The GNU General Public License v3.0 includes a patent license grant (emphasis added):
... Each contributor grants you a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free patent license under the contributor's essential patent claims, to make, use, sell, offer for sale, import and otherwise run, modify and propagate the contents of its contributor version. ...
Does the term "worldwide" include outer space?
The language quoted seems clear - worldwide is very broad.
Patents in space are a thing, at least in some cases -
(a) Any invention made, used, or sold in outer space on a space object or component thereof under the jurisdiction or control of the United States shall be considered to be made, used or sold within the United States for the purposes of this title, except with respect to any space object or component thereof that is specifically identified and otherwise provided for by an international agreement to which the United States is a party, . . .
Patent law is country by country and under current international law, no country has territory in space, so there is no patent protection in space.
