January 3, 2026
Hot takes from a hotter oven
UK company sends factory with 1,000C furnace into space
Space oven goes brrr: Internet splits over “space chips” hype vs reality
TLDR: UK startup Space Forge fired up a 1,000°C space furnace to grow ultra-pure semiconductor crystals, aiming to send the material back to Earth. Comments battled over hype vs. reality: it’s crystal growth, not chip-making, with skepticism about bold purity claims and practical questions about cooling and reentry.
A British startup just lit a 1,000°C furnace in orbit to make super-pure semiconductor material — and the comments went supernova. The BBC report says Space Forge’s microwave-sized “factory” hit glowing-plasma temps and aims to grow crystals claimed to be up to 4,000x purer for stuff like phone towers and EV chargers. Cue the crowd: the top correction was loud and clear — not chips, just the raw crystal stage. As Squeeze2664 put it, the magic happens later on Earth. Others were confused about logistics, asking if the factory stays up or flies home, while Space Forge plans to return materials with a King Arthur–inspired heat shield called Pridwen, sparking cheeky Excalibur jokes. Engineers chimed in with real talk: space is a great insulator, but how do you keep the electronics cool while the oven blazes? The spiciest skepticism hit the marketing: a cool demo, sure, but can they prove the purity boost matters — and who would even notice if it flopped? The vibe: half moonshot wonder, half hype-detector mode. Either way, a Cardiff control room just turned on a space furnace, and the internet showed up with calculators, quips, and popcorn. More at Space Forge
Key Points
- •Space Forge operated a microwave-sized factory in orbit and verified its furnace can reach ~1,000°C.
- •The company targets in-space production of ultra-pure semiconductor materials, claiming up to 4,000× purity gains.
- •The satellite, launched on a SpaceX rocket, sent back images of glowing plasma inside the furnace during tests.
- •Space Forge plans a larger orbital factory to produce material for about 10,000 chips.
- •A heat shield named Pridwen will be tested on a future mission to return manufactured materials safely to Earth.