Space Impulse Brief:
- OurSky has closed US $9.5 million in seed funding led by Upfront Ventures and Venrex Investment Management alongside Oceans Ventures, Marlinspike Partners, and Embedded Ventures.
- The Los Angeles-based startup provides real-time observational data and analysis of objects and activities in space via its software platform and global array of telescopes.
- OurSky is on track to become the largest telescope network in the world, making the cosmos more accessible than ever before.
PRESS RELEASE — Los Angeles / December 6, 2023 — OurSky, a developer platform for space data applications, today announced that it has closed $9.5 million in seed funding led by Upfront Ventures and Venrex Investment Management alongside Oceans Ventures, Marlinspike Partners, and Embedded Ventures.
Co-founded by CEO Dan Roelker, previously VP of Software Engineering at SpaceX, and Alex Hawkinson, previously founder of SmartThings, the Los Angeles-based startup provides real-time observational data and analysis of objects and activities in space via its software platform and global array of telescopes. With its platform coordinating directly-owned, partner, and amateur telescopes in real-time, OurSky is on track to become the largest telescope network in the world, making the cosmos more accessible than ever before.
Designed to meet the needs of segments throughout the entirety of the space economy from space startups, satellite operators, and government agencies to core scientific research, OurSky’s open developer platform provides new opportunities for space data access and applications development. The OurSky platform provides turnkey solutions to a multitude of critical challenges such as finding and tracking satellites, debris, and other objects in Earth’s orbit. Leveraging OurSky’s platform and open APIs, developers can easily build advanced applications for space domain awareness, scientific research, commercial space mission management and exploration, and much more.
“By making space observational data and analysis more accessible, OurSky addresses the escalating demand for space-based insights necessary for navigating the emerging challenges and opportunities of the new space age,” said Dan Roelker, CEO and Co-founder of OurSky. “We aim to unleash an entire ecosystem of developers to help unlock a new trillion-dollar space economy over the next decade.”
OurSky uniquely addresses a crucial gap by offering a modernized solution that counters the exorbitant costs and complexities plaguing current space data acquisition and processing methods. The platform’s ease of use and collaborative potential illustrate a clear departure from the industry’s status quo.
“It is a national security imperative for the US government to leverage the innovation of venture-funded technologies in this new space race, and OurSky is building some of the foundational software and infrastructure that will empower the builders of new companies and applications in space,” said Mandy Vaughn, CEO of GXO, Inc. and space industry veteran.
Beyond the platform offering, OurSky is also actively contributing advancements back to the open source astronomy communities to foster innovation and enable others around the world to support new applications and discovery. OurSky has also launched a free integration with NINA, the most popular open-source astrophotography tool, enabling NINA’s more than 50,000 users to join OurSky and receive real-time processing of their images. OurSky continues to support users of N.I.N.A., Siril, and other open-source astronomy software by providing opportunities to collaborate with other amateurs to contribute to citizen science efforts, such as exoplanet verification.
“The OurSky team has the experience and vision to bring a transformative product to the aerospace industry,” said Nick Kim, Partner at Upfront Ventures. “Space companies are launching new capabilities faster than ever before, and builders in the new space ecosystem need a modern data platform that can keep up. I look forward to seeing the impact the OurSky platform will have in defense, space operations, and our understanding of the universe.”
SOURCE: OurSky
Featured image: Credit: OurSky
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