Enabling exploration through automated manufacture

Automated manufacturing has the capacity to reduce costs for space exploration, enable initial technology exploration and further improvement of technological capabilities. Current manufacturing techniques can be adapted to create simple nanosatellites (e.g. CubeSats). Early automated manufacturing efforts with nanosats will provide important experience and techniques, paving the way for additional capabilities. Future manufacturing will allow more complex systems and modification to the base design prior to fabrication. These future systems may be needed on an ad hoc basis, to satisfy then-current exploratory needs, to explore a target of opportunity, and/or to recover after a failure or disaster. A path to the first automated manufacture of nanosatellites will be illustrated.