WASHINGTON — Nine space technology companies have won a new round of contracts from SpaceWERX, an organization based in Los Angeles that connects military needs with commercial space technologies, officials announced Aug. 22.
The contracts, known as Strategic Augmentation Funding (STRATFI) agreements, are funded by the Department of the Air Force's AFWERX organization.
SpaceWERX revealed the recipients of the contract at the Federal Reserve Supernova Conference in Austin, Texas.
The following nine companies received a total of $146 million in small business innovation research funding, $155 million in additional government funding, and $217 million in private funding.
- American Lithium Energy, a company specializing in advanced lithium-ion battery technology.
- Apex Technologya satellite manufacturing company
- Space of impulsea developer of orbital transfer vehicles that move satellites from low to high orbits
- Investment spacea startup developing autonomous reentry vehicles that can deliver cargo from space to precise locations on the ground.
- K2 Spacea manufacturer of large satellite buses
- Space outposta developer of space vehicles capable of returning payloads to Earth with high precision.
- Portal Space Systems, a startup that developed a maneuverable satellite bus called Supernova
- Turion SpaceA startup focused on space mobility and non-terrestrial imaging
- Wildstar, a technology company specializing in next-generation narrowband antennas for satellite communications.
The STRATFI program is designed to accelerate the transition of commercial dual-use technologies into operational capabilities for the U.S. Air Force and Space Force. By including matching funds from private investors and interested government agencies, the initiative seeks to foster public-private partnerships in space technology development.
Arthur Grijalva, director of SpaceWERX, highlighted the importance of collaboration between government and the private sector. “Our growth-stage investment programs, STRATFI and Tactical Funding Increase, are critical to AFWERX and SpaceWERX’s mission of advancing space technologies,” he said in a press release.
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