ThinkOrbital Inc said it has closed a seed funding round led by TFX Capital to accelerate development of its defense-focused space technologies, including on-orbit servicing, space-to-space inspection and large-scale in-space construction.
The company said the new funding will support the advancement of capabilities designed to inspect, service and build systems in orbit at scales that cannot be launched fully assembled from Earth, targeting both national security and commercial applications.
“This funding enables us to move faster on capabilities that will define how we defend and operate in orbit,” the company said in a statement, citing technologies ranging from spacecraft inspection using space-to-space X-ray imaging to in-space construction of critical infrastructure.
ThinkOrbital positions space as a contested operational domain, noting that modern economies and defense systems are increasingly dependent on satellites and orbital assets. “The U.S. and our allies are asymmetrically reliant on space for national security and commercial missions; our adversaries will take advantage of that,” the company said, highlighting the need for enhanced space domain awareness and defensive capabilities.
Co-founder and Chief Executive Lee Rosen, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, said the strategic importance of orbit has fundamentally changed. “Space is no longer a remote frontier; it is an operational domain,” Rosen said.
A core element of the company’s technology portfolio is its Space-to-Space X-ray system, which is designed to provide penetrating inspection and imaging of objects in orbit. ThinkOrbital said the system is entering its next phase of trials and is scheduled to fly on orbital demonstration missions in March and October 2026. The capability is intended to support assessment of adversary intent, anomaly resolution and damage evaluation of space assets.
Alongside inspection technologies, ThinkOrbital is developing approaches to in-space construction aimed at enabling large orbital structures, including infrastructure for space-based data centers, forward-deployed assets for rapid-response missions, and large-volume habitats and manufacturing facilities. The company said these systems could support emerging demand for space-based computing platforms optimized for artificial intelligence workloads.
“If we want large-scale, reliable, and capable systems in orbit, we need the ability to build and repair them in space,” said Vojtech Holub, the company’s co-founder and chief technology officer.
From the investor side, TFX Capital said scalable infrastructure will be central to the next phase of the space economy. “Infrastructure at scale is the key to unlocking the next phase of the space economy, from manufacturing to defense to power and compute,” said Brandon Shelton.
ThinkOrbital said it also plans to expand its portfolio of dual-use technologies, which include patented X-ray imaging drones and autonomous systems used for military awareness, law enforcement and inspection of critical energy infrastructure on Earth, linking orbital and terrestrial security applications.
