Bulgarian space startup EnduroSat has raised €43M ($48.8M) to ramp up production of a new, bigger ESPA-class sat.
Founders Fund led the round, which also included participation from CEECAT Capital and Morphosis Capital. Past investors in EnduroSat, an end-to-end satellite services company founded in 2015, also joined the round.
Bigger is better: The new funding will allow the startup to scale production of its Gen3 ESPA-class satellites. At 200 to 500 kg (440 to 1,100 lbs), the sats are much larger than EnduroSat’s other platforms. And with 3.5 kW of peak power and a 2 Gbps data rate, they’re well-suited for complex payloads, including capabilities such as hyperspectral imaging, SAR, and navigation.
“By increasing our production and introducing our new generation of satellites, we’ll unlock access to satellite constellations for even more customers—with reliability and price transparency,” CEO Raycho Raychev said in a statement.
New digs: EnduroSat is building a new facility to build and test satellites in Sofia, Bulgaria. The 17,500 sq m (188,000 sq. ft.) factory is expected to include two assembly lines, larger clean rooms, and a host of qualification equipment—all in the name of helping the startup pump out 60 sats per month by the end of this year.
The company is also growing its US footprint, after opening a Denver office last August. EnduroSat plans to build a new clean room in the US to boost cooperation with American commercial and defense customers.
