11 February 2026
The UK Space Agency has awarded contracts to three innovative companies to explore the potential of manufacturing advanced materials in low Earth orbit (LEO). 
Among these is OrbiSky’s SkyYield project, which aims to design a payload capable of processing ZBLAN fluoride glass — a specialised optical fiber that can transmit light with up to 100 times less signal loss than conventional silica fiber.
Space offers a unique environment where conditions such as microgravity, vacuum, and extreme temperatures can facilitate the production of materials that are difficult, expensive, or impossible to manufacture on Earth. For decades, ZBLAN fluoride glass has been used in niche applications including medical devices, fiber lasers, broadband links, and sensors. However, its performance is often limited by gravity-induced imperfections during fabrication, restricting its potential.
To address this challenge, the UK government has allocated £295,000 of public funding to support OrbiSky’s SkyYield study. This project will focus on designing a payload to process ZBLAN fluoride glass aboard the International Space Station (ISS), aiming to unlock the material’s full theoretical capabilities. The goal is to develop a process that produces ultra-low-loss optical fiber suitable for commercial use, with potential benefits spanning telecommunications and medical imaging.
Dr. Paul Bate, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, emphasised the strategic importance: “By backing these innovative companies to explore manufacturing in orbit, we’re positioning the UK to capture new markets and bring tangible benefits back to Earth — from better medicines to more efficient electronics. These studies demonstrate the government’s ambition to drive forward one of the most exciting frontiers of space technology.”
Sylvester Kaczmarek, CEO of OrbiSky, highlighted the significance of the project: “SkyYield is about turning the unique conditions of microgravity into real-world capability. With support from the UK Space Agency, we aim to develop a credible, end-to-end payload concept for manufacturing ultra-low-loss ZBLAN optical fiber in orbit, including the process controls and verification needed for commercial adoption. This represents a crucial step toward establishing new UK-led markets in space manufacturing, with direct benefits for telecoms and medical imaging.”
While the concept shows promise, challenges remain — particularly the high costs associated with launching and returning materials from space, which could impact commercial viability. Nonetheless, the ability to produce high-quality optical fibers in orbit, without the size constraints of terrestrial manufacturing, presents exciting opportunities.
In addition to OrbiSky, the UK Space Agency awarded contracts to two other companies. BioOrbit Ltd received £250,000 for its PHARM study, which will design a mission to manufacture drugs in microgravity. This could enable the creation of more perfect, reproducible protein crystals for cancer treatments, with regulatory bodies working to facilitate commercialisation.
Space Forge Ltd was allocated £300,000 for its 2Forge2Furious project, which aims to demonstrate how semiconductor seed crystals can be produced in orbit to improve the efficiency, reliability, and power density of high-performance electronic devices — including those used in telecommunications, data centers, electric vehicle charging, and quantum computing.
These initiatives reflect the UK’s broader ambition to lead in space-based manufacturing, leveraging the unique environment of space to develop new materials and technologies that can revolutionise various industries on Earth.
