At World Space Business Week 2024 in Paris, France, the CEOs of Gomspace, Argotec, Dhruva Space, and Reflex Aerospace participated in a panel focused on smallsat manufacturing facilities and the future of the industry (“World Space Business Week 2024 – Agenda 2024).  A key aspect that the panel members were skeptical of was whether there was enough demand to support the spike in satellite manufacturing mega-factories. Arguing that companies and the industry should focus on micro-factories that can be set up for several million dollars, provide local jobs, and benefit from the potential growth of the small satellite industry outside of the four prominent mega constellations (Starlink, Project Kuiper, Gouwang, and Qianfan). While this approach has several benefits for targeting the lucrative industry, it poses ill-discussed cybersecurity challenges (Foust 2024).                

According to IBM, the microfactories that the European business leaders were discussing would fall under the most targeted sector for Europe in 2023. The manufacturing industry has been a viable target (previously the second most targeted sector in Europe) for several years, and either the dispersion of factories or centralization in a mega-factory will require significant cybersecurity resources to ensure that they remain operational but also that proprietary information and product integrity is not adversely affected (IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2024). Additionally, a secondary concern for cybersecurity with these manufacturers is the commercialization of satellite components and sub-systems that could lead to repeatable exploitable flaws. Implementing security measures would drive up the cost of these facilities but enable long-term profitability by the companies.

Foust, Jeff. 2024. “Smallsat Manufacturers Weigh Megafactories versus Microfactories.” SpaceNews (blog). September 19, 2024. https://spacenews.com/smallsat-manufacturers-weigh-megafactories-versus-microfactories/.

“IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2024.” 2024. IBM. https://www.ibm.com/reports/threat-intelligence?utm_content=SRCWW&p1=Search&p4=43700079592066766&p5=p&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_qexBhCoARIsAFgBlet5oybfiCXiYHbQ5vcjjQtbWskw-kAl1tEevRS5kERBC2C6pmwSwGsaAiiLEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds.

“World Space Business Week 2024 – Agenda” 2024. World Space Business Week – WSBW (blog). September 18, 2024. https://wsbw.com/agenda/program/.