Since 2021, NASA's In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) State of Play report has cataloged real-world hardware spanning 11 functional areas including robotic manipulation and refueling. By 2026, the report reached 368 pages, serving as both encyclopedia and roadmap for space capabilities enabling spacecraft servicing and assembly in orbit, critical for missions impractical to launch as integrated units.
The report maintains strict validation criteria, excluding mere concepts without physical prototypes or flight demos to preserve its reliability for industry and NASA centers. This ensures it reflects technologies capable of enabling future large-scale space telescopes or structures assembled and repaired beyond Earth, with impartial assessment valued by a growing number of companies expanding the ISAM field.
Source & further reading
NASA’s ISAM State of Play: The Industry Standard for Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing ↗Source published 2026-10-29. This report was prepared with AI assistance from the linked primary-source material. Claims and limitations should be checked against the original announcement or research.