<p>Laser forming is a contactless manufacturing method that shows great promise in revolutionizing in-space manufacturing. However, little is known about the role that different environments have on the bending process. This paper seeks to begin to answer this problem by investigating the influence of different atmospheres on the bending process: atmospheric pressure air, low pressure air, and atmospheric pressure argon. An analysis of the bend angle and temperature during the bending process for the different environments identified a delay between initial metal–laser interaction and the initiation of bending. The duration of the delay is controlled by the laser parameters, the material condition, and the surrounding environment with higher laser powers, softer materials, and materials with thicker initial oxide layers having a shorter pre-bend delay. It was also observed that atmospheres with less oxygen result in lower temperature and thus smaller bend angles than higher-oxygen atmospheres but that creating an oxide layer on the surface of the sample before bending can increase the temperature during bending and the final bend angle. An understanding of how the lack of oxygen influences the bending process is crucial to adapting the laser forming process to the vacuum of space.</p>