Space Forge has achieved an important first for aerospace manufacturing by powering up an orbital furnace on its ForgeStar-1 satellite. On the ground in December, a remarkable story—and a better future—unfolded. The furnace released a directed ray of superheated plasma, focused on producing near-perfect semiconductor crystals in space. The company’s innovative approach is designed to leverage the unique conditions of space to enhance the production of advanced materials that could lead to transformative advancements in electronics and other fields.
The ForgeStar-1 satellite’s primary objective is to demonstrate that Space Forge’s orbital furnace can “repeatedly create and maintain the manufacturing environment required for the chemistry process” necessary for growing superconductor crystals. Joshua Western, the co-founder and CEO of Space Forge, stressed the importance of this experiment. He focused on the way space-grown materials would provide unique benefits that Earth-based materials were unable to produce.
The Role of Gravity in Crystal Growth
One of the other important factors that sets the development of crystals in space apart from those on Earth is gravity. Western explained that on the Earth, crystals are slowly deposited around the inside of a reactor. This strange growth pattern occurs as gravity acts differently on the hot, fast crystal-forming processes compared to the colder, slower processes.
“On Earth, you have trouble that, perhaps, some crystals grow around the interior of the reactor and not in other parts because the process between hot and cold is influenced by gravity,” – Joshua Western
Microgravity conditions offer a more controlled environment for a consistent deposition surface. Western explained that microgravity prevents convection, allowing for an environment with less fluctuation and therefore best suited for consistent crystal growth. This standardization should result in more high-quality, high-performance materials.
The ForgeStar-1 satellite, itself, will eventually burn up as it safely returns to Earth. Space Forge is preparing to return its first batch of space-grown crystals with a second mission scheduled to lift off next year. While the amount of material retrieved will be limited to only a few kilograms, Space Forge anticipates significant production capabilities in the future.
Potential Applications of Space-Grown Crystals
Space Forge’s airborne furnace is finely calibrated to grow the perfect seed crystals. These crystals will ultimately be used on Earth to manufacture substrates composed of gallium and aluminum nitride or silicon carbide. These materials are key enablers for high-performance power devices. The impact of this technology goes far beyond just more efficient semiconductor fabrication.
According to Western, manufacturers could generate tonnes of high-performance material from just a single kilogram of semiconductor grown in space. This efficiency can help unlock powerful energy savings. For huge infrastructure projects such as the installation of 5G towers, the potential savings are likely to be 50 percent or more.
“There is potential for significant energy savings, perhaps as much as 50 percent within large infrastructure installations such as 5G towers,” – Joshua Western
The enhanced electron mobility provided by crystals grown in space opens up exciting new opportunities for both industrial and defense applications. E. Steve Putna noted that these materials have been proven to facilitate much higher electron mobility. This valuable quality would be a huge boon to AI data centers, where cooling costs have been identified as a key bottleneck.
“space-grown crystals have demonstrated significantly higher electron mobility,” – E. Steve Putna
The performance improvements could drastically enhance the efficiency of high-end processors and quantum computers, potentially transforming the landscape of electronic manufacturing.
The Future of Space-Based Manufacturing
Space Forge is one of a number of burgeoning companies looking to capitalize on the development of space production capabilities. Founded in 2018, the company’s goal is to manufacture not only semiconductors, but the materials for pharmaceuticals and optical fibers. The larger vision underlying these initiatives is to create new ultra-efficiency next-gen electronics and push the breakthroughs into different fields such as automotive, healthcare, education, and cyber security.
Some experts are weary of large-scale bulk materials manufacturing in microgravity. Where proponents go broad, opponents, too, see untapped possible within tightly-defined niche applications. Anne Wilson offered thoughts on this particular challenge. For bulk materials, microgravity may ultimately not be worth the cost and trouble, she said, but there could still be advantages for specialized materials that go into specialized applications.
“I don’t think that microgravity is going to be ideal for the manufacture of bulk materials,” – Anne Wilson
She acknowledged that “niche materials for specific applications might be worth the investment.”
Space Forge’s missions are well overdue and can pave the way for all breakthroughs in manufacturing techniques. This has the potential to transform every industry that requires high-performance materials.