Meet the Company Smallspark Space Systems Ltd

Meet the Company

Based in Cardiff, UK; Smallspark Space Systems, backed by Venture Capital & The Welsh Government, is developing the next generation of technologies that will enable easier, lower-cost access to space. Thier vision is to provide the tools and services needed to grow the global space economy, enabling new nations and business to utilise space like never before.

Could you give a description of what SmallSpark does?

Joe Ward (CEO & Founder, SmallSpark): SmallSpark is a space transportation company based in Cardiff, Wales. Primarily focusing on the development of innovative hardware with propulsion systems and software such as AI power design tools. Looking for new technology to develop is what separates SmallSpark from our competitors, our approach is what differentiates us from all the other players in this competitive market. With a singular focus, we differ from a lot of other space transportation companies. We have a core mission and we develop adjacent technology to support this.

How has the pandemic impacted SmallSpark?

JW: As much of a challenging time as it was for everyone around the globe, SmallSpark actually did quite well during the course of the pandemic. The founding members of SmallSpark are distributed across the United Kingdom, so years before the pandemic struck we were all taking full advantage of Zoom to communicate and work together. So once the pandemic did hit, it wasn’t too difficult to begin working remotely again, as the whole team were veterans of Zoom technology. One issue we did face was manufacturing delays which was very unfortunate. However, this let us focus on our digital technologies and software products. So although the pandemic was unfortunate, we as a team at SmallSpark came out stronger and it didn’t really stifle our growth too much.

What stage is SmallSpark at currently?

JW: SmallSpark is currently in the last few weeks of being pre‑revenue. With great news recently about getting a commercial deal with a major defence company within the UK. Interestingly enough, this was backed off of the digital technologies built within the pandemic. As part of our core mission, we develop these digital technologies so getting a commercial deal with a major defence company helps us accelerate technology development. In parallel to that, we are still doing major research and development on our propulsion technologies – we’ve just concluded a very successful test campaign which included testing one of the largest engines of its type, within the UK. All of this work is moving towards us creating a much larger engine early next year, which will be the largest commercial rocket engine within the UK. So very exciting times ahead for SmallSpark.

Could you give a little background as to what you were doing before SmallSpark?

JW: SmallSpark was actually founded during the course of my master’s degree. Having finished my bachelor’s degree in physics at Cardiff University, I moved on to a master’s degree in physics with experimental propulsion system development and approximately six months into my master’s degree, I decided to put all of my time into SmallSpark. Even before my degree, I have always been involved in the physics industry, having written for the American Society for the advancement of science, working for EurekAlert Writings for publications based on scientific work and interviewing major heads in the physics world such as Robert Zubrin. I am a scientist at heart, surrounded by engineers at SmallSpark.

What are the biggest achievements to date for SmallSpark?

JW: Most recently, we conducted an incredibly successful test campaign of our engine architecture. We had the confidence that the engine was going to work, but it was the first time it had been tested. However, it almost worked too well – we actually got into trouble with the site we were testing on for the engine being too loud, which was nice to see. In terms of business achievements, our core achievement is getting our recent commercial contracts with the defence company within the UK. Having those commercial contracts provides real validation of what we’re working towards and helps motivate you further as it shows what you’re working on is worth it.

What is the biggest challenge(s) that you’ve overcome?

JW: The biggest challenge is definitely trying to find good engineers to work on what we’re working towards. As the United Kingdom doesn’t really have an abundance of propulsion engineers, it can be increasingly difficult to find one that is a good fit. However, we’re starting to develop a good strategy for overcoming this which is essentially growing our own. We bring in graduate engineers and we teach them what we’re doing, which is working exceptionally well.

What are you working on at the moment and what are the next steps for SmallSpark?

Essentially at the moment, our work consists of constant testing. We’re now starting to experiment and work with far more energetic propellants with our propulsion systems. Right ahead of our scale‑up next year.

In parallel to that, we are heavily supported by Research England in exploring other areas of innovation with our technology. A number of Universities and Research England are helping us develop a new satellite thruster variant of our propulsion system, which could gain us a massive foothold in the space transportation market.

As I mentioned earlier, we’re working with a major defence company within the UK, on our optimisation technology. We’re in the very early stages of developing a cloud based platform to do design optimisation for anywhere in the world.

What attracted you to Deepbridge Capital as a funding partner?

JW: In all honesty, it was the faith that Deepbridge Capital had in myself and SmallSpark as a company right from the start. I first spoke to Deepbridge Capital in November of last year, as we were working with the Development Bank of Wales. From the get go, Deepbridge understood what we were trying to achieve at SmallSpark and now I can proudly say all the work has been worth it as we have had a highly successful year. Deepbridge Capital will also see the benefits of this, as SmallSpark are going to now grow at an exponential rate.

Are there any trends that you’re spotting within the space transportation sector?

JW: Absolutely. Interest in the space sector is growing rapidly in all areas, such as our focus which is primarily space transportation. Within this market, we are focusing on low mass payloads as the market is growing fast and its getting easier and cheaper to build very low mass satellites. Some satellites can weigh as little as 10s of kilos. Whereas before these low mass satellites were introduced, the satellites would weigh multiple tones. Due to the new satellite weights, more and more companies are looking to enter into this market and right now, what they need is a way to transport their satellites to space at a relatively low cost. That is what SmallSpark are trying to provide, short lead times for launch on an incredibly reliable system, at a price that is cheaper than all of our competitors.

What key factors do you think drive innovation?

JW: For us at SmallSpark, it’s the pressure that we thrive in. Pressure within a team that really believes in what you’re trying to achieve. There are numerous examples of companies in the aerospace industry that have far too much funding and are too relaxed, meaning they take decades to do what they’re trying to do. However, at SmallSpark it’s having like‑minded people in a team that strive to achieve a common goal, that’s what I think drives innovation. It’s a team that believes in what you’re doing, with a good lot of pressure and coffees on the go.

“With a singular focus, we differ from a lot of other space transportation companies.”

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