The best satellite space startups
21 satellites companies in the directory, ranked by disclosed funding ($7.9B raised between them), spanning 7 countries.
The companies that build and operate the spacecraft themselves, as distinct from the imagery or connectivity sold from them. Satellite buses have gone from bespoke engineering projects to product lines: Apex builds them on assembly lines, K2 Space makes them mega-class for the heavy-lift era, and Loft Orbital flies other people's payloads on hardware it owns. Operators whose product is really the constellation, like OneWeb and Planet, appear here as well as in the sector they sell into.
Updated 6 November 2026 · 37 milestones in the last 90 days · Follow by RSS
State of the sector
As of 9 October 2026
This is where the spacecraft themselves get built. Apex makes satellite buses on assembly lines, and K2 Space builds very large buses for the era of heavy-lift rockets. Loft Orbital and Open Cosmos fly customers' payloads on buses they provide. MinoSpace builds satellites to order for Chinese provinces and agencies.
Orbital data centres now have hardware in space. Starcloud put an Nvidia H100 in orbit in November 2025. Aetherflux, founded to beam solar power to Earth, was reported in March 2026 to be moving toward orbital data centres and now operates as Cowboy Space. OrbitsEdge sells computing on its SatFrame satellites.
Lux Aeterna is building Delphi, a satellite designed to land and fly again. A demonstration flight is targeted for 2027. In September 2026 Apex agreed to build a US factory for direct-to-device satellites for Elveo Mobile, the operator formed when Lynk Global and Omnispace merged.
Latest milestones
Every dated event from the companies below, newest first, each with its source.
Axelspace: Is selected for Phase III of JAXA's Space Strategy Fund to develop a new satellite bus
Planet: Launches the Planet AI app, which lets users search ten years of Planet imagery through a map-based chat
Astranis Space Technologies Corp: Wins a NASA Ka-band relay contract worth up to $264.3M including options
K2 Space: SES's meoSphere payload on Gravitas demonstrates a two-way optical link between ground and space
Aetherflux: Unveils Big Iron, a rocket it is developing to launch its orbital data centresAstranis Space Technologies Corp: Upgrades its SpaceX contract to a dedicated Falcon 9 for its fourth batch of six MicroGEO satellitesAetherflux: Signs a two-year research agreement with NOAA to test processing weather satellite data in orbitPlanet: Launches Populace, a global population density map at 40-metre resolution, updated every quarter
Skylo: Launches a combined cellular and satellite IoT service across Brazil with Flolive
OneWeb: Airbus completes the first 32 renewal OneWeb satellites, which ship for a SpaceX launchShow 40 earlier milestones
Aetherflux: Reason-1, its first satellite, launches on Transporter-18 to test beaming power from orbit to Earth
Alen Space: Five 6U satellites it built for Sateliot’s Draconis mission launch on SpaceX Transporter-18
Dhruva Space: LEAP-2, its second commercial mission, launches on SpaceX's Transporter-18 carrying in-orbit demonstrations for Sodern and Satleo Labs
Loft Orbital: Altair-1, the first satellite under its CNES MS-HR Earth observation contract, launches on Transporter-18Planet: Launches its second Tanager satellite and the first prototype satellite for Google's Project Suncatcher on SpaceX's Transporter-18Astranis Space Technologies Corp: Receives a $468M credit facility from the Export-Import Bank of the United States to expand satellite production
Synspective: Signs a 20-launch Electron deal with Rocket Lab, Rocket Lab's largest commercial Electron contractAxelspace: Four of the seven GRUS-3 satellites lose their high-speed downlink to a communications faultSynspective: Signs a contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to launch two StriX satellites on H3
True Anomaly: Is selected to fly a Jackal on GHOST-R, the GEO reconnaissance pathfinder for the Space Force RG-XX programAlen Space: Signs on to three ESA IRIS² Low-LEO projects (ARGUS, Poseidon and LYRA) at the consolidation-phase kick-off
Apex: Agrees to set up a US factory to build direct-to-device satellites for Elveo Mobile, the operator formed by the merger of Lynk Global and Omnispace
iQPS: Signs a rideshare launch contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to fly three QPS-SAR satellites on an H3 rocket
Kepler Communications: Books launch capacity for ten Tranche-2 relay satellites on Portal’s Motus Via Sol Falcon 9 mission, targeted for mid-2028
Open Cosmos: Closes a €300M funding round led by Lightrock, ETF Partners and Entrepreneurs FirstAstranis Space Technologies Corp: Agrees with stc group to deploy a dedicated satellite for Saudi Arabia, part of Block 3 launching in 2027
NewOrbit Space: Books a launch for NEO-1 in the third quarter of 2028 through the broker RIDE!, with Genesia as its first announced payload customerOneWeb: Eutelsat signs an authorisation to proceed with Airbus for 229 more OneWeb satellites, taking new satellites on order to 669OneWeb: Eutelsat books two dedicated Ariane 64 launches for OneWeb satellites in 2027 and 2028Axelspace: Signs an agreement to supply GRUS imagery to Airbus Defence and SpaceOpen Cosmos: Named an approved provider of satellite connectivity under the UK government's £8bn sovereign communications frameworkNewOrbit Space: Builds six engineering models of the latest AURA and starts qualification testing, due to finish in the first quarter of 2027Dhruva Space: Signs contracts worth over €5M with Safran Space for systems for India's SBS-III surveillance constellationLoft Orbital: Announces with UAE investor Marlan Space a $1B program to grow a 10-satellite AI demonstration into a 50-satellite constellationKepler Communications: Signs agreements with NorthStar to carry its space-domain-awareness data over Kepler’s optical relay networkKepler Communications: Declares its optical data relay network in commercial service after launching 33 satellites; it runs more than ten optical ground stations
Starcloud: Adds $250M to its Series A at a $2.3B valuation, led by Manhattan West with $25M from NvidiaKepler Communications: Books a Rocket Lab Neutron launch, its first dedicated mission on a commercial rocketK2 Space: Wins a $23M Space Force contract to host two Enterprise Space Terminals on its spacecraftK2 Space: Raises a $500M Series D at a $6.8B valuation, led by Kleiner Perkins and ICONIQ; it has about $1B of signed contractsAxelspace: Two of its seven GRUS-3 satellites capture their first images, nine days after launchApex: Sells a Nova bus to Loft Orbital under a contract that gives Loft an option on up to nine moreTrue Anomaly: Wins a Space Force contract to supply its Mosaic software to Kronos, the service's advanced battle management programDhruva Space: The Antariksh Venture Capital Fund, anchored by IN-SPACe, makes its first investment: ₹60 crore in DhruvaAstranis Space Technologies Corp: A power system anomaly found before launch on one Block 3 satellite affects all five satellites sharing its Falcon 9 rideLoft Orbital: Signs a multi-launch agreement with MaiaSpace, ArianeGroup's launch subsidiaryAlen Space: CyberCUBE, an ESA cybersecurity mission on a 3U CubeSat it built, launches on a Falcon 9Apex: Its first Nova satellite, the larger of its two buses, reaches orbit on SpaceX's Transporter-17Axelspace: All seven next-generation GRUS-3 satellites reach orbit on Transporter-17 and make contactNew in satellites
All 21 satellite companies
Ranked by disclosed funding.
OneWeb AcquiredHigh speed internet satellite constellation
Astranis Space Technologies Corp Small dedicated GEO satellites
True Anomaly Spacecraft for space security
K2 Space Mega-class satellite buses
Apex Satellite buses off assembly lines
Starcloud Data centres in orbit
Loft Orbital Turnkey satellite deployment
Kepler Communications High-bandwidth data and IoT
Planet GraduatedImaging services
Lux Aeterna Delphi, the reusable satellite
Aetherflux Solar-powered GPU satellites, now Cowboy Space
Alen Space Small satellite turnkey solutions
Axelspace GraduatedOptical microsatellites
Dhruva Space Satellite buses, deployers and ground stations
iQPS GraduatedAll-weather SAR imagery
MinoSpaceSatellites built to order, 10 kg to a ton
NewOrbit Space Satellites for very low Earth orbit
Open Cosmos Space mission services
OrbitsEdge Computing and analytics in space
Skylo Satellite IoT connectivity
Synspective GraduatedThe StriX SAR constellation
How many satellites space startups are there in 2026?
Space Bandits tracks 21 satellites companies, 16 of them active, with $7.9B in disclosed funding between them.
What is the latest news from satellites startups?
The most recent milestone on record is from Axelspace, dated 6 November 2026: "Is selected for Phase III of JAXA's Space Strategy Fund to develop a new satellite bus."
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