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In-Space Semiconductor Manufacturing

Created: 2026-04-06 (session 44) Programs: GCD (umbrella), FO (flight tests)

Summary

NASA's ODME (On Demand Manufacturing of Electronics) program funded a 6-year GCD project (2019-2025) to develop in-space semiconductor and electronics manufacturing in microgravity, reaching TRL 6. It spawned a cluster of FO flight test projects testing specific microgravity manufacturing approaches: EHD inkjet printing (SEADS), PVD/CVD thin films (MSTIC), dry multimaterial printing (Auburn), and crystal growth reentry vehicles (SpaceWorks/Astral).

The core thesis: Microgravity removes gravity-induced defects in crystal growth — columnar fractal formation, void defects, thickness non-uniformity — enabling potentially superior semiconductor devices. If scalable, this could support "in-space for Earth" manufacturing: grow better crystals in orbit, return to Earth as commercial product.

Status (April 2026): ODME GCD exceeded its TRL target (reached 6, target was 5). FO cluster is mixed: MSTIC completed at TRL 4 (missed target 6); SEADS still Active at TRL 4 as of Feb 2026, ending April 30 — confirmed via live API (session 51); no ISS deployment in description; will close at TRL 4 (missed target 6). In-Space Dry Printing active through Oct 2026; High-Cadence Silicon (SpaceWorks) targeting TRL 8 by 2027.

Portfolio Structure

ODME Umbrella — GCD [116412]

In Space Manufacturing - On Demand Manufacturing Electronics MSFC-led | GCD | TRL 4→6 (target 5, EXCEEDED) | Oct 2019 – Sep 2025 | 1,505 views

The umbrella R&D program. Developed next-generation deposition systems for printing precise electronics in microgravity and extreme environments. Technologies: - Advanced Toolplate: 30-40% smaller/more capable toolheads for multimaterial 3D printer - Deposition systems: for microelectronics, sensors, energy storage, power generation in microgravity - Semiconductor-specific: thin-film systems for manufacturing semiconductors in LEO

Program Directors: Werkheiser/Thornblom (same ISM team managing GCD portfolio). PM: Frank Ledbetter + Jennifer Jones.

Key document: White Paper — "Semiconductor Manufacturing in Low-Earth Orbit for Terrestrial Use" (external link, not TechPort-hosted). This is the commercial case document.

Partners (30+): Georgia Tech, MIT Lincoln Lab, SRI International, Caltech, Auburn, Stanford, Iowa State, UTK, UTEP, UWyoming, Youngstown State, Florida A&M, Florida State, Boise State, Alabama-Huntsville, Texas A&M. Industry: NextFlex (San Jose), nScrypt, Redwire, Astral Materials, Goeppert, Multi3D, Sciperio, Voltera, United Semiconductors, Fritsch (Germany).

TRL 6 confirmed — this is a success. The umbrella program exceeded its target. The FO sub-projects are testing specific approaches that ODME matured.

Source: get_project(116412) live, 2026-04-06.

FO Flight Test Cluster

ID Project Lead Status TRL End Technology
155248 SEADS MSFC (PI: Curtis Hill) Active 4→6 Apr 30, 2026 EHD inkjet printing
155254 MSTIC Made in Space/Redwire Completed 4→4 Jan 2026 PVD/CVD thin films
158562 In-Space Dry Printing Auburn (PI: Masoud Mahjouri-Samani) Active 4→6 Oct 2026 Dry multimaterial printing
184152 High-Cadence Silicon SpaceWorks + Astral Materials Active —→8 Jun 2027 Reentry crystal growth

SEADS [155248] — EHD Inkjet Printing

Space Enabled Advanced Devices and Semiconductors MSFC, PI: Curtis Hill, Co-I: Yao-feng Chang | FO | TRL 4→6 (target) | Mar 2023 – Apr 30, 2026 | 4,564 views (high)

Technology: Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing — non-contact, maskless, etching-free semiconductor manufacturing. An inkjet approach that deposits semiconductor materials directly, skipping photolithography, etching, and many process steps in conventional semiconductor fabs.

Why microgravity helps EHD: Better trench filling conformity, fewer voiding defects at sub-µm scale. The electric field forces dominate over gravity; removing gravity-driven convection enables more precise deposition.

Commercial partners: Intel, NAU (Northern Arizona University), Fujifilm, TEL (Tokyo Electron), Axiom Space. This is remarkable — Intel and Tokyo Electron (world's top semiconductor equipment manufacturer) are actively partnering on this NASA FO project. TEL is the leading supplier of semiconductor fab equipment worldwide.

Flight test results: - Nov 28, 2023 & Feb 26, 2024: Parabolic flights — "did not achieve goals but gained valuable insights" - Mar 5, 2024: Demonstration of EHD-printed insulator and semiconductor on conducting material — first successful microgravity EHD demonstration

Status: Active through April 30, 2026. TRL still at 4 (target 6) as of Feb 2026 live API check (session 51). No ISS deployment confirmed in project description despite "2024-2025" ISS timeline mentioned in description text. The project ends this month and will close at TRL 4 — a miss vs. target 6. Confirmed pattern: FO parabolic flight → partial success → ISS deployment bottleneck → TRL miss. Same as MSTIC.

Significance of partner list: Intel + TEL involvement signals this isn't just academic curiosity. These companies are evaluating microgravity manufacturing as a commercially viable approach. Intel's motivation may be advanced packaging/chiplet manufacturing where defect density is the limiting factor.

Source: get_project(155248) live, 2026-04-06.

MSTIC [155254] — PVD/CVD Thin Films

Manufacturing of Semiconductors and Thin-film Integrated Coatings Parabolic Flight Testing Made in Space (Redwire), PI: Alex Hayes, Co-I: Curtis Hill / Kyle George | FO | TRL 4→4 (missed target 6) | Jan 2023 – Jan 2026 | 3,267 views

Technology: Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) and Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) — the workhorse deposition processes of the semiconductor industry. MSTIC tested whether PVD/CVD in microgravity produces superior thin-film uniformity.

Flight test results (4 parabolic flights): - 2023-05-08, 2023-10-16, 2023-11-28, 2024-02-26 - "Generated first successful samples in microgravity, raised hardware TRL, burned down risk" - Key finding: "Most notable and potentially revolutionary aspect... ability to leverage unique conditions of microgravity for manufacturing. The potential for producing films with superior surface structures."

TRL miss: Despite successful samples and described as "potentially revolutionary," MSTIC closed at TRL 4 vs target 6. TRL 6 would require demonstration in a relevant environment — ISS deployment — which did not happen. The project description mentions "flight hardware that is currently on the ISS," suggesting some hardware shipped to ISS but ISS demonstration was not completed.

Direct to fab value proposition: MSTIC emphasizes "can directly lay metal traces without costly chemical etching steps" — eliminating multiple process steps from traditional semiconductor manufacturing.

Curtis Hill (MSFC) is Co-I here and PI on SEADS — he is the central NASA technical lead for the entire in-space semiconductor manufacturing effort.

Source: get_project(155254) live, 2026-04-06.

In-Space Dry Printing [158562]

In Space Dry Printing Multimaterial Electronics and Semiconductor Devices Auburn University, PI: Masoud Mahjouri-Samani | FO | TRL 4→6 | May 2024 – Oct 2026 | Active

Technology: Dry multimaterial printing — printing electronics and semiconductor devices without liquid inks. Dry process may be more compatible with microgravity (no surface tension, capillary effects, or droplet behavior issues).

Dual commercial thesis: "In-space for space" (making electronics needed for missions) AND "in-space for Earth" (returning commercially superior devices). This is the most explicit statement of the commercial manufacturing model.

Co-Is: Steven Peeples (Co-I), Charles Brock Birdsong (Co-I), Jennifer Jones (Co-I — same PM who also appears on ODME [116412]).

Source: batch project data, 2026-04-04.

High-Cadence Microgravity Silicon [184152]

High-Cadence Microgravity Silicon Semiconductor Crystal Manufacturing SpaceWorks Enterprises + Astral Materials, PI: Kevin Okseniuk | FO | TRL —→8 (target) | Jun 2025 – Jun 2027 | Active

Most ambitious in the cluster. SpaceWorks and Astral Materials are building a dedicated microgravity platform with reentry capabilities for silicon crystal manufacturing. The system integrates a high-temperature crystal manufacturing platform with thermal management into SpaceWorks' re-entry capsule — enabling autonomous, uncrewed crystal growth experimentation with safe return to Earth.

Problem statement: Current terrestrial silicon crystal manufacturing faces "gravity-induced defects" that limit device performance. Key defects: columnar fractal formation, thickness non-uniformity.

TRL 8 target — this is the most advanced target in the cluster. TRL 8 = system/subsystem complete and qualified. For a new manufacturing technology, reaching TRL 8 in 2 years (2025-2027) would be exceptional. This implies SpaceWorks/Astral are building on already-mature components (SpaceWorks' reentry vehicle + Astral Materials' crystal process).

New project: started June 2025. No flight results yet.

Source: batch project data, 2026-04-04.

Connecting the Lineage

GCD ODME [116412] (2019-2025, TRL 4→6) — the R&D umbrella
    ├── FO SEADS [155248] (2023-2026) — EHD inkjet (Intel/TEL/Fujifilm)
    ├── FO MSTIC [155254] (2023-2026) — PVD/CVD (Made in Space/Redwire)
    ├── FO In-Space Dry Printing [158562] (2024-2026) — Auburn dry process
    └── FO High-Cadence Silicon [184152] (2025-2027) — SpaceWorks reentry capsule

Also related: [116259] In Space Manufacturing - On Demand Manufacturing Metal (GCD, TRL 4, 2020-2023) — the metals equivalent of ODME.

Curtis Hill (MSFC) appears as PI on SEADS and Co-I on MSTIC — he is the central NASA technical lead for microgravity semiconductor manufacturing.

Pattern and Interpretation

TRL miss pattern in FO: All four FO projects were targeted at TRL 6. Only one has completed (MSTIC at TRL 4). SEADS ends this month at TRL 4. The parabolic flight results were "promising" but didn't yield the ISS demonstration that would establish TRL 6. This is a consistent FO pattern: parabolic flights are relatively easy to execute, but ISS deployment (required for TRL 6 in relevant microgravity environment) is the bottleneck.

The commercial partners are real: Intel + Tokyo Electron on SEADS suggests serious commercial interest. These companies don't casually join NASA FO projects — they see a potential technology pathway worth tracking.

The "in-space for Earth" model: This cluster is explicitly commercial in framing, not just enabling space missions. The value proposition is that the manufacturing environment (microgravity + vacuum) produces devices impossible or expensive to produce terrestrially. This is analogous to the pharmaceutical protein crystallization work done on ISS.

Remaining uncertainty: No published results on whether microgravity-grown semiconductor samples are actually better than terrestrial equivalents. MSTIC claimed "potentially revolutionary" but TRL advancement (the quantitative measure) didn't follow. The High-Cadence Silicon project's TRL 8 target is aggressive and suggests Astral Materials/SpaceWorks have a credible path — or it reflects TRL optimism.

Cross-References

Open Threads

  1. SEADS closeout (April 30, 2026) — Confirmed TRL 4 as of Feb 2026 (session 51). After April 30, check TechPort for Closed_Out record. Did TRL advance in final months? Outcome record will show final TRL.
  2. MSTIC ISS hardware — description mentions "flight hardware currently on ISS." What happened to it? ISS demo not reflected in TRL update. Check for outcome record.
  3. High-Cadence Silicon TRL 8 credibility — SpaceWorks/Astral Materials are claiming TRL 8 by 2027. What prior flight heritage does SpaceWorks' reentry vehicle have? Is this a realistic target?
  4. Commercial outcomes — has Intel or TEL disclosed anything publicly about the SEADS results? Patent applications would be traceable.
  5. FO ISS deployment bottleneck — SEADS + MSTIC both targeted TRL 6 (ISS demo) and both missed. Pattern: parabolic flights advance TRL 4→4/5 but ISS deployment is the limiting step. Same as BLiSS ECLSS components. Worth documenting as a structural FO program constraint.