Britain’s first ‘space factory’ blasts into orbit on test mission

A British-built manufacturing satellite successfully launched into orbit on its first test mission.

Cardiff-based startup Space Forge launched the probe — called ForgeStar-1 — aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-14 rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday.

The launch marks the first time the UK has sent a spacecraft into orbit to produce new materials in the unique conditions of space, according to the startup.

Joshua Western, CEO and co-founder of Space Forge, hailed it as the start of a “new era” for materials science and industry.

“We’ve built and launched Britain’s first manufacturing satellite, and it’s alive in orbit, that’s a massive technical achievement,” he said. “Now, we take the next step: proving that we can create the right environment for manufacturing in space.”

The oven-sized satellite will harness the conditions of space to produce “supermaterials” that are supposedly impossible to make on Earth.

Western recently likened the tech to a sourdough starter — a small but potent base for growing something much bigger.

“Our satellites utilise the zero-gravity, ultra-cold, vacuum environment of space to produce tiny crystals of a higher quality than could ever be made otherwise,” he told TNW in April.

Once returned to Earth, the crystal “seeds” can be used to grow larger crystals that form the basis of ultra-efficient computer chips, which could power everything from data centres to telecoms networks.

Space Forge claims these semiconductors could halve the time it takes to charge an EV. The technology could also be used to make new metal alloys or pharmaceutical drugs.

At least, that’s the idea. Space Forge hasn’t yet produced any materials in space and has been patiently building ForgeStar-1 for the past four years to validate the technology.

The company faced a setback in 2023 when its first satellite was lost after Virgin Orbit’s satellite launcher experienced an anomaly and failed to reach orbitdestroying the payload.

Now that its first satellite is in orbit, the company hopes to produce its first-ever materials in space. However, the ForgeStar-1 satellite will be deliberately burned up in Earth’s atmosphere after completing its experiments, as the company has not yet secured the necessary certification to bring it back to Earth, Western said.

Still, the company noted that the burn-up will demonstrate that even if the re-entry system were to fail, the satellite would completely disintegrate. The mission will also deliver critical test data, telemetry, and validation needed to support future in-space manufacturing missions.

Space Forge’s next satellite, ForgeStar-2, is designed to manufacture materials in space and return them safely to Earth. The startup recently secured $30mn in a funding round led by the NATO Innovation Fund to accelerate its development.