The Slingshot Aerospace Beacon product. Photo: Slingshot Aerospace

Space simulation startup Slingshot Aerospace closed a $25 million Series A-1 funding round, the company announced Thursday. Draper Associates, the venture capital of Tim Draper and ATX Venture Partners led the round.

Other investors included Edison Partners, Embedded Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, Lockheed Martin Ventures, and previous investors Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Fund, Okapi Venture Capital, and others. 

This adds on to $9.6 million Series A funds raised in October 2020, bringing Slingshot’s Series A total to $34.6 million. The company has raised more $42 million in funding since it was founded in July 2017. 

Slingshot Aerospace offers a collision avoidance coordination and communications platform for space called Slingshot Beacon. The platform connects commercial, government and civil customers on one platform to design, manage, and safeguard their satellites and other assets. It is used to mitigate risks and ensure reliable operations for spaceflight operators. The company works with organizations such as OneWeb, Spire Global Inc., Orbit Fab, U.S. Space Force, U.S. Air Force, NASA, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin. 

Slingshot Aerospace said it will use these funds to accelerate commercialization of Slingshot Beacon, and to hire 40 new employees over the next 12 months.

“Slingshot Aerospace is charting a new course for humanity by building technologies and awareness to ensure space remains a safe and secure gateway of discovery. We share Slingshot’s desire to keep space a core tenet of our global economy for generations to come,” commented said Tim Draper, founding partner of Draper Associates.