Robot model
Brood
AstroForge's first orbital spacecraft (also designated Mission 1), a 6U CubeSat built by British manufacturer OrbAstro and named Brokkr-1 after the Norse…
- Manufacturer
- AstroForge
- Form factor
- space
- Maturity
- prototype
- Lifecycle
- active
- Website
- astroforge.com ↗
The verified answer
As of Sep 2026, DEPLOY verifies Brood, a space by AstroForge (prototype). 3 sources back the record.
Overview
AstroForge's first orbital spacecraft (also designated Mission 1), a 6U CubeSat built by British manufacturer OrbAstro and named Brokkr-1 after the Norse mythological dwarf. Launched April 15, 2023 aboard SpaceX's Transporter-7 rideshare mission to Low Earth Orbit, it was designed to demonstrate asteroid-material refinement by vaporizing an asteroid-like simulant and separating platinum-group metals from other constituents.
The mission encountered immediate communication problems: the magnetic field generated by the onboard refinery interfered with the satellite's attitude-control system, preventing proper solar-panel deployment and antenna alignment. Although a signal was eventually received on May 5, 2023, the refinery demonstration could not be completed and the mission was effectively a failure.
Verified vs. claimed
- Maturity stage
- prototype(Demo-capable; limited or one-off public appearances.)
- Sources on file
- View all sources →
No verified deployments on file. DEPLOY tracks independently-sourced deployment evidence separately from manufacturer capability claims.
Key facts
Also known as
Form factor
Built by
Launch date
Launch vehicle
Orbit
Purpose
Mission status
First signal
Root cause
Data & sources
Web sources
3
3 sources backing this record.View all →
Pricing
No verified price is on record for Brood. Physical-AI systems are often sold through enterprise contracts or operated as a service rather than at a public list price.
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdAug 7, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Incident recordedApr 15, 2023
AstroForge's Brokkr-1 cubesat loses communication after launch, fails refinery...
Safety record
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Incidents affecting Brood (1)
- AstroForge's Brokkr-1 cubesat loses communication after launch, fails refinery demonstration2023-04-15 · Malfunction
Includes incidents linked directly to this model or to deployments of it. Retracted incidents are excluded from this view but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Sources (3)
- AstroForge - Wikipedia · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AstroForge
- An Update on Our Progress Towards Mining in Space · https://www.astroforge.com/updates-collection/mininginspace
- AstroForge's first asteroid-mining demo mission fails after launch · https://gizmodo.com/astrofargo-asteroid-mining-startup-demo-mission-1851092388
Common questions
What is Brood?
How much does Brood cost?
Is Brood actually deployed in the real world?
Who makes Brood?
Can you buy Brood?
What are alternatives to Brood?
How does Brood compare to Chang'e Lander?
Is Brood a top space?
What is Brood's maturity stage?
Where is Brood deployed?
Is Brood safe?
Methodology: Verified · 3 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-08
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-08-08
Maturity + lifecycle
Maturity stage: prototype
Lifecycle: active
Architectural position
Cohort: space
Sources by quality tier
- 2
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
- 1
- knowledge-base
- Knowledge base
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Brood.Recent coverage
Brood in third-party press
Attention vs reality over time
Media mentions per month (area) against verified deployment events (dots). A press spike over a flat deployment line is the hype gap, drawn over time.
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Brood from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
AstroForge - Wikipedia
Wikipedia overview of AstroForge, covering the Brokkr-1 cubesat refinery demonstration mission, Odin/Brokkr-2 deep-space spacecraft, and DeepSpace-2 asteroid lander.
An Update on Our Progress Towards Mining in Space
AstroForge's official mission update detailing Brokkr-1's refinery demonstration status, the magnetic-field orientation issue, and the renaming of Mission 2 to Odin.
AstroForge's first asteroid-mining demo mission fails after launch
Gizmodo coverage of AstroForge's Brokkr-1 cubesat communication failure after its April 2023 SpaceX Transporter-7 launch.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /models/astroforge-brood.md
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/models/6e8389f3-1285-4618-a56c-ce94868b9bfc
- Revision history: /models/astroforge-brood/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Reality vs attention
Brood draws attention at the 9th percentile but verifies reality at the insufficient-data level among space robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Thin deployment record; scale validation still in progress.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Sep 22, 2026