A British space technology company has secured its largest-ever contract to supply components for Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Filtronic, based in County Durham, announced a £51 million order to provide high-powered amplifiers used in the ground systems for the Starlink network. The order is expected to be fulfilled by 2028.
This new agreement follows a previous £47 million order placed by SpaceX in 2025, marking a continued strategic partnership between the two companies that began in 2024. As part of this collaboration, SpaceX holds the option to acquire up to a 10 percent stake in Filtronic once it reaches £48 million in placed orders.
Filtronic specializes in manufacturing E-band gallium nitride (GaN) solid-state power amplifiers, a technology critical for high-frequency communications in satellite internet systems. The company’s chief executive, Nat Edington, described the order as a significant milestone that provides extended financial visibility and reinforces Filtronic’s role at the forefront of GaN technology development.
Founded in 1977 by Professor J David Rhodes, an electrical engineering lecturer at the University of Leeds who started the company in his garage, Filtronic has expanded its operations to multiple sites across the UK and the United States. The company has also secured multimillion-pound contracts with major defense firms such as BAE Systems and QinetiQ and is involved in a satellite broadband project with Airbus.
Following the announcement, Filtronic’s shares rose 8.2 percent, reflecting investor confidence in the company’s growing relationship with SpaceX and its broader position in the advanced engineering and manufacturing sector.
This latest contract highlights the increasing global demand for innovative communication technologies and underscores the role of UK-based manufacturers in supplying mission-critical components for ambitious space infrastructure projects.