Since 2019, Blackswan Space has pioneered autonomous space technologies in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and commercial partners.
The company’s Mission Design Simulator (MDS) enables customers to simulate complex spacecraft maneuvers for on-orbit servicing, object retrieval missions, space domain awareness, or simulating satellite constellations in real-time. The Vision Based Navigation (VBN) hardware payload running proprietary algorithms, enables spacecrafts to perform autonomous navigation maneuvers when control from the ground is not possible.
The funding round was led by ScaleWolf, a hybrid accelerator and fund for defense tech with participation from Linas Sargautis, co-founder of NanoAvionics, Lemonade Stand, Baltic Sandbox Ventures, and Vladas Lašas – a serial entrepreneur and angel investor. The company will use the funding to grow its engineering staff to accelerate product development and scale its commercial activities.
Since its inception in 2019, Blackswan Space has been successfully developing its Mission Design Simulator and Vision Based Navigation products with internal funding, R&D grants as well as multiple contracts from the ESA. With the new infusion of capital, the company is well positioned to accelerate MDS and VBN development and commercial activities in 2024, preparing for on-orbit demonstration of its core technologies in the next few years – all part of the bigger picture to support the exponential growth of the in-space economy.
“We are in a strong position to solve one of the major problems and opportunities facing the space economy today – the growing number of satellites and other space infrastructure in orbit that will be impossible to control all from the ground,” said Marius Klimavicius, co-founder and CEO of Blackswan Space. “Our nimble team has bootstrapped by self-funding and winning contracts from ESA, this funding round is the rocket booster to help us level up.”
Dave Harden, partner at ScaleWolf and former COO & C-Founder of AFWERX, a U.S. Air Force’s research laboratory, said, “We are glad to be one of the first investors in Blackswan Space. Their vision and technology are perfectly timed. Space domain is the next big thing in the defense sector.”
Linas Sargautis, angel investor and co-founder of Kongsberg NanoAvionics, said, “I am glad to back this talented company, developing products that enable a wide range of in-orbit servicing applications — the new frontier of the space industry.”