Rendering of a Starfish Space Otter servicing vehicle. Photo: Starfish Space

Starfish Space on Wednesday announced a new funding round that will allow it to complete development and build of three spacecraft that will be used for on-orbit docking and maneuvering missions for several customers, including the U.S. Space Force.

The $29 million fund raise follows an earlier Series A round and brings the Washington-based company’s total funding to more than $50 million.

Shield Capital led the funding raise with major participation from new investors Point72 Ventures, Booz Allen Hamilton’s venture unit, Aero X Ventures, Trousdale Ventures, and TRAC VC. Existing investors Munich Re Ventures, Toyota Motor Corp.’s venture arm, NFX, and Industrious Ventures also contributed.

Starfish is developing three Otter servicing spacecraft for the Space Force, NASA, and Intelsat.

“This new round of funding is a pivotal moment in the journey of Starfish Space, as it will allow us to launch the first Otter satellites to orbit,” Austin Link, a company co-founder, said in a statement.

In May, U.S. Space Systems Command awarded the small company a $37.5 million Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) for Otter to dock with, and augment maneuvers of, national security space assets. Starfish is required to provide $30 million in venture capital investment as part of the STRATFI award.

For Intelsat, Otter will be used for a life extension mission, and for NASA a debris inspection operation in Low Earth Orbit. The missions for Intelsat and the Space Force, which will launch to Geostationary Orbit, are set for 2026.

Starfish’s proprietary CETACEAN and CEPHALOPOD software systems provide autonomous navigation and docking capabilities, and the company’s Nautilus capture mechanism is designed to lock with client satellites.

This story was first published by Defense Daily