Besxar builds sub-orbital semiconductor fab pods using SpaceX rockets

Most semiconductor fabs cost billions of dollars and take years to build. Besxar Space Industries is trying a different approach: strap a microwave-oven-sized manufacturing pod to a SpaceX rocket, let it cook for eight minutes in the vacuum of space, and bring it back down with the booster. The Washington, D.C.-based startup completed its first test flight on July 6, 2026, during SpaceX’s Starlink 10-50 mission. Two of Besxar’s “Clipper Class Fabships” rode alongside 29 Starlink v2 Mini satellites aboard a Falcon 9 first-stage booster, making it one of the more unusual rideshare arrangements in commercial spaceflight history. How making chips in space actually works Besxar’s Fabships are fully autonomous manufacturing pods designed to produce ultra-pure semiconductor substrates and precursor materials. Rather than orbiting the Earth for days or weeks, they take advantage of a window that already exists in every Falcon 9 launch: the roughly eight minutes the first-stage booster spends above the Kármán line before it turns around and lands on a drone ship or back at the launch pad. This is a critical distinction from other space manufacturing ventures, which typically focus on microg...