HELSINKI — Chinese startup InfinAstro has secured early funding for its plan to fill a gap in China’s commercial on-orbit services.
InfinAstro, officially Beijing Infinity Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd., has raised tens of millions of yuan (approximately $3 million to $13 million) in angel round financing. The round was led by venture capital firm Unity Ventures and followed by InnoAngel Fund, a Beijing-based venture capital firm, according to a March 24 InfinAstro statement.
The funding will support research and development of the company’s “space bus” series of orbital transfer vehicles, and accelerate China’s commercialization of on-orbit services.
InfinAstro notes that international satellite deployment has, since 2020, increasingly seen the use of orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs), with a number of new and established space companies moving to enter the market. It also noted that Tom Mueller, a founding employee of SpaceX, started in-space transportation services company Impulse Space.
OTVs provide propulsion to deliver payloads into specifically desired orbits after separation from the launch vehicle, with the service referred to as last-mile logistics. A 2022 Euroconsult Space Logistics Markets report anticipated growing demand for last-mile logistics, forecasting that 120 orbital transport vehicles could be operating by 2031.
The “Space bus vehicle” being developed by InfinAstro aims to bridge a gap in China’s commercial space sector by enabling multi-satellite deployment across various orbits, the company says. It states that, with its internationally competitive technology, it can reduce deployment costs by up to 66 percent and cut orbital insertion time by about 85 percent.
The company is aiming to provide services across altitudes spanning 200 to 36,000 kilometers, being able to deploy constellations intelligently, carry out multi-satellite rideshare missions covering different orbits, while aiming to make satellite deployment more economical, faster and more accurate.
“After this round of financing, the company will accelerate the development of the Space Bus Type I product and the production of the first flight product,” Li Jian, InfinAstro founder and CEO, said in a statement. “Through the orbital transfer capability of the Space Bus, we will make up for the shortcomings of the industry’s space transportation services, promote the innovative development of on-orbit services, and accelerate the closed loop of the space economy ecosystem.”
InfinAstro announced April 1 that it had successfully performed a ground hot fire test of the flight state power system of its Space Bus IH-1, the company’s first-generation orbital servicing spacecraft. Its press statements do not, however, include planned timelines for tests and orbital flights.
Beyond last-mile orbital delivery, the company is also targeting future capabilities such as satellite life extension, spacecraft reentry and payload delivery to destinations including geostationary orbit, the moon and Mars.
Chinese tech media 36Kr reports that the company’s core team comes from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the country’s state-owned main space contractor.
The emergence of InfinAstro in China parallels a global trend toward in-space logistics and satellite servicing, seen in ventures such as Momentus and Impulse Space in the U.S., and companies including D-Orbit and Exolaunch internationally. Within China, InfinAstro also illustrates the expanding range of activities within which commercial companies are participating. It follows the recent announcements of low-cost cargo spacecraft, orbital crewed tourism plans, and novel constellation projects.
This comes amid broader national efforts to turn commercial space into a driver of high-tech growth. Central government backing for the commercial space sector has been followed by numerous provinces and cities drawing up action plans to attract space companies and foster their development.
