AstroForge is very ambitious.
The California-based startup, which was founded in January 2022, came out of stealth mode today, announcing that it aims to become the first-ever viable asteroid mining company.
In its first few months of existence, AstroForge has raised $13 million in seed funding, developed and lab-tested new technology for processing asteroid material, and booked a ride on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to test that tech out in space.
AstroForge's real mission is to take asteroid mining out of the realm of sci-fi and into the realm of reality, according to CEO Matt Gialich.
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Photos of asteroids in deep space.
Over the past decade, a few other companies have announced bold asteroid-mining plans that focused initially on water. It can be split into hydrogen and oxygen, the main components of rocket fuel, which could lead to the establishment of off- Earth gas stations.
The companies behind those dreams have fallen away or changed their activities.
AstroForge is different. The startup doesn't see asteroid water as a promising initial target given that there is no real market for in-space propellant depots. The demand for water in space will be reduced when the huge Starship vehicle comes online.
Platinum-group metals are in high demand here on Earth and AstroForge will go after an asteroid resource. A key component in catalytic converters is palladium, which helps reduce toxic emissions from cars and trucks.
The United States isn't blessed with rich reserves of these useful and valuable metals because of the messy business of mining them on Earth. Gialich said that removing them from asteroids in deep space could have multiple benefits.
The general partner at Initialized Capital, which led the newly announced $13 million funding, said that AstroForge offers a climate solution for Earth and expands our abilities for further deep-space exploration.
If we can access the unlimited resources from space, we can move away from harmful mining practices on Earth and get the materials we need to expand our scientific abilities.
Satellites can see signs of climate change.
The company has developed a technology that it will use to extract the elements from space rocks, according to Gialich and Jose Acain, the company's chief technology officer.
AstroForge has booked a spot on a Falcon 9 rideshare mission that could launch as early as January 23, 2023, and it will soon get a chance to show its stuff off Earth, if all goes according to plan.
An AstroForge 6U cubesat will be sent up with a sample that will be used to extract Platinum from it's surroundings. A cube that is 4 inches or 10 centimeters on a side is called the U. OrbAstro is a small-satellite specialist based in the U.K. and New Zealand.
AstroForge is moving quickly. That is very much by design.
Gialich said that they are willing to take more risks and that they will have some failures along the way. That is how we learn.
New small-satellite launch providers have come online in the past decade, with established players such as SpaceX opening up their big rockets to small payloads. It is cheaper to get new tech to space, making it economically feasible to take the sorts of risks that AstroForge envisions.
Gialich and Acain are not new to space. He said that Gialich led guidance, navigation and control and flight software at Virgin Orbit for a number of years, and that Acain was a deputy chief engineer at SpaceX.
The operation is based in Huntington Beach. The new funding will go towards hiring new employees. You can find a careers page on AstroForge.
Mike Wall is the author of Out There, a book about the search for alien life. We encourage you to follow us on social media.
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