In theory, space is the ideal place to manufacture semiconductor devices. There are several advantageous properties of space that can be exploited to manufacture products. The key resources in space are:
The list of potential products we looked at included:
Many of these products or services have an unknown market. We do know, however, that it currently costs about $0.10 per gram to make a computer chip which sells for about $1000.00 per gram. In other words, the chips have a high return and small mass, which means we have to pay less in launch costs to send the materials up to the industrial park and to bring the product back down on the launch vehicle's return flight. (All bookings are round trip.)
Yet, while the technological arguments for orbital manufacturing are strong, the question of economic feasibility must be considered. The cost of constructing a manufacturing facility in space is enormous, and the associated cost of transporting goods to and from the space station is also appreciable. Still, the startup cost of a state-of-the-art facility on earth is now approaching $2 billion. Assuming that the startup cost of an orbiting facility could be kept reasonably competitive, such a facility when fully developed and in full production could become viable.
The technological and economic analysis contained in these several web pages investigate making the various theoretical aspects of space manufacturing a practical reality.