AstroForge

AstroForge is an American deep-space mining company whose stated mission is to extract valuable metals from asteroids, beginning with platinum group metals (PGMs), and to bring space resources into Earth's supply chain. The company positions itself as a builder of low-cost, replicable spacecraft capable of tracking and mining asteroids in deep space, and it frames asteroid mining as a potential trillion-dollar industry. Its public materials argue that terrestrial PGM mining operates on thin margins of roughly 7 percent, faces limited supply against rising global demand, and carries high environmental cost, whereas asteroid PGM extraction could reach margins of about 85 percent, with a single metal-rich asteroid potentially supplying Earth for 200 years at a far lower carbon footprint. The company's flagship near-term program is DeepSpace-2, described as a new kind of interplanetary spacecraft that is low-cost, autonomous, and built to fly often. AstroForge states that DeepSpace-2 is scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter of 2026 and will travel millions of kilometers to rendezvous with a near-Earth asteroid, which the company calls the first-ever commercial rendezvous with a body outside the planetary gravity well. The company also references a broader mission cadence, including a "Mission Two: 2027" framing on its website. AstroForge presents itself as a fast-moving, risk-tolerant startup. Its team is drawn from organizations including SpaceX, NASA JPL, RocketLab, Virgin Orbit, Virgin Galactic, and Terran Orbital. Leadership includes CEO and co-founder Matt Gialich, President Robyn Ringuette, and Chief Operating Officer Chapman Snowden. Gialich has said the company was founded to allow humans to thrive when growth is constrained by the limits of our own planet. The company operates in the emerging commercial space resources sector, where it competes for attention and capital alongside other asteroid-mining and in-space resource ventures. Its business model ultimately depends on proving deep-space rendezvous, extraction, and return or in-space refining of metals, and on the economics of supplying PGMs to terrestrial and off-world markets. AstroForge is privately held and, as of the available evidence, has not disclosed a public listing.

AstroForge emerged as a privately held American venture focused on deep-space mining, with a stated goal of extracting valuable metals from asteroids and bringing space resources into Earth's supply chain. The company was co-founded by Matt Gialich, who serves as CEO and has framed the founding purpose as allowing humans to thrive when growth is constrained by the limits of our own planet. Public materials describe a team assembled from organizations including SpaceX, NASA JPL, RocketLab, Virgin Orbit, Virgin Galactic, and Terran Orbital, reflecting the company's roots in the commercial space and aerospace engineering community. From its early public positioning, AstroForge has argued that asteroid mining is the next trillion-dollar industry. Its case rests on a comparison between terrestrial and asteroid PGM mining: Earth-based PGM mining is presented as having margins of roughly 7 percent, limited supply against rising global demand, and high environmental cost, while asteroid PGM extraction is presented as potentially reaching margins of about 85 percent, with a single metal-rich asteroid able to supply Earth for 200 years and an exponentially lower carbon footprint. The company also cites a projected $1 trillion space economy by 2040, a 99 percent drop in launch costs since 2010, and roughly 300,000 metal-rich asteroids within reach. AstroForge's technical strategy centers on building low-cost, replicable spacecraft capable of tracking and mining asteroids in deep space, along with refining materials in space. Its flagship near-term program is DeepSpace-2, described as a new kind of interplanetary spacecraft that is low-cost, autonomous, and built to fly often. According to the company, DeepSpace-2 is scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter of 2026 and will travel millions of kilometers to rendezvous with a near-Earth asteroid. AstroForge describes this as the first-ever commercial rendezvous with a body outside the planetary gravity well, and its website also references a "Mission Two: 2027" framing. Leadership includes CEO and co-founder Matt Gialich, President Robyn Ringuette, and Chief Operating Officer Chapman Snowden. The company presents itself as a small, fast-moving team where individuals take significant responsibility, and it emphasizes a culture of bold risk-taking and world-changing technology. As a private company, AstroForge has not disclosed a public listing in the available evidence, and its long-term success depends on demonstrating deep-space rendezvous, extraction, and the economics of supplying platinum group metals to terrestrial and off-world markets.

• AstroForge founded with Matt Gialich as CEO and co-founder.

• DeepSpace-2 announced as a low-cost, autonomous interplanetary spacecraft for a near-Earth asteroid rendezvous.

• DeepSpace-2 launch scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026.

• Website references a "Mission Two: 2027" framing for asteroid mining.

Low-cost, replicable deep-space spacecraft for asteroid mining, targeting platinum group metals to supply Earth's industries with a lower-impact alternative to terrestrial mining.

• DeepSpace-2

  Low-cost, autonomous interplanetary spacecraft built to fly often, scheduled to launch in Q4 2026 to rendezvous with a near-Earth asteroid.

• In-space refining technology

  Technology for refining materials in space as part of the asteroid mining process.

• Platinum group metals (PGMs)

  Target metals to be extracted from metal-rich asteroids and brought into Earth's supply chain.

1. 1AstroForgeastroforge.com
2. 2About - AstroForgeastroforge.com
3. 3AstroForge is putting AI in command of its next spacecrafttechcrunch.com