AstroForge is developing an autonomous navigation system, Autonomy-1, designed to pilot deep-space probes without real-time human input. The company plans to test this technology during a mission scheduled for mid-2027.
The system utilizes a transformer-based AI model to manage navigation, tracking, and decision-making. The hardware stack consists of radiation-hardened SAMRH71 microcontrollers for flight functions and an NVIDIA Jetson AGX Xavier Industrial computer for AI processing.
Founded in January 2022 by Matthew Gialich and Jose Acain, the startup is building on lessons from its Odin mission, which launched in February 2025. The company is now preparing the 200-kilogram DeepSpace-2 spacecraft for a launch in late 2026.
The 2027 mission aims to characterize M-type asteroids using hyperspectral imaging. AstroForge focuses on identifying platinum-group metals, such as platinum, palladium, and iridium, which are used in electronics and fuel cells.
