LONDON — BioOrbit secured £9.8 million in seed funding to develop microgravity production facilities, the company announced earlier this month. Aerospace backers signed term sheets to close the early-stage round, according to executives at the startup. Transporting heavy materials from Earth consumes significant capital, prompting the firm to pursue manufacturing processes off the planet.
Executives want to change the economic math by producing goods in orbit instead of ground laboratories. The company will funnel the £9.8 million capital directly into research and development operations in London. Engineers will test new hardware specifically designed to operate in zero gravity environments, per the company statement.
Building items in space cuts the weight that rockets must carry past the atmosphere, according to BioOrbit. Lower payload weights translate directly to smaller fuel bills for every launch conducted by aerospace providers. Certain crystals and biological compounds form cleaner structures without gravity pulling on them during the manufacturing cycle.
Pharmaceutical companies struggle to grow uniform protein crystals in laboratories located on Earth. Orbiting factories solve that physical constraint by letting molecules assemble in freefall conditions, the startup said. Investors see clear commercial potential for these specialized materials once they return to Earth for medical applications.
BioOrbit has not disclosed when it will launch its first test hardware into orbit from London. The company's engineering team will spend the coming months finalizing the zero-gravity equipment designs funded by the seed round. Aerospace backers expect further updates on the payload schedule later this year, per industry term sheets.
