Space Forge Launches UK's First In-Space Manufacturing Satellite - FORGESTAR - 1

Led by a passionate team of space enthusiasts including Joshua Western(CEO And Co-Founder), Andrew Bacon(Co-Founder And CTO), Florence Sherry(Mechanical Design Engineer), Oliver Turner(Design Engineer), Mulham Terkaoui(Payload Systems Lead), Ana Paula Castro de Paula Nunes(Product Lead), Alli Carroll(Business Support Operations and Partnerships Lead), Anthelme(Space Systems Engineer), Andrew Morris(Space Test Engineer), Márcia Ribeiro Silva(Thermal Engineer), Jac Jones(Space Software Engineer), Aarron Sheppard(Systems Design Engineer), Andres Garcia Parker(Contract And Procurement Lead), Jordan Grant(Lead Manufacturing Engineer), Caspar Lucas(Electronics Engineer), Charlie Kellagher(Programmes Manager), And Kirill Jerdev(Attitude Control Engineer), Space Forge launches UK's first in-space manufacturing satellite - FORGESTAR - 1, developed entirely in wales.

Space Forge has launched the UK’s first satellite designed for in-orbit manufacturing. ForgeStar-1, built entirely in Cardiff, marks a major milestone for British space hardware and aims to produce advanced materials in microgravity. Launched via SpaceX’s Transporter-14 mission, the satellite has successfully made contact and will soon begin its manufacturing demonstration—validating both its production and re-entry technologies for future scalable space-based industry.

ForgeStar-1 will test manufacturing methods for next-gen semiconductors in orbit. Once those objectives are complete, the mission will shift to demonstrating Space Forge’s re-entry technologies—including the Pridwen heat shield, aerodynamic control for steering and deceleration, and predictive re-entry mapping powered by its Aether software.

ForgeStar-1 will end in a planned atmospheric demise, ensuring full disintegration even if re-entry systems fail—setting a new bar for space sustainability. Though it won’t return to Earth, the mission will generate vital data and validation to enable future manufacturing missions that bring advanced materials back from space.