Beyond gravity’s pull: orbital chipmaking is better in space | Semiconductors
The space industry is a growing consumer of industrial gases, but in one surprising respect the opportunity could be growing in a new direction. That’s because a new opportunity is emerging in space that relates to the making of materials for another industry served by industrial gases: semiconductor manufacturing. UK-based startup Space Forge is one firm taking this on. In October, it trialled deployment of a novel heat shield, Pridwen, on a zero gravity flight, which followed the signing of a memorandum of understanding with United Semiconductors, a leading specialist in bulk crystal growth of III-V semiconductor compounds. Source: Space Forge Meanwhile, another partnership from Intuitive Machines aims to integrate its semiconductor manufacturing payload into Intuitive Machines’ orbital return platform Zephyr under Intuitive Machines’ Earth Reentry Programme. And recently it generated plasma aboard its ForgeStar-1 satellite,… Read More »Beyond gravity’s pull: orbital chipmaking is better in space | Semiconductors