The venture, founded by former U.S. diplomat Merry Walker and French aerospace engineer Nicolas Maubert, seeks to democratize space access by moving beyond the government-heavy model of the past. Instead of booking time on the International Space Station—a process often tethered to rigid astronaut schedules and expensive certifications—clients will utilize Symphony’s turnkey service. The company plans to bundle products into standardized flight-ready containers, deploying them to an autonomous platform where robotics, including the Exo-ORB satellite developed with partners at ORBES, will capture high-fidelity media.
Symphony Space Plans Orbital Studio for Commercial Media
Brands looking to capture product footage against the curve of the Earth may soon bypass the high costs of crewed missions. Symphony Space has unveiled Project Rhapsody, an autonomous orbital studio designed to host commercial creative projects in microgravity, aiming to launch its Adagio-Mini station by late 2028.
By removing the human element from the production process, Symphony estimates its model can operate at one-fourth to one-tenth the cost of missions requiring astronaut intervention. The Adagio-Mini station, currently in development, is designed for a 15-year operational lifespan and aims to house up to 12 distinct projects simultaneously. The company intends to begin flight testing on a demonstrator vehicle by the second quarter of 2028, followed by the full station launch later that year. Beyond simple commercial photography, Walker and Maubert envision the platform evolving into a broader hub for space-native education and cultural production, effectively positioning orbital infrastructure as the next frontier for the creative economy.
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