TechCrunch

TechCrunch profiles Jeff Thornburg's path from SpaceX Raptor to Portal. Solar thermal propulsion was validated by NASA in the late 1990s but never commercialized due to lack of demand. Now orbital maneuvering is a national security imperative — Space Force Gen. Guetlein publicly cited China demonstrating "dogfighting" satellites. Portal also has a pathway to nuclear thermal propulsion: its HEX Thruster architecture needs only a reactor swap. Prior $45M government strategic investment confirms DoD sees the mission.

Arinna, founded by Stanford PhDs Koosha Nazif and Alex Shearer, raised $4M seed led by Spacecadet Ventures to develop ultrathin TMD solar panels for spacecraft — 32% more efficient, lighter, and longer-lasting.

TechCrunch profile of GRAVITAS ahead of launch. K2 building 85% of components in-house because "the supply chain to build such a satellite doesn't exist." CEO Kunjur: "The future is higher power." $15M price point vs. equivalently capable traditional satellites. 20kW matches ViaSat-3's output — on a Falcon 9 rideshare payload. 12 customer payloads including DoD. Three success tiers: power on, fly payloads, orbit-raise to MEO. K2 already has 100kW Starship-class "Giga" design taped out on factory floor.