Stella Story
[Press Release] 'Private Crewed Space Launch Vehicle' Unastella Secures KRW 1.2 Billion Through Scale-Up TIPS
UNASTELLA, Korea’s Pioneer in Private Human Spaceflight, Secures KRW 1.2 Billion Investment from Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ Scale-up TIPS
ㅇ The funding will fast-track the development of the world’s largest 5-ton electric motor pump cycle engine.
ㅇ UNASTELLA stands to benefit from a total of KRW 1.2 billion in R&D support over the next three years. ㅇ In November 2023, UNASTELLA achieved a significant milestone, completing an impressive 50-second combustion of the self-developed rocket engine combustor.
(Seoul, December 05, 2023) — UNASTELLA Corp. (CEO Park Jae-hong), Korea’s trailblazing private human spaceflight company, has been named a finalist for The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) ‘Scale-up TIPS’ R&D project support program.
The ‘Scale-up TIPS’ program, facilitated by an operating company comprising private investment firms and research and development specialized entities, focuses on identifying and investing in promising SMEs and startups, with subsequent government support.
UNASTELLA received investment and a recommendation from one of the Scale-up TIPS’ operating company Etri Holdings, ultimately earning selection for the R&D project support program based on high evaluations in technology, business feasibility, and project execution capabilities. As a finalist, UNASTELLA is positioned to receive a total of KRW 1.2 billion in research and development support over the next three years.
This financial injection will play a pivotal role in expediting the development of a groundbreaking 5-ton class electric motor pump cycle engine. This engine surpasses the power scale of existing electric motor pumps, reaching the world's highest power level.
In January of this year, UNASTELLA marked its initial success by completing the first combustion test of the self-developed rocket engine combustor. Last month, in November 2023, the company achieved an extraordinary milestone with a 50-second long-term combustion test at its own facility in Yeoju City, Gyeonggi Province.
Established in February 2022, UNASTELLA is Korea’s first private human spaceflight startup, aiming to provide suborbital space travel services with a vehicle capable of manned spaceflight up to an altitude of 100 km. The company is actively designing and developing its engine based on the electric motor pump cycle engine system.
Within a month of its establishment, UNASTELLA secured seed investment from Bluepoint Partners, accumulating a total investment of KRW 8.5 billion to date.
Park Jae-hong, CEO of UNASTELLA, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, "Following our selection for Fast Track TIPS in May of last year, being named a finalist for 'Scale-up Tips' acknowledges the innovative and technological excellence of UNASTELLA's signature technology, the ElecPump Engine System. Through this technology, we aim to venture into the fields of launch vehicles with easy precision orbital insertion and extreme-cold applications in the future."
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