|  Jeff Foust, HOUSTON — Space manufacturing, a field whose promise has gone unrealized for decades, is now offering new opportunities thanks to the use of the International Space Station and reduced space access costs, some experts believe.
The best near-term opportunity to demonstrate the ability of space manufacturing to produce products of value on Earth, according to a panel at the SpaceCom Expo here Dec. 6, may come from experiments flying to the station in the next year to test the production of high-quality optical fibers. "The opportunities for in-space manufacturing have never been better," said Lynn Harper of the Space Portal Office at NASA's Ames Research Center. "Large-scale manufacturing could be tested and perfected on the ISS, and then implemented in the many commercial carriers that are starting to emerge." | | |  Jeff Foust, HOUSTON — A five-month study supported by NASA has concluded that it is technically feasible to convert a launch vehicle upper stage into a habitat module that could be used on the International Space Station or future commercial space station.
Jeffrey Manber, chief executive of NanoRacks, discussed the results of the study, part of NASA's Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships 2 (NextSTEP-2) effort, in panel discussions Dec. 6 at the SpaceCom Expo here. The concept, called Ixion, involves taking an Atlas 5 upper stage left in low Earth orbit after a launch and refitting it with life support and other systems needed to support a crew. That converted module could then be attached to the ISS or be used as part of a standalone commercial space station. | |  Due to the overwhelming interest in this event, we have reached capacity and are working to increase the size of our space. To get on the wait list, email Tien Nguyen at tnguyen@thegateam.com. Join us one last time in 2017 as the SpaceNews journalists who covered the breakthroughs and breakdowns that defined our industry's pivotal year provide a spirited recap and announce the winners of the SpaceNews Awards for Excellence & Innovation. The lunch coincides with the Dec. 18 issue of SpaceNews Magazine honoring the achievements of space professionals, companies and organizations. Find out who SpaceNews and its readers picked for: - Turnaround of the Year
- Breakthrough of the Year
- Unsung Hero of the Year
- Company of the Year
- Startup of the Year
- Deal of the Year
- Corporate Leader of the Year
- Government Agency of the Year
- Government Leader of the Year (Military)
- Government Leader of the Year (Civil)
| | |  Jeff Foust, HOUSTON — NASA is seeking proposals for studies and technology development efforts related to the use of space resources, particularly as they apply to future human missions to the moon and Mars.
NASA issued Dec. 4 an appendix to its Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships 2 (NextSTEP-2) program, calling for proposals on studies and technology development efforts related to what's known as in situ resource utilization, or ISRU. The program will cover both trade studies as well as development of key components and subsystems needed to extract water, carbon dioxide and other volatiles from the Martian atmosphere and the soils of Mars, the moon, and asteroids. Such resources can then be used for life support and as propellants, reducing the reliance future expeditions have on resources transported, at significant expense, from Earth. | | |  Jeff Foust, HOUSTON — The Federal Aviation Administration submitted to the National Space Council a set of regulatory reforms that one official said would create a "21st century licensing process" for commercial spaceflight.
The proposed changes, intended to streamline licensing of expendable and reusable launch vehicles, were submitted to the Council as one of the 45-day reports requested by its chairman, Vice President Mike Pence, at its first meeting Oct. 5. "What we turned in was a list of ideas that we had identified as things that might be helpful in terms of regulatory streamlining," said George Nield, FAA associate administrator for commercial space transportation, during a panel discussion about commercial space policy at the SpaceCom Expo here Dec. 5. | | |  Jeff Foust, HOUSTON — Despite a lack of "megadeals" involving space companies this year, investor interest in the industry remains strong thanks to several factors, according to one assessment.
Speaking at the SpaceCom Expo here Dec. 5, Carissa Christensen, chief executive of Bryce Space and Technology, said there's been a consistent level of overall investment activity by venture capital firms into the industry this year. So far in 2017, she noted there has been no so-called "megadeals" involving emerging space companies unlike the previous two years. In January 2015, Google and Fidelity led a $1 billion round in SpaceX. In December 2016, SoftBank led a $1.2 billion round in broadband satellite constellation company OneWeb. | | |  Debra Werner, SAN FRANCISCO — Commercial space is such a vibrant and dynamic industry that it's hard to define. It includes multinational corporations that have been around for decades, billionaire astropreneurs, myriad component suppliers and startups so new they remain in "stealth mode" with mysterious websites or none at all.
What is clear is that the commercial space sector continues to dominate the market. In 2016, commercial space activities generated $253 billion, just over three-quarters of the global space industry's $329 billion revenues while government space budgets accounted for about $76 billion, or 24 percent of the total, according to the Space Foundation.
Analysts anticipate growth in the commercial sector to remain strong as customers clamor for mobile internet services, suborbital or orbital rides for people and payloads, data derived from satellite imagery, lucrative space resources and on-orbit facilities or services. See stories: | | | | |
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