CARDIFF, Wales — In a historic milestone for the global tech industry, Welsh aerospace firm Space Forge successfully ignited a high-temperature manufacturing furnace aboard its orbital satellite, ForgeStar-1, on December 31, 2025.
Managed from a mission center in Cardiff, the microwave-sized “mini-factory” reached a blistering 1,000°C (1,832°F) while circling the Earth. The achievement confirms that high-end manufacturing is no longer restricted to the planet’s surface, opening a new frontier for producing “super-materials” that are physically impossible to create on Earth.
The “Space Advantage”: Why Build Factories in Orbit?
Traditional chip-making on Earth is hindered by gravity and atmospheric pollutants. By moving production into Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Space Forge exploits two key physical advantages:
- Zero Gravity (Microgravity): On Earth, gravity causes heavier elements to settle and hot gases to swirl, creating tiny defects in materials. In space, atoms can align in perfect, mirror-like structures.
- Total Vacuum: Space provides a natural vacuum 10 trillion times purer than the best industrial clean rooms on Earth, eliminating the contaminants that often spoil high-performance wafers.
The Result: Semiconductors made in these conditions are projected to be up to 4,000 times purer than their Earth-bound counterparts.
Real-World Impact: 5G, EVs, and Climate
These “ultra-pure” chips are designed for the backbone of modern infrastructure where energy efficiency is critical.
- Faster 5G/6G: Space-grown Gallium Nitride (GaN) crystals can handle higher power with significantly less heat, making mobile towers more efficient and reliable.
- Longer-Range EVs: These chips allow electric vehicles to convert power more effectively, potentially adding miles of range to every charge and halving charging times.
- Defense & Quantum: Perfectly ordered crystals enable the next generation of high-precision sensors and quantum computers with near-zero signal interference.
| Industry | Technology | Projected Benefit |
| Telecom | 5G Base Stations | 50%+ Reduction in power loss |
| Automotive | EV Power Inverters | Faster charging & extended range |
| Computing | Quantum Processors | Near-zero signal interference |
What’s Next? The “Return to Earth” Challenge
While ForgeStar-1 is a demonstrator designed to validate the technology, the next phase is commercial production. The company is currently developing a larger “Space Factory” capable of producing enough material for 10,000 chips per mission.
To bring the cargo back safely, Space Forge is testing Pridwen, an “origami-style” deployable heat shield. Unlike traditional shields that burn up, Pridwen is designed to be reusable, allowing the satellite to land gently so the “space chips” can be harvested for use in global supply chains.
