Apollo Constellation Engine is a new electric propulsion system for satellites with high thrust to power and 3x more impulse per mass and volume than competitors. (PRNewsfoto/Apollo Fusion)

Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, has joined the board of directors of Apollo Fusion, a satellite propulsion company, after helping it secure $10 million in Series B financing from his investment firm, Greylock Partners.

This Series B investment brings the total amount raised to more than $18 million for Apollo Fusion, which will use the funds to ramp up manufacturing to deliver to commercial and government customers in the United States and Europe. The expansion includes a doubling of Apollo’s lab space, increasing the manufacturing capacity to deliver hundreds of systems per year, and commissioning several new large thermal vacuum chambers to accelerate acceptance testing of hundreds of Apollo Constellation Engine (ACE) propulsion systems.

“The new space race has the potential to create entirely new and extremely large global markets.  I am excited about Apollo’s rapid progress in this industry and about the outstanding track record of the Apollo management team,” Hoffman said in a statement.

Apollo Fusion Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mike Cassidy, who previously served as a vice president at Google X, added that his company has been generating more interest from major prime contractors and fast-moving start-ups. “The biggest customers have demanding requirements at the scale we’re discussing, so with this investment we’re expanding our testing and manufacturing capability to meet their needs,” he said.