The cislunar space is rapidly maturing for both government and civilian use. This is especially true in the context of NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon in the long term. But before that can happen, a lot of critical infrastructure needs to be in place: everything from communication systems to space environment awareness and more.
That’s where quantum space comes in. The startup, led by former NASA acting administrator Steve Jurczyk, is developing platforms that operate in cislunar space and provide a variety of services. Ten months after announcing the plan, the company said Tuesday that it has closed $15 million in funding from Prime Movers Lab to further develop its core product.
Jurcic, who announced his arrival on stage at TC Sessions last week as the company is in the process of closing this Series A round, said it was a challenge to transition from fundraising to being a senior leader at a government agency. Level start. He said that the speed of decision making is another big difference between the two worlds.
“At NASA, we would have to have 10 meetings and an advisory and a board and several reviews, and then all the information would come to me and I would finally pull the team together and make a decision,” he said. “Then we go into meetings at Quantum Space and we’re like, ‘OK, Steve, we have options A, B and C. Which do you want to do?'”
“It was freeing and refreshing and a little scary.”
The company said it will use the new capital to continue development of the QuantumNet — a constellation of platforms or scouts operating in cislunar space — starting with the launch of the first scout in October 2024. That mission. Quantum Space announced last October that it will carry a load of situational awareness from GeoInstitute and additional customers. Blue Canyon Technologies will provide the shuttle bus.
That first mission, called QS-1, will start as a ride, but the company is also developing an in-space tug called Ranger, which it will use to take the scouts to their final orbital destination. The company It plans to put more than 40 scout vehicles in cislunar space by 2032.
“We really started focusing on what we call ‘Robotic Exit,’ which is a large spacecraft with robotic capabilities for short-range operations, servicing, but then we saw a need for more capabilities in the cislunar space,” Jurczyk said. “So now it’s a broader strategy.” We have […] This has significantly increased our funding needs and funding timelines.
Quantum Space It was founded in 2021 by Kam Ghafarian, who also founded Axiom Space and Intuitive Machines. Prime Movers Lab is an investor in Axiom.
Quantum said in a statement that it will use the funds to develop integration and testing facilities, a mission operations center, and continue development of the company’s customer-facing data platform and software.
