SpaceWERX awards contracts to nine space tech firms for defense projects

WASHINGTON — Nine space technology companies won a new round of contracts from SpaceWERX, a Los Angeles-based organization that connects military needs with commercial space technologies, officials announced Aug. 22.

The contracts, known as Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) agreements, are funded by the Department of the Air Force’s AFWERX organization.

SpaceWERX revealed the contract recipients at the Fed Supernova conference in Austin, Texas. 

The following nine companies received a total of $146 million in Small Business Innovation Research funds, $155 million in additional government matching funds, and $217 million in private matching funds. 

• American Lithium Energy, a company that specializes in advanced lithium-ion battery technology.
• Apex Technology, a satellite manufacturing company 
• Impulse Space, a developer of orbital transfer vehicles that move satellites from low to high orbits
• Inversion Space, a startup that develops autonomous reentry vehicles that can deliver cargo from space to precise locations on the ground
• K2 Space, a manufacturer of large satellite buses
• Outpost Space, a 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 Space, a startup focused on in-space mobility and non-Earth imaging
• Wildstar, a technology company that specializes in next-generation narrowband antennas for satellite communication. 

The STRATFI program is designed to accelerate the transition of dual-use commercial 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, emphasized the importance of collaboration between the government and private sector. “Our growth stage investment programs, STRATFI and Tactical Funding Increase, are central to the AFWERX and SpaceWERX mission of advancing space technologies,” he said in a news release.

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