{"id":17333,"date":"2022-11-17T19:00:18","date_gmt":"2022-11-17T11:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/gravitics-raises-20m-for-plans-to-build-space-station-modules-north-of-seattle\/"},"modified":"2022-11-17T19:00:18","modified_gmt":"2022-11-17T11:00:18","slug":"gravitics-raises-20m-for-plans-to-build-space-station-modules-north-of-seattle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/gravitics-raises-20m-for-plans-to-build-space-station-modules-north-of-seattle\/","title":{"rendered":"Gravitics raises $20M for plans to build space station modules north of Seattle"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full-width\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"630\" height=\"354\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/221117-starmax-630x354.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-736996\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/221117-starmax-630x354.png 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/221117-starmax-1260x709.png 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/221117-starmax-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/221117-starmax-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/221117-starmax-2048x1152.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"wp-element-caption\">An artist\u2019s conception shows Gravitics\u2019 StarMax module in Earth orbit. (Gravitics Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A space venture called Gravitics has emerged from stealth with $20 million in seed funding and a plan to build space station modules at a 42,000-square-foot facility north of Seattle, in Marysville, Wash.<\/p>\n<p>As NASA makes plans to phase out the International Space Station in the 2031 time frame, Gravitics and its backers are betting on a rush to launch commercial outposts to low Earth orbit. The operators of those outposts just might need subcontractors to provide the hardware.<\/p>\n<p>Gravitics\u2019 main offering will be a super-sized module known as StarMax. The general-purpose module would provide up to 400 cubic meters (14,000 cubic feet) of usable habitable volume \u2014 which represents nearly half of the pressurized volume of the International Space Station.<\/p>\n<p>Multiple StarMax modules could be linked together in orbit like Lego blocks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are focused on helping commercial space station operators be successful,\u201d Colin Doughan, Gravitics\u2019 co-founder and CEO, said today in a news release. \u201cStarMax gives our customers scalable volume to accommodate a space station\u2019s growing user base over time. StarMax is the modular building block for a human-centric cislunar economy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The investment group for the newly announced seed round is led by Type One Ventures and also includes Tim Draper from Draper Associates, FJ Labs, The Venture Collective, Helios Capital, Giant Step Capital, Gaingels, Spectre, Manhattan West and Mana Ventures.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe case for Gravitics is simple,\u201d said Tarek Waked of Type One Ventures, who has joined Gravitics\u2019 board of directors. \u201cHaving scalable space infrastructure that is 100% made in the United States is good for the space industry, good for the country, and is just the beginning of an effort that the whole world will benefit from as space becomes more and more accessible.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 524px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1592549805242580992&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2022%2Fgravitics-raises-20m-for-plans-to-build-space-station-modules-north-of-seattle%2F&amp;sessionId=7241337c5bbe7c7611847c506ee67b95fad23c59&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1592549805242580992\"><\/iframe><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Doughan brings nearly two decades of aerospace industry experience to the venture: He was a senior finance manager at Lockheed Martin from 2003 to this January \u2014 and served as a co-founder of Altius Space Machines, which was acquired by Voyager Space Holdings in 2019. <\/p>\n<p>Other leading members of the Gravitics team include chief engineer Bill Tandy, a veteran of Ball Aerospace and Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin space venture; and director of engineering Scott Macklin, former head of propulsion at Virgin Orbit. Gravitics says its workforce has grown to nearly 40 people, including full-time employees as well as contractors.<\/p>\n<p>Construction permits and job listings point to Marysville, which is about 40 miles north of Seattle, as the site of Gravitics\u2019 42,000-square-foot facility for development and early production. The company says it\u2019s already begun assembly of its first StarMax prototype, and is preparing to conduct module pressure tests in early 2023.<\/p>\n<p>The ground-based pressure tests would open the way for an orbital test mission that\u2019s yet to be announced. Pre-orders are being taken for module delivery by as early as 2026.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 544px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1593307103518670851&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2022%2Fgravitics-raises-20m-for-plans-to-build-space-station-modules-north-of-seattle%2F&amp;sessionId=7241337c5bbe7c7611847c506ee67b95fad23c59&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1593307103518670851\"><\/iframe><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Gravitics is likely to face challenges as it tries to break into a market alongside major players including Thales Alenia Space (which is manufacturing space station modules for Axiom Space); Sierra Space and Blue Origin (which are working on modules for the Orbital Reef space station); Northrop Grumman (which is developing its own space station concept) and Lockheed Martin (which is part of the team for the Starlab space station project, led by Nanoracks).<\/p>\n<p>In a TechCrunch interview, Type One\u2019s Waled said he expected SpaceX\u2019s Starship super-rocket \u2014 which is still under development \u2014 to open up new opportunities for Gravitics in the years to come. \u201cWe\u2019re betting on Starship revolutionizing the industry,\u201d he was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n<p>Because of its size, Starship would be the most suitable rocket for launching StarMax modules, but Gravitics says \u201cStarMax\u2019s family of modules\u201d could be launched on other rockets as well. Gravitics\u2019 StarMax productization lead, Jonathan Goff, said in a tweet that the Starship-friendly, 8-meter-wide version of StarMax \u201cis our primary focus at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>TechCrunch said Gravitics\u2019 executives were already talking with development groups in Florida about building a production and integration facility near NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center \u2014 with a square footage exceeding that of the Marysville facility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An artist\u2019s conception shows Gravitics\u2019 StarMax module in Earth orbit. (Gravitics Illustration) A space venture called Gravitics has emerged from stealth with $20 million in seed funding and a plan to build space station modules at a 42,000-square-foot facility north of Seattle, in Marysville, Wash. As NASA makes plans to phase out the International Space [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[291,4324,4491],"class_list":["post-17333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-commercial-space","tag-gravitics","tag-space-outposts"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17333"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17333\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}