked by disclosed funding ($785.5M raised between them), spanning 6 countries.
Microgravity changes how crystals grow, how alloys form and how fibers draw. These startups manufacture things in orbit that cannot be made on Earth, then bring them home.
Updated 5 November 2026 · 8 milestones in the last 90 days · Follow by RSS
State of the sector
As of 27 September 2026
Some companies here make things in orbit, and others bring them home or build structures there. Varda Space grows pharmaceutical crystals in capsules that return to Earth. Space Forge wants to make semiconductor materials, and BioOrbit works on crystallising proteins for cancer drugs. ElevationSpace and Atmos Space Cargo build return capsules, and ArcSpace and ThinkOrbital work on welding in orbit.
Space Forge fired its orbital furnace to 1,000°C on ForgeStar-1 in December 2025, a first for commercial in-space manufacturing. BioOrbit lost its first crystallisation unit in June 2025 when The Exploration Company's capsule failed to land, and raised a seed round in May 2026.
ArcSpace plans to fly a 12 kg electron-beam welding tool in 2027. Made In Space, which put the first 3D printer on the International Space Station, was bought by Redwire in 2020.
Latest milestones
Every dated event from the companies below, newest first, each with its source.
Varda Space: W-8 lands at the Koonibba Test Range after 35 days in orbitVarda Space: Two more of its reentry capsules launch on SpaceX's Transporter-18Varda Space: Closes a $251M Series D led by Lux Capital and Natural Capital, taking total funding to $598M
ElevationSpace: Signs a rideshare launch contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to fly its second ELS-R spacecraft on an H3
ArcSpace: Closes a €2M seed led by DEPO Ventures to fly a 12 kg electron-beam welding demonstration in 2027
ThinkOrbital: Selected for SpaceWERX's 2026 STRATFI cycle for in-space assembly, pairing Space Force money with matched private capital
Space Forge: Signs a master research agreement with the Texas A&M University System, a first step to US semiconductor-materials production
Atmos Space Cargo: Completes an early design study with ESA's Concurrent Design Facility for PHOENIX 3, a reusable capsule for payloads above 1,000 kgElevationSpace: Closes a $40M Series B, bringing its total raised to $63.5MSpace Forge: An ESA grant of £10M funds a mission to launch Pridwen, its fold-out heat shield, and bring it back to EarthShow 40 earlier milestones
Varda Space: W-6 lands at the Koonibba Test Range, its second reentry of 2026, on a mission funded through AFRL's Prometheus programVarda Space: Signs its first major agreement with a pharmaceutical company, United Therapeutics, to develop drugs in microgravity
SpacePharma: Launches its SPANCER mission with Roche Diagnostics and ESA, its 14th mission to spaceAtmos Space Cargo: Closes a €25.7M Series A co-led by Balnord and Expansion to build a three-vehicle PHOENIX 2 fleet and develop PHOENIX 3Atmos Space Cargo: Receives Portugal's first commercial re-entry licence, for PHOENIX 2.1 to return off the AzoresVarda Space: W-5 lands at the Koonibba Test Range after 63 days in orbitThinkOrbital: Seed round led by TFX Capital funds X-ray inspection workSpace Forge: Fires its orbital furnace to 1,000°C and generates plasma on ForgeStar-1, a first for commercial in-space manufacturingElevationSpace: Is selected under Japan's Space Strategy Fund to develop technology for frequent cargo return from space stationsSpace Forge: Pridwen, its fold-out heat shield, deploys in weightlessness on a ZeroG parabolic flightElevationSpace: Signs an MoU with ispace to pursue Japan’s first private lunar sample return, for which it would build the reentry capsuleVarda Space: Closes a $187M Series C, taking total funding to $329MVarda Space: W-4 launches on the maiden flight of its in-house satellite busSpace Forge: ForgeStar-1, the UK’s first in-space manufacturing satellite, launches on Transporter-14
RedWorks: Partners with EXO5D to sell industrial 3D printers in the USVarda Space: W-3 lands in South Australia after two months in orbit, testing an inertial measurement unit through reentrySpacePharma: Wins three projects in the Business in Space Growth Network life sciences acceleratorAtmos Space Cargo: PHOENIX 1, Europe’s first private reentry capsule test, flies on Bandwagon-3; the data comes home, the capsule does notSpacePharma: Flies a protein crystallisation experiment with SpaceOmix on SpaceX's private Fram2 missionAtmos Space Cargo: Wins €13.1M from the EU's EIC Accelerator to develop PHOENIX 2Varda Space: W-2 returns from orbit carrying NASA-supported reentry instrumentationThinkOrbital: Flight-2 free flyer carries welder, cutter and X-ray source to orbitThinkOrbital: First autonomous electron beam weld in space, on a suborbital Falcon 9 flightSpacePharma: EIC Accelerator awards a €2 million grant for SPACTORYVarda Space: W-1 lands in Utah with orbit-grown ritonavir crystals, the first commercial in-space manufacturing round tripVarda Space: Receives the FAA’s first Part 450 reentry licence, clearing W-1 to come home after months in orbitElevationSpace: Signs a co-creation project with JAXA for high-frequency reentry and recovery from LEOSpacePharma: CUTISS skin cell experiment flies to the ISS on CRS-27Space Forge: ForgeStar-0 is lost on Virgin Orbit’s failed Start Me Up mission, the first orbital launch attempt from UK soilThinkOrbital: SpaceWERX Orbital Prime awards $250,000 for an in-space assembly studySpacePharma: ICE Cubes lab installed on the ISS via Axiom-1SpacePharma: DIDO-3 microgravity research satellite reaches orbit
Made In Space: Redwire acquires Made In Space and its Luxembourg armMade In Space: NASA awards $73.7 million for the Archinaut One assembly demoRedWorks: Supplies on-site 3D printed stone to Malibu's Sweetwater ParkRedWorks: Sinters play sand into building material in a bench testNew in in-space manufacturing
All 10 in-space manufacturing companies
Ranked by disclosed funding.
Varda Space Orbital manufacturing
Made In Space AcquiredIn-space manufacturing
ElevationSpace Bringing orbit-made materials home
Space Forge Semiconductors made in orbit
ArcSpace Electron-beam welding in orbit
Atmos Space Cargo Reentry capsules for orbital cargo
BioOrbitPharma crystals grown in microgravity
RedWorks In-situ additive construction
SpacePharma Microgravity labs and research
ThinkOrbital In-space welding and construction
How many in-space manufacturing space startups are there in 2026?
Space Bandits tracks 10 in-space manufacturing companies, 9 of them active, with $785.5M in disclosed funding between them.
What is the latest news from in-space manufacturing startups?
The most recent milestone on record is from Varda Space, dated 5 November 2026: "W-8 lands at the Koonibba Test Range after 35 days in orbit."
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