Europe is still waiting on reliable access to space. Investors are keen on shortening that wait.
HyImpulse, a launch startup based near Heilbronn, Germany, announced yesterday that it has secured an additional €45M ($52.5M) in capital, divided between private and public funds.
- €15M ($17.5M) of that funding comes from private investors, as part of the company’s Series A round.
- Campus Founders Ventures led the Series A, which also included participation from Helantic, GIMIC Ventures, the Global Resilience Innovation Fund, Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg, Start-up BW Innovation Fonds, Sparkassenbeteiligungsgesellschaft Heilbronn-Franken, Vienna Point, and BTRON.
- The remaining €30M ($35M) is financing from public funds.
Since its founding in 2018, the DLR spinoff has raised ~€74M ($86M), making it one of the best-capitalized European launch companies (after Isar Aerospace, a Munich-area neighbor, and Spanish launch startup PLD Space).
“Europe does not have its own access to space,” HyImpulse CEO Christian Schmierer said in a release. “With this injection of capital, we will accelerate the commercialization of our orbital rocket, making Europe more independent and competitive.”
The HyImpulse approach: HyImpulse is developing a rocket called SL1, which is a three-stage small launcher using hybrid propulsion. The company plans to market the lightweight rocket as a “flexible taxi service” to space, per Schmierer.
On its way to an orbital launch capability, the company is developing a suborbital rocket, called the SR75. That craft made its debut test flight last year, and HyImpulse is targeting a first commercial flight—customers included—as early as next year. SL1 is looking at 2027 for its first flight.
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