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NAVAL ENGINEER This thesis explores the concept of welding in a space environment with the use of automation. Since the amount of time astronauts can work outside a spacecraft is limited, future construction and repair tasks will likely be assisted by automation. It is also likely that remote space welding will be needed for the construction of large-scale space structures in earth orbit as well as for lunar and martian ground-based structures. Due to the complex nature of the tasks to be accomplished, the equipment will probably not be fully autonomous but instead supervised by a human operator. The welding fabrication problem in space is examined in a broad sense, including some of the considerations for designing a human supervisory remot