Startup Besxar reportedly prototypes orbital semiconductor fab using SpaceX Falcon 9 flights

Besxar is attempting to move semiconductor fabrication off Earth by using SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets to carry small manufacturing canisters into orbit. The company’s goal is to exploit the natural vacuum of space to avoid the need for pressurized clean rooms, which are a major cost and complexity driver in terrestrial chip fabs. Initial tests on a July Starlink mission demonstrated that the canisters could survive launch, protect wafer samples, and expose them to space conditions without contamination. This proof-of-concept is a critical first step toward scaling up orbital production.

The technical challenge for Besxar is not just surviving launch and orbit but also performing actual semiconductor processes in space. The company plans to iterate over the next two years, starting with heating wafers and then depositing materials layer by layer. Success in these steps would allow Besxar to produce qualification samples for chipmakers targeting power electronics in data centers, robots, and electric vehicles. However, the current scale is limited to small canisters, and meaningful production volumes will require larger payload capacity, likely from SpaceX’s Starship or similar next-generation rockets.

Cost and reliability are the biggest hurdles for orbital semiconductor fabrication. Besxar’s approach depends on frequent, low-cost rocket launches to make the economics viable. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is currently the only vehicle with the flight cadence to support this model, but even it cannot match the payload capacity of Starship. Competitors like Rocket Lab and Stoke Space are developing their own heavy-lift rockets, but none are operational yet. Until these vehicles are available, Besxar’s ability to scale production will remain constrained.

The broader implications of orbital fabrication extend beyond semiconductors. If Besxar succeeds, it could validate space as a viable environment for high-precision manufacturing, opening the door for other industries to follow. However, the company is not alone in this space; competitors like United Semiconductors and Space Forge are also exploring orbital manufacturing. All face the same bottleneck: the limited ability to return large volumes of product to Earth. Besxar’s bet is that SpaceX’s Starship will solve this problem, but until then, the startup must rely on incremental progress with smaller payloads.