November 13, 2024
MCLEAN, VA – Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH) today announced that its corporate venture capital arm, Booz Allen Ventures, LLC, has made a strategic investment in Starfish Space, an emerging leader in satellite servicing, inclusive of satellite life extension and end-of-life disposal. This investment aims to strengthen the resilience and sustainability of space infrastructure through innovative offerings for both government and commercial mission sets. This is the third space-focused investment by Booz Allen Ventures and reflects the growing criticality and varied mission needs of the space domain.
“As dynamic space operations become increasingly critical to the Department of Defense, NASA, the intelligence community, as well as commercial entities, advancements in satellite servicing and orbital logistics are imperative to safeguarding space assets and enabling long-term mission success,” said Chris Bogdan, executive vice president at Booz Allen and leader of the firm’s space business. “Continued strategic investments in companies like Starfish Space are critical to help drive the development of vital technologies for sustainable operations and strengthen the nation's ability to navigate and secure an increasingly congested space environment."
Founded by former engineers from Blue Origin and NASA, Starfish Space specializes in on-orbit satellite servicing with a focus on satellite life extension and end-of-life disposal. The company’s first-of-its-kind autonomous satellite servicing vehicle, Otter, can provide scalable and customizable options for managing satellites and maintaining critical infrastructure, ensuring viability in increasingly congested orbital paths. Most recently, Starfish Space executed its Otter Pup demonstration mission, secured a $37.5 million Strategic Funding Increase contract (STRATFI) with the U.S. Space Force, signed a contract with Intelsat for a life extension mission, and partnered with NASA for a debris inspection mission in low Earth orbit.
“Booz Allen’s investment will help us accelerate towards the launch of the first Otters, changing the paradigm of how humanity operates in orbit,” said Austin Link, co-founder and CEO of Starfish Space. “We look forward to working with Booz Allen to address the pressing needs of space operators, supporting life extension safe disposal, and many missions beyond.”
Previous space-focused investments by Booz Allen Ventures include Albedo and Quindar earlier this year, with Starfish Space marking the 11th overall investment since the fund’s inception in 2022. These efforts reflect Booz Allen’s continued commitment to fostering innovation in automation, operational efficiency, and decision making in space operations through the use of AI and data analytics to meet mission needs for clients and the industry.
“With commercial and government demand accelerating for flexible in-orbit servicing, it’s clear that new capabilities are essential for safe space operations,” said Alex Bock, senior lead technologist, Booz Allen Ventures. “Starfish Space’s innovative approach will be a key enabler, and we look forward to partnering with them to shape the future of in-space servicing.”
Since launching, Booz Allen’s $100 million corporate venture capital arm has made strategic investments in early-stage companies developing dual-use commercial technologies, including Latent AI, RAIC Labs (Synthetaic), Reveal Technology, Credo AI, Hidden Level, Shift5, Hidden Layer, and Second Front (2F).
Read more about Booz Allen Ventures and the firm’s space solutions and capabilities.