Space Forge, a revolutionary company launched in 2018, is ready to revolutionize the electronics industry. Their novel approach to manufacturing in microgravity has the potential to unlock remarkable advancements. Through these efforts, the company hopes to create ultra-efficient next-generation electronics, ultrafast optical networks and major advancements in pharmaceutical research. Space Forge is leveraging its novel flying furnace technology. Their goal is to realize high-quality semiconductor substrates for improving the performance of power devices on Earth.
The company’s ForgeStar-1 satellite will serve to test an orbital furnace’s manufacturing capabilities. This individualized furnace, which is much smaller than most, provides just the right environment for large superconductor crystals to grow. Later this year, the mission satellite will deploy a new type of heat shield during its de-orbit maneuver. To culminate in this congressional action is an incredible milestone for Space Forge’s mission. CEO and co-founder Joshua Western spoke to the crystal growth benefits of the microgravity environment. It provides a “more fair starting line,” establishing even conditions that are near impossible to replicate on our own planet.
Since 2023, Space Forge has successfully flown several orbital flights to demonstrate its return technology. They still have seven more tests flagged for this year alone. Unlike our robotic missions, which will only return a very small amount of material, we anticipate only collecting a few kilograms. That first batch of space-grown crystals is scheduled to return to Earth very soon. A follow-on mission is already planned for next year.
Advancements in Semiconductor Manufacturing
The space manufacture technology developed by Space Forge has the potential to produce near-ideal semiconductor crystals in the orbit. Today, all these semiconductors on Earth are manufactured with ultra-pure materials such as silicon, gallium arsenide, or gallium nitride. These materials are mostly manufactured by sequentially depositing vaporized reactive precursor chemicals layer-by-layer onto heated substrates within tightly controlled, specialized reactors.
Western also notes that the pristine environment of space makes it the ideal place to manufacture advanced materials. He elaborates by comparing it to your biggest problem with nitrogen being a hindrance to your growth process, well, it’s going to be in a vacuum chamber on Earth. The initial concentration might be as low as 10 to the -11. In contrast, he notes that “in space, above 500 kilometers altitude, it’s naturally present at 10 to the -22.”
These factors combine to make meaningful energy savings with large infrastructure builds quite achievable. Western has found that energy savings can be as high as 50 percent in applications like 5G towers. This change in energy efficiency might become important as the demand for high-performance electronics continues to increase rapidly.
Market Potential and Challenges
In-orbit manufacturing market may reach nearly $28.19 billion by 2034, analysts forecast. This remarkable growth is a testament to the developing interest in utilizing space technology and knowledge gained from space for earth-based applications. There are challenges as well. Experts like Anne Wilson express caution about the applicability of microgravity for bulk materials manufacturing. She states, “I don’t think that microgravity is going to be ideal for the manufacture of bulk materials,” and acknowledges that “niche materials for specific applications might be worth the investment.”
Even with all of these possible challenges, the upside of Space Forge’s technology may be well worth the trouble and expense. E. Steve Putna emphasizes the impact this innovation could have on sectors like AI data centers, where cooling costs are a primary bottleneck. Of all the possible benefits, he calls it out as being most significant by calling it “a game-changer.”
As someone who has spent most of his career in semiconductor manufacturing, Matt Francis has been amazed at the historical pricing trends. “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 explains. However, he cautions that “the cost of space is decreasing, it’s not decreasing faster than the cost of producing wafers,” raising questions about the long-term financial viability of producing semiconductors in orbit.
Future Prospects and Considerations
The company recognizes that “there will be a level of degradation over time and over generations of growth,” according to Western. While this degradation would negate the improved performance of the crystals grown in space, these crystals could still produce substantial benefits.
Putna takes a deeply interesting look into the value proposition of space-grown substrates. He argues that if a space-grown substrate can increase the yield of a high-end AI processor from 50 percent to 90 percent or enable quantum computers to function closer to room temperature rather than near absolute zero, then “the launch cost becomes a negligible fraction of the total value created.”
