Space hardware startup opens Brooklyn facility for orbital solar arrays

Beyond Reach Labs has opened a 16,000-square-foot research and manufacturing site at Industry City in Brooklyn as it works to build deployable solar arrays for satellites, space stations and orbital data centers. The move brings space hardware manufacturing back to New York City and sets up production targets for the end of 2027.

Why it matters: - Beyond Reach Labs is trying to make New York City a place where space hardware gets built again. - The Brooklyn startup is targeting the growing need for more power in orbit, especially for commercial space stations and orbital data centers. - The company’s move adds another hardware-focused tenant to Industry City, a campus that has become a magnet for advanced manufacturing.

What happened: - Beyond Reach Labs opened a 16,000-square-foot research and manufacturing facility at Industry City in Brooklyn on Sept. 24, 2026. - The company was founded by veterans of SpaceX. - Beyond Reach Labs develops deployable solar arrays for high-powered satellites, commercial space stations and orbital data centers. - The company says the Brooklyn site is the first aerospace hardware manufacturing operation in New York City since Grumman built the lunar module that landed on the moon.

The details: - Beyond Reach Labs’ product is called Flarewing™, a patent-pending solar array structure. - Flarewing™ compresses to the size of a dining table for launch. - Flarewing™ expands in orbit to the length of a football field. - The system can produce up to 10 times more power per launch than traditional panels. - The product line comes in three configurations with outputs ranging from 8 to 200 kilowatts. - Flarewing™ folds flat for launch and deploys to areas as large as 625 square meters in orbit. - The company says the structural design avoids vibration problems that have historically limited the size of deployable arrays. - Ground qualification of Flarewing™-S is targeted for the end of 2026. - Customer integration is planned for early 2027. - Beyond Reach Labs is targeting production of 10 or more units per day by the end of 2027 from Industry City. - The company is actively expanding its team at the Brooklyn site. - More information is available in the company’s announcement.

Between the lines: - Space hardware development has largely centered on the West Coast, especially Southern California, where aerospace investment has clustered since the Apollo era. - New York’s earlier role in space history came through Grumman Aerospace in Bethpage, Long Island, which built the Apollo Lunar Module. - Beyond Reach Labs chose New York in part because its engineers want to live on the East Coast. - The company also saw a gap in the local ecosystem for aerospace manufacturing and decided to help build one. - Industry City’s appeal comes from infrastructure that is hard to find in New York City, including 50 megawatts of available power, oversized freight elevators and heavy floor loads. - Beyond Reach Labs found Industry City through Ultra Robotics, another Y Combinator-backed company. - Industry City is home to more than 700 companies across AI, robotics and advanced manufacturing. - Jeff Fein, senior vice president of Industry City, said the campus was built for companies that need industrial power, freight access and room to scale hardware production.

What’s next: - Beyond Reach Labs plans to qualify Flarewing™-S by the end of 2026. - The company expects customer integration to begin in early 2027. - The Brooklyn facility is expected to ramp toward daily production in 2027. - The startup is continuing to hire at Industry City as it builds out operations.

The bottom line: - Beyond Reach Labs is betting that the next wave of space infrastructure can be engineered and manufactured in Brooklyn, not just on the West Coast.