Canberra-based advanced manufacturing company New Frontier Technologies (NFT) is pushing the boundaries of composite materials for space, with several major initiatives underway through the Department of Education’s iLAuNCH Trailblazer program. The company is emerging as a national leader in carbon composite structures, combining automation, digital engineering and advanced manufacturing to deliver components that meet the demanding requirements of space missions.
NFT specialises in the design, additive manufacture and digital twinning of high-performance composite structures. Using laser-assisted automated fibre placement, the company produces thermoplastic composite systems with near-zero thermal expansion — a critical property for spacecraft instruments and optics that must remain stable under extreme temperature shifts. Their approach reduces development cycles, increases design flexibility and improves repeatability for both custom and volume production.
Through iLAuNCH, NFT has developed a composite rocket body with a structural digital twin that successfully passed vibration testing to NASA sounding-rocket qualification standards. The company is also designing and manufacturing optical mounts and telescope structures for major observatories, including KECK in Hawaii, the Australian-developed DREAMS telescopes and the OzFuel satellite. In 2026, NFT will begin work on composite structures for instrumentation for the European Southern Observatory.
CEO and Director Dr Paul Compston said collaboration with universities and industry partners has been crucial in refining and validating NFT’s advanced manufacturing and digital verification methods for the space environment. He said the company’s capability in digitally assured, thermally stable composite structures is enabling new levels of performance for Australian-built space systems and strengthening the national space supply chain.
Dr Compston said the precision and digital assurance developed for space translate directly to other high-performance sectors, and that the company aims to see Australian-made composite structures featured in future global missions and advanced engineering applications.
