Elon Musk wishes to finally relocate a portion of SpaceX's factory to space.
You know, there are highly fragile electronic components that must be created in a dust-free
environment.
While companies can carry out production in enclosed conditions where items like this
may be manufactured safely, it will never be as clean as space.
The silicon chip, which serves as the brain of microprocessors, is an example of this
sort of electrical component.
There must be no dust in the environment these chips are manufactured.
Not only that, Elon Musk must devise a method to lessen the pollution and industrial noise
caused by SpaceX's facility on a regular basis.
Also, keep in mind that the starship will need to fly from Earth to Mars, which will
necessitate maintenance, as well as a base above the Earth's atmosphere where it may
store its fuel, and prepare for a launch back to Mars, and it does not need to go from Mars
to Earth to have all of its technological issues sorted out.
Elon grew concerned about all of these, which is why he collaborated with Varda to construct
another spacex branch.
This is Tech Space, in this video we will tell you everything you need to know about
insane spacex $3.2 billion gigantic space factory, and how Elon plans to build it up
there in the space for the purpose of maintaining the starship, and production of contaminated
free electronic components.
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What if our green earth suddenly transforms into a toxic and disastrous environment?
Has this thought ever come to your mind - As a result of numerous industrial producton?
Consider Russia's missile launches practically on a weekly basis, as well as chemical factories
that emit harmful chemicals, which could result to the malfunctioning of our lungs, and harm
our ecology.
SpaceX does not wish to add to it, and Elon is now interested in moving the company's
manufacturing factory to space.
He has finally chosen to collaborate with Varda Space and create a factory in space,
similar to the starbase.
Will Bruey, Delian Asparouhov, and Daniel Marshall created Varda Space in late 2020.
Will Bruey is a former SpaceX employee, while Asparouhov and Marshall are both affiliated
with Peter Thiel's Founders Fund.
They've already raised more than $50 million in a single year.
The company hopes to harness the benefits of microgravity, which can only be found in
space for extended periods of time, enabling the production of innovative materials such
as bio-printed organs, and specialized semiconductors.
The firm believes that the potential market for such materials is large enough to justify
the effort.
SpaceX chose to join their league when the Varda began research into establishing an
industrial space station in orbit.
Because of the low gravity, and lack of dust particles, precise technological items, such
as computer chips may be created with greater accuracy and quality there.
The Falcon 9 rocket will launch the platform upon which the space factory will be built.
For the time being, it has not been known if SpaceX intends to employ the Falcon 9 for
this reason, but the cargo transporter starship can be used for the same purpose.
After the platform is completed, it will require an electric energy configuration for full
functioning.
Spacex and Varda might use solar panels, avionics, and batteries as a source of energy to operate
the facility.
During the early stages of development, Varda Space intends to link at least three Photon
spacecraft.
They intends to use them for space manufacturing that does not require human interaction, as
opposed to the International Space Station.
At the end of any manufacturing, the vessel will be outfitted with re-entry capsules that
will transport the created items back to Earth.
Varda will need to produce more than a few hundred kilogram of materials in its initial
production in other to scale.
As a result, despite its small market share, the company will concentrate on high-value
items that command premium pricing.
And least i forget, there is no risk of contamination while making items in space.
The items produced will be of great purity.
Crystalline structures, semiconductors, pharmaceutical components, and optical cables are a few examples.
The space factory is expected to be operational in under 18 months!
It is a collaborative effort that will benefit everyone, and economy of the first world country,
Varda executives said in their statemen, and also added that working with SpaceX gave them
the most cost-effective and dependable approach for putting the mission into space.
It must be realized that we will industrialize space; if this is accomplished properly, the
amount of carbon created on Earth will be reduced, and there will be fewer health problems,
caused by pollution.
It will also draw several benefits, one of which is the decrease of "microgravity."
Their financial health is greatly dependent on how much money they spend on launch costs.
According to Delian Asparouhov (Co-founder of Varda), the company is quite excited about
this new development, since it would not only save them money but also help them to broaden
their reach.
Varda predicts spending around 7.5 million dollars to launch an electron rocket carrying
a 200 kilogram payload into a sun-synchronous orbit.
SpaceX launch, on the other hand, will cost less than a million dollars, and will take
less than an hour.
Funding is also an important aspect in Varda's success.
Even if SpaceX must contribute in the project in some manner.
Even if SpaceX must contribute in the project in anyway, keep in mind that Elon is dealing
with a lot, which has undoubtedly taken millions of dollars out of his pocket.
Considering all the projects he has to accomplish , I mean the starship, and the production
of rapture engines, at least 39 of which will be installed in the entire starship (that
is the super heavy and the starship on top combined).
Also note that spacex wants to produce over 1000 starships that will be launched into
space.
That amounts to 39,000 Raptor engines, in addition to his other successful Tesla company.
Of course, these are big projects that all require finance to function well, and the
space factory has recently come into the picture.
Do you think spacex and Elon can meetup funding of all these projects?
Lets ride on.
Aside from all of these funding challenges, their biggest goal is to create a re-entry
capsule that will allow the materials to return to Earth.
Re-entry is more difficult since the shuttle will be moving so fast that it compresses
the air ahead of it.
The compression of the air layers is rapid, causing the temperature of the air to rise
to as high as 3000 degrees Fahrenheit, which heats the shuttle's surface, and that is why
the heatshield is attached to the starship's body.
But the challenge is how can the company protect the vessel's production materials from this
high heat?
Another issue is that both processes, and equipment will be subjected to high levels
of radiation, and will have to endure solar flare exposure, which may impair production
accuracy.
As a result, the goal of constructing a factory in space may be ruined.
Elon has always considered how promising manufacturing some products in space could be, since the
space is vast enough and plants can occupy as much area as possible for free, and without
environmental regulations, as related to what the FAA is currently demonstrating towards
the SpaceX Starbase factory in Boca Chica.
Two fundamental challenges have prevented space manufacturing in recent years, and they
are; a lack of specialized platform and a lack of soft return.
If both companies can provide a viable solution, additional manufacturing companies that require
high precision output might also migrate to space, and create a factory there, under the
umbrella of Varda and spacex.
And that alone will generate decent money for both companies' future investments.
As of 2021, Varda employs 16 of the top aerospace engineers, several of them are ex-SpaceX personnel.
According to their co-founders, the size of their company grows to 40 by the time of their
initial launch.
Their working principle is mainly targeted towards launching space-made products more
quickly.
Previously, the International Space Station functioned as a platform for producing things
in space, but no specialized space factory has ever been established.
Their maiden flight will be launched as a 'rideshare' with another SpaceX rocket, preferably
the formerly utilized Falcon 9 due to its high payload threshold.
According to Asparouhov, their company is distinct from others involved in in-space
manufacturing, since they focus on how their goods offer value to the Earth rather than
only contributing to space.
He also added that there are "quite large" marketplaces for goods like semiconductors,
fiber optic cables, and pharmaceuticals on the ground, just as we pointed out earliear.
So, they want to construct items that are more specialized in space, and would otherwise
have a harmful influence on the environment.
The Falcon 9 rocket will be used for the first time, especially for testing space manufacturing
technology for up to three months throughout its journey.
The re-entry capsule will thereafter be anticipated to return to Earth with 40-60 kg of material
retrieved from orbit.
Each re-entry capsule will be accompanied by a photon satellite that will serve as a
mothership.
It also contains solar panels, avionics, and batteries.
They can also update the propulsion system to construct a satellite bus for inter-station
cargo delivery.
Do you believe Varda and SpaceX will be able to create a factory in space?
Please do well to share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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