Space Forge, a pioneering company in the realm of in-orbit manufacturing, has activated its orbital furnace aboard the ForgeStar-1 satellite. Then in December, a momentous advancement took place. The furnace was then used to produce a jet of super-hot plasma to assist in forming the initial seed crystals. These crystals will be used on Earth in the production of substrates derived from groups III-V semiconductors like gallium and aluminum nitride or silicon carbide. These materials are key to advancing to the next generation of high-performance power devices.
The ForgeStar-1 satellite’s mission is ambitious. The intention is to really capitalize on space’s distinct microgravity environment. In this way we’ll be able to grow semiconductor crystals that are both superior in performance and uniformity to those produced on the Earth’s surface. Co-founder and CEO Joshua Western emphasized the potential of this technology. He thinks it has the potential to drive breakthroughs in fields from ultra-efficient electronics to advanced optical networks.
There are challenges ahead. The ForgeStar-1 satellite will burn up on re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere. That’s why Space Forge will only be able to collect its first batch of space-grown crystals during a follow-up mission currently planned for next year. With just a few kilograms of material expected to be returned in this initial return, as Western points out, interest may wane.
The Science Behind Space-Grown Crystals
Space Forge’s orbital furnace is engineered to “repeatedly create and maintain the manufacturing environment required for the chemistry process” necessary for growing superconducting crystals. This new technology addresses the difficulties of crystal growth on Earth. It addresses any atmospheric conditions that may interfere with the manufacturing process.
Western explained the advantages of the microgravity environment: “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 dramatic increase in nitrogen concentration available to be condensed in-space can help improve the quality of the crystals grown in space.
The company has already flown on several orbital flights to circuit-ree the return technology it’s 11 internally developed, and cleaning home more tests notion buoy this year. According to a recent meta-analysis in the journal Nature, there’s a lot to be excited about. From 1973 through 2016, scientists cultivated more than 160 distinct semiconductor crystals in microgravity aboard multiple spacecraft. Not surprisingly, an astounding 86 percent of the space-grown crystals beat the pants off their Earthly counterparts. They were indeed bigger, chalkier and performing better!
Market Potential and Future Prospects
The market opportunity for in-orbit manufacturing could be enormous. Indeed, analysts predict that it might increase to as much $28.19 billion by 2034 – something that lines up neatly with Space Forge’s business goals. The company’s goal is to utilize microgravity to produce high-performance materials, including semiconductor crystals that could change the landscape of electronics manufacturing.
Western highlighted the economic benefits of Space Forge’s technology: “There is potential for significant energy savings, perhaps as much as 50 percent within large infrastructure installations such as [5G] towers.” These improvements would be useful for artificial intelligence data centers as well, where cooling expenses are a key constraint on improving their operational efficiency. As E. Steve Putna put it, this innovation is a “game-changer” for AI data centers.
Some aren’t so sure that microgravity is the right fit for all materials. Anne Wilson noted, “I don’t think that microgravity is going to be ideal for the manufacture of bulk materials.” Though skeptical, she admitted that specialty materials created for particular uses could make the case to invest in a manufacturing presence in space.
Challenges Ahead for Space Forge
Though the outlook is bright, there are complex challenges in producing and bringing materials back from space. Western cautioned about the potential degradation over time and generations of growth. “There will be a level of degradation over time and over generations of growth.”
Although there’s understandable skepticism about the expense and real-world uses, some experts believe that there’s merit in developing materials grown in space. Matt Francis remarked on the evolution of costs related to semiconductor wafers: “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 went on to explain how launching materials into space was a reasonable choice in the past when the materials were valuable. We need to be realistic about what today’s costs allow.
Putna contended that if these space-grown substrates increase yields substantially, then the economic picture starts to look different. For example, consider a $10,000 high end AI processor—if the yield increases from 50 percent to 90 percent, launch costs might become a rounding error compared to the value created overall.