Aerospace startup CesiumAstro Inc. today announced that it has raised $470 million to finance manufacturing and product development initiatives. 

More than half the sum was provided in the form of an equity funding round led by Trousdale Ventures. The venture capital firm was joined by Airbus Ventures, the Development Bank of Japan and several others. CesiumAstro raised the remaining $200 million from the Export-Import Bank of the United States and J.P. Morgan in the form of debt financing.

CesiumAstro supplies components for low-Earth orbit satellite constellations. SpaceX Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Enterprises LP are among the companies building such constellations. Last November, Google LLC announced plans to launch two satellites of its own as part of a project focused on running artificial intelligence models in space.

CesiumAstro’s lineup of satellite components includes a chip called the RDP-23FV. It comprises multiple central processing units based on Arm Holdings plc designs and 7 gigabytes of memory. According to the company, the memry module includes features that enable it to automatically fix certain data errors. The RDP-23FV can be embedded in a satellite to run its onboard software.

Another CesiumAstra chip, the RPU, can be used to orchestrate a satellite’s communications antennas. It includes an oscillator, a component that switches between two states millions of times per second. The oscillator helps determine the radio frequency at which a satellite broadcasts data. 

The company says its RPU boosts signal strength using a technique called beamforming. Usually, a satellite’s antennas transmit data in all directions. Beamforming creates so-called constructive interference that causes the antennas to send data in only one specific direction, namely the direction of the intended recipient.

CesiumAstro offers hardware for not only orchestrating satellite radio signals but also generating them. It sells a so-called software-defined radio, the SDR-2104, that can be installed in low-Earth orbit satellites, lunar rovers and deep space spacecraft. The module includes a built-in field programmable gate array that enables it to run AI applications. 

Customers can connect to satellite constellations using a device called Skylark. It uses an active phased array, a collection of flat antennas with no moving parts, to establish connections. The company says Skylark can be installed in cars, ships and aircraft to provide wireless connectivity.

CesiumAstro offers its lineup of satellite components alongside a complete satellite called Element. The system (pictured) includes multiple antennas, a propulsion system and features that filter interference. It can operate at altitude ranging from 310 to 635 miles for five years.

The company will use part of its financing round to speed up production of Element satellites. It reportedly plans to launch more than a half-dozen satellites in the coming years. In addition, CesiumAstro will build a new 270,000-square-foot headquarters and enhance its satellite  networking technologies.

Image: CesiumAstro