A new industrial revolution is coming—not on Earth, but above it. This episode delves into how orbital shipyards will produce everything from shuttles to megastructures, changing how we explore and inhabit space. Watch my exclusive video Fishbowl Starships - Water As Shielding - https://nebula.tv/videos/isaacarthur-fishbowl-starships-water-as-shielding Get Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur Get a Lifetime Membership to Nebula for only $300: https://go.nebula.tv/lifetime?ref=isaacarthur Use the link https://gift.nebula.tv/isaacarthur to give a year of Nebula to a friend for just $36. Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net Join Nebula: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-arthur Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/ Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/IsaacArthur/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Isaac_A_Arthur on Twitter and RT our future content. SFIA Discord Server: https://discord.gg/53GAShE Credits: Orbital Shipyards: Building Fleets in Space Episode 722; June 5, 2025; Nebula Exclusive Written, Produced, & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur Graphics: Anthrofuturism Bryan Versteeg Fishy Tree Jeremy Jozwik Melanovis Sergio Botero SpaceResourcesCGI Udo Schroeter Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator Phase Shift, "Forest Night" Kai Engel, "Endless Story of Sun and Moon" Chris Zabriskie, "Unfoldment, Revealment", "A New Day in a New Sector", "Oxygen Garden" Stellardrone, "Red Giant", "Billions and Billions" Chapters 0:00 Intro 0:15 Why Build in Orbit? 1:32 The Gravity Well Problem 3:26Material Sourcing – The Importance of ISRU 5:47Early Orbital Shipyards – Existing & Near-Future Projects 6:37 Lessons from Space Stations & Prototypes 8:35 Port George & Linus Scrapyard – Revisiting Fictional Shipyards 13:22 Infrastructure & Logistics of Orbital Shipyards 23:49 Constructing Different Types of Ships 32:15 Challenges of Large-Scale Shipbuilding 34:30 Maintenance, Repairs, and Refits – Sustaining a Spacefaring Fleet 39:50 Salvage and Recycling 41:02 The Future of Orbital Shipyards – Expanding Beyond Earth 43:29 The Rise of Megastructure Shipyards 45:00 Privatization and the Spacefaring Economy 46:41 Shipyards as Strategic Military and Political Assets 48:32 The Role of AI, Automation, and Post-Human Workforces