Frontier Space relocates UK laboratory operations to Nottingham’s Medical Technologies Innovation Facility
- Jan 29
- 2 min read
Updated: Feb 2
Nottingham, January 29, 2026: Frontier Space has announced the relocation of its UK laboratory and integration activities from Cranfield Aviate+ to the Medical Technologies Innovation Facility (MTIF) in Nottingham, marking a step forward in the company’s expansion of its life sciences and space biotechnology capabilities.
The move provides Frontier Space with access to ISO-classified cleanrooms and GLP- and GMP- certified laboratory infrastructure, enabling the company to carry the full space biotechnology lifecycle from sample preparation, payload preparation, hardware integration and system verification within controlled, quality-driven environments. This is a critical step in ensuring that Frontier Space’s SpaceLab and XSB platforms are developed in a way that supports reproducibility and traceability to meet the regulatory expectations of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.
MTIF - Nottingham Trent University’s dual-site medical devices and advanced materials technology innovation centre - provides access to tissue culture and microbiology laboratories to support Frontier Space’s biopharma and life sciences activities, alongside a wide range of materials and optics facilities for hardware and payload development. The facility also offers cleanroom infrastructure spanning ISO 6 and GMP Grade A, C and D quality standards, supported by an automated facility monitoring system that tracks key environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity and particle counts. These controlled environments support contamination-controlled assembly, materials and optics work, and payload integration and verification activities.
The relocation reflects Frontier Space’s focus on putting in place the laboratory, quality and integration infrastructure needed to support the translation of space-enabled life sciences research into therapeutic and bioprocessing applications, and to progressively address the regulatory and quality requirements of the pharmaceutical industry.
Aqeel Shamsul, Chief Executive Officer of Frontier Space, said:
"This relocation is a strategic move to grow our biotechnology function within the company. MTIF provides end-to-end capability across microbial study, tissue culture, structural analysis and a wide range of tools to support post-spaceflight analysis. We looked around the country for a location that supports both bioscience and technology R&D, and MTIF are well suited to do both. More importantly, access to GLP and GMP-qualified facilities enables us to translate the outcome from microgravity R&D and biomanufacturing to improve healthcare on Earth."
Michael Ward, Commercial Director, Medical Technologies Innovation Facility, said:
"We are delighted to welcome Frontier Space to MTIF. MTIF integrates scientists, engineers, designers, clinicians, inventors, and entrepreneurs, reflecting the private sector-led partnership promoting life sciences and healthcare in the area. Medical technology is one of the real strengths of the local economy, one of the real strengths of Nottingham Trent University and a major priority for the East Midlands. Frontier Space’s arrival is an ideal fit with MTIF’s mission."
About Frontier Space
Frontier Space is a UK-based space biotech company developing platform technologies to enable pharmaceutical research and in-space biomanufacturing for the emerging commercial space sector. Its SpaceLab and XSB platforms are designed to provide scalable and flexible infrastructure for life sciences research in orbit.
About the Medical Technologies Innovation Facility (MTIF) Nottingham Trent University’s Medical Technologies Innovation Facility (MTIF) is a Nottingham-based research and development facility providing specialist laboratory and cleanroom infrastructure to support the development and translation of medical and life sciences technologies.
Media Contacts
Frontier Space
Anjali Sanjay
MTIF Dave Rogers david.rogers@ntu.ac.uk
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