In December, Space Forge successfully tested an orbital furnace on its ForgeStar-1 satellite. This activation is a very important step in the development of advanced manufacturing in space. This new innovative furnace produces a unique super-hot plasma, and our goal is to create and maintain the perfect conditions needed for growing these superconductor crystals. Space Forge is one of the world’s foremost companies leading the development of in-space material production. They think these improvements will lead to major breakthroughs in the next generation of electronics and ultrafast optical networks.
Space Forge was incorporated in 2018. Specifically, it is convinced that manufacturing in microgravity can produce materials that are fundamentally better than those made on Earth. The second iteration of ForgeStar-1 satellite has been elaborately tailored for seed-crystals manufacturing purposes. These crystals will ultimately be brought back down to Earth to grow substrates of gallium and aluminum nitride, or silicon-carbide. These materials are essential for ultra-high-performance power devices, paving the way to game-changing applications in energy, transportation, infrastructure and national defense.
In-orbit manufacturing is one of those markets, projected to reach $28.19 billion by 2034. Whether it’s building low-carbon materials or pharmaceuticals, this growth underscores the critical importance of Space Forge’s mission. As the company’s co-founder and CEO, Joshua Western, told Quartz, there is huge potential in the idea of space-grown semiconductors. He argues that manufacturers here on Earth could build products that weigh tons out of a kilogram of these materials. This highlights the remarkable potential these resources hold.
The Advantages of Microgravity
This is a big benefit to growing crystals in space. The microgravity environment removes any interference from gravity, enabling much larger, purer crystals to grow than what we could achieve here on Earth. Western explains that with gravity, it’s easy to make crystals grow in a reactor in an uneven manner.
“On Earth, trouble arises because some crystals grow around the interior of the reactor and not in other parts due to gravity’s influence on the process between hot and cold,” – Joshua Western
The microgravity environment offers a much more idealized condition for crystal growth. Western explains that this “better head start” makes for better conditions which, in turn, grow the best quality crystals. A 2024 meta-analysis in Nature supports this assertion. Specifically, that 86 percent of the crystals grown in space are both larger and much more uniform and can profoundly outperform the crystals made on Earth.
Space-grown crystals have much, much higher electron mobility,” says E. Steve Putna, director of the Texas A&M Semiconductor Institute. This enhancement might amount to a 20 to 40 percent boost in switching performance compared with conventional Earth-grown variants.
Future Missions and Expectations
Space Forge’s ForgeStar-1 satellite is testing its innovative on-orbit furnace technology. When it re-enters Earth’s atmosphere, it will be consumed by flames. The company is preparing for its next, follow-on mission, next year. They hope to bring home their first crop of space-grown crystals during this exhilarating journey. The volume that gets harvested is small, at only a few kilograms collected max. Nonetheless, this return is the key to validating their manufacturing process.
Space Forge has conducted a number of these flights to test its return technology in orbit already. They’re already preparing for additional tests later this year. Western is the first to admit that space-grown materials have their own set of complications, but he’s excited by the possibilities.
“There will be a level of degradation over time and over generations of growth,” – Joshua Western
He is convinced that a space-grown substrate could significantly increase the yield of premium processors. If it doubles as a solution for making quantum computers operate at higher temperatures, the payoff will be more than worth the expense of sending materials into orbit.
Economic Implications and Industry Perspectives
The economic impact of space-based semiconductor material production goes deeper than just a manufacturing benefit. Western’s story underscores the opportunity for major energy savings with big infrastructure rollouts, like installation of 5G towers. That’s right, these savings can be as high as 50 percent!
“There is potential for significant energy savings, perhaps as much as 50 percent within large infrastructure installations such as [5G] towers,” – Joshua Western
Putna describes the impact of these advancements as potentially transformative for AI data centers where cooling costs pose significant challenges.
“It’s a game-changer for [AI data centers] where cooling costs are a primary bottleneck,” – E. Steve Putna
Yet the debate over whether or not producing wafers in space is actually viable rages on among industry experts. Matt Francis notes that while costs associated with launching materials into orbit are decreasing, they are not falling at a rate faster than the production costs on Earth.
“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,” – Matt Francis
In his testimony, he draws attention to the question of whether it’s worth investing in niche materials for specialized applications. This is particularly relevant given the current environment of skyrocketing wafer manufacturing costs.