Space Research, some maps from the conversations

by

This September Simon Wardley organized a research around Space. I have participated in the Manufacturing subgroup.

I’m documenting some of the things we have been discussing.

The question to be answered,

The question that serves as goal for the research is to identify the points where investment will go in the future of space industry, in the case of our subgroup, in the area of manufacturing.

Defining the scope

Space industry is a huge one, so first thing the group did was to define where to focus.

There are 4 major areas in space.

  • Earth to Earth (mature)
  • Space to Space (Genesis)
  • Earth to Space (Mature)
  • Space to Earth (Genesis)

We want to focus on: Space to Space.

Assumptions:

  • We consider the moon part of the space.
  • The practices that work in earth do not necessarily work in space.
  • There will be space manufacturing with and without human presence.

End user:

  • An actor that requires to build something in space. What are the concrete use cases that will emerge?

Current practices (and processes) are not valid in space

We have identified a common pattern in any capability of manufacturing where all that is valid in earth is not necessarily valid in space. The special conditions in space changes all.

Final map we consider for manufacturing

What is the priority for investment?

The group identified different priorities for investment, depending if the purpose of the investment is to benefit the society or the market.

  • Society: Energy, human factors, product lifecycle optimization.
  • Market: In-orbit servicing, robotic / autonomy, transformative space manufacturing.

Leave a Comment