Frontier Space Partners with ATMOS Space Cargo to Launch Pioneering, SpaceLab Mark 1, 'Lab-in-a-Box', on SpaceX Mission
- asanjay6
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
Press Release
Bedfordshire, April 22, 2025: At 1:48 AM BST today, Frontier Space successfully launched its fully automated laboratory demonstrator on its first orbital mission aboard SpaceX’s Bandwagon-3. The mission was conducted in partnership with ATMOS Space Cargo, who flew the payload on Europe’s first commercial returnable spacecraft, Phoenix-1, marking a major milestone in advancing commercial space research capabilities.
The mission carried three cutting-edge payloads, with one developed in partnership with Imperial College London.
"The mission represents a major milestone in democratising access to space research," said Aqeel Shamsul, CEO of Frontier Space. "Our SpaceLab Mark 1, 'lab-in-a-box' technology enables researchers to conduct sophisticated experiments in microgravity without the traditional barriers to space-based research. This EGGS-1 (Early Gen micro-Gravity Service) payload is a 1.2U-sized small device customised for this specific mission. They are a smaller version of the future space systems we will require to enable a full SpaceLab system for our in-space R&D services. This project represents a significant opportunity to mature Frontier Space’s technology."
“It's fantastic that Frontier Space is helping drive the rapid market growth in using space environments to develop advanced bioscience, biotechnological, and pharmaceutical knowledge and products” said Prof David Cullen, Frontier Space’s Science & Technology Advisor and Professor of Astrobiology and Space Biotechnology at Cranfield University. “It's rewarding to see technology developed under Cranfield University's BAMMsat programme transition to commercialisation, with significant potential across many applications, notably in developing new therapeutic products for use on Earth”, said Prof Cullen.
At the heart of the mission is a microorganism sample return experiment, developed in collaboration with the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein and the UKRI Microbial Food Hub at Imperial College London. The system will transport biological specimens to space and return them to Earth for comprehensive analysis, providing crucial data about microgravity, long-term storage and space transportation effects on these microorganisms. In this mission, we are testing the integration and the stability of lyophilised microorganisms. This protocol will be key to ensure that the biology doesn't degrade before it reaches its intended destination such as Low Earth Orbit, Moon or Mars. “Development of this technique and biological handling protocol is key to enable in-space biomanufacturing”
“We dream about a future where humanity heads off into the dark expanses of space. But carrying enough to feed ourselves on the journey and at our destination would be unimaginable in cost and weight. We’re excited to apply our scientific and engineering expertise to this task. If just a handful of cultivated cells could provide all our food, pharmaceuticals, fuels and bioplastics using freely available resources, that would bring the future closer,” said Dr Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro, Director of the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein and Microbial Food Hub at Imperial College London.
The mission also features Frontier Space's proprietary autonomous laboratory systems, including sample device hosting, power and data management, and a microfluidics system, testing bespoke microfluidic devices in microgravity conditions. "This demonstration mission aims to validate our space systems and autonomous laboratory platform for upcoming biotechnology applications in space," said Mateusz Zalasiewicz, Chief Technology Officer at Frontier Space.
A third experiment focuses on validating the durability of a biological sample device in space using Frontier Space’s imaging technology, supporting future biotech applications.
The mission's primary objective was to validate the overall autonomous lab and space systems design, ensuring that the payload survives launch, powers on and operates in space, and successfully captures and transfers data for downlink to Earth. This was fully successful.
The secondary objectives include:
Validating long-term storage solutions for space-based biomanufacturing
Testing next-generation microfluidics systems in microgravity
Both are already partially successful, as the experiment workflow was advanced and the systems passed lab and environmental testing. Full success depends on retrieval of the Phoenix-1 capsule, which is yet to be confirmed by ATMOS.
“We are proud to be supporting Aqeel and his team at Frontier Space on this ground-breaking mission. Biomedicine in space is one of the most promising fields leading to tangible benefits for people on Earth. We are looking forward to this joint flight and many more to come,” commented Sebastian Klaus, CEO, ATMOS Space Cargo.
The successful deployment of this technology could accelerate developments in space-based manufacturing, pharmaceutical research, and sustainable food production for long-duration space missions.
About Frontier Space
Frontier Space spun out from Cranfield University where the four co-founders met and tested SpaceLab in BAMMsat-on-BEXUS (BoB). That’s how the journey started. At Frontier Space, we are leveraging the unique space environment to improve life on Earth. We are building the in-space manufacturing and R&D capabilities for a range of biotech applications, all while ensuring we sustainably achieve these goals. Frontier Space is developing a modular and scalable ‘lab-in-a-box' SpaceLab and industrial bioreactor for in-space manufacturing to unlock the growing commercial industrial microgravity sector.
Media Contact:
Anjali Sanjay
Frontier Space Technologies Ltd
About ATMOS
ATMOS Space Cargo GmbH develops cutting-edge technology to enable the return of cargo from space. Its services encompass microgravity experiments, commercial payloads and support for spacecraft reusability. ATMOS bridges the gap between Earth and low Earth orbit, driving industrial innovation with sustainable solutions. The PHOENIX capsule represents a groundbreaking platform for Earth-to-Space-to-Earth logistics, designed for a wide variety of applications.
Media Contact:
Krystian Bandzimiera Email: krystian.bandzimiera@atmos-space-cargo.com Phone: +49 151 2096 1698 ATMOS Space Cargo
About Imperial College London
We are Imperial – a world-leading university for science, technology, engineering, medicine and business (STEMB), where scientific imagination leads to world-changing impact. As a global top ten university in London, we use science to try to understand more of the universe and improve the lives of more people in it. Across our nine campuses and throughout our Imperial Global network, our 22,000 students, 8,000 staff, and partners work together on scientific discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship. Their work navigates some of the world’s toughest challenges in global health, climate change, AI, business leadership and more.
Founded in 1907, Imperial’s future builds on a distinguished past, having pioneered penicillin, holography and fibre optics. Today, Imperial combines exceptional teaching, world-class facilities and a habit of interdisciplinary practice to unlock scientific imagination.
Media Contact:
Simon
Imperial College, London
