Propulsion

CubeCab submitted a Phase II application under the Department of Energy's STTR program. This follows earlier public comments about waiting for the Phase II NOFO and working on the proposal through summer and early fall 2026. The effort appears tied to the company's nuclear thermal launch vehicle research.

CubeCab submitted a Phase II application under the Department of Energy's STTR program. This follows earlier public comments about waiting for the Phase II NOFO and working on the proposal through summer and early fall 2026. The effort appears tied to the company's nuclear thermal launch vehicle research.

Portal Space Systems closed a $50M Series A on April 9, 2026, led by Geodesic Capital and Mach33, with Booz Allen Ventures, ARK Invest, AlleyCorp, and FUSE participating, valuing the company at $250M. Total funding including $45M in prior military strategic investment now stands at ~$117.5M. Capital will fund headcount scaling to ~100, a 52,000 sq ft Bothell manufacturing facility, and Starburst-1 launch preparation for SpaceX Transporter-18 in Q4 2026. Portal's HEX Thruster (Flare) passed thermal vacuum testing at operational temperatures in September 2025 — the first commercial solar thermal propulsion test. Starburst-1 will demonstrate rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) and rapid retasking.

Bellatrix Aerospace closed $20M in pre-Series B funding led by Cactus Partners. The capital will accelerate manufacturing and delivery of its electric propulsion systems for smallsats and orbital transfer vehicles.

K2 Space CEO Karan Kunjur announced on March 19-20, 2026 that the GRAVITAS satellite (2 metric tons, 40m solar wingspan, 20kW generation) had been shipped to the SpaceX launch facility ahead of its Transporter rideshare launch. The satellite carries 12 payloads including DoD customers, under a $60M Space Force STRATFI contract. GRAVITAS features the most powerful Hall-effect thruster ever flown (20kW, krypton-fed) — roughly 4× more powerful than anything previously flown in space. Mission tiers: (1) deploy solar arrays and establish comms; (2) operate customer payloads; (3) orbit-raise LEO→MEO using electric propulsion, the first such raise ever attempted. K2 raised $250M Series C at $3B valuation in December 2025, and $450M total funding.

Polish propulsion startup Liftero secured a contract to supply two multi-thruster BOOSTER green chemical propulsion systems to Indian in-orbit servicing company OrbitAID. The systems will enable 6-DOF maneuvering, proximity operations, docking, and life-extension on the upcoming mission.

The company released a white paper exploring how nuclear thermal launch vehicles might be governed. It was positioned as a response to broader discussions at the World Economic Forum. This aligns with CubeCab's public shift toward studying nuclear thermal concepts while its earlier chemical small launcher remains paused.

The company released a white paper exploring how nuclear thermal launch vehicles might be governed. It was positioned as a response to broader discussions at the World Economic Forum. This aligns with CubeCab's public shift toward studying nuclear thermal concepts while its earlier chemical small launcher remains paused.

Pale Blue progressed to Phase 2 of the MEXT SBIR-3 program, unlocking up to $7.9M in additional funding for detailed system design and ground verification of its water-based ion and Hall-effect thrusters. Phase 2 runs through December 2026, with in-orbit demonstration the target for Phase 3.

University of Tokyo spin-out Pale Blue completed a ~$10M Series C (¥1.5bn), receiving its first investment from Mitsubishi Electric's ME Innovation Fund. Mitsubishi Electric makes and operates satellites — making this a strategic CVC play positioning Pale Blue as a preferred propulsion partner. Other investors include aStart, Nissay Capital, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, and Itochu Technology Ventures. Total raised to date reaches approximately $30M.

University of Tokyo spin-out Pale Blue completed a ~$10M Series C (¥1.5bn), receiving its first investment from Mitsubishi Electric's ME Innovation Fund. Mitsubishi Electric makes and operates satellites — making this a strategic CVC play positioning Pale Blue as a preferred propulsion partner. Other investors include aStart, Nissay Capital, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, and Itochu Technology Ventures. Total raised to date reaches approximately $30M.

Mumbai-based Manastu Space raised $3M in seed funding to commercialize its I-Booster green propulsion system, which replaces toxic hydrazine with hydrogen peroxide. IIT Bombay co-founders Tushar Jadhav and Ashtesh Kumar developed the technology from a student satellite project with ISRO. The I-Booster delivers 50% higher efficiency than conventional thrusters and is under evaluation by both ISRO and DRDO.

Mumbai-based Manastu Space raised $3M in seed funding to commercialize its I-Booster green propulsion system, which replaces toxic hydrazine with hydrogen peroxide. IIT Bombay co-founders Tushar Jadhav and Ashtesh Kumar developed the technology from a student satellite project with ISRO. The I-Booster delivers 50% higher efficiency than conventional thrusters and is under evaluation by both ISRO and DRDO.

At the Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space conference, CubeCab's Adrian Tymes presented joint work on barriers to reusable ground-to-orbit thermal nuclear rocketry. Co-authors included Trevor Hehn (Hehn Law), Troy Howe (Howe Industries), and Stylianos Chatzidakis (Purdue). The paper appears in the official ANS proceedings.

At the Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space conference, CubeCab's Adrian Tymes presented joint work on barriers to reusable ground-to-orbit thermal nuclear rocketry. Co-authors included Trevor Hehn (Hehn Law), Troy Howe (Howe Industries), and Stylianos Chatzidakis (Purdue). The paper appears in the official ANS proceedings.

Pale Blue was awarded a grant of up to $27M (JPY 4 billion) from Japan's Ministry of Education MEXT under the SBIR-3 program to develop and demonstrate miniaturized water-based ion and Hall-effect thrusters for space debris mitigation by fiscal 2027. The three-phase grant covers fundamental design, ground verification, and in-orbit demonstration, targeting 10-100 kg class satellites with the ion thruster and 100-500 kg class with the Hall-effect thruster.

Pale Blue was awarded a grant of up to $27M (JPY 4 billion) from Japan's Ministry of Education MEXT under the SBIR-3 program to develop and demonstrate miniaturized water-based ion and Hall-effect thrusters for space debris mitigation by fiscal 2027. The three-phase grant covers fundamental design, ground verification, and in-orbit demonstration, targeting 10-100 kg class satellites with the ion thruster and 100-500 kg class with the Hall-effect thruster.