SpaceQ Space news and analysis.
NorthStar Earth & Space, a commercial space-based situational awareness startup based in Montreal, announced it had closed its Series C round of funding having raised $47M (US$35M) from an international group of investors.
The investors included “US-based private equity lead Cartesian Capital Group, LLC, (“Cartesian”) through an affiliated entity, Pangaea Three Acquisition Holdings III, LLC. The round also includes investment from Telesystem Space Inc., the Luxembourg Future Fund – Co-Investments SA, the Government of Quebec through its mandatary Investissement Quebec, and the Luxembourg Space Sector Development Fund SCSp, which is supported by leading global content connectivity solutions provider SES and the Luxembourg Government.”
“NorthStar is privileged to have the support of Cartesian to lead an international consortium of experienced and industry savvy investors,” said Stewart Bain, CEO of NorthStar. “The prestigious array of participants reflects the immense importance of NorthStar’s mission to preserve the space environment now and for future generations.”
“Cartesian recognizes the transformational potential of NorthStar’s next generation services for the space economy,” said Beth Michelson, Partner at Cartesian. “NorthStar’s unique approach to providing complete coverage of space is critical to safeguarding essential space infrastructure.”
The investment comes as NorthStar prepares for the launch of its first satellites this year. SpaceQ spoke a representative of NorthStar who said that a mid-year launch of their three 16U microsatellites is on track. The representative would not give a firmer date as the decision on where the satellites will be launched from is still to be decided. While Spire is building the satellites for NorthStar, Spire’s partner Virgin Orbit will launch them. While Virgin Orbit has operated all its launches from California, they are now preparing to launch their first mission from Spaceport Cornwall in the United Kingdom.
The NorthStar representative told SpaceQ a decision on whether to launch from California’s Mojave Air and Space Port or Spaceport Cornwall will in part determine the launch window.
NorthStar also announced that Beth Michelson and Paul Pizzani, partners at Cartesian, are joining the board of directors.
