Orbital Operations Raises $8.8M to Build High-Thrust Vehicle for Satellite Defense

Funding Backs Cryogenic Demo, Engine Test, and Work with U.S. Space Force

Long Beach, CA – August 7 – Orbital Operations, a Y Combinator startup developing high-thrust orbital vehicles for national security missions, has raised $8.8 million in seed funding. The round was led by Initialized Capital along with major investments from Harpoon Ventures, DTX Ventures, Rebel Fund, TRAC VC, Immad Akhund, and other notable investors. The company is building a cryogenic vehicle that will live in orbit and provide rapid-response capability to defend U.S. satellites from emerging threats.

Founded by aerospace veterans Ben Schleuniger and Ross Doherty, Orbital Operations brings over 15 years of combined experience from NASA, SpaceX, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Blue Origin, and Relativity. Their first vehicle, Astraeus, is powered by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen and built around an actively cooled cryogenic storage system. This enables long-duration in-space operations using high-performance propellants that are traditionally limited to short-duration upper stages. By combining high thrust with high efficiency, Astraeus is designed to reach targets quickly across the orbital domain, a capability that does not yet exist today. With China and Russia fielding satellites capable of grappling, refueling, and maneuvering at will, the need for a persistent, responsive defensive layer in orbit has become urgent.
Adversary satellites already span from low Earth orbit to geosynchronous orbit. If these systems are used in a future conflict, they could reach U.S. assets in just a few hours. The U.S., by contrast, would need months to respond. Astraeus is designed to close that gap. Its 10,000 lbf engine and high delta-v capability would give the U.S. Space Force the ability to intercept threats anywhere in cislunar space. “Most people don’t even realize it, but we are already in an in-space arms race,” said Schleuniger, CEO and co-founder. “We need to build systems that can defend the high ground and deter threats, or we’re inviting our adversaries to take the advantage in the next conflict.”

While the primary focus is defense, Astraeus is also well suited for critical in-space logistics. The vehicle can carry large payloads from low Earth orbit to direct insertion in geosynchronous orbit, then return to be refueled and reused. The long-term roadmap includes refueling infrastructure, made more flexible by the use of hydrogen and oxygen. “We’re building for defense first,” said Ross Doherty, COO and co-founder. “But our architecture naturally extends to broader space mobility. Once we have a minimum viable product solving today’s urgent needs, we’ll turn to persistent refueling and logistics.”
The U.S. Space Force has made clear its push for greater maneuverability in orbit. “If we weren’t constrained, then we could respond much more quickly to any activity, and a potential adversary would know that,” Lt. Gen. (ret.) John Shaw has stated publicly. “I think that has an inherent deterrent value, our ability to understand what’s going on in the domain and respond.”

With this new funding, Orbital Operations is expanding its team and facilities in Long Beach to demonstrate its engine, cryogenic propellant management system, and continue development in collaboration with national security partners. The goal is to prove out the core technology and position Astraeus to serve as a first-in-class asset for in-space defense and mobility.

For more information, please visit: https://www.orbitalops.tech/
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