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3mo ago

Portal Space Systems Raises $50 Million to Scale Spacecraft for Rapid Orbital Maneuvers

The cash will speed work on solar-heated propulsion to move spacecraft between orbits far faster than today’s systems.

An artist’s conception shows Portal’s Starburst spacecraft in the foreground with its Supernova space vehicle and three more Starbursts (plus Earth) in the background. (Portal Space Systems Illustration)
Prototypes of Portal Space Systems' Hex thruster.

Overview

  • Portal Space Systems, which closed a $50 million Series A Thursday led by Geodesic Capital and Mach33, also drew backing from Booz Allen Ventures, ARK Invest, AlleyCorp and FUSE, with TechCrunch reporting a $250 million valuation.
  • Portal will open a 52,000-square-foot factory in Bothell, Washington in June to ramp output to 12 Supernova and 16 Starburst vehicles a year and to grow its staff from about 40 to as many as 100 by early next year.
  • Mini Nova, launched March 30 to test flight electronics, is now commissioning in orbit as Portal targets Starburst-1 as early as this fall on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 and plans the first Supernova flight in 2027.
  • The company says defense demand is strongest, and Booz Allen Ventures said its investment aims to advance orbital warfare capabilities, while about $45 million from the U.S. Space Force’s SpaceWERX is supporting Supernova development.
  • Portal’s Supernova uses solar thermal propulsion that concentrates sunlight to heat ammonia propellant, which the company says can cut orbit-change times from weeks or months to hours or days.