TLDR:
- Pale Blue has raised an additional $8.5 million in venture capital to mass-produce water vapor propulsion systems and upgrade the technology.
- The funding will support the creation of a new plant in the Ibaraki region near Tokyo for producing Resistojet thrusters for satellites weighing less than 10 kilograms, as well as the development of water-plasma propulsion technology for larger spacecraft.
Pale Blue, a small satellite thruster developer, has secured an extra $8.5 million in funding to expand its production of water vapor propulsion systems and enhance the technology. This funding comes on top of the $7.5 million previously raised in loans and the initial phase of Series B venture financing. The CEO, Jun Asakawa, revealed that this new round of funding will enable the company to establish a 2,000-square-meter plant in the Ibaraki region near Tokyo to manufacture Resistojet thrusters specifically designed for satellites weighing less than 10 kilograms. These thrusters, which use jets of steam for propulsion, have already been successfully utilized in orbit in March 2023.
In addition to ramping up production of Resistojet thrusters, Pale Blue plans to further develop water-plasma propulsion technology for larger spacecraft weighing up to 500 kilograms. The company has also received substantial support from a recent multi-phase Japanese government grant worth up to $27 million. This grant will aid in the advancement of water-based ion and hall-effect thrusters, which leverage electricity and magnetic fields to enhance propellant acceleration and efficiency.
Asakawa stated that Pale Blue aims to conduct an in-orbit demonstration of the ion thruster next year, followed by the hall-effect thruster in 2027. Notable investors in Pale Blue’s latest funding round include Astart, Global Brain, Itochu Technology Ventures, Gogin Capital, and Chibagin Capital. The initial phase of Series B funding was co-led by Japanese early-stage investors Incubate Fund and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital but they did not participate in this extension.
