Project Daedalus: A Spacecraft Concept for In-Orbit Manufacturing, Assembly, and Inspection of Aluminum Structures

Project Daedalus is a small satellite technology demonstrator developed to advance autonomous In-space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) capabilities. The mission targets three critical ISAM capabilities—manufacturing, assembly and inspection—through fully autonomous on-orbit operations. Designed to launch before 2030, Project Daedalus is designed to operate in low Earth orbit using a Blue Canyon Technologies X-Sat Venus Class bus. The payload features a novel aluminum 6061 additive manufacturing system known as Directed Acoustic Energy Deposition, a laser welding system, and an onboard AI-driven Non-Destructive Evaluation system that leverages convolutional neural networks for layer-by-layer defect detection and autonomous fault recovery. These systems demonstrate autonomous fabrication and assembly of aluminum cylinders in orbit. Project Daedalus serves as a scalable and cost-effective pathfinder for future ISAM missions, directly addressing current gaps in on-orbit manufacturing, autonomy, and space infrastructure longevity. This paper provides the decision making and technical information of the conceptual payload design for Project Daedalus.