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December 31, 2025<\/p>\n
2 min read<\/p>\n
Add Us On Google<\/span>Add SciAm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The Push to Make Semiconductors in Space Just Took a Serious Leap Forward<\/p>\n Space Forge plans to manufacture semiconductors from space\u2014without the need for humans<\/p>\n By Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Claire Cameron<\/span><\/p>\n Narumon Bowonkitwanchai via Getty Images<\/p>\n Space Forge is on a mission to manufacture semiconductors in space\u2014no humans required. And on Wednesday the U.K.-based aerospace startup announced that it had taken a major step toward that goal by creating plasma, or superheated gas, aboard a commercial satellite for the first time.<\/p>\n Semiconductors require extremely precise conditions to make, and both NASA and industry groups have argued that the microgravity environment of space is better for their manufacturing than that of Earth. The reasons why are varied, but part of it has to do with how silicon behaves in such an environment\u2014it\u2019s just easier to get the material to adhere to the structure needed to make a semiconductor.<\/p>\n Indeed, Space Forge\u2019s feat builds off previous work done on the International Space Station, says Clayton Swope, deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank.<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n \u201cThe key difference here is that this was done uncrewed, without any people, on an entirely commercial spacecraft,\u201d he says. \u201cThis demonstration shows that semiconductor crystal manufacturing can happen in space just using machines.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cKeeping people alive in space is expensive,\u201d Swope adds. \u201cIf machines can do that work instead, it brings down the cost of doing manufacturing in space.\u201d<\/p>\n Space Forge CEO Joshua Western said in a press release that the company\u2019s work proves that the right environment for semiconductor manufacturing \u201ccan be achieved on a dedicated, commercial satellite\u2014opening the door to a completely new manufacturing frontier.\u201d Space Forge launched its satellite, ForgeStar-1, in June. Its microwave-sized factory includes a furnace that the company showed reached temperatures of around 1,832 degrees Fahrenheit (1,000 degrees Celsius).<\/p>\n Other companies and research teams are getting in on the budding space manufacturing industry. In 2024 another startup, Varda Space Industries, demonstrated that it was possible to grow crystals of ritonavir, an antiviral drug, on an uncrewed commercial spacecraft and return them to Earth. And researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich recently 3D-printed human tissues in microgravity.<\/p>\n In-space manufacturing is in its \u201cearly days,\u201d Libby Jackson, head of space at the Science Museum in England, told the BBC. But testing and proving technology like Space Forge\u2019s \u201creally opens the door for an economically viable product, where things can be made in space and return to Earth and have use and benefit to everybody on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. Scientific American<\/span> has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a Scientific American<\/span> subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm <\/span>always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to Scientific American<\/span>, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.<\/p>\n In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.<\/p>\n There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" December 31, 2025 2 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm The Push to Make Semiconductors in Space Just Took a Serious Leap Forward Space Forge plans to manufacture semiconductors from space\u2014without the need for humans By Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Claire Cameron Narumon Bowonkitwanchai via Getty Images Space Forge is on a mission<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39808,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[6562,1092,6639,1101],"class_list":{"0":"post-39807","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-leap","9":"tag-push","10":"tag-semiconductors","11":"tag-space"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39807\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/39808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}On supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s Time to Stand Up for Science<\/h2>\n