What Plastron UK does

Plastron UK Ltd is a privately held UK aerospace services company founded in 2020 and headquartered at Harwell Campus in Didcot, with engineering operations at Westcott Venture Park. The company operates two integrated business lines: a space infrastructure and services division supplying mobile ISO Class 5 cleanrooms (with a proprietary Low Energy HVAC system consuming under 50% of conventional power), CubeSat risk reduction and insurance facilitation, and mission design consulting; and a microgravity life sciences Contract Research Organisation (PlastronCRO, established 2025–2026) delivering end-to-end experiment design, launch arrangement, in-orbit monitoring, and post-flight recovery for pharma, biotech, agriculture, and advanced materials clients. Its training arm operates four programmes (Upstream, Propulsion Test Safety, Launch Operations, Bespoke Training) and is institutionalised through the Space Industry Centre for Excellence (SiC4E), a collaboration with European Astrotech.

The company monetises primarily through professional services engagements (CRO, consulting, mission design), training programme delivery, and one-time and multi-year cleanroom rental/licence agreements. CubeSat risk reduction carries a recurring/subscription character via its insurance-linked software. Pricing is custom and quote-based across all service lines. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales driven by direct B2B relationships with biotech, pharmaceutical, agriculture, and space sector clients, supplemented by ESA BIC, UKSA, STFC, UKRI, and Satellite Applications Catapult channel partnerships.

Plastron's competitive position rests on a small (1–10 employees) but unusually senior leadership team with 40+ years of combined propulsion engineering experience at ESA, CNES, Airbus, OHB, Thales, and Nammo, cross-domain life sciences expertise (CSO from GSK/MSD/Sauflon), and deep institutional ties to UK and European space agencies. Revenue is not publicly disclosed; cumulative disclosed funding is approximately £2.13 million in UK Space Agency grants across 2022 and 2024. The company serves a globally distributed but UK-anchored customer base across 23 countries, with recent commercial expansion into Norway (Andøya Space) and the commercial space station segment (Starlab Space).

Name

Plastron UK

Legal name

Plastron UK Ltd

Website

https://plastrongroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Plastron UK is a UK-based aerospace services firm providing mobile satellite cleanrooms, CubeSat risk reduction, microgravity life sciences CRO services, and space-sector training, serving pharma, biotech, agriculture, and satellite customers under the Plastron and PlastronCRO brands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aerospace Consulting Services

NAICS

Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing (336414), Other Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing (336419), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Guided Missiles & Space Vehicles & Parts (3760), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Spacecraft Propulsion (In-Space) & Thrusters (IMABACAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Space Payloads & Instruments (Sensors, Comms, EO/IR) (IMABACAD), Space Structures, Mechanisms & Thermal Control (IMABACAF), Space Logistics & In-Orbit Servicing (Refueling, Tug, Debris Removal) (IMABACAM)

Keywords

• Microgravity research services
• Satellite cleanroom solutions
• Spacecraft propulsion engineering
• CubeSat development services
• Aerospace training programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Didcot

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Clean Room Services: Sale and rental of portable ISO Class cleanroom solutions for satellite assembly and integration, including the Plastron Clean Room with proprietary Low Energy HVAC system
2. CRO (Contract Research Organisation) Services: End-to-end microgravity research services including experiment design, launch arrangement, in-orbit monitoring, de-orbit management, and post-flight recovery for pharma, biotech and medical device industries
3. Consulting Services: Expert R&D consultancy services providing viable options for microgravity access including mission brokering, mission design, insurance arrangement, and regulatory compliance guidance
4. Training Programs: Professional development training packages including Upstream online systems engineering training, Propulsion Test Safety, Launch Operations, and Bespoke Training programs for space sector workforce
5. CubeSat Risk Reduction Services: Risk reduction and assembly validation approach for CubeSat projects, contracted by ESA and UKSA, including dedicated software and insurance facilitation
6. Mission Design Services: Specialist mission design services ranging from initial consultancy and feasibility studies to complete turnkey CRO package for microgravity environments

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Plastron UK provides microgravity research enablement services and space-sector engineering support, including portable ISO Class 5 cleanroom solutions for satellite assembly, end-to-end Contract Research Organisation (CRO) services for microgravity life sciences missions, CubeSat design and risk reduction, R&D consulting, and specialised training in propulsion safety, launch operations, and systems engineering.

Product overview

Plastron UK provides a comprehensive suite of space-related services centered on microgravity research enablement. The core offerings include mobile Clean Rooms for satellite assembly with energy-efficient HVAC systems, CubeSat Development services with risk reduction and insurance support, and PlastronCRO as the company's Contract Research Organisation brand dedicated exclusively to microgravity life sciences. The service portfolio encompasses end-to-end capabilities from experiment design through launch arrangement, orbital monitoring, de-orbit management, and post-flight recovery. Supporting these are R&D Support services and expert Consulting for biotech, pharma, and medical sectors. The training division offers four distinct programs: Upstream (systems engineering test best practice), Propulsion Test Safety, Launch Operations, and Bespoke Training courses. The company operates through its Space Industry Centre for Excellence (SiC4E) collaboration with European Astrotech.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PlastronCRO: A Contract Research Organisation exclusively focused on microgravity life sciences, providing end-to-end mission delivery and support for biotech and pharmaceutical customers, including experiment design, payload handling, and post-flight analysis.
• Space Industry Centre for Excellence (SiC4E)

Products and services

• Clean Rooms Portable ISO Class 5 cleanroom solutions for satellite assembly and integration, featuring a custom-designed HVAC air system consuming less than 50% power of conventional cleanroom systems. Designed for high-pressure hardware testing, propellant loading, and launchsite checkout for satellite and CubeSat developers.
• CubeSat Development Complete CubeSat design, build, and launch services including risk reduction and assembly validation contracted by ESA and UKSA. Includes software tools to help achieve insurance coverage for CubeSat ventures and reduce mission failure rates.
• CRO Services Contract Research Organisation services for microgravity experiments and product development. Provides end-to-end service model incorporating the Plastron Deployable Laboratory for payload preparation at launch sites and post-flight processing, supporting pharma, biotech and medical device industries.
• Consulting Expert R&D consultancy services providing viable options for microgravity access including mission brokering, mission design, insurance arrangement, and regulatory compliance guidance for commercial applications in biotech, pharma, and medical sectors.
• R&D Support Comprehensive research and development support including concept development, feasibility studies, prototype development, testing and validation, scale-up support, and technology transfer services for space-sector and microgravity applications.
• Upstream Training Online training programme in systems engineering test best practice designed for aspiring and new entrants in the space industry, covering space hardware testing fundamentals.
• Propulsion Test Safety Training Training course for safe and productive design and testing of propulsion systems, consisting of five modules covering flight hardware overview, component testing, test plan design, test procedure design, and test reporting.
• Launch Operations Training Comprehensive training on launch Concept of Operations (ConOps) from pre-launch to post-flight facility set-down, designed for launch managers, flight regulators, payload teams and rocketry technologists.
• Bespoke Training Fully customized training programs designed specifically for organisations with curriculum tailored to industry, technology stack, and business processes, including custom certification programs for the space sector.

Quantifiable outcome

• ISO8 achieved in 6 minutes (vs. conventional systems taking significantly longer)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Andøya SpacemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 July 2026Plastron was selected by Andøya Space to support a forthcoming project. Andøya Space has been operational since 1962 with over 1200 sounding and suborbital rockets launched from its Norwegian site, jointly owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.
• Starlab SpacecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 April 2026Plastron Group and Starlab Space entered an agreement for Plastron to provide end-to-end life sciences services supporting protein crystallization, organoid development and pharmaceutical research in low Earth orbit. Plastron's BIOCONOPs service integrates with Starlab's commercial space station capabilities to deliver research and microgravity manufacturing platforms for UK and international customers.
• European Space Agency (ESA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerESA is a key strategic partner providing Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC) support to Plastron, enabling startup development and access to European space sector network and resources.
• UK Space Agency (UKSA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUKSA provides funding and strategic support including £2.1 million grant for Space Industry Centre for Excellence training programmes and £30,100 SPIN programme grant for student placements.
• Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSTFC supports Plastron through funding and collaboration, particularly in support of Space East, Space South Central initiatives and ESA BIC activities at Daresbury Laboratory.
• UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUKRI provides funding and strategic support through its council structures including STFC for space sector research and innovation initiatives.
• Satellite Applications CatapultmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSatellite Applications Catapult collaborates with Plastron on regional cluster initiatives, skills development, and the Beyond Earth Network supporting microgravity life sciences ecosystem development.
• European AstrotechcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Astrotech and Plastron established the Space Industry Centre for Excellence (SiC4E) collaboration providing specialist skills development to industry, government and academia on spaceflight and propulsion engineering safety.
• BioOrbitminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBioOrbit participated as a partner in the 'Microgravity: Just Another Research Environment' event alongside PlastronCRO to bring together life science sector with microgravity experts.
• Space Cargo UnlimitedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpace Cargo Unlimited partnered with Plastron for the microgravity life sciences ecosystem event, contributing to collaboration between European life science and microgravity sectors.
• Frontier SpaceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrontier Space collaborated with Plastron on the 2026 microgravity research event as part of the emerging European microgravity life sciences ecosystem.
• University of LiverpoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Liverpool participated in the microgravity research ecosystem event alongside PlastronCRO and other partners to explore opportunities in microgravity life sciences.
• Babraham Research CampusminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBabraham Research Campus joined the microgravity life sciences ecosystem event to discover opportunities for collaboration with Plastron and other microgravity experts.
• GravitiLab AerospaceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerESA BIC peer company GravitiLab collaborated with Plastron at Advanced Engineering NEC, providing suborbital qualification platform (ISAAC) for new space hardware.
• ArgentaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArgenta partnered with Plastron and European Astrotech at ESA BIC events, providing specialist test and evaluation capabilities for small format space components and subsystems.
• STFC DaresburymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSTFC Daresbury Laboratory provided support for ESA-BIC activities including 3D facility render production for Plastron hardware development and qualification facilities.
• University of SouthamptoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Southampton collaborated with Plastron on multiple research projects including small satellite reliability analysis, clean room optimization using Computational Fluid Dynamics (NEWTON tool), and clinical trials framework for space missions.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• AAC Clyde Space: UK-headquartered small satellite and CubeSat manufacturer and mission services provider. Direct peer in CubeSat development, assembly, and integration, with overlapping European space agency relationships.
• GomSpace: Denmark-based small satellite and CubeSat systems provider. Comparable as a CubeSat integrator addressing the same downstream market that Plastron's cleanroom and risk-reduction services serve.
• Space Tango: US-based commercial provider of microgravity research and manufacturing services, including CubeSat hardware and CRO-style experiment services for pharma/biotech customers. Closest functional analogue to PlastronCRO's end-to-end mission delivery model.
• European Astrotech: UK-based propulsion test, launch and propellant processing services company. Plastron's partner in the Space Industry Centre for Excellence (SiC4E), and a direct peer in spacecraft propulsion ground operations and cleanroom integration.
• Yuri Gravity: Germany-based commercial microgravity research and services provider offering end-to-end access to microgravity experiments. Direct peer in the European microgravity CRO market targeting biotech and pharma customers.
• BioServe Space Technologies: University of Colorado-affiliated microgravity payload and life sciences research organisation. Direct peer in providing microgravity experiment design, hardware integration, and post-flight analysis for biotech and pharma customers.

Broad incumbents

• Sitael: Italian small satellite and space propulsion manufacturer with significant electric and chemical propulsion heritage. Comparable to Plastron's propulsion and satellite integration capabilities at much greater scale.
• Nammo: Norwegian aerospace and defence company with rocket motor and spacecraft propulsion operations, and joint owner of Andøya Space. Relevant comparator given team overlap and Plastron's propulsion test heritage.
• OHB: Major European space systems provider covering satellites, propulsion, and space infrastructure. Represents the broad incumbent in space manufacturing against which Plastron's propulsion and cleanroom services compete for programme work.
• Airbus Defence and Space: Global space prime with spacecraft, propulsion, and cleanroom capabilities, and a former employer of multiple Plastron team members. Sets the upper bound on competitive scope for propulsion and satellite integration work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/plastron-uk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Plastron UK