Reditus Space, a company based in Atlanta, Georgia, has announced a significant step forward in its mission to support microgravity research and in-space manufacturing. The company has secured $7.1 million in seed funding to facilitate the launch of its first reusable spacecraft, planned for next summer. This move places them among a rising number of startups venturing out to fill the gap as the International Space Station (ISS) approaches its retirement.
According to Stef Crum, chief executive and co-founder of Reditus Space, the seed funding round saw participation from a diverse range of investors, including venture capital firm Antler and Y Combinator, a startup accelerator that supported the company earlier in the year. This investment will primarily fuel the development of a demonstrator spacecraft capable of carrying a 40-kilogram payload. The company has already secured clients for an eight-week orbital mission.
The spacecraft, named ENOS, is scheduled to launch as part of a SpaceX rideshare mission and will conclude its journey with a splashdown off the U.S. coast. "It’ll be the largest commercial free flyer that will have ever been launched, just by sheer virtue of the amount of mass that makes it back from orbit," Crum stated in an interview with SpaceNews. While specific details regarding the spacecraft's dimensions and total payload capacity remain undisclosed, Crum emphasized the company's rapid progress, noting, "the thing that we hang our hat on, if you will, is that we will have gone from seed to launch in 15 months." This ambitious timeline is being managed by a team of 13 full-time employees and several interns.
Reditus Space joins a growing list of reusable-satellite startups gaining prominence this year. Catalyx Space, based in San Francisco, revealed in October that it had also secured around $7.1 million to develop a 20-kilogram reusable demonstrator, targeting a launch next fall. Additionally, Lux Aeterna, located in Denver, recently emerged from stealth with $4 million in pre-seed funding to support a 200-kilogram demonstrator planned for launch in 2027. Although Lux Aeterna aims for full reusability, the initial ENOS spacecraft from Reditus will not have solar panels and a heat shield designed for recovery. Nevertheless, Crum has expressed the company's intention to achieve full reusability by 2027, with the goal of minimal refurbishment and a focus on maintenance.
"The intention is that we don’t need to do any adjustments, any refurbishing, in any capacity — it’ll just be about maintenance," he said.
Like its competitors, Reditus intends to increase its capacity on future models in response to growing demand. Crum believes that the company's edge in the competitive market lies in its unique spacecraft architecture and proprietary heat-shield materials. While the "multiple customers" for the debut mission remain confidential, Crum indicated that demand is expected to come primarily from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as developers of advanced materials like semiconductor substrates.
Beyond other reusable spacecraft startups, Reditus will also compete with companies already involved in testing and flying spacecraft with reentry vehicles for microgravity research and manufacturing. Varda Space Industries, a prominent player in the field, launched its fifth reentry spacecraft on the Transporter-15 rideshare mission on November 28. Inversion Space also conducted a reentry demonstrator flight earlier this year, although the spacecraft did not reenter as intended. The European startup Atmos Space Cargo has tested a reentry vehicle prototype and recently announced a partnership with Space Cargo Unlimited for a series of missions starting next year.
Crum believes that reusability will allow Reditus to offer missions at a faster pace and at a lower price point. The increasing interest in reusable orbital platforms is largely attributed to plans for the ISS to be retired around 2030, along with the expansion of in-space manufacturing and a growing commercial market recognizing the value of missions beyond data downlink. Furthermore, an ancillary market involves gathering data during reentry for hypersonic testing. Crum mentioned that the company has agreements with "some DOD stakeholders" to collect data during reentry, during which the spacecraft returns to Earth at Mach 28. "Those types of speeds are just interesting on a fundamental basis," he said.
However, Reditus's main focus remains on commercial microgravity applications. "We are a dual-use application, where commercial contracts and customers are our primary application," Crum stated. "But because we go through that high hypersonic environment, we’re going to take advantage of it.”