Observable Space raises $90 million and wins Space Force contract for optical systems
AMSTERDAM - Observable Space, a company that develops optical systems for laser communications and space domain awareness, has raised $90 million and secured a U.S. Space Force contract.
The company announced May 28 it raised a $90 million Series A round led by Lux Capital and co-led by Upfront Ventures, Detroit Venture Partners, Island Green Capital and RTX Ventures. BRV Capital and Fathom Fund also participated in the round.
Observable Space plans to use the funding to support development of laser communications systems and in-space optical systems, as well as expand international partnerships.
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The company develops laser communication ground systems as well as ground- and space-based optical systems. Those systems are used for applications ranging from broadband communications to space domain awareness and astronomy.
"If you control light, you control space," said Dan Roelker, co-founder and chief executive of Observable Space and a former SpaceX vice president, in a statement. "The companies and nations that precisely track objects, navigate spacecraft and communicate terabits per second will define the next era of the space economy."
"Fiber optics built the terrestrial internet; free-space optics will be the backbone of orbital infrastructure, from defense applications to the bandwidth AI compute demands," said Shahin Farshchi, partner at Lux Capital. "Observable has the full stack - manufacturing, lasers, systems and software - to win this race."
The company also announced May 28 it secured an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract from the Space Force with a maximum value of $94 million for optical systems. The Space Force funded $22 million in initial task orders under that contract.
The contract will allow the company to scale up production of optical telescopes that can be fielded to track objects in orbit. The Space Force made the award through the Pentagon's Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies program.
"The department is acting on the urgent need for mobile, off-grid robotic telescopes with Observable Space's Deployable, Attritable Optical Systems. These systems will provide the joint force with high-fidelity space domain awareness," said Jeremy Verbout, assistant secretary of defense for mission capabilities, in a statement.
The company's telescopes are also used for ground-based laser communications systems. The company demonstrated the technology in April during the Artemis 2 mission by setting up an optical communications ground station in Australia in cooperation with Australian National University. The ground station was able to lock on to laser communications transmissions from the Orion spacecraft on its trip around the moon, achieving data rates of 260 megabits per second.
The same technology can be used in space as well. Observable Space has developed Iguana, a 200-millimeter multispectral imager for use on spacecraft. One of those imagers will fly on a spacecraft from Apex later this year.
Observable Space currently builds its optical systems in Adrian, Michigan, and plans to expand with a new facility in Detroit. The company also has spacecraft, engineering and design labs in Los Angeles.
The company also makes telescopes for astronomy. In January, Schmidt Sciences announced it is funding development of several ground- and space-based observatories. One of them, the Argus Array, will use 1,200 small telescopes that Observable Space will produce.
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