{"id":348571,"date":"2026-01-02T18:46:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T18:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/348571\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T18:46:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T18:46:07","slug":"startup-satellite-hits-1800-degrees-cooks-up-plasma-in-orbit-for-the-first-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/348571\/","title":{"rendered":"Startup Satellite Hits 1,800 Degrees, Cooks Up Plasma in Orbit for the First Time"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spaceforge.com\/news\/space-forge-ignites-a-new-industrial-era-delivering-world-first-capability-for-orbital-semiconductor-manufacturing\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">announced<\/a> this week. With its groundbreaking feat, the company established the needed conditions to produce semiconductor materials in space and further develop its orbital factory.<\/p>\n<p> Made in space <\/p>\n<p>ForgeStar-1 launched on June 27, 2025, on board SpaceX\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>As space becomes more accessible, so do the many ways we can benefit from sending and operating satellites in orbit. In-space manufacturing <a href=\"https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/gizmodo-science-fair-a-satellite-that-makes-drugs-in-space-2000656682\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">leverages the unique orbital environment<\/a> to create advanced materials, ones that bypass gravity-induced defects on Earth.<\/p>\n<p>Space Forge\u2019s 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).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGenerating plasma on orbit represents a fundamental shift,\u201d Joshua Western, CEO and co-founder of Space Forge, said in a statement. \u201cIt proves that the essential environment for advanced crystal growth can be achieved on a dedicated, commercial satellite\u2014opening the door to a completely new manufacturing frontier.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The company aims to manufacture materials for semiconductors, which can have multiple applications on Earth, such as electronics, communications infrastructure, and transport. \u201cThis sort of semiconductor would go on to be in the 5G tower in which you get your mobile phone signal\u2026 it\u2019s going to be in the latest planes,\u201d Western said.<\/p>\n<p>Now that its mission is complete, ForgeStar-1 is destined to burn up in Earth\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A microwave-sized factory in space has generated plasma for the first time, bringing us one step closer to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":348572,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[134625,90,416,134626,14348,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-348571","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-in-orbit-manufacturing","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-space","11":"tag-space-forge","12":"tag-space-industry","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348571\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/348572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}