The American startup Portal Space Systems has attracted 17,5 million dollars in an initial round of investment for the development and demonstration of the highly maneuverable spacecraft Supernova.
The company announced the completion of the investment round 3 April. AlleyCorp Venture Fund was the leader, and also joined Mach33, FUSE, First In, TFX, Offline Ventures, Atypical and a number of other strategic investors. The round was exceeded by the volume of expected investments, which indicates a high interest in the project.
The received funding will allow Portal to complete the development of the Supernova device, which will work on the basis of a solar-thermal propulsion system (STP). This approach allows the apparatus to quickly change orbits, which is especially relevant for defense, and for commercial space operations. The demonstration launch of the first device is planned for the middle of the year 2026 year.
Solar thermal technology, which is the basis of Supernova, provides maneuverability, comparable to nuclear heat engines, but without the need for a nuclear reactor. The system uses solar radiation as an energy source, which makes it possible to achieve a significant increase in speed - several kilometers per second.
According to the company, A supernova will be able to pass from a low Earth orbit (LEO) to the middle school (MEO) in a matter of minutes, and from LEO to geostationary orbit (GEO) — for several hours. Such a capability is particularly attractive for US national security, where more and more attention is paid to the so-called "dynamic space operations" - rapid and repeated movement of vehicles.
Portal's decision impressed investors: Supernova not only greatly improves maneuverability in space, and also extends the service life of devices, ensuring a long presence in orbit. The company celebrates, that their technology is capable of transforming the current relatively static space environment into a dynamic one, flexible ecosystem with active interaction.
Since the first announcement of Supernova in April 2023 year, Portal has achieved a number of technical and organizational results. The team completed the development of the engine heat exchanger, made by the method of additive manufacturing, attracted key engineers and managers, and also opened a new headquarters with an area of 8000 square feet in suburban Seattle (Bothell, Washington State). There is also a test infrastructure for engines. in addition, the company received 2 millions of dollars in government funding, however, details have not yet been released.
In the second quarter 2025 Portal plans to undergo a critical review of the project, and also conduct full-scale testing of the propulsion system. Integration of the device will begin in the fourth quarter, and the launch is in the middle of 2026. After that, the company plans to scale up Supernova production.