[Press Release] Unastella successfully raises KRW 19.5 billion in Series A funding

UNASTELLA, Secures 19.5 Billion KRW in Series A Funding

11 Venture Capital Firms Participate...Total Investment Reaches 28 Billion KRW
First Test Launch Planned for This Year

(Seoul, September 05, 2024) — UNASTELLA, South Korea’s first private manned launch vehicle startup (CEO Jaehong Park), announced on the 25th that it has successfully raised 19.5 billion KRW in Series A funding, bringing its total cumulative investment to 28 billion KRW.

Ahead of the planned launch of the 'UNA EXPRESS-I' by the end of this year, UNASTELLA intends to use the newly secured funds to advance its core electric motor pump engine technology and to develop subsequent launch vehicles. This will accelerate the commercialization of space launch vehicles for microgravity experiments and satellite launches.

This investment round saw participation from 11 venture capital firms. Existing investors Hana Ventures, Strong Ventures, Base Investment, Intervalue Partners, Daekyo Investment, and A-stone Ventures participated in the follow-up round, while HB Investment, SBI Investment, Woori Venture Partners, Samho Green Investment, and KDB Capital joined as new investors.

Founded in February 2022, UNASTELLA is developing South Korea's first privately built manned space launch vehicle. The company is designing and developing its own engines based on an electric motor pump cycle engine system, with the goal of providing suborbital space tourism services, reaching altitudes of up to 100 km.

In January of last year, just one year after its founding, UNASTELLA successfully completed a ground combustion test of its self-developed combustion chamber, demonstrating its technological capability and rapid development pace. The company has also signed a technology transfer agreement with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) for electric pump technology for small rocket engines, securing two patents related to electric motor pump engines.

Following this, UNASTELLA signed an additional technology transfer agreement for "space launch vehicle pressurized propellant supply system technology," acquiring licenses for relevant technology and key design know-how from KARI.

Since July of this year, UNASTELLA has been accelerating efforts to build space launch vehicles and launch systems, appointing Kwang-rae Cho, former Director of KARI and a key figure in the development of South Korea’s first space launch vehicle, Naro, as an advisory committee member.

*For media inquiries, please contact:*
contact@unastella.com

**(End)**