Porsche SE, the holding company that controls the Volkswagen Group, recently bet on the role of space in the development of future technologies, announcing that it is investing in a start-up that tries to compete with Blue Origin of Jeff Bezos and SpaceX of Elon Musk, writes CNBC, Mediafax announces.
The company, controlled by the Porsche and Piëch partner families, which have turned Volkswagen into a global power, has revealed an investment in Isar Aerospace in Germany, a startup that wants to produce rockets and offer satellite launch services.
While Blue Origin and SpaceX are backed by billionaires and are already launching manned space missions, Isar Aerospace believes it can compete in the growing market for launching small satellites into Earth orbit. The company plans the first test flight for next year.
Porsche SE is investing with HV Capital and Swiss bank Lombard Odier, offering $ 75 million to the company as part of a $ 165 million round of financing that includes existing investors. Porsche SE said it would receive “a small, single-digit percentage.” “The funding will allow Isar Aerospace to continue investing in launch, testing and manufacturing infrastructure for its missile production and commercial operations,” Isar Aerospace said in a statement.
Commercial demand for the launch of small satellites is expected to increase significantly in the coming years.
Last month, SpaceX carried 88 satellites into orbit in a single launch, for several customers. On the same day, Virgin Orbit sent into space satellites belonging to the US Department of Defense, a Polish start-up called SatRevolution and for the Dutch Air Force. “Space will become a key technology platform for many industries around the world – from the automotive to telecommunications sectors – bringing advances and new capabilities to the Internet of Things, data encryption and storage, and smart agricultural applications and surveillance to combat climate change “said Isar Aerospace.
Isar Aerospace has raised $ 180 million since 2018, including from Airbus and former SpaceX executive Bülent Altan. The company claims to be the fastest growing launch services company in the European Union and considers Airbus (EADSF) as one of its first customers. In May, the German space agency awarded the company a contract to launch two satellites into orbit.
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