Photo: Space Forge

U.K.-based Space Forge raised a 22.6 million pound ($30 million) Series A round this week, to further its plans for in-space manufacturing. The NATO Innovation Fund led the round with support from a World Fund, the National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF) and the British Business Bank through its Regional Angels program. 

Space Forge said the funding will accelerate the development of its next-generation returnable manufacturing satellite ForgeStar-2, and support the company’s first in-orbit demonstration mission, ForgeStar-1, set to launch this year. The ForgeStar-1 mission is intended to validate the company’s returnable, and re-launchable platform for manufacturing high-performance semiconductor materials in space.

Space Forge is based in South Wales. The company was founded in 2018 and lost its first demonstration mission on the failed Virgin Orbit U.K. mission in early 2023. 

Chris O’Connor, partner, NATO Innovation Fund, highlighted the company’s work to advance “Europe’s access to space, supply chain independence and long-term resiliency.”

“With the backing of our investors, we’re accelerating our mission to make space a practical and accessible platform for industrial-scale manufacturing. Our upcoming launches will prove that the future of materials innovation lies beyond Earth, helping us build a more secure, sustainable, and technologically advanced world,” co-founder and CEO Joshua Western said.