Low-Earth Orbit Monitoring Service for Preventing Satellite Collision – $65 Million Investment Attracted
LeoLabs is an aerospace company that supplies and provides low Earth orbit mapping and space situational awareness services.
A subscription service that enables a proactive response by monitoring debris in low orbit using four terrestrial radars to notify the possibility of a satellite collision in advance.
Unlike the existing service that monitors up to 10cm (17,000 pieces), it can monitor up to 2cm (250,000 pieces), and the investment will be used for radar expansion.
LeoLabs
The company's software platform offers an open API and provides the basis for a new generation of SSA and traffic safety services. LeoLabs was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA.
General Information
- Headquarters : San Francisco, CA
- Founders : Daniel Ceperley, John Buonocore, Michael Nicolls
- Categories : Aerospace, Database, Mapping Services, Software
- Founded : 2016
- Contact : info@leolabs.space
Funding
- Investors : Insight Partners, Velvet Sea Ventures
- Funding Rounds (6) - $82M
- Jun 3, 2021 Series B / $65M
- Feb 5, 2020 Series A
- Dec 1, 2018 Series A
- Jul 26, 2018 Series A / $13M
- Feb 27, 2017 Seed Round / $4M
- Jan 1, 2016 Seed Round
1. Market Needs
- There are more than 17,000 objects in size 10 cm or larger that are thrown into space without purpose in low-Earth orbit (satellite orbits from the ground to an altitude of 2000 km). It is estimated that there are over 250,000 pieces larger than 2 cm.
- Because it moves up to 10 times faster than a bullet, even a small fragment can have a huge impact if it hits a satellite. Debris from the Russian satellite Cosmos 2251 collided with the US Iridium 33 and fell in Texas.
- As a result, the collision prevention of satellites in operation has begun to attract attention, and the space industry needs a service that can prevent collisions caused by space debris.
2. Problem
- Accurate real-time data on the movement of fast-moving satellites and debris in space is the most basic to prevent collisions, but the existing data provided by the military and government has limitations in providing complete data for the entire Low-Earth orbit.
- In particular, in 2020 alone, the number of satellites is increasing, such as launching twice as many satellites as the previous maximum annual launch amount, and the number of fragments due to collisions with satellites is also increasing, So the existing data is not enough to avoid collisions.
3. Business Model and Current Status
- LeoLabs currently has radars installed at four locations in Alaska, Costa Rica, New Zealand and Texas to track satellites and debris in low Earth orbit in real time.
- Existing services can track up to 10 cm in size, but the Costa Rica radar, which will be installed in 2021, will be able to track objects up to 2 cm in diameter in detail.
- LeoLabs uses this information to provide tracking services for small satellites launched through SpaceX's ride-sharing program, as well as collision avoidance services that provide advance notice of potential collisions.
- Customers can avail of satellite tracking services for a subscription fee of $2,500 to $4,000 per month per satellite, and in the event of a potential collision, the customers will receive advance notice to avoid collisions using the satellite's onboard propellant.
4. Future Prospects
- Satellite tracking and collision avoidance services are a new and rapidly growing blue ocean in the fast-growing space industry.
- With the investment, LeoLabs plans to increase the number of terrestrial radar centers to more than six in the future, and is expected to lead the market by securing more accurate data at a faster cycle and establishing a global infrastructure for next-generation satellite operation and space sustainability.
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