Lux Aeterna raises $10 million to build re-usable satellites
Lux Aeterna, started by SpaceX alum Brian Taylor in late 2024, just raised $10 million in seed funding led by Konvoy, with backing from several other investors.
They'd already picked up $4 million in pre-seed funding before this.
The company's goal is to make satellite operations more efficient
Lux Aeterna is building the world's first fully reusable satellite bus for low Earth orbit.
Using heat shields similar to NASA designs, their satellites are designed to survive atmospheric re-entry and be recovered and refurbished for redeployment, kind of like a space Uber for science experiments, defense tech demos, hypersonic testing, and even space manufacturing.
Their team works out of a 6,000-square-foot spot in Denver.
The 1st Delphi return is planned for 2027
Their Delphi satellites are designed so payloads can be recovered without losing the whole satellite every time.
The first Delphi return is targeted for 2027 at Australia's Koonibba Test Range, with a second Delphi planned (timing not specified); launch vehicles and schedules for the two planned returns have not been fully specified.
If it works as planned, this could make running satellites way more efficient, and a lot less wasteful.