NASA Propels Commercial Manufacturing in Space with InSPA Program, Inviting Inter-Agency Collaboration and Providing Funding Support

InSPA program aims to boost US competitiveness in space production with a multi-phase award process, seeking to establish a sustainable economy in low-Earth orbit, and inviting collaborative expertise from other government agencies, academia and industry.

• NASA's In Space Production Applications (InSPA) is a multi-phase program designed to enable commercial manufacturing in low Earth orbit (LEO). The goal is to develop a sustainable, scalable, and profitable non-NASA demand for services and products manufactured in microgravity.
• InSPA invites collaboration from industry, academia, and other U.S. Government agencies, providing technological and financial support to accelerate the transition from proof-of-concept demonstrations to commercial operations.
• The program points out special interest in concepts that support the 'CHIPS and Science Act' through semiconductor manufacturing in microgravity. Funding for these initiatives may come from the CHIPS and Science Act through the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
• Space Hardware Experts for Research, Production, and Applications (SHERPA) will provide support to principal investigators or through NASA Technical Monitors to accelerate learning. They will perform independent analysis and validate flight results, conduct outreach for sponsorships, and involve AI/ML to improve models.
• InSPA's implementation strategy includes providing access to the ISS National Laboratory and necessary on-orbit resources to awardees, free of cost. The strategy is divided into three phases focusing on proof-of-concept, achieving high production quality, and scalability.

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