SpaceForge has launched the National Microgravity Research Centre (NMRC), the terrestrial arm of its low-Earth-orbit manufacturing programme.

The Cardiff-based company is developing technologies to produce advanced materials in microgravity. It says the microgravity environment reduces the exposure to contaminants such as moisture, dust and gases, potentially resulting in up to 100-times fewer defects in semiconductor materials.

Wafers grown in space SpaceForge’s origami-inspired heat shield

The proposal is to grow ingots in microgravity, which will have purer, more uniform crystals than those made on Earth.

At the end of last year the company launched its micro-sized ForgeStar-1 satellite, equipped with a furnace that can reach 1,000°C, as part of its effort to manufacture materials in orbit.

According to Space Forge, microgravity offers manufacturing conditions that differ significantly from those on Earth. As well as reducing contamination it can enable more uniform crystal growth.

Materials initially produced in orbit will be brought back for scaleup at the Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials at Swansea University, where NMRC is based.

By: DocMemory
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