"Future space equipment could one day be built in off-planet automated factories, following a new programme by UK firm Magna Parva.
The Technology Strategy Board-funded scheme will develop the idea of off-planet manufacturing for technology such as solar sails and antenna reflectors, which could cut the costs and complexity of such structures.
If this equipment were manufactured in space it could be made thinner, lighter and with fewer parts because it would not have to withstand the force of Earth’s gravity or fold compactly into a launch vehicle."
