{"city":"Cardiff","name":"Space Forge","slug":"space-forge","facts":[{"date":"2026-08-17","type":"deployment","value":"Selected Texas A&M University System as a manufacturing base for semiconductor materials","source":"www.semiconductor-today.com — 2026-08-17"},{"date":"2026-07-01","type":"deployment","value":"BioOrbit sent a drug crystallization manufacturing unit to the International Space Station","source":"SpaceNews"},{"date":"2026-04-03","type":"deployment","value":"Space Forge set up operations near Kennedy Space Center to develop space-based semiconductor manufacturing capabilities","source":"SpaceNews"},{"date":"2026-03-01","type":"deployment","value":"UK National Microgravity Research Centre completed","source":"Semiconductor Today"},{"date":"2025-12-31","type":"partnership","value":"Will become the first incubation client of the Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials","source":"semiconductor-today.com"},{"date":"2025-12-31","type":"setback","value":"ForgeStar-1 entered natural orbital decay and is being prepared for a controlled demise","source":"semiconductor-today.com"}],"peers":[{"name":"Varda Space Industries","rank":25,"slug":"varda-space-industries","score":"79.5"}],"stage":null,"state":"Wales","aliases":[],"country":"United Kingdom","domains":[{"why":"Space Forge develops and operates orbital manufacturing capabilities, including ForgeStar satellites and high-temperature plasma processes for producing semiconductor materials in microgravity.","list":"Space 100","rank":98,"tier":"member","layer":"Infrastructure","total":64,"domain":"Space","scores":{"gate_ne":["firepower"],"leverage":6,"position":6,"progress":9,"firepower":6,"commercial":4,"deployment":6,"production":4,"technology":8},"edition":"November 2026","segment":"In-space manufacturing"},{"why":"The company is developing terrestrial and in-space production of radiation-hard, wide-bandgap semiconductor materials and commercial semiconductor manufacturing capabilities.","list":null,"rank":null,"tier":"watchlist","layer":null,"total":45,"domain":"AI Core","scores":{"gate_ne":["firepower"],"leverage":2,"position":6,"progress":9,"firepower":1,"commercial":1,"deployment":6,"production":6,"technology":4},"edition":null,"segment":null}],"founded":null,"signals":[{"date":"2026-10-01","header":"Space Forge’s microgravity semiconductor manufacturing solution achieved DARPA ERIS ‘Awardable’ status.","outlet":"semiconductor-today.com"},{"date":"2026-10-01","header":"Space Forge’s microgravity semiconductor manufacturing solution achieved DARPA ERIS ‘Awardable’ status.","outlet":"semiconductor-today.com"},{"date":"2026-08-17","header":"Space Forge Inc signed a master research agreement with The Texas A&M University System to establish a U.S. semiconductor-materials manufacturing base.","outlet":"semiconductor-today.com"},{"date":"2026-08-17","header":"Space Forge selects Texas A&M University System as manufacturing base for semiconductor materials","outlet":"semiconductor-today.com"},{"date":"2026-07-30","header":"Space Forge’s ForgeStar-1 generated plasma in orbit for semiconductor crystal-growth processes.","outlet":"EE Times"},{"date":"2026-07-30","header":"Space Forge partnered with Intuitive Machines to develop an orbital semiconductor reactor and return vehicle.","outlet":"EE Times"}],"website":"spaceforge.com","category":"Space · Infrastructure","categories":[{"name":"AI Infra · Semiconductor equipment, materials & critical inputs","domain":"AI Core","parent":null},{"name":"In-space manufacturing","domain":"Space","parent":"Space · Infrastructure"}],"last_round":null,"updated_at":"2026-10-25T23:19:36.455605+00:00","facts_total":22,"positioning":"Space Forge is the first company to operate a commercial semiconductor factory in orbit: its returnable ForgeStar-1 satellite, launched 2025, reached ~1,800C and produced plasma in orbit — announced January 2026 as a world-first for orbital semiconductor manufacturing — exploiting microgravity and vacuum to grow crystal substrates impossible to make on Earth. The model is fly-make-return-reuse, aimed at high-value compound semiconductors for defense and telecoms, and it anchors the UK position in in-space manufacturing including a UK Space Agency-funded National Microgravity Research Centre completed March 2026. Deployment is real but sample-scale; the commercial question is yield and return cadence.","sub_category":"In-space manufacturing","signals_total":28,"url":"https://www.frontiertechintelligence.com/companies/space-forge","title":"Space Forge · space, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom · scores, facts and signals · Frontier Tech Intelligence","description":"Space Forge develops and operates orbital manufacturing capabilities, including ForgeStar satellites and high-temperature plasma processes for producing semiconductor materials in microgravity. Space 100 rank 98 (score 64) 28 signals and 22 facts with sources.","publisher":"Frontier Tech Intelligence (Future Frontiers, a trade name of Essential Cognition Inc.)","note":"Assessment by Frontier Tech Intelligence; facts and signals carry their sources."}