starsmithSPACE
Rendered concept: in orbit above Earth, the unfolded concentrator faces the Sun, and the paths of the light converge on its secondary reflector.
01 / 1010

We make high-temperature in-space manufacturing commercially viable

Optically heated manufacturing in orbit and on the Moon.

The challenge02 / 1010

Power & cost bottleneck

  1. Proven quality

    Decades of experiments on the Space Shuttle and the ISS prove higher quality in microgravity.

  2. Cost and power held it back

    The unit cost of this higher quality was too high, due to high costs and limited power supplies.

1981Space Shuttle era starts2023Commercial manufacturing2000ISS starts operating1985Spacelab 3: crystal growth1992US Microgravity Laboratory2009NASA and ESA furnace rack2015JAXA levitation furnace2024First Varda return
  1. 1981Space Shuttle era starts
  2. 1985Spacelab 3: crystal growth
  3. 1992US Microgravity Laboratory
  4. 2000ISS starts operating
  5. 2009NASA and ESA furnace rack
  6. 2015JAXA levitation furnace
  7. 2023Commercial manufacturing
  8. 2024First Varda return

Why now03 / 1010

The gate is opening.

Starsmith is a platform for high-temperature manufacturing in space.

  1. Launch

    Launch costs keep shrinking, led by SpaceX.

  2. Process

    We use the Sun directly as a heat source, without conversion to electricity. We cut the cost of process heat 6 to 7.5 times.

  3. Re-entry

    Technology and regulation advance, led by Varda.

LAUNCH COST / KG$100k$10019802040

Our edge04 / 1010

6 to 7.5 times cheaper heat

Power system cost against silicon arrays.

Rendered concept: above Earth, the unfolded concentrator faces the Sun, and the paths of the light converge on its secondary reflector.
The spacecraft in orbit, its mirror wrapped around the hub, the payload module and re-entry capsule behind.
Stowed
The mirror unwinding into a dish, facing the Sun.
Unfolding
The open dish facing the Sun, focusing sunlight onto its secondary reflector.
Focusing sunlight

Our concentrator technology is based on research by the Morphing Space Structures Lab (MSSL) at Stanford University.

  1. 3×

    Efficiency

    Solar arrays turn about 20% of sunlight into heat. Our optics deliver about 60% to the furnace, net of re-radiation.

  2. 5×

    Light and compact

    Folded film stows in formats arrays cannot reach, at about a fifth of the mass of silicon arrays.

  3. Scalable

    Up to 20 m

    No scaling obstacle below 20 m: a 17.6 m mirror delivers 200 kW at 2,350 °C, where the gap widens to 7.4 to 9 times.

  4. Passive

    Less hardware

    Arrays are wired into the spacecraft’s bus. Our mirror is just film: no cells, no electronics, no rare earths.

Use cases05 / 1010

Materials gravity holds back.

Our platform, their process: we host seed growth processes that our partners can grow further terrestrially, multiplying the advances and profits coming from microgravity quality.

In orbit

Power semiconductors

Ga₂O₃, AlN

Grown at 1,800 to 2,300 °C, limited by crucibles and seed size.

Detector crystals

CdTe, CdZnTe, CdZnTeSe

Shuttle samples: 20 to 200 times fewer dislocations.

Laser crystals

Ti:sapphire

Convection spreads dopants unevenly, capping crystal size.

On the Moon

Lunar resources

Silicon and metals refined from lunar soil, instead of launched from Earth.

Market06 / 1010

A $15B a year market by 2050.

Addressable market, $B a yearOrbitMoonCombined$0B$2B$4B$6B$8B$10B$12B$14B$16B202620302035204020452050$2.5B$5.7B$4.4B$1.3B$14.7B$9.4B$5.3B$0202620302035Moon from 2028$170M today$610M
$170M today; the Moon from 2028.

  1. Orbit

    The space-grown part of a $27B terrestrial crystal market by 2050: AlN, Ga₂O₃, detector and laser crystals.

    Our share by 2050: $1.6B of crystals from our seeds, of which we earn 10%.

  2. Moon

    Resources, production, power and construction, growing with NASA’s Moon Base plan. The alternative is launching it, at $200,000 to 1M per kg.

    PwC’s low case, $93.9B over 2026 to 2050. Our 15% share: $1.4B a year by 2050.

Landscape07 / 1010

Everyone else heats with electricity.

Crystal growerscustomers / collaboratorsStationscollaboratorsFree flyerscompetitorsEnd to endcompetitorsConcentrated sunlightElectricity
Concentrated sunlight: Free flyers

Starsmith

  • Optically heated free flyer
Electricity: Crystal growers (customers / collaborators)

Terrestrial

  • Industry: Nitride Global, NextGEO, Tateho, MTI, Smelters
  • R&D institutions: IKZ, Max Born Institute, Fraunhofer

In space

  • Astral Materials LOI
  • United Semiconductors
Electricity: Stations (collaborators)
  • Axiom
  • Vast
  • Voyager (Starlab)
  • Blue Origin (Orbital Reef)
Electricity: Free flyers (competitors)
  • SpaceX Starfall
  • Varda
  • Rocket Lab (Photon)
  • The Exploration Company
  • Outpost Space
Electricity: End to end (competitors)
  • Space Forge
  • Besxar

Strategic roadmap08 / 1010

Orbit first. Then the Moon.

  1. Ground demo

    Opening of the concentrator, furnace process demos.

  2. Cubesat demo

    A deployable concentrator and a first melt in orbit.

  3. In parallel: demo furnace development in Hungary with the University of Miskolc.

  4. Microsat demo

    A bigger concentrator on a boom and the first furnace processes.

  5. First collaboration with re-entry

    The first crystals grown in orbit come home.

  6. Production in orbit

    Hosting partners’ high-temperature processes.

  7. The lunar surface

    Silicon and aluminium from regolith.

2027 Q32028 Q12028 Q32029 Q12029+2031+

Team09 / 1010

Built by engineers.

Ink drawing of Tamás Kotán

Tamás Kotán

Founder & CEO

Electrical engineer. Deep-tech expertise from multiple projects, one supervised by a Nobel laureate.

Ink drawing of Massimo Piazza

Massimo Piazza

Co-founder & CTO

Space engineer. 6+ years in the industry, worked on SpaceX launch campaigns.

Ink drawing of Jason Schmitt

Jason Schmitt

Advisor / VP R&D, Nitride Global

30 years in crystal growth. Designed a space furnace with Axiom Space and NASA.

Thank you10 / 1010

We are seeking

$3M to 5M

Be the first to help us reach space.

Reach out [email protected][email protected]

[email protected]

SF Bay AreaGermanyOptical development collaborationHungaryDemo collaborationUnited StatesAerospace development
  • United States, SF Bay AreaAerospace development
  • HungaryDemo collaboration
  • GermanyOptical development collaboration
Our activityR&D collaboration

Starsmith Space / San Francisco, California

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