ATLANTA, GA – July 15, 2025 — SpaceWorks Enterprises today announced details on the company’s recent award under NASA’s TechLeap Prize: Space Technology Payload Challenge led by NASA’s Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing program and the agency’s Flight Opportunities program. The groundbreaking project, entitled High-Cadence Microgravity Silicon Semiconductor Crystal Manufacturing, will combine SpaceWorks’ expertise in reentry system design and integration with novel in-space manufacturing technologies developed by partner Astral Materials, Inc. SpaceWorks and Astral Materials will demonstrate the in-space manufacturing technology and an orbital reentry of the finished product from a NASA-assigned orbital platform targeted for the second quarter of 2026.
“This NASA TechLeap Prize presents a historic opportunity for SpaceWorks to showcase how our advanced ReEntry Device (RED) products can support the growing space economy,” said Tyler Kunsa, Vice President of Defense & Space at SpaceWorks. “Our ability to combine core features of our existing RED products with custom adaptations for platforms like Astral’s allows us to serve a broad array of customers. We’re thrilled to partner with Astral Materials in pursuit of what would be an in-space manufacturing breakthrough.”
SpaceWorks has been a leader in reentry and precision payload return technologies for nearly a decade. The company’s RED capsule systems have undergone extensive ground testing, multiple high-altitude drop test campaigns, and a 2017 flight to the International Space Station. RED systems are designed for flexible hosted payload support and recovery options.
Silicon Valley-based Astral Materials aims to advance semiconductor crystal growth by harnessing the unique benefits of the microgravity environment of space. With this award, the company is progressing its on-orbit ultra high-quality silicon crystal growth process for in-space semiconductor manufacturing. “To close the business-case of in-space manufacturing,” commented Dr. Jessica Frick, CEO & Co-founder of Astral Materials, “it is critical not only to accomplish on-orbit processing, but to demonstrate high-cadence, on-demand product return capabilities. This mission with SpaceWorks is the first step toward that goal”. Through successful development, integration, and flight test of their payload onboard the RED system, Astral Materials will achieve their first in-space manufacturing and product return demonstration.
About SpaceWorks Enterprises
SpaceWorks Enterprises, Inc. (SEI), headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is a recognized leader in advanced aerospace innovation. We deliver cutting-edge space and flight product development, systems engineering, custom software solutions, and aerospace economic consulting to a diverse range of customers. SpaceWorks is committed to catalyzing innovation in the commercial space industry—from concept design through to fully operational systems. Explore our mission and discover what’s next at SpaceWorks.aero.
About Astral Materials
Astral Materials, Inc. was founded in 2024 by a team of technical experts in microgravity materials synthesis and hardware design. Astral Materials is commercializing space by building microgravity crystal growth furnaces to manufacture materials of a quality and consistency that cannot be achieved on Earth. We believe microgravity is humanity’s next defining manufacturing tool – lending credence to a future where materials are made without defects, advancing both Earth’s existing technologies and those that have yet to be imagined. Learn more at astralmaterials.com.
About NASA TechLeap
More information about this NASA TechLeap Prize can be found at https://www.stpc.nasatechleap.org/
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