TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (ATLAS Space Operations PR) — ATLAS Space Operations, a global leader in cloud-based space communications solutions, today announced $26 million in Series B Funding led by Mitsui & Co., Ltd. The investment round reaffirms confidence in ATLAS’ Ground Software as a Service™ (G-SaaS) approach as a critical solution within the space economy.

The funding round is a part of strategic initiatives for both Mitsui and ATLAS. For ATLAS, this investment accelerates its plan for international growth, as well as its Ground Software as a Service business model. This is ATLAS’ industry disruptive software (Freedom™) solution which integrates complex disparate networks for government and commercial clients across a federated network.

HOUGHTON, Mich., Aug. 30, 2019 (Orbion Space Technology PR) — Orbion Space Technology, developer of next-generation smallsat propulsion systems, today announced it has raised $9.2M in Series A funding led by Material Impact, a venture capital firm focused on translating early stage, innovative materials technologies into products and companies that solve real-world problems. Other participants in the round include Invest Michigan, Invest Detroit, Wakestream Ventures, Ann Arbor SPARK, and Boomerang Catapult.

The financing comes at a crucial moment for Orbion and the space market—just last year, the company announced plans to manufacture and mass-produce the first-ever Hall-effect plasma thrusters for small satellites, dubbed the Orbion Aurora system. Aurora is the highest-performing system of its kind in the world, and will deliver the accelerated access and efficiency gains that New Space operators need to drive greater ROI for smallsat missions. Also in the last year, dozens of companies and government defense agencies announced plans to build and launch thousands of new small satellites—all of which will require plasma thrusters.