Building in zero gravity: the race to create factories in space

Companies see a host of benefits to manufacturing in space, including the lack of gravity and low temperatures. Photograph: Varda Space Industries

So far, the public faces of the new space race have been billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson joyriding around in rockets, having maybe the most expensive midlife crises ever. But behind the scenes, big tech is thinking more seriously about the first non-Earth production lines.

For some startups, the most pressing questions in manufacturing right now are: how do you build computer parts, harvest stem cells or produce pharmaceuticals while in space?