Startup Satellite Hits 1,800 Degrees, Cooks Up Plasma in Orbit for the First Time
Space Forge is looking to manufacture semiconductor materials in orbit, where the microgravity enables cleaner crystals.
A microwave-sized factory in space has generated plasma for the first time, bringing us one step closer to manufacturing materials in microgravity for use on Earth.
Space Forge successfully activated the manufacturing furnace on board its first satellite, ForgeStar-1, reaching temperatures of 1,830 degrees Fahrenheit (1,000 degrees Celsius) in low Earth orbit, the company announced this week. With its groundbreaking feat, the company established the needed conditions to produce semiconductor materials in space and further develop its orbital factory.
Made in space
ForgeStar-1 launched on June 27, 2025, on board SpaceX’s Transporter-14 rideshare mission. The in-space manufacturing satellite is the first for the UK, with Space Forge hoping to grow semiconductor crystals that are up to 4,000 times purer than those produced on Earth.
As space becomes more accessible, so do the many ways we can benefit from sending and operating satellites in orbit. In-space manufacturing leverages the unique orbital environment to create advanced materials, ones that bypass gravity-induced defects on Earth.
Space Forge’s recent plasma demonstration is an industry first, and it confirms that the extreme conditions needed for crystal growth can be created in low-Earth orbit. The weightlessness of space allows atoms to align in a more ordered and perfect way than is possible on Earth due to the absence of convection (the transfer of heat through the movement of fluids).
“Generating plasma on orbit represents a fundamental shift,” Joshua Western, CEO and co-founder of Space Forge, said in a statement. “It proves that the essential environment for advanced crystal growth can be achieved on a dedicated, commercial satellite—opening the door to a completely new manufacturing frontier.”
The company aims to manufacture materials for semiconductors, which can have multiple applications on Earth, such as electronics, communications infrastructure, and transport. “This sort of semiconductor would go on to be in the 5G tower in which you get your mobile phone signal… it’s going to be in the latest planes,” Western said.
Now that its mission is complete, ForgeStar-1 is destined to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. The company used its first satellite to test a heat shield, named Pridwen, so that future variants have the ability to re-enter through the atmosphere in one piece and return the material to Earth.