Electric spacecraft propulsion system startup Morpheus Space Inc. said today it has raised $28 million in a fresh round of funding.

The Series A round was led by the space-exclusive venture capital firm Alpine Space Ventures and saw the participation of Morpheus Ventures plus existing investors Vsquared Ventures, Lavrock Ventures, Airbus Ventures, In-q-Tel, Pallas Ventures and Techstars Ventures.

Morpheus Space is the creator of a novel, modular satellite propulsion system that’s integrated with intelligent software to enable in-space mobility. Its battery-powered propulsion system is known as Sphere Go and it’s said to provide powerful and continuous thrust over many years.

Large numbers of satellites can be managed with an orchestration system known as Sphere Flow, which fuses network satellites into a single constellation the company says is easy to manager. Adding to the mix is Sphere Direct, which is an autopilot system that ensures each satellite remains in its desired orbit.

Thanks to the modular nature of Sphere Go, Morpheus Space is able to make its systems available on a monthly subscription basis that helps lower the upfront costs of satellite components by up to 100 times, the company said.

Morpheus Space says its satellite propulsion technology is key to helping satellites maneuver into position while avoiding collisions. In this way, it can help to reduce space debris, which is one of the space industry’s biggest concerns. At the same time, the modular nature of its systems makes them far more accessible.

The company has big plans following today’s fundraise. Its main ambition is to build a new manufacturing plant in Dresden, Germany, to fulfill what it says is a rapidly increasing demand for electric propulsion devices.

Morpheus says satellites today are in vogue. From 2019 to 2021, the number of small satellite launches increased by almost 450%, the company says, numbering 1,800 per year. It believes that number will only increase as organizations continue to mobilize for a commercial future in space. With the new factory, Morpheus reckons it will be able to expand its production capabilities to meet that expected demand.

“The industry has seen significant growth in the last few years, unlike anything we’ve experienced before, and it has presented numerous opportunities for Morpheus to succeed and grow,” said Morpheus Space co-founder and Chief Executive Daniel Bock. “However, we’ve also seen with our competitors how it presents multiple challenges and lost opportunities for those that cannot keep up. Both the blessings and problems associated with the space industry right now can be attributed to scalability.”

Morpheus Space has witnessed plenty of growth itself. Since founding in 2018, the company has seen its overall headcount increase by 10 times, while its number of contracts has jumped by more than 250%, though it didn’t reveal specific numbers. It currently runs a small operation of mostly engineers and software developers, and will look to expand these teams to a total headcount of more than 100 people over the next six to 12 months.

Holger Mueller of Constellation Research Inc. said we’re seeing AI progress in self-driving vehicles and robots every day, so the idea of using it to administer fleets of satellites is an entirely new innovation. “It’s all the more novel because it’s combined with Morpheus’ propulsion systems,” Mueller added. “The new funding will allow it to put its ambitions into action, especially with the new factory. Now we have to see how long until the combination of AI and electric propulsion actually ends up in orbit.”

Image: Morpheus Space