The space travel industry is expanding with companies tackling everything from transportation to resource extraction.
Companies like Sierra Space have secured massive funding, raising $1.7 billion for its projects. Meanwhile, others like Interlune are focused on harvesting materials from space for use back on Earth.
Below is our list of 58 Space Travel startups worth keeping an eye on.
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Get the Sheet for $50Axiom Space is developing the world's first commercial space station to serve as a global research and manufacturing hub in orbit. They also manage end-to-end crewed missions to the International Space Station, providing turnkey access to low-Earth orbit.
| Headquarters | Houston, Texas, United States |
| Year Founded | 2016 |
| Founders | Kam Ghaffarian, Michael Suffredini |
| Funding Amount | $500M |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Venture Round |
| Top Investors | Alumni Ventures, Bossa Invest, 1789 Capital, Declaration Partners, Sand Hill Angels |
Sierra Space develops commercial space technologies, most notably the Dream Chaser spaceplane for transportation to and from low Earth orbit. Their team is also creating the LIFE habitat, an inflatable module designed to build the first commercial space stations.
| Headquarters | Louisville, Colorado, United States |
| Year Founded | 2021 |
| Founders | Eren Ozmen, Fatih Ozmen |
| Funding Amount | $1.7B |
| Startup Size | Major Organization (1,001-5,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series B |
| Top Investors | General Atlantic, Coatue, AE Industrial Partners, MUFG Bank, BlackRock Private Equity Partners |
Impulse Space builds orbital transfer vehicles designed to deliver satellites and other payloads to their final destinations in space. Their transportation services provide last-mile delivery for payloads, enabling missions from Low Earth Orbit to interplanetary destinations.
| Headquarters | Redondo Beach, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2021 |
| Founders | Tom Mueller |
| Funding Amount | $525M |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series C |
| Top Investors | Alumni Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, DFJ Growth |
Interlune develops technology to harvest natural resources from the lunar surface. They aim to bring these materials back to Earth, creating a new supply of elements for key industries.
| Headquarters | Estes Park, Colorado, United States |
| Year Founded | 2020 |
| Founders | Gary Lai, Indra Hornsby, Rob Meyerson |
| Funding Amount | $22.6M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Grant |
| Top Investors | Gaingels, Seven Seven Six, Liquid 2 Ventures, Shasta Ventures, US Department of Energy |
MDA Space develops advanced satellite systems, robotics, and geointelligence for commercial and government missions. Their technology powers space operations and provides critical earth observation data.
| Headquarters | Brampton, Ontario, Canada |
| Year Founded | 1969 |
| Founders | John S. MacDonald |
| Funding Amount | $3.9M |
| Startup Size | Major Organization (1,001-5,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Grant |
| Top Investors | Canadian Space Agency |
SpaceFields develops propulsion technologies and solid-fuel systems for the aerospace and defense sectors. Their modular designs are engineered to power a range of applications, from launch vehicles to tactical missiles.
| Headquarters | Bengaluru, Karnataka, India |
| Year Founded | 2021 |
| Founders | Apurwa Masook, Rounak Agrawal, Sudarshan Samal |
| Funding Amount | ₹485M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Seed |
| Top Investors | Globaz Technologies, Burla Angel Investor Network, Venture Catalysts, SIDBI, Rainmatter Capital |
Ursa Major builds rocket engines for space launch, hypersonic flight, and national security applications. Their propulsion systems provide reliable, high-performance solutions for a diverse range of vehicles.
| Headquarters | Berthoud, Colorado, United States |
| Year Founded | 2015 |
| Founders | Joe Laurienti |
| Funding Amount | $284.3M |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series E |
| Top Investors | Gaingels, Alumni Ventures, BlackRock, Eclipse Ventures, Space Capital |
Scout Space builds orbital products and services designed to make space operations safer and more transparent. Their systems offer enhanced Space Domain Awareness, providing critical data for tracking and monitoring objects in orbit.
| Headquarters | Reston, Virginia, United States |
| Year Founded | 2019 |
| Founders | Eric Ingram, Sergio Gallucci |
| Funding Amount | $1.6M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Grant |
| Top Investors | Techstars, Fusion Fund, Decisive Point, Leonid Capital Partners, MassChallenge |
Space DOTS builds an intelligence platform to detect and attribute in-orbit threats. Their system provides a dynamic, real-time map of space to safeguard both commercial and defense operations.
| Headquarters | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Year Founded | 2021 |
| Founders | Bianca Cefalo |
| Funding Amount | $5.1M |
| Startup Size | Founding Team (1-10) |
| Last Funding Status | Seed |
| Top Investors | 7percent Ventures, Seraphim Space, General Electric, Female Founders Fund, Boost VC |
SpaceX designs, manufactures, and launches some of the world's most advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company is recognized for pioneering reusable launch vehicles that have dramatically lowered the cost of accessing space.
| Headquarters | Hawthorne, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2002 |
| Founders | Elon Musk |
| Funding Amount | $11.8B |
| Startup Size | Enterprise Organization (5,001+) |
| Last Funding Status | Secondary Market |
| Top Investors | Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Valor Equity Partners, Craft Ventures, HOF Capital |
48 Additional Space Travel Startups Worth Following
The top 10 are just a small slice of what’s happening in space travel right now. Many other founders are also building new projects, raising over $3.5 billion between them to tackle mobility and logistics.
Some are early in their journey, while others are already scaling fast. Here’s a look at the rest of the startups shaping the space travel ecosystem.