In December, Space Forge successfully powered up its orbital furnace onboard the ForgeStar-1 satellite. This move was a significant technological jump for space manufacturing. This bold new initiative aims to grow exotic superconductor crystals in the controlled environment of microgravity. Recent discoveries indicated these crystals provide big benefits over those grown on Earth. By the end of this year, the satellite should perform a de-orbit maneuver. It will deploy an innovative new heat shield before eventually splashing back down to Earth and meeting its fiery end.
Space Forge’s STL-1 mission will aim to prove a manufacturing environment able to reliably grow superconductor crystals. These crystals are essential to advancing the state-of-the-art high-performance power devices. The satellite will be uniquely capable of producing these crucial seed crystals from various materials, including gallium, aluminum nitride, or silicon carbide. Following this mission, Space Forge intends to recover its first batch of space-grown crystals. They are planning to launch a follow-up mission as early as next year.
The Advantages of Microgravity
These specialized conditions create unique benefits to growing crystals in the microgravity environment aboard the ForgeStar-1 satellite. Studies have demonstrated that crystals grown in the unique conditions of space have many refined properties. They are usually bigger and much more homogenous than the ones grown on our planet. Further supporting the space crystal cause, a large meta-analysis published in Nature earlier this year showed that 86 percent of the crystals grown in space performed better.
E. Steve Putna, perhaps the leading researcher in the field, mentioned that these crystals have much higher electron mobility. Such enhanced mobility would lead to a 20-40 percent higher switching efficiency than conventional Earth-grown crystals.
“There is potential for significant energy savings, perhaps as much as 50 percent within large infrastructure installations such as [5G] towers,” – Joshua Western.
Due to the special conditions of space, scientists are able to achieve a more controlled environment for the formation of crystals. Joshua Western explains that nitrogen interference can be problematic on Earth:
“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 lower nitrogen concentration, along with many other factors, makes the benefits of crystal growth in microgravity highly advantageous.
Economic Viability of Space-Grown Crystals
Even with such potential benefits, the economic realities of deploying such materials in space must be considered. That’s because launching new payloads to low Earth orbit (LEO) requires very expensive launches. As an example, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets only charge $1,500 per kg. Analysts expect the in-orbit manufacturing market to skyrocket to about $28.19 billion by 2034. Yet, experts still argue over the proposal’s financial feasibility.
“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.”
The challenge, then, will be to find defined use cases for which in-space grown materials will provide the most significant benefits.
“When they were a prized commodity, maybe sending to space made sense. While the cost of space is decreasing, it’s not decreasing faster than the cost of producing wafers.”
The economic potential applications of space-grown crystals are just the beginning of their real-world, practical uses. According to E. Steve Putna, advancements in this field could lead to transformative changes in technology:
“However, niche materials for specific applications might be worth the investment.”
Space Forge is continuously iterating on its manufacturing processes. The team’s focus will be to prove their feasibility and performance through real-world applications.
Future Prospects and Impacts
The potential applications of space-grown crystals extend beyond just economic considerations. According to E. Steve Putna, advancements in this field could lead to transformative changes in technology:
“If a space-grown substrate increases the yield of a $10,000 high-end AI processor from 50 percent to 90 percent or allows a quantum computer to function closer to room temperature rather than near absolute zero, the launch cost becomes a negligible fraction of the total value created.”
As Space Forge continues to refine its manufacturing processes, the focus will remain on proving the viability and performance of these materials in practical applications.
