Celeste Ford, managing director of Stellar Ventures.

A new venture capital firm Stellar Ventures recently launched a fund with more than $23 million in capital commitments dedicated to investing in space technology. Celeste Ford, founder of aerospace engineering services company Stellar Solutions, started Stellar Ventures this year. The firm announced the new fund, SV Andromeda Fund LP, on Thursday. 

The firm plans to invest in “early-stage, mission driven space technology companies, leveraging their technical expertise and network in the aerospace sector.” Stellar Ventures is pitching its affiliation with Stellar Solutions as a strength, as the company specializes in high end systems engineering and serves customers in intelligence, defense, civil, commercial and international space.

“We are standing at the precipice of exponential growth in the space industry, similar to the internet in the late 1990s,” said Ford, who serves as managing director. “Amazon, Google and Netflix were built upon the internet’s foundation. In today’s space industry, the commodification of space launch has led to a similar dynamic, with a new set of entrepreneurs rapidly bringing innovative products to market. Stellar Ventures is investing in promising entrepreneurs who are capitalizing on these opportunities to build the space companies of tomorrow.”

Ford leads the firm with Managing Director Matt Patterson and Operating Partner David Anderman, former general counsel for SpaceX. 

“Stellar Ventures is committed to identifying successful investments for its limited partners and fueling the development of space-enabled technologies to achieve ambitious business, government and environmental goals. Engineers are creating the next generation of space startups and can prove out their technology on orbit for a fraction of what it cost just a few years ago,” Anderman commented.