For the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Firmamentum is developing OrbWeaver, a small satellite to ride into orbit on an Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adapter ring, chew up the ring and turn the pieces into a satellite antenna. Credit: Tethers Unlimited

SAN FRANCISCO — Tethers Unlimited, one of three companies NASA selected Dec. 7 to build a prototype space-based 3-D printer called FabLab has grown dramatically in recent years due to interest among government and commercial customers in this type of work.

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Debra Werner is a correspondent for SpaceNews based in San Francisco. Debra earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University. She is a recipient...