James Barrington Brown – NewSpace Systems
Innovator of the Year
James Barrington-Brown is the founder of the multinational spacecraft subsystems and component manufacturer, NewSpace Systems. An electronics engineering graduate, James brings more than 30 years of experience in the commercial satellite industry to bear on the company he founded in 2013.
Not many people would expect to find a space-related company in Somerset West in the Western Cape, but that is indeed from where James runs the business that employs 128 people (120 of them in South Africa, 38% women and 57% from previously disadvantaged backgrounds) and exports its products to 34 countries on six continents. These products are space-grade components manufactured locally in ISO-certified cleanrooms by accredited space-certified technicians who closely follow IPC/ESA space standards.
Working with its branches in the UK, New Zealand and the US, NewSpace Systems supports most of the world’s commercial spacecraft manufacturers, as well as 17 national space agencies and constellation programmes of 500 satellites or more. The company is considered a market leader in the fields of satellite guidance, navigation and control (GNC) systems and communications products.
One of NewSpace Systems’ strongest selling points is its ability to supply customised solutions. “We understand each mission is unique,” says James. “We therefore give customers the option to adapt individual products or go for a custom solution. Our production facilities are designed so that we can mass manufacture custom solutions as efficiently as our standard product ranges.” The facilities James mentions were expanded threefold in 2022 and the next expansion, which adds a further 1 300m2 of cleanrooms, is due for completion in July 2025. The company has also invested in equipment such as vibration machines and thermal cycling ovens to carry out tests in environments that simulate launch and space orbital conditions.
Space-grade manufacturing brings to mind robots in ultra-automated environments, but NewSpace Systems has a different philosophy. “Rather than replacing people, we aim for efficiency by employing flexible, rapidly adaptable production lines that integrate human skills,” says James. “Robots excel in repetitive tasks for mass production, but space-related manufacturing requires a more nuanced approach for which humans are best. Therefore, we have acquired advanced equipment, such as optical inspection tools, that enhance the abilities of our skilled people instead of replacing them.”
When James says that for NewSpace the sky is not the limit, he means it for his own team as much as for his customers.