Slingshot Aerospace, which makes software that makes an air traffic control-style software for satellites and other space objects, has raised $25 million as it looks to commercialize its products and grow its team.
The funding round was led by Draper Associates and ATX Venture Partners, with participation from a number of other investors.
Slingshot Aerospace, which is based in both Austin and California, was co-founded in 2017 by Melanie Stricklan, David Godwin and Thomas Ashman. The company makes situational awareness technology that is designed to help customers navigate, analyze and use data collected from sources including satellites, airplanes, drones and ground-based sensors to monitor their space assets.
The company’s products serve a number of commercial and government space operators and manufacturers.
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The company said it will use the funds to speed up the commercialization of its products and technologies. That includes the company’s communications platform, which is called Slingshot Beacon and works as an air traffic control software for satellites and space objects. The communications and collaboration platform is designed to help space organizations prevent collisions. The platform connects commercial, government and civil customers in one place to manage satellites and other assets.
Stricklan, Slingshot Aerospace’s CEO, said more companies are launching objects into space, which is leading to an increase in space debris. Many of these objects are in an increasingly congested low earth orbit. The growth means exponentially more collision avoidance decisions will need to be made.
“There are 115,000 satellites planned to enter space by 2030. As space becomes more congested, the risk of crashes dramatically increases which means collision avoidance decisions will need to be made across all government, commercial and civil space entities,” Stricklan said. “With this technology, we will be able to present critical data in a digestible way that will protect our way of life on earth, as satellites provide essential services such as GPS, television, internet connection and more.”
Slingshot Aerospace also makes a space simulation tool called Slingshot Laboratory, which gives customers immersive space education and training. It is designed to help users understand the fundamentals of space domain awareness and complicated concepts such as astrodynamics and how spacecrafts move among other objects.
“We are bringing the space domain into the digital environment empowering customers to make better decisions and optimize for next-generation space sustainability in the design, manufacturing, and operation of their assets,” Stricklan said.
The plans to hire 40 new employees over the next 12 months. Currently, Slingshot Aerospace has 65 employees, including 17 in Austin. To date the company has raised $42 million in funding.
More:Austin space tech firm CesiumAstro raises $60 million to continue growth
Stricklan said data transparency will be crucial and fundamentally change how people look at and leverage space as the space industry continues to grow fast.
“The opportunities are endless within the New Space economy, and data transparency will create a safe environment that can nurture new innovations and grow space commerce,” she said. “There is an appetite for transparency within our community, and there are already examples of data sharing that demonstrate improved knowledge leads to more efficient and improved space safety.”
The company is the second Austin-based space tech company to announce funding this month. Cesium Astro, which makes hardware and software for aerospace communication technology, announced this month that it raised $60 million to fuel its growth.
Space technology has taken off in what is increasingly viewed as a new space age driven by commercial companies, and Austin has become a hub for companies in that field. Along with Slingshot Aerospace and Cesium Astro, Central Texas is home to rocket maker Firefly Aerospace, while SpaceX, Elon Musk’s aerospace company, has also hinted that it plans operations in the Austin area.
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