Open Cosmos is a Harwell Space Cluster Success Story

The growing Open Cosmos team. Credit: Open Cosmos.

The Harwell Space Cluster in the United Kingdon is host to 80 organizations with 800 employees. One of those companies is Open Cosmos led by its founder Rafael Jorda Siquier.

Rafael and some of his colleagues had an idea 10 years ago to make space more accessible. To bring that idea to fruition took many years of schooling and then working in the industry. The result was the creation of Open Cosmos three years ago, a company dedicated to providing inexpensive space missions using small satellites in low earth orbit an eventually beyond low earth orbit. Not content to just build satellites, they offer an end-to-end service. From the satellite, to procuring the launch, arranging ground station access for data, and even making sure all the proper paperwork for whatever regulatory needs, are in place.

The story of how Open Cosmos came to be, its philosophy, mission and success to date, and how a Spanish entrepreneur and his colleagues decided to leave Spain to setup shop at the U.K.’s Harwell Space Cluster, is one entrepreneurs and those wanting to create a new space company should hear.

In the three years since its foundation, Open Cosmos has flown its first satellite, signed up the European Space Agency and others as customers, and recently raised US$7 million in a recent Series A round of funding. Not everything is perfect though. Brexit could have a negative impact on the company.

Listen to the podcast to hear the complete story of Open Cosmos.

Listen to and Subscribe to the Podcast

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About Marc Boucher

Boucher is an entrepreneur, writer, editor & publisher. He is the founder of SpaceQ Media Inc. and CEO and co-founder of SpaceRef Interactive LLC. Boucher has 20+ years working in various roles in the space industry and a total of 30 years as a technology entrepreneur including creating Maple Square, Canada's first internet directory and search engine.

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