Startups
Stories about the new players changing the space game.
Dawn Aerospace Raises $25M Series B
The New Zealand-Dutch space transportation company will use the new funds to accelerate development of its Aurora spaceplane, and to conduct an in-space refueling demo.
Optera Raises £3M to Open New UK HQ
The funding round comes amid the UK government’s full-court press to expand its sovereign technical capabilities.
Exclusive: Tilebox Launches AI-Focused Update
Tilebox announced an update today aiming to make AI agents more effective geospatial-data analysts.
Symphony Space Unveils Adagio-XL ODC Sat
With Adagio-XL, Symphony Space is getting into the orbital data center game.
Orbital Raises $5M Pre-Seed to Build ODC Constellation
Orbital’s ODC concept instead relies on a network of relatively smaller satellites, which can together handle large AI inference workloads, and remain in constant contact with the ground.
Reflex Aerospace Taps Arkadia Space for 2027 Mission
Reflex Aerospace selected Spanish startup Arkadia Space to provide a propulsion system for its satellite mission, launching in 2027.
NewOrbit Raises $18.5M to Build VLEO Spacecraft at Scale
While NewOrbit has yet to fly in any orbit, the company is targeting a first flight of its VLEO-capable NEO-1 satellite in 2028.
Juno Propulsion Raises $1.4M Pre-Seed for RDE Flight
The $1.4M pre-seed investment round will fund the completion of its first flight-ready rotating detonation engine (RDE)—called Project Iris—ahead of its inaugural demo mission in 2027.
AstroForge Completes its DeepSpace-2 Spacecraft
DeepSpace-2 will aim to demonstrate the company’s ability to rendezvous with an asteroid and set the stage for future asteroid mining missions before the end of the decade.
Austria’s First Commercial Sat is Ready for Launch
Vienna-based startup Tumbleweed announced this week that it shipped its first satellite—called Oasis Alpha—to launch integrator Exolaunch ahead of a scheduled flight in July.
Exclusive: Stellar Alpina Raises $4.5M to Build Rotating Detonation Engines
A European propulsion startup is trying to bring a new kind of thrust to the market.
Potomac Database Systems Unveils Plans to Amass Lunar Data
There’s money to be made on the Moon, but it’s not all mining and infrastructure.
European Space Startups Jockey for ‘Infrastructure’ Financing
Europe has a growth-stage-capital problem.
