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Bottom line: Besxar aims to demonstrate that orbital manufacturing is not only feasible but can deliver crucial efficiencies for next-generation technologies. While competitors focus on gravity-related experiments, the company is betting that the purity and efficiency of vacuum-based space production will redefine performance and cost standards in semiconductor manufacturing.

A Washington, D.C.-based startup has inked a launch agreement with SpaceX to advance semiconductor manufacturing technology by leveraging the unique environment of space. The firm, Besxar, intends to attach experimental payloads to the boosters of Falcon 9 rockets, focusing its research on the benefits of space’s vacuum conditions for producing semiconductor wafers.

This arrangement will see the company’s payloads integrated into twelve upcoming Falcon 9 launches, some of which could occur before year-end. The terms of the agreement remain undisclosed as both firms opted to keep the financial specifics confidential.

Unlike most SpaceX clients, Besxar’s payloads – designed as microwave oven-sized “Fabships” – will not enter orbit. Instead, these units remain attached to the rocket booster, returning to Earth with the vehicle within 10 minutes of launch and landing back on Earth. Each booster will carry two Fabships per mission, with the twelve-flight campaign allowing for rapid refinement of the technologies being tested.

After two years of development in stealth, today marks the beginning of our public mission to bring semiconductor manufacturing to orbit.

– Besxar (@BesxarFoundry) October 28, 2025

The maiden series of “Clipper-class” Fabships will test whether semiconductor materials can withstand both the journey to space and subsequent reentry, aiming to avoid warping or cracking the wafers.

Besxar’s technology diverges from other space manufacturing initiatives that primarily focus on microgravity. Instead, the startup is targeting the vacuum of space, which provides ultra-clean conditions for semiconductor fabrication at a fraction of the cost and complexity required on Earth.

The rationale is compelling: conventional chip makers incur massive expenses – TSMC, for example, will invest $50 billion in a single advanced facility – primarily due to the equipment and procedures needed to maintain highly controlled production environments. Besxar argues that space’s vacuum can deliver comparable or superior purity naturally, potentially enhancing yield and material properties for demanding applications such as AI data center hardware, quantum computing, and next-generation defense technologies.

Ashley Pilipiszyn

Details about Besxar’s fundraising and capitalization remain largely private. However, Ashley Pilipiszyn, its founder and CEO, told SpaceNews that the company has secured investment from strategic angel investors and institutional partners sufficient to complete the first series of SpaceX missions. She added that the company is currently operating with more missions under contract than staff on its payroll.

After testing the Clipper-class Fabships across the initial twelve flights – a campaign expected to last about a year – Besxar plans to evaluate the technology’s readiness for expanded operations. Although the specifics of subsequent phases remain under wraps, the program aims to establish a proof of concept and refine the design of the payloads. Down the line, Besxar may scale up by deploying larger Fabships, extending operational duration in space, or increasing launch frequency.

The initiative has already attracted attention from the Department of Defense and major players in artificial intelligence, including support through the Nvidia Inception Program. “We view ourselves as an American semiconductor manufacturing company that happens to work in space, versus a space company as we typically think about them,” Pilipiszyn told SpaceNews.