The startup Kurs Orbital, founded by former head of the Ukrainian State Space Agency Volodymyr Usov, has closed a seed funding round of $4 million to accelerate the commercialization of its satellite servicing technology.
The two-year-old startup, based in Turin, Italy, aims to usher in a new era of human activity in space by providing capabilities such as satellite maneuvering and inspection, deorbiting, and space debris removal.
Kurs Orbital itself does not plan to offer these services. Instead, the startup aims to become a leading provider of docking and mating technologies through its ARCap module, which can be integrated into any spacecraft, as reported by TechCrunch.
The company's technology is based on the flight heritage of the "Kurs" docking system, a technology from the Soviet era developed to facilitate docking spacecraft with the "Mir" space station. Unlike other companies developing space servicing technologies, the Kurs Orbital module will be able to dock with spacecraft that do not already have any equipment installed.
To accelerate its plans, the company closed a €3.7 million ($4 million) seed round led by European deep tech VC firm OTB Ventures, with participation from Credo Ventures, Galaxia (a fund established by CDP Venture Capital and Obloo Ventures), In-Q-Tel and Inovo. Kurs also aims to expand its 11-person team with the new capital, Volodymyr Usov said.
