ForgeStar-1 is the in-orbit demonstration of Space Forge’s growth capabilities and process development.
The second satellite to be designed, developed and built entirely in Wales, it was launched in June 2025 into low earth orbit. This launch was enabled by the issuing of Europe’s first in-space manufacturing licence.
The in-orbit operation of ForgeStar-1 has generated plasma more than 100 times utilising our in-house built growth chamber. This marks a world-first for commercial in-space manufacturing and a significant step toward producing a new class of high-performance semiconductor materials on orbit.
The achievement establishes ForgeStar-1 as the first free-flying commercial semiconductor manufacturing tool ever operated in space and follows Space Forge’s earlier mission milestone as the first and only organisation in the UK and Europe licensed to conduct in-space manufacturing.
he plasma demonstration confirms that the extreme conditions needed for gas-phase crystal growth - a core building block of semiconductor production - can now be created and controlled on an autonomous platform in low Earth orbit (LEO). This is the first time a commercial spacecraft has demonstrated this capability - building on science carried out on board the International Space Station.
