News: Suppliers
1 October 2026
Starlab secures payload reservation from Elethron
Starlab Space LLC of Webster, TX, USA — which is developing an AI-enabled commercial space station, expanding access to low Earth orbit (LEO) research and manufacturing — has announced a payload reservation from Elethron, an advanced materials and process engineering company developing high-performance crystalline materials for semiconductor applications. The reservation will provide Elethron with a pathway to demonstrate and operate its ĀTAR autonomous, modular in-space crystal growth and materials-processing platform for microgravity research and manufacturing aboard Starlab. The system will enable Elethron to use the microgravity environment to develop and optimize materials for applications including power electronics, RF systems, integrated photonics, sensing and extreme-environment electronics.
Starlab Space is a US-led global joint venture between Voyager Technologies, Airbus, Mitsubishi Corp, MDA Space, Palantir Technologies, and Space Applications Services, with strategic partners including Hilton, Journey, Northrop Grumman, and The Ohio State University.
By operating ĀTAR aboard Starlab, Elethron will be able to conduct materials-processing activities during the six-month pilot, generating process data and operational experience that may inform future materials-processing efforts toward downstream qualification and integration. Its modular architecture uses interchangeable Smart Cartridges, allowing the platform to support different materials processes and customers without requiring a complete payload redesign between campaigns. Starlab will provide important infrastructure as Elethron expands ĀTAR’s deployment in LEO.
“Microgravity has shown considerable potential in reducing defect formation and improving compositional uniformity as a crystal forms,” says Elethron’s technical director & co-founder Dr Nick Bailey. “These are among the primary factors for achieving higher electronic and optical performance in next-generation semiconductor materials and devices, and ĀTAR allows us to extend our work on these materials into microgravity,” he adds.
“Advanced semiconductor materials are foundational in developing next-generation electronics in space and terrestrial systems,” says Jonathan Volk, Starlab’s director of advanced materials applications and director of growth for Voyager Technologies’ VISTA Space Park. “Elethron’s ĀTAR platform demonstrates how Starlab can support the transition from materials research in microgravity to repeatable processing capabilities in orbit.”
The announcement builds on Starlab’s growing advanced manufacturing ecosystem, where microgravity creates opportunities to develop materials and processes that can support new capabilities both in space and on Earth. By providing a commercial platform for repeated research, development and manufacturing campaigns, Starlab is designed to demonstrate the process of moving promising technologies from initial demonstration toward scalable in-space operations.
Starlab’s market-driven business model is designed to reduce cost, complexity and risk for researchers and commercial partners. Its single-launch, no-assembly-required architecture enables full certification and operational readiness within weeks from launch, minimizing delays and maximizing efficiency for payload customers. Through its joint venture partners, customers can conduct research aboard the International Space Station (ISS) now, ensuring what is claimed to be a seamless transition to Starlab as its next-generation capabilities come online alongside the retirement of the ISS.
