Future Worlds is the University of Southampton’s on-campus startup accelerator, whose mission is to help the next generation of our aspiring founders change the world with their ideas. They have nurtured several space start-ups and Meta Futura Aerospace is one such, a group whose innovative thrust vectoring technology, developed as a group design project, allows a tiny satellite the same manoeuvrability as 16 thrusters but using only 2.
Having worked together during their Aerospace Engineering Masters degrees at the University in 2024, Co-founding team, Pedro Rodriguez Lopez, Fabrizio Pisani & Marcin Badowski, were soon recognised with an Engineers in Business Fellowship (EBIF), to facilitate the development of their technology. More investment has been achieved since then.
The company now has an office in Turin and a UK office at Harwell. They were part of Cohort 24 at the Future Worlds campus accelerator.
Ground-breaking thrust vectoring technology
In the NewSpace economy, satellites are becoming smaller and proliferating. Available data predicts thousands of satellite launches per year, going forward, while the propulsion system market is predicted to be growing by approximately £3 billion per year.
Many of these satellites currently have below-optimum in-space mobility solutions. The problem is that conventional systems to move satellites in space are complex, costly, and bulky, using 8 or more thrusters to manoeuvre, making them very difficult to integrate into small satellites.
Meta Futura Aerospace’s ground-breaking technology means satellites can achieve the same capabilities as conventional systems with only 2 thrusters, reducing mass by 55%, volume by 40% and cost by 75%.
We have a great blend of skills in the team and have a strong shared passion for space technology. This positions us well for our eventual goal of making Meta Futura Aerospace the ‘go-to’ for satellite tech in the years ahead.
Fabrizio Pisani, co-founder of Meta Futura Aerospace