Besxar Tests Semiconductor Manufacturing Canisters on SpaceX Rocket

Besxar recovered two semiconductor manufacturing canisters after their first flight aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster on July 5, 2026, the company said in an announcement. The mission was the first of 12 flights covered by an agreement between the companies.

The canisters carried several types of wafer samples and reached an altitude of about 71 miles before returning intact roughly 11 minutes after launch. The test objective was whether the canister admits vacuum while keeping contaminants out, rather than manufacturing anything in flight. Besxar says its post-flight inspection found no cracking, warping or visible damage. One canister recorded pressure, acceleration, temperature, vibration and shock as planned, while the other encountered a data recording problem that remains under review.

Substrates flown for the University of Virginia and the University of Texas at Austin are still undergoing independent analysis. Besxar raised $10.3 million in seed funding led by Dauntless Ventures before the mission, bringing its total to $14.7 million.

The company describes its eventual product as ultra-pure compound semiconductor substrates for AI data centers, quantum systems, nuclear technologies and defense applications.