AstroForge Races the Clock, Secures $40 Million for Asteroid Mission
AstroForge, a company with its sights set on mining asteroids, is fueled up and ready to launch. The Southern California-based startup recently secured a cool $40 million in Series A funding, bringing their total capital to $55 million. This fresh injection of cash will be instrumental in propelling their upcoming mission, codenamed Vestri.
Vestri isn’t your average space mission. This 200-kilogram spacecraft will hitch a ride with Intuitive Machines’ IM-3 lunar lander mission later in 2025. Its ultimate destination? An undisclosed asteroid. Once it arrives, Vestri will make history by becoming the first spacecraft to touch down on an asteroid and analyze its composition. This analysis will be crucial for pinpointing the presence of valuable resources, like precious metals, that could be extracted in the future.
The funding will also grease the wheels for AstroForge’s development of deep-space refining technologies. While this capability is a long-term goal, the company recognizes the significance of Vestri as a stepping stone. “But the primary thing it gets us is mission three,” said Matt Gialich, co-founder and CEO of AstroForge.
Unfortunately, AstroForge’s initial foray into space wasn’t without its hiccups. Their first mission, a cubesat named Brokkr-1, launched into low Earth orbit last year. The mission aimed to test their space-based refining tech, but communication problems grounded those plans.
Gialich admits the company initially planned to outsource spacecraft production, focusing their efforts on the payload. “Our thesis when we started the company was that there was enough capital that had gone into space where we could essentially horizontally integrate a lot of the company,” he said. This strategy, which encompassed spacecraft communication and construction, proved to be a misstep.
Further roadblocks emerged with their second mission, Brokkr-2 (later renamed Odin). This mission aimed to fly by a metal-rich M-class asteroid. However, a vibration test in March exposed cracks in a critical part of the spacecraft’s structure, the faceplate. Further inspection revealed additional problems with the propellant tanks, wiring, and avionics.
Faced with these setbacks, AstroForge made a bold decision in April. They brought spacecraft development in-house. In a remarkable feat of engineering, the company managed to build a whole new version of Odin within a staggering four months. This revamped spacecraft is currently undergoing environmental testing.
“I thought that the chances of us getting there with the vendor we had selected had gone to zero,” said Gialich regarding the decision to bring development in-house. While he refrained from naming the original manufacturer, it was previously reported that AstroForge had partnered with OrbAstro on the mission.
The clock is ticking for AstroForge. Their revised Odin needs to be completed within the next few months to secure its spot as a rideshare payload on Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission, targeted for launch in December or January of 2025.
The tight deadline is a testament to AstroForge’s commitment and resourcefulness. By leveraging components and plans from their third mission for the revamped Odin, the company has managed to shave off valuable development time. The team is pulling out all the stops, working around the clock to meet the launch window.
“Half of this team is sleeping here every single day to get this done,” said Gialich. “There isn’t a substitute for just being really, really hardcore and getting this mission across the line.”
This tenacity is exactly what’s needed to succeed in the uncertain and demanding world of space exploration. AstroForge’s mission is not only about acquiring valuable resources from asteroids, it’s about pushing the boundaries of human ingenuity and paving the way for a future where space exploration becomes not just a dream, but a reality.
