On 5 December 2023, Space Forge successfully powered up its orbital furnace on-board the ForgeStar-1 satellite. This milestone marks another incredible materials science breakthrough. This revolutionary plasma furnace produces an almost constant jet of incredibly hot plasma. Most importantly, it clears the path towards growing seed crystals that’s critical to producing high-performance power devices. These seed crystals are specially adapted for production with gallium and aluminum nitride or silicon carbide substrates. These materials are central to realizing the promise of next-gen electronics.
Space Forge’s co-founder and CEO, Joshua Western, emphasized the benefits of using a microgravity environment for crystal growth. He went on to highlight how, unlike on Earth, gravity affects the thermal dynamics inside reactors and crystals grow unevenly as a result. Microgravity conditions in space provide an environment that promotes more homogeneous crystal growth. This standardization has the potential to improve the efficiency of electronic devices.
The company has passed numerous orbital flights in 2023 to demonstrate its return technology. In fact, they’re already the busiest, with six missions under their belt this year alone. These tests are critical for Space Forge’s ambitious plans. They’re preparing to deploy a new, innovative heat shield at the very end of the de-orbit maneuver of their test ForgeStar-1 satellite, later this year.
The Science Behind Space-Grown Crystals
Space Forge’s orbital furnace is designed to produce the perfect manufacturing environment needed to grow superconductor crystals. The company’s method, if successful, will allow them to grow virtually flawless semiconductor crystals in orbit, which would greatly enhance electronic performance.
Western followed up by giving details on how the environmental benefits of space for crystal growth. He stated, “For example, if you’re worried about nitrogen interfering with your growth process, on Earth [in a vacuum chamber] nitrogen might be present at concentration of around 10 to the -11. In space, above 500 kilometers altitude, it’s naturally present at 10 to the -22.” This extreme removal of nitrogen from the vicinity can cause larger, more perfect crystals to form.
In addition to reducing the need for transport, Western was excited by the energy savings that space-grown materials could allow for. “There is potential for significant energy savings, perhaps as much as 50 percent within large infrastructure installations such as [5G] towers,” he said. As such, it would represent a massive drop in ongoing operational cost for telecoms and data centers alike.
Impact on Various Industries
Space Forge’s technology has the potential to produce high-performance materials with extraordinary properties. These materials are typically extremely complicated—or even impossible— to manufacture here on Earth. The company imagines a future where materials produced in space lead revolutions across multiple fields on earth. These industries include electronics, optical networks, and pharmaceuticals.
E. Steve Putna, a technology analyst, previously commented on the future impact of Space Forge’s progress. He described the technology as “a game-changer for [AI data centers] where cooling costs are a primary bottleneck.” Building on the new efficiency alternative presented by crystals grown in space, the potential for cost reductions in industries such as aerospace and consumer electronics is dramatic.
Despite the promise of this technology, many experts are holding their horses. Anne Wilson expressed skepticism about the feasibility of using microgravity for bulk material manufacturing, stating, “I don’t think that microgravity is going to be ideal for the manufacture of bulk materials.” She acknowledged that “niche materials for specific applications might be worth the investment.”
Future Prospects and Challenges
Space Forge hopes to have those first space-grown crystals returned in short order. They hope to fly a follow-on mission as early as next year. While the material returned will be small, the type and amount of material returned will be limited to several kilograms. The impact could be explosive. Initial experiments show that, when compared to terrestrial-grown equivalents, Space Forge’s crystals exhibit significantly higher levels of electron mobility. Unlocking better behavioral insights indicates an opportunity to improve switching efficiency by 20-40 percent.
Western addressed concerns about the longevity of space-grown materials, admitting that “there will be a level of degradation over time and over generations of growth.” Nonetheless, he noted that if a space-grown substrate could enhance the yield of high-end processors or allow quantum computers to operate at higher temperatures, “the launch cost becomes a negligible fraction of the total value created.“
Matt Francis, an industry veteran and longtime supporter of the concept space-grown materials, joined that discussion to highlight the economic drivers at play. He reflected on the historical cost of semiconductor wafers, saying, “While I remember paying $20k a wafer in the early days, we are down in the hundreds of dollars range in volume markets like power.” He warned that space launch prices are going down. They are not dropping any quicker than other costs in more traditional manufacturing sectors.