Satellites producing semiconductors, mining on asteroids, drugs grown in microgravity and orbital solar energy: the new space economy is attracting billions in investment and could change global industry.
In recent years a new industrial frontier has developed, with satellites and modules in orbit that function as real factories. Space is transforming into an environment where private investments converge to exploit unique physical conditions, such as microgravityThe empty and the absence of atmospheric contamination.
The recent launch of high temperature ovens for producing semiconductors and advanced materials from the British startup Space Forge signals this structural change in the global economy. In June 2025, the company put ForgeStar-1 into orbit, the first vehicle specifically dedicated to industrial production in space. In the following months, the satellite successfully turned on an orbital furnace capable of exceeding one thousand degrees and generating plasma, proving that even processes requiring extreme conditions can be performed outside the Earth. The goal is not only to obtain materials with superior performance, but to build a repeatable and sustainable production model, based on frequent satellite launches and re-entry systems capable of bringing the finished products back to our planet.
In-orbit manufacturing and advanced materials
US companies specializing in manufacturing in orbit such as Made In Space And Redwire are experimenting with 3D printing metal and polymer components directly in space, demonstrating they can generate lighter and stronger objects, reducing the need for supplies from Earth and paving the way for autonomous production.
«In this environment there are conditions that allow us to obtain products with a quality that is difficult to achieve on Earth», says Tommaso Ghidini, head of the mechanical engineering department of the European Space Agency (Hex). «This applies in particular to materials obtained through crystallization, such as optical fibers or semiconductors: the absence of gravity, convection and contamination can generate a significantly lower number of defects compared to terrestrial conditions».
But it is also the case for some metallic alloys, such as nickel-based superalloys, and some ceramics. The Electromagnetic levitator (Eml) is in fact a sort of space industry on the International Space Station: «It allows metal samples to be melted and solidified in microgravity, without contact with containers or surfaces, reaching temperatures above 2,000°C. In this way, the nucleation and solidification processes can be studied extremely cleanly, eliminating the effects of convection and interactions with walls, which are difficult to avoid on Earth. The results obtained have direct implications on the optimization of terrestrial industrial processes, for example in the production of advanced alloys.”
Asteroid mines and strategic resources
Another ambitious direction of the space industry is that of asteroid mines. Different types of celestial bodies contain high amounts of rare and strategic metals such as platinum, nickel and cobalt. Being able to extract them not only means finding crucial resources for electronics, batteries and green technologies, but also reducing environmental pressure on land-based mines. US startups like Planetary Resources And Deep Space Industries in recent years they have already started programs for asteroid mapping and the development of automated extraction robotic systems, while large space agencies are studying sample return missions and in-orbit processing technologies. The goal is to transform these resources directly in orbit, avoiding the energy costs of atmospheric reentry.
Drugs, biological tissues and medical research
New factories can also make drugs And biological tissues with better properties than those obtainable in a terrestrial environment. «In this sector the potential of space is multiple», explains Ghidini. «Several companies see the possibility of cultivating high-quality crystals of pharmaceutical agents or complex target proteins and molecules in microgravity conditions. This is useful for determining their structure by X-ray diffraction. Experiments show a higher quality of these crystals due to the absence of natural convection, which can otherwise disturb the growth process. For example, human interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF-3), the hepatitis C virus protein and the heat shock protein HSP90 (closely associated with oncological and metabolic diseases) were cultured on board the International Space Station with superior quality.”
In the past, ESA has been involved in this field through dedicated structures, mainly producing scientific results on board the Space Shuttle and the ISS. «Microgravity can also act as an “accelerated” environment for studying aspects related to aging: the absence of gravity leads, for example, to bone demineralization and other physiological changes of interest for medical research».
The main disadvantages remain the limited availability of resources, reduced opportunities for experimentation and high costs. «Lower launch costs and automated platforms could mitigate these limitations in the future, in particular with post-ISS platforms, which are also more oriented towards commercial interests and faster testing cycles», specifies Ghidini. «The traditional pharmaceutical industry is rather conservative on these issues: it has expressed interest, but not yet full commitment. It is likely that the start-ups of the biotechnology ecosystem, together with the academic world, will be the first to demonstrate the economic feasibility of these approaches.” So the potential remains partly unexplored, but the turning point could come in the next few years: «ESA, Jaxa and NASA are committed to this, as are some emerging space powers such as China And India» reveals Ghidini.
Space solar energy and the new orbital economy
Another crucial direction is that of projects space solar stations than to collect solar energy in orbit without interruptions due to the day-night cycle or atmospheric conditions. The idea is to transmit it to Earth via microwave or laseroffering a potentially continuous and clean energy source. These technologies are still in the experimental stage, but governments and businesses in Asia, Europe and the United States are investing billions of dollars in prototypes. For example, the British start-up SpaceSolar works on modular power plants such as Merlin, Kite and Eaglecapable of sending energy via microwaves.
In the United States, the Caltech experienced the Space Solar Power Demonstrator SSPD 1 and the array Mapledemonstrating wireless transmission of energy in microgravity. «But ESA, for its part, has concluded that the technologies have not yet reached a level of maturity that would allow a large-scale initiative, even if it continues to support them within its technological programs, keeping open the possibility of future applications».
The industrial revolution of space and the geopolitical variable
We are therefore faced with a newindustrial revolution“? “It will certainly be possible to transfer some aspects of terrestrial production to space, taking advantage of a unique environment. For example, optical fibers or semiconductors with a quality not easily obtainable on Earth could offer benefits for high-performance computing and high-speed data transmission; ceramics or metal alloys with fewer defects and greater durability, produced in space, could contribute to the creation of more resistant components in high-performance aeronautical and space systems,” replies Ghidini. “But the idea of moving production of mass from Earth to space will have to be carefully balanced with the costs and environmental impact of production and transport. ESA has long experience in life cycle assessment methods and this type of analysis will also be essential for future concepts such as the recovery of resources from space, for example from asteroids, to support production. Certainly, production in space will change the way we manage space activities and, potentially, also terrestrial ones, allowing the construction of materials of unprecedented quality.”
The variable weighs on all of this geopolitics. Because the new one space economy If it does not turn into an arena of conflict, global cooperation will be necessary. Otherwise the new industrial revolution of space will remain bogged down on Earth.
