Belgian satellite manufacturer Aerospacelab closed a €94M ($109.3M) Series B to scale up its manufacturing capabilities, and remain competitive for larger constellation contracts in Europe and beyond.
New and existing investors participated in the round, which includes a €38M commitment from the European Investment Bank. It brings the company’s total funds raised to €134M ($155.6M), according to an Aerospacelab spokesperson.
The mega movement: Aerospacelab is already using the new funds to continue building its Megafactory, a 215,000 sq ft facility that aims to produce up to 500 satellites annually. Aerospacelab expects the Megafactory to begin churning out satellites in 2026, and reach full production capacity by 2027.
The construction project would make Aerospacelab the operator of the largest satellite manufacturing facility in Europe, officials say, which leadership hopes will help Aerospacelab secure skyrocketing demand for satellites produced on the continent.
“It’s not just one side of the market—we’re seeing growth in parallel from institutions and private companies,” Benoît Deper, Aerospacelab’s CEO, told Payload via email. “European governments are investing more in space defense and sovereignty, which drives demand for satellite hardware…[while] commercial interest is growing in areas such as telecom.”
Aerospacelab is also using the Series B to boost its R&D spend in pursuit of greater vertical integration of its satellite subsystems.
“We’re focusing—with each new launch—on making our satellite platforms more modular and scalable, [and] advancing additional payload capabilities to support all constellations’ needs,” Deper said.
Who’s buying: The announcement comes at a pivotal moment for the European space industry. Governments across Europe have signaled a greater willingness to up their defense spending, and many expect ESA’s funding levels to increase at November’s Ministerial meeting, where three-year budgets will be agreed upon.
Officials at Aerospacelab hope deep vertical integration and unparalleled production capacity will make it a prime competitor for the large contracts that will arise from these budgets. Last week, SpaceRISE, the consortium in charge of ESA’s IRIS2, said that they had narrowed the field of prime contractors for the constellation to Aerospacelab and Airbus France. Only time will tell if bigger is better.
