MENLO TIMES

Arianespace , delivering the most suitable space transportation solution for every customer, led by David Cavaillolès and the team, has successfully launched  32 Amazon Leo satellites with Ariane 64 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. The satellites were delivered to a low Earth orbit at an altitude of approximately 465 km. The mission lasted 1 hour and 54 minutes, from lift-off to separation of all the satellites. The mission, designated VA267 (LE-01 for Amazon Leo), i

Axiom Space , building era-defining space infrastructure, led by Dr. Jonathan W. Cirtain and the team, has raised  $350-million in financing to advance its mission to deliver the successor to the International Space Station (ISS) and ready its next-generation spacesuits for the United States' return to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years. Type One Ventures  and Qatar Investment Authority  (QIA) co-led the round, with participation from 1789 Capital , 4iG, LuminA

Spaceium , leading the way in developing the industry’s in-orbit refueling stations, led by Ashi Dissanayake and Reza Fetanat, has built and flown the most precise robotic actuator ever tested in orbit, over 70x more accurate than the robotic arms currently operating in space. On SpaceX’s Transporter-15 mission, Spaceium’s refueling actuator achieved a verified 0.003° rotation accuracy in orbit, equating to less than a millimeter of movement at a robotic arm’s tip. It marks t

Stoke Space , developing seamless mobility to, through, and from space, led by Tom Feldman and Andy Lapsa, has announced an extension of its previous Series D financing, bringing the total amount raised  in the round to $860 million. The round was initially announced in October 2025 at $510 million. That funding focused on completing activation of Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., and expanding production capacity for the Nova launch vehicle.  Sto

Morpheus Space , a leading innovator and manufacturer of advanced electric propulsion systems for in-space mobility, led by Kevin Lausten, Daniel Bock, Gabrielle Diemand, and others, announced  a new strategic investment by Alpine Space Ventures  and the European Investment Fund , with continued support from Lavrock Ventures , Morpheus Ventures , Pallas Ventures , Vsquared Ventures , as well as other new and existing investors. Morpheus Space will use the funding to expand ma

Voyager Technologies , an innovative national security and space solutions company committed to advancing and delivering transformative, mission-critical solutions, led by Dylan Taylor and others, and Max Space , envisioning a future where space is not just a frontier but a thriving base for humanity, led by Saleem Miyan, and others, have announced  a strategic partnership to advance expandable space exploration technology, serving as the cornerstone of future lunar and deep-

CesiumAstro , delivering the Future of Space Connectivity, led by Shey Sabripour , Chris "Trey" Pappas , James Carwell , and others, secured  $470 million in growth capital, cementing its position as a mission-critical provider of next-generation space and defense communications. The funding includes $270 million in equity, led by  Trousdale Ventures , with participation from  Woven Capital ,  Janus Henderson Investors ,  Airbus Ventures , the  Development Bank of Japan Inc.

Northwood Space , an end-to-end ground infrastructure provider for space missions that push the boundaries on the possible, led by Bridgit Mendler , Griffin Cleverly , Shaurya Luthra , and others, has raised  a $100 million Series B funding round, led by Washington D.C.-based firm Washington Harbour Partners  and co-led by Andreessen Horowitz . Northwood has secured a $49.8 million contract with the U.S. Space Force to upgrade the “satellite control network,” which manages cr

Shield Space , a UK defence technology company focused on developing space control and counterspace capabilities for allied defence customers, led by Graeme Ritchie, Dr Daniel Molland, and others, has announced  the close of its $2.7m pre-seed round, marking the company’s first institutional backing to deliver autonomous Space Control capability for NATO and its allies. The round was led by Mercia Ventures  and Twin Path Ventures , with participation from ROI Ventures , P3A V

Loft Orbital , a space infrastructure company that provides simple, fast, and reliable ways to deploy missions to low Earth orbit, led by Pierre-Damien Vaujour , Alex Greenberg , Antoine de Chassy , and others, has announced  a notification by the French Space Agency (CNES) and the Directorate General of Armaments / DGA of a contract for the development and operation of the DESIR program (Sovereign Radar Imaging Elements Demonstration). The program seeks to establish France’s

Slingshot Aerospace , powering the future of space, led by Tim Solms, Julio Pekarovic, Andrea Powers, Kelli Furrer, Erik Ekwurzel, Dr. Adrian Thompson, and others, has earned  a $27 million contract to modernize scenario training activities.   Under the contract, Slingshot will advance the Space Force’s Operational Test and Training Infrastructure (OTTI) program by integrating existing training capabilities with AI-native technology designed to accurately replicate today’s ra

Aule Space , building the robotic workforce for the space economy, led by Jay Panchal, Nithyaa Giri, and Hrishit Tambi, has secured  $2 million in pre-seed funding led by pi Ventures , with participation from a clutch of angel investors, including Eash Sundaram, former Board Member of Intelsat and Founder of Utpata Ventures, and Arvind Lakshmikumar, CEO of defence tech company Tonbo Imaging , among others. Aule Space has been part of the Entrepreneurs First  accelerator progr

ThinkOrbital Inc. , constructing and defending the critical infrastructure required for a thriving space economy, led by Colonel Lee Rosen, USAF, Ret. and Vojtech Holub, Ph.D., has announced  the successful close of its Seed Round, led by TFX Capital .   The new funding accelerates development of technologies that will shape on-orbit defense and operations, from spacecraft inspection using Space-to-Space X-ray to asset servicing and large-scale orbital infrastructure. With na

SkyFi , an AI-first Earth intelligence platform, led by Luke Fischer, Bill Perkins, and others, has raised  a $12.7 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round co-led by Buoyant Ventures  and IronGate Capital Advisors , with new participation from DNV Ventures , TFX Capital , Beyond Earth Ventures , Nova Threshold , and Chris Morisoli, and existing investors RSquared VC  and J2 Ventures . The investment will fuel faster product development and strengthen SkyFi’s techn

Diffraqtion , an MIT and University of Maryland spinout building the next generation of visual AI hardware and software to make satellites and machines see further and think faster, led by Johannes Galatsanos, Christine Yi-Ting Wang, Saikat Guha, Mark Michael, and others, has raised its pre-seed funding round, led by QDNL Participations , with participation from milemark•capital , Aether VC , ADIN, Offline Ventures , and a non-dilutive DARPA SBIR Direct-to-Phase 2 contract su

Aegis Aerospace Inc. , a leader in space and defense technology led by Stephanie Murphy , and others, has announced  a groundbreaking partnership with United Semiconductors LLC to pioneer semiconductor manufacturing in space. This collaboration follows Aegis Aerospace’s recent grant from the Texas Space Commission to develop an in-space manufacturing platform for advanced materials in low Earth orbit (LEO). “We’re excited to partner with United Semiconductors,” said Stephanie

Array Labs , designing, building, and operating the world’s most advanced radar satellites, led by Andrew Peterson, Jose Isaac Robledo, and others, has announced  a $20M Series A financing led by Catapult Ventures , with participation from Washington Harbour Partners , Kompas VC , and other new and existing investors, including Y Combinator , Maiora Capital ,  Animal Capital , Aera VC , Cultivation Capital , and Clearance Ventures , bringing Array’s total funding to $35M sinc

ICEYE , building actionable intelligence for resilience, readiness & response, led by Rafal Modrzewski, Pekka Laurila, and Eric Jensen, and Rheinmetall , an integrated technology group, led by Armin Papperger, have received  a major order from the German Armed Forces for the space sector. The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) has commissioned Rheinmetall ICEYE Space Solutions to provide the German Armed Forces with

Southern Launch , provider of bespoke space mission services including orbital launch, suborbital missions, orbital re-entries, and range services, led by Lloyd Damp, Rebecca Darcey, Tori Murray, and others, and Lux Aeterna , building the world’s first fleet of reusable satellites to transform the future of space operations for defense, intelligence, commercial, and in-space manufacturing customers, led by Brian Taylor, have signed  a contract to conduct orbital re-entries of

Kuva Space , empowering decision-makers with actionable planetary intelligence through innovative space and AI technology, led by Jarkko Antila, Jerry Welsh, Tuomas Tikka, and others, has partnered  with the WWF-Indonesia (WWF-Indonesia) to launch an initiative that uses satellite data and AI to monitor and quantify Indonesia’s vast blue carbon assets. The collaboration will map seagrass and mangrove habitats in East Nusa Tenggara and East Kalimantan, creating scalable data f