As demand for spectrum grows alongside the rising number of missions in orbit, a new startup is looking to ease management of this precious, finite resource.
Airbase emerged from stealth today with a $5M round led by Andreessen Horowitz. The round also included participation from Squadra Ventures, and Founders You Should Know.
The problem: RF spectrum is required for everything from GPS, to comms, to studying space weather. Organizations are allocated specific bands of spectrum for operations, to prevent interference between missions.
However, the FCC process of approving and allocating data relies on “manual processes, decades-old databases, and static PDFs,” according to an Airbase fact sheet.
Better handling of spectrum allocation, especially as novel space missions come online, has been a top priority for FCC leadership—who recently proposed that “weird space” operations get more spectrum access. The FCC is expected to meet on Thursday to consider that proposal.
The solution: Airbase is seeking to automate the manual spectrum allocation process, including deconflicting the use of spectrum among operators and managing databases, according to a press release.
Airbase already has its first federal contract for the spectrum-management tech, though the company declined to share the customer or value of the contract.
“This prototype contract enables end-users to field-test our spectrum licensing and automated coordination tools,” CEO and cofounder Ari Rosner, a 2024 Payload Pioneer while with True Anomaly, told Payload. “These early engagements provide the feedback loop necessary for rapid iteration, and integration, into daily federal spectrum management workflows.”
Who’s who: Airbase is cofounded by:
- Rosner, who was most recently the second hire at True Anomaly. He also previously worked at JPL on the Mars Perseverance rover and Europa Clipper missions.
- Millen Anand, Airbase’s CTO, who was most recently an engineer at Planet Labs. He previously worked on RF payloads for Boeing’s geostationary satellites.
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WASHINGTON—NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman had a vision for a robust, commercially driven lunar economy, supported by surface infrastructure. Now, he also has a plan.
Isaacman and other NASA leaders announced a number of head-spinning changes to the American-led lunar program on Tuesday, during a full-day event at NASA HQ. The event, dubbed Ignition, had NASA officials talking directly to an auditorium full of industry and international partners who spilled out into overflow rooms.
Each of these changes could be a full story in themselves, and we’ll dig in more in the coming days and weeks. But here’s a snapshot of what was announced:
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