TAMPA, Fla. — British in-orbit manufacturing venture Space Forge has appointed technology veteran Atul Kumar to set up a semiconductor business in the United States, aiming to bolster domestic chip production as efforts to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers gather pace.
Kumar, a materials scientist with more than two decades of experience in the sector, is tasked with developing manufacturing operations under Space Forge’s U.S. subsidiary to support the terrestrial and in-space growth of semiconductor substrates, the company announced April 10.
The move comes as the U.S. ramps up efforts to reduce its dependence on chips from abroad, driven by supply chain disruptions, national security concerns and mounting trade tensions — particularly with China.
The CHIPS and Science Act, passed in 2022, is pouring billions into reshoring advanced semiconductor production and encouraging domestic innovation.
“Our ultimate goal is to bring in-space manufacturing of advanced semiconductor materials,” Kumar said, “but we also intend to have a terrestrial capability and post-processing capability in the U.S. that would enable the supply of very high-quality semiconductor substrates.”
By harnessing the conditions of space — such as microgravity, vacuum and extreme temperature gradients — Space Forge aims to produce materials with superior crystal quality.
“That could enable a whole class of new and emerging applications in [radio frequency], power, photonics — maybe even quantum computing,” he said.
“We see ourselves as a material supplier that enables … applications that were previously thought to be very difficult or even impossible terrestrially.”
Space Forge plans to demonstrate its in-space manufacturing capability for the first time later this year with ForgeStar-1, a spacecraft also designed to test reentry technologies, although this mission is intended to ultimately burn up in the atmosphere rather than return with cargo.
The company’s first spacecraft, ForgeStar-0, was lost in the failed Virgin Orbit launch from the U.K. in January 2023. A follow-up mission had been planned for later that year but was delayed for reasons the company has not disclosed.
Michelle Flemming, who is leading Space Forge’s U.S. expansion, said the company also plans two parabolic flights this year, starting in May, to test technology aboard an aircraft simulating microgravity.
According to Kumar, the venture could begin selling a product developed under sub-orbital conditions within the next few years.
“It may not reap the benefits of low Earth orbit manufacturing, but we see that as a stepping stone,” he said.
Space Forge raised $10.2 million in 2021 to develop its in-space manufacturing business, which also aims to produce high-performance alloys, ultra-pure optical fibers and advanced coatings for next-generation technologies.
