[Press Release] Unastella, Korea’s first private crewed space launch vehicle company, successfully secures Pre-A investment

Successfully raised KRW 5.5 billion in pre-Series A funding... additional investment also in progress
Recently succeeded in the first combustion performance test of its in-house developed combustor
Signed a technology transfer agreement with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute for 'electric pump for small rocket engines' last December

[2023/01/30] Unastella, the first private crewed space launch vehicle startup in Korea, raised KRW 5.5 billion in pre-Series A funding.

The round was led by Strong Ventures, which has invested in Danggeun Market, Class101, and Finda, and was co-participated by Hana Ventures, Intervalue Partners, Base Investment, Astone Ventures, and Hana Securities. Total cumulative investment now stands at KRW 6 billion.

Founded in February 2022, Unastella is a startup developing Korea's first private crewed space launch vehicle. One month after its founding, in March 2022, it secured seed investment from domestic accelerator (AC) Bluepoint Partners. In April 2022, it was selected for the 'Fast Track' of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' private investment-led tech startup support program, 'TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startup),' securing initial R&D funding.

Unastella aims to develop a launch vehicle capable of crewed spaceflight up to an altitude of 100 km and provide suborbital space tourism services, and is currently designing and developing its own engine based on an electric motor pump-cycle engine system.

In particular, this month it successfully conducted a ground combustion performance test of its in-house developed combustor, demonstrating its technological capability and development speed. The achievement came within a year of its founding. The combustor has a ground thrust of 50 kN (5-ton class) and uses kerosene (Jet A-1) and liquid oxygen, the same propellant combination as Nuriho.

Also, in December last year it signed a technology transfer agreement with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute for 'electric pumps for small rocket engines,' receiving non-exclusive licenses for two patents related to electric motor pump engines, and is currently being trained in core design technologies and know-how by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute.

With this investment, Unastella plans to continue developing key avionics components and launch vehicle structures, including upgrades to the engine currently under development.

"We are grateful to the investors who believed in Unastella's vision and potential and invested even in difficult times, and we aim to successfully close the additional fundraising currently in progress," said Park Jae-hong, CEO of Unastella. "Just as we were able to succeed in the combustion test ahead of schedule thanks to Unastella's fast and efficient development philosophy and the team's passion, we will steadily achieve Unastella's own milestones for developing a low-cost, high-efficiency launch vehicle."

Bae Ki-hong, CEO of Strong Ventures, which led this pre-A round, said, "Sending people into space requires a great deal of time and capital, but it is something that must be done in the Republic of Korea, which is globally recognized for its space industry technology," adding, "We decided to invest because we believe the Unastella team can play a leading role in shaping the future of the space industry, and I want to emphasize that this investment is also important for the future of Korea." (End)