The most promising SpaceTech startups

Last month, SpaceX successfully launched its Crew Dragon spacecraft, sending two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, and also sending space nerds around the world into a state of giddy euphoria.

As the first launch of “American astronauts in an American-made rocket, from American soil” in more than nine years, it marked a significant step forward for private investment in space ventures.

According to the space technology venture firm Seraphim, investor activity into space-related startups is up almost 10x in the last 3 years. Dollars invested went from 2.5 billion in 2017 to 5.4 billion in the first quarter of 2020 alone.

Seraphim categorizes potential investment areas into eight main sectors:

Build – Companies building the satellites and drones themselves.

Launch – Companies building and launching rockets. This includes autonomous flight and drone delivery startups.

Data – Companies collecting data from space. For example, Spire Global uses nanosatellites to track maritime, aviation, and weather patterns.

Downlink – Technologies facilitating the transmission and storage of data from space back down to Earth.

Analyze – Companies working to convert that data into insights.

Product – Companies packaging data streams from space and terrestrial sources into APIs for use by other companies.

Beyond Earth – Companies building in-space infrastructure to connect satellites and spaceships to each other. One example is Momentus, which is a sort of space-taxi service, moving satellites from one orbit path to another znajdź więcej informacji.   View Story

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