Original Coverage & Source Attribution: pulse2.com
Fortastra raised $30 million in Series A funding to expand development and production of maneuverable spacecraft designed for on-orbit security and national defense. The round was led by First In. Upfront Ventures, Space Capital, Rsquared, Side Door Ventures, ATX Ventures, existing investors, and others also participated.
Fortastra plans to use the funding to accelerate development and commissioning of its security spacecraft, expand engineering and operations, and advance its autonomy and manufacturing capabilities.
The company’s spacecraft are designed to operate near strategically important space assets, monitor surrounding activity, and respond to potential threats.
Fortastra ultimately plans to deploy spacecraft across multiple orbits to provide persistent security coverage.
The company moved from seed financing to an operational spacecraft in orbit in approximately one year.
Its initial platform, Watchdog V0, has provided a foundation for the next stage of development.
Fortastra has also secured initial government contracts.
The company is now hiring engineers focused on flight software, guidance, navigation and control, autonomous operations, and related capabilities.
It is also expanding manufacturing infrastructure around a modular spacecraft bus optimized for high-rate production.
Recent milestones include an agreement with advanced manufacturer Hadrian and the appointment of former Space Systems Command executive Scott Klempner as Director of Product, National Security.
KEY QUOTES:
“The raise allows us to transition from our initial operational success with Watchdog V0 to an operational capability we can take into full-rate production.”
Mike Smayda, Founder and CEO of Fortastra
“This round funds engineering talent that can execute relative navigation and proximity maneuvers, a perception stack that identifies what the spacecraft is seeing in real time, and a cost optimized bus designed for high-rate production and mission effectiveness.”
Josh Jetter, CTO of Fortastra
“Never before have public and private US space assets been more critical to the functioning of everyday life, but also more vulnerable to disruption by a variety of adversaries.”
Arthur Karell, General Partner at First In
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