Space Cargo Unlimited

What Space Cargo Unlimited does

Space Cargo Unlimited is a European space biotech founded in 2014 and headquartered in Luxembourg, building end-to-end infrastructure for in-orbit manufacturing and microgravity research. The company operates four interlocking technology assets: REV1, a reusable re-entry space factory being developed with Thales Alenia Space and intended to return manufactured products to Earth; BentoBox, a modular microgravity-laboratory platform that hosts customer payloads in orbit; SpaceOS, the control and data-software suite that runs BentoBox and REV1 missions; and Space Biology Unlimited (SBU), a Bordeaux-based subsidiary focused on space-life-sciences services. The technical concept is to standardise and industrialise access to microgravity for industrial customers, combining an orbital platform, a re-entry capsule, ground integration, and software-driven experiment control.

The commercial proposition targets B2B customers in biotech and pharmaceuticals, materials science, agriculture, and cosmetics, with 82 engaged customer projects reported across these verticals and named partners including Exobiosphere (Orbital High-Throughput Screening), Mercier Group, and ISVV. Go-to-market relies on project-based sales of flight slots, payload integration, and data services, often delivered through industrial partnerships (Thales Alenia Space, ATMOS Space Cargo, COMAT, Dassault Aviation's VORTEX) and rideshare/launch relationships with SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Nanoracks. Revenue mechanics are not yet proven: as of late 2025 the company remained pre-revenue, with the first REV1 mission planned for Q4 2025 (per company website) or Q4 2026 (per third-party reporting), funded in part by a €12.5M EIC Accelerator award (June 2025) and a €27.5M Series A (September 2025). The company also maintains offices in Bordeaux, Turin, Toulouse, and (from November 2025) Darmstadt.

Name

Space Cargo Unlimited

Legal name

Space Cargo Unlimited

Website

https://space-cu.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Space Cargo Unlimited is a Luxembourg-headquartered European space biotech that builds and operates in-orbit manufacturing infrastructure — REV1 re-entry factory, BentoBox microgravity platform, and SpaceOS software — serving biotech, pharma, materials, and agriculture customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Microgravity Research and In-Space Manufacturing Services

NAICS

Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing (336414)

SIC

Guided Missiles & Space Vehicles & Parts (3760)

akta.pro primary industry

Space Logistics & In-Orbit Servicing (Refueling, Tug, Debris Removal) (IMABACAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Spacecraft & Satellites (Civil/Commercial) (IMABACAB), Spacecraft Avionics, Flight Computers & Software (IMABACAI)

Keywords

• Microgravity research services
• In-space manufacturing
• Space payload platforms
• Space biology research
• Orbital return services

Headquarters

HQ city

Luxembourg

HQ country

Luxembourg

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Mission-as-a-Service (Microgravity Research): Space Cargo Unlimited provides end-to-end payload services from integration to orbit, enabling customers to conduct microgravity research and manufacturing experiments. Customers pay for mission access, payload operations, and return services.
2. REV1 Space Factory Operations: REV1 operates as a flying factory in orbit, providing industrial players and researchers access to microgravity environment. First mission Q4 2025 with 7 upcoming multi-week missions planned.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Space Cargo Unlimited designs, builds, and operates in-space manufacturing and research platforms that conduct microgravity experiments aboard the International Space Station and return the resulting materials or data to Earth-based clients. The company develops proprietary re-entry hardware (REV1), modular payload containers (BentoBox), and mission control software (SpaceOS), and through its subsidiary Space Biology Unlimited runs biotechnology and life-science research programs in microgravity for external sponsors.

Product overview

Space Cargo Unlimited operates a platform-plus-modules architecture centered on two core products: REV1 (the full-scale space factory platform) and BentoBox (the modular, re-entry-capable microgravity payload platform). REV1 serves as the ultimate in-space testing and manufacturing facility, while BentoBox functions as a scalable, autonomous payload operations layer that can integrate with partner vehicles like ATMOS's PHOENIX 2. The company also operates Space Biology Unlimited, a biotech subsidiary focused on space-based life science research. SpaceOS provides the customer-facing control interface for payload operations across the platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BentoBox: Modular in-orbit laboratory and production facility engineered to support microgravity research, in-space manufacturing, and technology demonstration at commercial scale
• REV1
• Space Biology Unlimited

Products and services

• REV1 Re-entry Vehicle Autonomous re-entry platform that returns microgravity-exposed samples and manufactured materials from orbit to Earth for enterprise customers in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and advanced materials.
• BentoBox Modular Payload Platform Modular multi-experiment payload container that hosts and supports multiple independent microgravity experiments within a single orbital mission, providing standardized interfaces, power, and data handling.
• SpaceOS Mission Control Software Proprietary mission control software that operates the company's orbital hardware, manages hosted payloads, and coordinates experiment timelines and re-entry operations.
• Microgravity Research and Manufacturing Services End-to-end microgravity research and in-space manufacturing service, covering experiment design, mission integration, on-orbit operations, sample return, and post-flight analysis for enterprise customers.
• Space Biology Unlimited Research Programs Biotechnology and life-science research services operated through the Bordeaux-based subsidiary Space Biology Unlimited, focused on microgravity experiments in stem cells, tissues, plant biology, and related biotech domains.

Quantifiable outcome

• 200x more experiments than current space biotech platforms
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• COMATcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 October 2025Partnership signed at COMAT's Saturn facility in Toulouse to co-develop integrated microgravity solutions for private industry. COMAT provides engineering and manufacturing capabilities for in-space manufacturing hardware.
• Luxembourg Space AgencymajorTechnology or Integration · 15 September 2025Defining support for company operations and long-standing collaboration alongside CNES and ESA.
• Exobiosphere SARLcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2025MoU signed at Paris Air Show to deploy Exobiosphere's Orbital High-Throughput Screening (OHTS) platform aboard BentoBox for joint space missions. First joint mission targeted for 2026. Creates Europe's first fully integrated bio-research mission architecture.
• ATMOS Space CargocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 December 2024Seven-flight program combining ATMOS PHOENIX 2 re-entry capsule with BentoBox platform. First integrated mission planned for 2026. Establishes Europe's first fully commercial two-way orbital logistics service.
• Thales Alenia SpacecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 October 2022REV1 development partnership - Thales Alenia Space designed, engineered, and developed the REV1 vehicle as project contractor. Space Cargo Unlimited is owner and commercial operator. Contract signed December 2022.
• Mercier GroupmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 February 2021Strategic partnership with global vine nursery leader (30M+ vines grafted annually) to explore ways of growing new more resistant vines using space research. Mercier provides infrastructure for fast deployment and commercialization globally.
• NanoracksmajorTechnology or IntegrationLong-standing partner for ISS commercial initiatives and space research operations, collaborating on Mission WISE experiments.
• CNESmajorTechnology or Integration5-year partnership with French space agency CNES for CADMOS lab collaboration in Toulouse. Active support for space microbiology research in microgravity.
• ESAmajorTechnology or IntegrationEuropean Space Agency partnership actively supporting Mission WISE and space biology research initiatives.
• FAU Erlangen-NurembergmajorTechnology or IntegrationUniversity partnership for space biology research, operating from Friedrich-Alexander University in Germany alongside University of Bordeaux team.
• SpaceXmajorTechnology or IntegrationPrimary launch provider for Dragon/ Falcon 9 missions including CRS-20 flight and future REV1 missions.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Varda Space Industries: US-based in-space manufacturing company building autonomous orbital factories and re-entry capsules for pharmaceutical and materials processing. Closest direct peer to Space Cargo Unlimited's REV1/BentoBox model, with overlapping pharma and advanced materials customer use cases.
• ATMOS Space Cargo: German company developing the PHOENIX re-entry capsule that carries Space Cargo Unlimited's BentoBox. Strategic partner but also a near-direct comparable in commercial return logistics and microgravity payload delivery for the European market.
• SpacePharma: Israel/Switzerland-based microgravity research services company offering miniaturized lab-on-chip platforms for pharmaceutical and biotech research in orbit. Direct peer targeting the same biotech/pharma microgravity R&D customer base as SCU's BentoBox.
• Space Forge: UK-based company developing ForgeStar, a reusable in-space manufacturing and return platform for semiconductors and advanced materials. Closest European competitor to SCU's REV1 vision of an orbital factory returning products to Earth.

Broad incumbents

• Redwire Corporation: Public space infrastructure company with a dedicated in-space manufacturing and biotech business (formerly Made In Space and Techshot). Operates broader space hardware portfolio but competes head-to-head with SCU on commercial microgravity manufacturing and biomedicine payloads.
• Axiom Space: US company building commercial space station modules and offering microgravity research services to pharma and government customers. A broader incumbent addressing the same end-market need for commercial orbital research infrastructure as ISS approaches retirement.
• Voyager Space (Nanoracks): US space services holding company whose Nanoracks division operates commercial microgravity research aboard ISS and develops commercial space stations (Starlab). Broad incumbent offering overlapping microgravity access and in-orbit services to SCU's biotech and materials customers.
• BioServe Space Technologies: University of Colorado research center providing microgravity experiment hardware and services on ISS for pharma and biotech customers. Established incumbent in the same research services category SCU is commercializing.

Emerging players

• Exobiosphere: Luxembourg-based microgravity biotech whose Orbital High-Throughput Screening (OHTS) platform is integrated onto Space Cargo Unlimited's BentoBox. Customer and emerging partner with overlapping biotech-in-space thesis.

Others

• Thales Alenia Space: European aerospace prime that designed, engineered and built the REV1 platform under contract for Space Cargo Unlimited. Acts as the company's manufacturing and integration partner and could also be viewed as an enabling ecosystem participant for orbital factories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/SpaceCu
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@spacecargounlimited537
• Facebookfacebook.com/SpaceCargoUnlimited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Space Cargo Unlimited