Starfish Space

Starfish Space is developing the Otter spacecraft for satellite servicing, enabling life extension through docking and repositioning of satellites in orbit. Founded in 2019 by former Blue Origin engineers Austin Link and Trevor Bennett, Starfish Space is advancing autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations technology.

In April 2024, Starfish Space demonstrated rendezvous capabilities with the Otter Pup mission, approaching a D-Orbit ION spacecraft as the client satellite. The company unveiled Otter Pup 2 mission plans to further validate docking and servicing capabilities with upgraded hardware and software.

Starfish Space secured major contracts in 2024: a $15 million NASA contract in August, a $37.5 million Space Force contract for first-of-its-kind docking with national security assets in GEO, and an NRO mission concept study in October. In June 2024, Intelsat signed a commercial contract to develop, launch, and operate an Otter vehicle to extend the life of an Intelsat GEO satellite.

In November 2024, Starfish raised $29 million led by Shield Capital with participation from Point72 Ventures, Booz Allen Ventures, and others, bringing total funding to $50 million. The company grew to 70 employees. Key proprietary systems include CETACEAN computer vision navigation, CEPHALOPOD autonomous guidance and control, and Nautilus universal docking mechanism enabling attachment without prepared fixtures. Three Otter vehicles launch in 2026 for NASA, Space Force, and Intelsat missions.