Space Minister Liz Lloyd has announced more than £19 million of government funding for technologies that could transform manufacturing in orbit and help keep space safe.

The package will support companies developing technologies that could change how materials are made in space, make it easier to bring them back to Earth, and help keep the space environment safe and sustainable. .

Cardiff-based Space Forge has won £10 million, to support a mission to design, build, launch and return ‘Pridwen’, a new deployable heat shield system designed to protect spacecraft returning to Earth. This will be funded through an increase to the UK Space Agency’s investment in the European Space Agency’s General Support Technology Programme (GSTP).

£9.25 million has been invested into the Space Portfolio of the UK Innovation and Science Seed (UKI2S) Fund, managed by Future Planet Capital, to help UK space businesses scale and grow.

Space Minister Liz Lloyd said: "Today’s government-funded investment in Space Forge shows our commitment to keeping Britain at the forefront of the fast-growing space sector. Space Forge is developing technology that could revolutionise in-space manufacturing.

"Our wider investment is also helping more British space businesses grow, bring in private backing and create high-skilled jobs across the country. That is how we build a stronger space sector and keep the UK one of the best places in the world to start and scale a space business."

Joshua Western, CEO & Co-founder, Space Forge, said: "We’re thrilled to be awarded the GSTP funding to help bring Pridwen to commercial readiness. This proprietary technology is key to enabling the safe return of our materials to Earth, which in turn unlocks the future of in-space manufacturing.  

"With our recent ForgeStar-1 mission we proved we can create the right manufacturing environment for next-generation semiconductor materials in space, with this newly funded mission we can prove our ability to deliver products to market."