NASA released the 2026 ISAM State of Play

NASA released the 2026 In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing State of Play on Thursday 29 October 2026. The document has 368 pages and covers current capabilities across 11 functional areas. It has been published since 2021.

The agency said the State of Play gave industry access to competitive intelligence. NASA Langley team lead Dale Arney said unnamed companies had asked whether it contained proprietary information. The answer was no. NASA said that impartiality helped companies understand a rapidly expanding field.

The State of Play team required hardware to exist as ground prototypes or in-flight demonstrations. Arney said technology ideas without evidence of development did not qualify for inclusion. Those concepts could be considered at the following year’s review.

NASA said the document was developed through interviews with industry partners. Contributions came from NASA centers including Ames, Glenn, Marshall, Kennedy, and Johnson. International developers also contributed when their hardware met the entry criteria.

The 2026 edition included developer profiles and facilities documentation. NASA said this information showed mission designers who was developing the technologies and where the work was taking place. It also gave companies competitive context and opportunities for collaboration.

NASA said ISAM capabilities could support spacecraft servicing, structural assembly, refueling, and in-orbit manufacturing. Future missions could require telescopes larger than any launch vehicle fairing, mobile national security assets, and commercial systems that could upgrade on orbit without full replacement.