For growth-stage investors, the convergence of rapid innovation and rising global demand often points to a promising sector. In recent years, the space industry has experienced major technology and market disruptions, leading Beringea to add three space-adjacent companies to its global portfolio: Asterra, Orbion Space Technology, and ATLAS Space Operations. While each investment offers unique opportunities, all have benefited in some way from the evolving dynamics of this exciting, emerging industry.

Technological Advancements Are Lowering Barriers

The cost of launching satellites and executing space missions has long been a major obstacle for startups and smaller companies. However, new technological advancements are breaking down these barriers. The miniaturization of satellites, improvements in materials, and reusable launch technology are making space exploration more affordable and accessible, drawing interest from payload providers eager to capitalize on these innovations.

Beringea U.S. portfolio company Orbion Space Technology is leading this small satellite revolution with its advanced Hall-effect propulsion systems. Their AS9100D-registered system is precision-engineered and rigorously tested, making it the only electric propulsion system capable of boosting thrust by 100x on demand, combining agility to avoid collisions with the fuel efficiency needed for routine maneuvers.

The company was named to Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024 and recently achieved a significant milestone with their Aurora qualification life testing, reaching 400 kN-s of total impulse.

Growing Demand for Space-Based Services

Companies that provide satellite-based internet, GPS services, Earth observation data, and even space debris removal are finding growing markets. The increased reliance on these technologies presents a wide range of investment opportunities, particularly in fields such as:

• Satellite Communications: Companies working on low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations are transforming the way the world connects, especially in underserved regions. Beringea U.S. portfolio company ATLAS Space Operations provides spacecraft operators a global federated network of antennas that work together seamlessly, powered through AWS Cloud, and a single API. This has been a milestone year for ATLAS; highlights include being chosen by Blue Origin for their Blue Ring Mission and delivering ground support for Millennium Space Systems, a Boeing company, to aid Space Systems Command’s VICTUS NOX program. These achievements earned ATLAS the title of 2024 Space Tech Company of the Year by Aerospace and Defense Review, the second consecutive year ATLAS has been recognized as a top 10 solutions provider.
• Earth Observation and Analytics: Satellite imagery is now used across industries from agriculture to disaster management, enabling companies to make data-driven decisions at an unprecedented scale. Beringea UK portfolio company Asterra uses cost-efficient data from low Earth orbit satellite systems to monitor soil characteristics, such as underground moisture, by continually revisiting the same regions every few days or weeks as needed to observe changes over vast expanses. Since 2017, Asterra has verified over 100,000 leaks, saving an impressive 368 billion gallons of water, reducing 920,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of energy usage, and mitigating 235,520 metric tons of CO2 emissions.

As the space economy evolves, we will continue to look for pioneering, quickly scaling space, or space-adjacent, companies who may be at the forefront of the industry’s next technological revolution. Space, once a dream limited to governments and massive corporations, is now becoming the next big opportunity for investors, and at Beringea we’re ready to take a chance on the stars.