NASA has released its 2026 In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) State of Play, a 368-page document that the agency says has become the industry standard for understanding what ISAM hardware exists and where the field is heading.
The document, published since 2021, documents current capabilities across 11 functional areas, from robotic manipulation to refueling and structural assembly. "The field itself has expanded more than linearly since we started," said Dale Arney, senior team lead for the ISAM Technology Portfolio at NASA Langley.
The State of Play team maintains strict entry criteria: hardware must physically exist as ground prototypes or in-flight demonstrations. Concepts that are only PowerPoint ideas do not make the cut until the following year's review. "We get people who will send their PowerPoint presentation of their technology idea," Arney said. "There's no real indication they've done any work on the technology itself yet."
What began as a tool to ensure NASA centers shared a common reference point has become the industry's go-to resource. The 2026 edition includes developer profiles and facilities documentation, providing mission designers with not just what's possible but who's doing it.
The document is intentionally collaborative. "We like to refer to it as kind of a crowdsource document," said team member John Mulvaney. Contributions come from NASA centers including Ames, Glenn, Marshall, Kennedy, and Johnson, along with international developers meeting the hardware criteria.
The 2026 ISAM State of Play is available for download at NASA.gov.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- ISAM capabilities will enable missions impossible with traditional single-launch approaches, such as telescopes larger than any launch vehicle fairing.
- Persistent national security assets and commercial systems that can upgrade on orbit depend on the ISAM technologies documented in the report.
- The document provides a shared vocabulary and capability baseline for the emerging space servicing ecosystem.
Background
In-space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) refers to technologies that enable spacecraft to be repaired, refueled, assembled, and manufactured in orbit, rather than launched as fully integrated systems. NASA began publishing the State of Play in 2021, initially as an internal tool, but it has grown into an industry-wide reference as more companies and international partners contribute data on existing hardware.
What to Watch
- Whether more international developers and companies meet the hardware criteria for inclusion in future editions.
- Advances in ISAM demonstrations, both ground prototypes and in-flight, that could enable new missions.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedThe ISAM State of Play has become the industry standard for understanding existing ISAM hardware and where the field is heading.NASA: “NASA’s ISAM State of Play: The Industry Standard for Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing.”
- SupportedThe 2026 edition is 368 pages long.NASA: “Published since 2021, the 2026 edition has grown to 368 pages documenting current ISAM capabilities across 11 functional areas”
- SupportedThe document covers 11 functional areas, including robotic manipulation, refueling and structural assembly.NASA: “documenting current ISAM capabilities across 11 functional areas, from robotic manipulation to refueling and structural assembly.”
- SupportedThe document has been published since 2021.NASA: “Published since 2021, the 2026 edition has grown to 368 pages”
- SupportedDale Arney said, “The field itself has expanded more than linearly since we started.”NASA: ““The field itself has expanded more than linearly since we started,” Arney explains.”
- SupportedArney is senior team lead for the ISAM Technology Portfolio at NASA Langley.NASA: “says Dale Arney, senior team lead for the ISAM Technology Portfolio at NASA Langley.”
- SupportedThe team requires hardware to physically exist as a ground prototype or in-flight demonstration for inclusion.NASA: “hardware must physically exist, either as ground prototypes or in-flight demonstrations.”
- SupportedConcepts that have not met the hardware criteria are held until the following year's review.NASA: “Those concepts don’t make the cut until the following year’s review.”
- SupportedArney said, “We get people who will send their PowerPoint presentation of their technology idea,” and, “There's no real indication they've done any work on the technology itself yet.”NASA: ““We get people who will send their PowerPoint presentation of their technology idea,” Arney notes. “There’s no real indication they’ve done any work on the technology itself yet.””
- SupportedThe document began as a way for NASA centers to share a common reference point and has become an industry go-to resource.NASA: “What began as a tool to ensure NASA centers shared a common reference point has become the industry’s go-to resource for understanding what’s possible versus what’s still conceptual.”
- SupportedThe 2026 edition includes developer profiles and facilities documentation to show mission designers what is possible and who is doing the work.NASA: “The 2026 edition includes developer profiles and facilities documentation, providing mission designers with not just what’s possible but who’s doing it and where the work happens.”
- SupportedJohn Mulvaney called the document “kind of a crowdsource document.”NASA: ““We like to refer to it as kind of a crowdsource document,” says team member John Mulvaney.”
