Helping companies and agencies push the boundaries of space exploration and ‘in-space’ production is driving a major new opportunity for Goodfellow Cambridge.

The specialist supplier of materials and metals has seen interest in its range grow over 300% in the last three years, driven by a need for lighter and smaller components for use in satellites, robotic arms, telescopes, and the Cassini-Huygens probe that was used to study the planet Saturn and its environment.

Boosted by this £1m+ opportunity, the Huntingdon-based company is set to take its largest ever presence at the Space-Comm Expo 2023, which is due to be held in Farnborough (June 7th-8th) and will attract thousands of delegates and the legendary UK astronaut Tim Peake.

Goodfellow Cambridge

Goodfellow will be taking a major stand (N10) at the industry’s leading exhibition, as well as chairing a fireside chat with Adrian Nixon of the International Space Elevator Consortium and a major ‘Miniaturisation’ panel discussion – featuring Intellegens’ Dr Bogdan Nenchev – exploring in-space R&D, testing and in-situ quality control of advanced materials.

“Space covers a myriad of different industries, many of which we are already successfully supplying. The interesting development – where we can have a big say – is in ‘in-space manufacturing’ and how you can potentially produce prototypes and components in space,” explained Dr Aphrodite Tomou, Head of Technical at Goodfellow Cambridge.

“This is where we’ve seen a lot of interest in our Macor probes, Aluminium Oxide (Al2O3) ceramics, Gold (Au) wires, Platinum (Pt) tubes, Silver (Ag) and testing foils – materials that have superior thermal properties that can withstand extreme temperatures, resist radiation and, importantly, can be easily manufactured into different complex shapes.”

Goodfellow Cambridge, which employs over 100 production and technical experts at its Ermine Business Park facility, has been working with the space industry for more than fifteen years, supplying Space Agencies in Asia, Europe, and the USA.

The firm’s footprint in the sector has grown year-on-year to take on clients involved in advanced aerospace manufacturing and, more recently, in innovative telescopes that are discovering pioneering firsts and the high-profile Cassini-Huygens Probe – the first human-made object to ever land on a world in the distant outer solar system.
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