Welsh in-space manufacturing company Space Forge has raised £22.6 million in a Series A funding round led by the NATO Innovation Fund.
Founded in 2018, Space Forge is developing the ForgeStar, a recoverable in-orbit platform designed to enable research and manufacturing in low Earth orbit. An initial ForgeStar demonstrator was launched aboard the final flight of Virgin Orbit’s air-launched rocket in January 2023, but it failed to reach orbit.
On 14 May, Space Forge announced it had secured £22.6 million (€26.81 million) in new funding. The round was led by the NATO Innovation Fund, with significant contributions from the World Fund, the National Security Strategic Investment Fund, and the British Business Bank. Other participants included Innovation Investment Capital Limited Partnership, Gaingels, SpaceVC, Unruly, Helium Three, Stellar, TypeOne, and the London Technology Club.
“This funding marks a significant milestone, not just for Space Forge, but for the entire space economy,” said Space Forge CEO Joshua Western. “With the backing of our investors, we’re accelerating our mission to make space a practical and accessible platform for industrial-scale manufacturing.”
Space Forge explained in its 14 May update that the funding will be used to develop its upgraded ForgeStar-2 platform and to support its upcoming first in-orbit demonstration mission. The company is currently in the final stages of preparing for the launch of the initial demonstration mission, which it has dubbed ‘The Forge Awakens’. The mission is expected to be launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket later this year.
While Space Forge has not publicly detailed the performance upgrades planned for the ForgeStar-2 platform, reports published prior to the company’s first mission in 2023 suggested it would be larger and place greater emphasis on reusability.
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