Startups
Stories about the new players changing the space game.
A Q+A with Vast Founder Jed McCaleb
Earlier this year, Vast emerged from stealth with a bold goal: to build the world’s (or solar system’s?) first artificial-gravity space station. The benefit of such a design, the El Segundo startup argues, is that it would offer “a healthier environment for long-term stays in space.” It’s still early days, but the thinking is that…
Launcher Announces Successful E-2 Engine Test
Launcher added a new accolade to its resume this week: a successful test of the highest-performing kerosene rocket engine turbopump ever made in the USA. The two-minute test, which you can see for yourself on Youtube, happened last month at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. The results, which met or exceeded all goals over the course…
Space Force to Refuel GEO Satellite with Orbit Fab Tanker
The Space Force (USSF) has signed on to be one of the very first customers of a gas station in space. This week, in-space refueling company Orbit Fab won a $13.3M USSF contract to gas up geostationary (GEO) military satellites starting in 2025. Under the four-year contract, which was first reported by Bloomberg, the Colorado-based…
Solestial Raises $10M Seed
Solestial, a startup spun out of Arizona State University aiming to be the go-to solar energy company for space, announced the close of a $10M seed round. The round was led by Airbus Ventures with participation from AEI HorizonX, GPVC, Stellar Ventures, and Industrious Ventures. The Tempe, AZ-based startup takes a different tack on manufacturing…
Exclusive: Varda Completes Vehicle System Test
It’s a bird, it’s a plane…it’s a falling re-entry capsule! Varda Space Industries has successfully demonstrated the descent and landing capability of the re-entry capsule for its first microgravity factory test mission. The Varda team dropped the capsule out of an airplane over the Arizona desert to prep for its first mission, set to launch…
Q3 2022 News Roundup
Time just flies by in the space industry, and we’ve already arrived at the end of the third quarter of 2022. It was a busy quarter, full of major partnership announcements, strides in science, and a jam-packed conference season. Here are the highlights from the last three months in commercial, military, and civil space. July…
A Q+A with Quindar (YC S22)
Quindar aims to become the complete web application for satellite constellation mission analysis, testing, and operations. The Denver-based startup recently graduated from Y Combinator. Quindar’s six technical co-founders—yes, six, and all technical—believe satellite operations should look more like elegant, modern software stacks. The platform, if successful, could cut traditional dependencies on engineers, IT teams, and…
LeoLabs Announces Space Insurance Tool
This week, LeoLabs launched a space insurance tool in beta. The tool is geared toward underwriters, who can use the service to assess the orbital debris collision hazards in LEO. Specifically, the space insurance tool will let companies and space agencies rapidly determine collision risk; calculate risk probabilities; visualize LEO; predict future collision risk evolution over…
Starburst Launches Early-Stage Fund
Starburst Ventures is launching a new early-stage fund, the company announced yesterday. The company’s new venture arm is focusing its first investments in pre-seed and seed stage startups in aerospace, defense, and aviation. Starburst 101: Starburst began its accelerator program in 2015. The face of the aerospace industry has changed a lot since then, and…
Crowdfunding Platform’s SpaceX “Petition” Passes $11M in Pledges
Spaced Ventures is waging a longshot bid to amass retail investors and petition SpaceX to raise a community round. In under a week, the space crowdfunding investment platform has passed $11M in pledges from users. The tally includes pledges from both unaccredited and accredited investors. Spaced Ventures’ MO is opening up space private markets to…
SkyFi Launches App in Beta, Tops Off Seed Round
SkyFi has a very ambitious vision: making satellite imagery available and accessible for the masses. But before it can even dream about widespread EO democratization, the Austin, TX startup must develop a clean, consumerized experience, with a web portal and mobile app that support a marketplace for imagery, data, and analytics. To that end, SkyFi…
TechStars LA Announces September Cohort
TechStars LA has announced its September cohort. This year, seven of the twelve total companies joining the startup accelerator hail from aerospace. TechStars: The startup accelerator began in 2019 with the vision of connecting the innovative technology developing as part of the growing new aerospace industry in LA with the DoD. “I saw an opportunity…
A Q+A with Albedo’s Topher Haddad
Albedo Space recently announced that it has closed a $48M Series A round, co-led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Shield Capital. The startup also has other heavyweights on its cap table, such as Y Combinator, Initialized Capital, and Joe Montana. (Happy NFL Kickoff day to all who celebrate.) Albedo’s spiel The Austin- and Denver-based startup…
