The best logistics space startups
16 logistics companies in the directory, ranked by disclosed funding ($2.2B raised between them), spanning 5 countries.
Moving things between orbits, and bringing them back down. Orbital transfer vehicles and tugs, propellant depots, reentry capsules and the servicing craft that dock with satellites already up there. This is the sector turning launch from a destination into just the first leg of the journey.
Updated 9 October 2026 · 19 milestones in the last 90 days · Follow by RSS
State of the sector
As of 9 October 2026
Logistics companies move things once they are in space, and bring them back. Impulse Space and Momentus build vehicles that carry satellites from their launch orbit to where they need to go, and Portal Space Systems is building a spacecraft that can change orbits quickly. The Exploration Company, Inversion Space, Atmos Space Cargo and ElevationSpace build capsules that return cargo to Earth. Space BD and Nanoracks arrange rides for other people's payloads.
In September 2026 ESA hired The Exploration Company to fly its Nyx capsule to the International Space Station with cargo by mid-2029, and the company booked an Ariane 6 for the flight. Its first Nyx demonstrator survived reentry in June 2025 but was lost minutes before splashdown. Impulse Space won more Space Force work in August 2026, for two more Mira vehicles.
Momentus's Vigoride-7 completed its orbit changes in July 2026, and payload testing is under way. ElevationSpace signed an MoU with ispace in 2025 to pursue Japan's first private lunar sample return, for which it would build the reentry capsule. Outlier Space, a New Zealand startup, plans the first flight of its reusable manufacturing capsule for 2028.
Latest milestones
Every dated event from the companies below, newest first, each with its source.
The Exploration Company: Announces ONEIROS, a privately funded lunar hopper demonstrator to be tested in the UAE desert in 2027, under an MoU with the UAE space agency
Nanoracks: Parent Voyager Technologies wins a $22.4M Pentagon award to build flight-ready satellite deployers that use spare capacity on national security launches
Starfish Space: Its first full-size Otter launches on SpaceX's Transporter-18 for NASA's SSPICY inspection mission
Impulse Space: Adds a $308M extension to its Series D, taking the round to $808M, and hires its first CFO
Open Cosmos: Closes a €300M funding round led by Lightrock, ETF Partners and Entrepreneurs First
Astroscale: Astroscale France joins an Exotrail-led France 2030 mission, to be contracted by CNES, to deorbit a Eutelsat OneWeb satellite in 2029-2030
Inversion Space: NASA awards a contract to study using the Arc vehicle to demonstrate aerocapture in Earth's atmosphereThe Exploration Company: ESA awards a €760M ALADDIN contract for a Nyx cargo demonstration to the ISS by mid-2029, €310M firm and €450M in options for two more missionsThe Exploration Company: Books an Ariane 6 with Arianespace for the Nyx demonstration mission to the ISSThe Exploration Company: Raises a $450M Series C led by Bessemer, Atomico and the Scaleup Europe Fund, taking total funding to about $680MShow 40 earlier milestones
Open Cosmos: Named an approved provider of satellite connectivity under the UK government's £8bn sovereign communications frameworkAstroscale: Books ADRAS-J2, the JAXA mission to capture a three-tonne rocket stage, on Isar Aerospace's Spectrum for 2027 or 2028
Space BD: Starts renting out satellite transport containers certified for air shipment of hazardous goods
Portal Space Systems: Buys a whole SpaceX Falcon 9 for its 2028 Motus Via Sol mission, the first Supernova flight; Maverick sells the spare capacityImpulse Space: Space Force adds $28M to its contract for two more Mira vehicles, for the Victus Salo 2 and 3 responsive-space missions
Atmos Space Cargo: Completes an early design study with ESA's Concurrent Design Facility for PHOENIX 3, a reusable capsule for payloads above 1,000 kg
Momentus: Vigoride-7 completes orbit changes with payload testing underway
Outlier Space: Raises a $7.35M pre-seed led by GD1 to build a reusable capsule for microgravity manufacturing; the first flight is planned for 2028Open Cosmos: Launches the first two OpenConstellation 1.0 Earth observation satellitesImpulse Space: The Mira from LEO Express-2 closes to within about 200 metres of the Mira from LEO Express-3, and the two photograph each otherThe Exploration Company: Acquires European Astrotech, a UK propulsion-services firm at Westcott that fuels spacecraft and supports Nyx propulsion workSpace BD: Series C closes above ¥3.5 billion, total raised ¥6.68 billionSpace BD: Six payloads fly on H3 Flight 6 under its rideshare serviceImpulse Space: Raises a $500M Series D led by 137 Ventures and Banner VC, taking total funding past $1B a year after the Series CStarfish Space: Otter Pup 2 reaches its new docking target and keeps flying close to itMomentus: Closes a $25 million private placementThe Exploration Company: Drops a Nyx test vehicle from 2.8 km over the Mojave; the drogue-to-main parachute handover works as plannedAtmos Space Cargo: Closes a €25.7M Series A co-led by Balnord and Expansion to build a three-vehicle PHOENIX 2 fleet and develop PHOENIX 3Starfish Space: Closes a Series B of more than $100M led by Point72 Ventures to build Otters for its contracted missionsMomentus: Vigoride-7 launches and deploys its solar arraysAstroscale: ADRAS-J completes its operations and begins its deorbitStarfish Space: Space Systems Command orders a second Otter for Space Force work in geosynchronous orbit, due for delivery in 2028Starfish Space: Awarded $52.5M by the US Space Force for proliferated LEO deorbit servicesMomentus: Runs a 1-for-17.85 reverse split to hold its Nasdaq listingImpulse Space: In the Remora mission with Starfish Space, the LEO Express-2 Mira closes on its own to within about 1,250 m of the LEO Express-1 MiraStarfish Space: In the Remora mission its camera and guidance software steer an Impulse Space Mira, on their own, to within about 1,250 m of another MiraImpulse Space: LEO Express-3, Mira's third flight and the first for the upgraded vehicle, launches on Transporter-15 and deploys its customer's satellitesMomentus: NASA awards $2.5 million to fly a rotating detonation engineInversion Space: Unveils Arc, a maneuverable reentry vehicle designed to deliver military cargo anywhere on Earth within an hourOpen Cosmos: Completes the landmark MANTIS imaging mission
ElevationSpace: Signs an MoU with ispace to pursue Japan’s first private lunar sample return, for which it would build the reentry capsulePortal Space Systems: First commercial vacuum test of a solar thermal propulsion system, for the Supernova spacecraftStarfish Space: Otter Pup 2 launches on Transporter-14 for a docking demonstrationNanoracks: Voyager Technologies debuts on the NYSE at a $3.8 billion valuation
Gateway Galactic: Its fuel-depot patent lapses after the maintenance fee goes unpaidThe Exploration Company: Nyx demonstrator Mission Possible survives reentry but is lost minutes before splashdown; declared a partial successStarfish Space: Unveils Otter Pup 2, a Transporter-14 mission to attempt the first commercial satellite docking in LEOAtmos Space Cargo: PHOENIX 1, Europe’s first private reentry capsule test, flies on Bandwagon-3; the data comes home, the capsule does not
Atomos Space: Acquired by Katalyst Space Technologies, which keeps the Quark line and the Broomfield facilityNanoracks: Voyager Space rebrands as Voyager TechnologiesNew in logistics
All 16 logistics companies
Ranked by disclosed funding.
Impulse Space Orbital transfer vehicles
The Exploration Company Nyx, the reusable cargo capsule
Starfish Space Satellite servicing with Otter
Astroscale GraduatedSpace debris removal
Portal Space Systems Solar-thermal rapid-maneuver spacecraft
ElevationSpace Bringing orbit-made materials home
Inversion Space Cargo from orbit in under an hour
Momentus GraduatedIn-space flights for satellites
Atomos Space AcquiredIn-space transportation service
Epic Aerospace Space transportation network
Gateway Galactic DormantLEO orbital propellant depot
Atmos Space Cargo Reentry capsules for orbital cargo
Nanoracks AcquiredPayload deployment services
Open Cosmos Space mission services
Outlier Space A reusable capsule for microgravity factories
Space BD Launch and ISS brokerage
How many logistics space startups are there in 2026?
Space Bandits tracks 16 logistics companies, 11 of them active, with $2.2B in disclosed funding between them.
What is the latest news from logistics startups?
The most recent milestone on record is from The Exploration Company, dated 8 October 2026: "Announces ONEIROS, a privately funded lunar hopper demonstrator to be tested in the UAE desert in 2027, under an MoU with the UAE space agency."
How many logistics startups have shut down?
None has shut down, but 1 has shown no public activity for years.
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