German advanced materials company FibreCoat has sent its coated-fibre technology into orbit through a collaboration with Spanish materials manufacturer Lofith Composites. Launched on October 1, 2026, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter mission, the demonstration will evaluate the material under real space conditions and support its progression toward commercial applications.
The mission follows approximately a year of joint development, manufacturing, and testing. During this period, the companies combined their material technologies, manufactured satellite components, and prepared the hardware for orbital evaluation. The demonstration marks a transition from laboratory and ground-based testing to performance assessment in space.
FibreCoat’s technology coats metals or polymers onto fibres during the fibre-spinning process. This creates multifunctional fibres that combine the properties of the core reinforcement with those of the coating. The materials can provide conductivity, electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, and other functional properties while retaining a fibre-based structure.
Lofith has integrated the coated fibres with its thermoplastic composite technology to produce lightweight structural materials for demanding environments. According to FibreCoat, Lofith’s composite technology can deliver up to 50% lower weight and 30% greater strength than aluminium, while remaining recyclable. These figures describe the company’s stated technology capabilities and are not yet results from the current orbital demonstration.
The material is travelling on a CubeSat launched as part of the Transporter mission. Once the satellite reaches its intended orbit, the companies will monitor the material’s response to the space environment. They expect useful data to begin arriving around one month after launch, with regular monitoring planned during the mission’s approximately 12-month orbital period.
The testing is intended to provide evidence of how the material behaves under conditions that are difficult to reproduce fully on Earth. Spacecraft materials must tolerate radiation, vacuum, and substantial temperature fluctuations. For composites, integrating functional fibres could potentially provide shielding or other material properties without relying solely on separate metallic components.
FibreCoat CEO and founder Dr Robert Brüll said the mission would help generate the flight data needed to demonstrate the technology’s suitability for future space systems. The companies expect the results to support discussions with prospective customers seeking lightweight, multifunctional materials for satellite structures and other spacecraft applications.
The collaboration brings together FibreCoat’s coated-fibre production expertise and Lofith’s thermoplastic tape and composite manufacturing capabilities. If the orbital evaluation demonstrates the required performance, the partnership could provide a route toward wider use of functionalised fibres in space-grade composite structures. Commercial adoption will depend on the test results and subsequent customer qualification.
Source: FibreCoat | News
