Starfish Space Secures $29M Funding to Expand Satellite Services

An illustration of the on-orbit servicing satellite 'Otter,' developed by Starfish Space, in flight. / Starfish Space

Starfish Space, a U.S.-based on-orbit servicing startup, announced on November 13 that it had raised an additional $29 million in funding.

The funding round was led by Shield Capital, with new investors including Point72 Ventures, Booz Allen Ventures, Aero X Ventures, Trousdale Ventures, and TRAC VC participating.

Existing investors Munich Re Ventures, Toyota Ventures, NFX, and Industrious Ventures also took part.

Founded in 2019 by engineers from Blue Origin and NASA, Starfish Space is developing the 'Otter,' a small refrigerator-sized satellite for satellite life extension and disposal services.

In May, the company signed a $37.5 million contract with the U.S. Space Force to develop a geostationary orbit servicing satellite. It has also signed contracts with NASA and Intelsat.

Including the recent funding, Starfish has raised a total of $50 million since its founding.

Local media reported that with this funding, Starfish has secured all the necessary capital to develop the service satellites to be supplied to the U.S. Space Force, Intelsat, and NASA—one for each, for a total of three.

The satellites for the Space Force and Intelsat are planned to be launched for geostationary orbit in 2026.