Space Forge is a British startup near Cardiff, founded in 2018 by Josh Western and Andrew Bacon, that aims to manufacture semiconductor material in space. The company exploits microgravity and the vacuum of space to produce purer crystals than those achievable on Earth.
Space Forge has built a folding ceramic heat shield called Pridwen (named after King Arthur's shield) for re-entry. Its first satellite was lost in 2022 when a Virgin Orbit rocket failed in Cornwall. ForgeStar-1, its replacement, successfully entered orbit in June 2025 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9.
The company has raised £22.6m in a round led by NATO's Innovation Fund. It has secured partnerships with BT and Northrop Grumman. Space Forge holds Britain's first in-space manufacturing licence, though it had not yet obtained a re-entry licence as of late 2025.
Space Forge has set up an American arm, drawn by the CHIPS Act subsidies. Ten agencies oversee UK space activity, with poor co-ordination between them.
Astronauts first grew crystals in microgravity on NASA's Skylab in 1973. SpaceX now takes satellites to orbit for roughly $2,000 per kilogram, about a fifteenth of the cost in 2010.
Grub first, then ethics.