Space startup InfinAstro (official name: Beijing Infinity Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd.) announced the attraction of financing as part of the investment round, which will give impetus to the development of commercial services in orbit in China.
Amount of funding: tens of millions of yuan (approximately from 3 to 13 million US dollars)
Investors: the main investor was the venture fund Unity Ventures, and InnoAngel Fund from Beijing also joined
Orbital transport vehicles
The involved funding will be directed to the development of a series of orbital transport vehicles, so-called "space bus", which allow you to deliver satellites to different orbits after separation from the launch vehicle - this is the so-called "last mile" in space logistics.
According to Euroconsult analysts (report 2022 year), the demand for such services is growing — to 2031 year in the world can operate more than 120 orbital transport vehicles.
InfinAstro states, that their "space buses" are capable of:
- reduce the cost of deploying satellites to 66%,
– reduce the time of insertion into orbit by 85%,
- to ensure flexible deployment of satellite groups at altitudes from 200 to 36 000 km.
Goal: make China's space logistics faster, cheaper and more accurate
The company informed, that after attracting funds, the development of the first device of the Space Bus Type I series and the production of a demonstration sample will be accelerated. The first successful ground test launch of the IH-1 power plant has already taken place 1 April, however, test flight dates have not yet been revealed.
Plans for the future: from satellites to the Moon and Mars
In addition to "last mile" logistics, the company aims to develop capabilities with:
- extending the service life of satellites
- controlled return of devices to Earth
– cargo deliveries to geostationary orbit, The moon and even Mars
According to the publication 36Kr, the InfinAstro team is formed from former specialists of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (Hull) — China's main state space contractor.
This process reflects the global trend for the development of orbital services, in particular in the USA (by Momentus, Impulse Space), Europe (D-Orbit, Exolaunch) and other countries. At the same time, the number of commercial initiatives is growing in China: piloted tourism plans, cheap cargo ships, microsatellite constellations — all this was made possible by the support of the central government.
Provincial and city governments are also actively engaging private space companies, developing special incentive programs, to make the space industry a driver of technological growth.
Source: https://spacenews.com/chinese-orbital-logistics-startup-infinastro-raises-angel-round-funding/