Blue Skies Space Ltd. Is bringing the world’s first commercial space science satellite closer to market after securing further capital investment from its shareholders.
The investment will be used by the team to further accelerate its first satellite development, Twinkle, with manufacturers ABB and Airbus, preparing the company for its Series A funding round.
Joseph Zipfel, Chief Investment Officer at SFC Capital, said: “We at SFC Capital are pleased to support the growth of Blue Skies Space as they prepare themselves to secure Series A funding for the construction and launch of their first satellite. The SFC EIS Fund supports the best performers from our portfolio of over 300 companies and Blue Skies Space is a great example of a company that has made impressive progress since our original investment in 2018."
The company has received support from both the European and UK Space Agencies, enabling them to develop their unique “space science as a service” offering and attract a global user community to the service.
Dr Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency, said: “Blue Skies Space is demonstrating how UK space companies can support the next generation of cutting-edge space science, catalyse investment into this thriving sector and provide valuable services to a global community.
“The development of the Twinkle mission has been supported by UK investment in preparatory work for ESA’s upcoming Ariel science mission, and the science delivered by both missions will complement one another and lead to new discoveries in the exciting field of exoplanet research. I’m looking forward to the launch of Twinkle in what promises to be a bright future for Blue Skies Space.”
With 15 universities from 10 countries involved in the first satellite as Founding Members, the programme developed by Blue Skies Space is already showing strong interest and growing demand. By offering a unique, complementary service to flagship satellites built by large agencies, Blue Skies Space will lead the global commercial science data ecosystem.
Marcell Tessenyi, Blue Skies Space CEO, said: “At Blue Skies Space we are accelerating data provision direct from space to help our users solve some of their most pressing science challenges. We are delighted to receive strong backing from our investor network, which positions us for the next stage of investment and brings our offering closer to market.”