Articles about Starfish Space

Venture funding drops in Seattle area as AI boom reshapes startup world

Seattle-area startups raised $2.7 billion in the first half of 2026, down 40% from a year ago, even as U.S. venture funding hit a record $412.7 billion. The disconnect: AI mega-rounds are driving the national boom, and Seattle’s biggest deals were in fusion, space, and cybersecurity. Read More

Show-and-tell panel with Paul Mikesell at podium and Otter Pup spacecraft in foreground

Founders on the frontiers of space and robotics show off their gadgets and tell the stories behind them

Carbon Robotics, Overland AI, Starcloud and Starfish Space get their share of the spotlight at a DeepTech session featuring AI chips, satellites and more. Read More

Illustration: Otter Pup 2 satellite in orbit

Starfish Space shifts its sights to Australian satellite for orbital docking demonstration

Seattle-area startup maneuvers its Otter Pup 2 spacecraft into position almost a year after its launch. Read More

GeekWire Awards: The machines of the future, from self-driving earthmovers to space robots

An emerging class of startups is pushing the boundaries of what machines can do in the physical world — retrofitting bulldozers to dig on their own, launching drones that beat police cars to 911 calls, outfitting retail workers with spatial computing badges, building robotic arms for spacecraft, and servicing satellites in orbit. Read More

Illustration: Starfish Space Otter space vehicle in orbit with Earth's full disk in background

Starfish Space raises $110M to scale up its satellite servicing missions

Fresh funding will boost Seattle-area company as it gets set for its first operational space mission. Read More

Illustration: Otter spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit with Earth in background

Starfish Space wins $54.5M Space Force contract for another satellite servicing vehicle

Starfish’s Otter spacecraft will conduct maneuvers in geosynchronous Earth orbit, with delivery scheduled in 2028. Read More

Illustration: Otter spacecraft near another satellite in Earth orbit

Starfish Space wins $52.5M contract to provide satellite disposal service for Space Development Agency

Seattle-area startup plans to use its Otter spacecraft to deorbit military satellites safely at the end of their operational lives. Read More

Mira spacecraft in orbit with Earth's disk in the background

Startups team up to demonstrate satellite rendezvous using Starfish Space’s navigation system

Impulse Space’s Mira spacecraft snaps close-ups of another satellite during orbital approach guided by Starfish software. Read More

Illustration: Starfish Otter Pup 2 and target satellite in orbit

SpaceX launches Starfish Space’s second spacecraft for orbital satellite docking test

Starfish Space’s second Otter Pup spacecraft went into Earth orbit today, marking the first step in what the Seattle-area startup… Read More

Otter Pup rides again: Starfish Space gears up for its second satellite docking attempt

Two years after its first space mission literally took a turn for the worse, Tukwila, Wash.-based Starfish Space is getting… Read More

Starfish Space raises $29M to bankroll development of orbital servicing vehicles

Tukwila, Wash.-based Starfish Space today announced that it has raised $29 million to support the development of its first three… Read More

Illustration: Otter spacecraft and another satellite in orbit

Starfish Space wins contract to help NRO advance capabilities for orbital operations

Tukwila, Wash.-based Starfish Space and two other companies have won contracts from the National Reconnaissance Office, America’s spy satellite agency,… Read More

Starfish Space brings in new funding as it gears up for orbital inspection and docking

Tukwila, Wash.-based Starfish Space is bringing in more funding after announcing several agreements to use its Otter spacecraft for missions… Read More

Starfish Space wins $15M NASA award for a SSPICY mission to visit dead satellites

Tukwila, Wash.-based Starfish Space has won a three-year, $15 million contract from NASA for a mission aimed at doing up-close… Read More

Starfish Space signs contract with Intelsat for satellite servicing beginning in 2026

Tukwila, Wash.-based Starfish Space has signed a contract with Intelsat to provide on-orbit life extension services to a geostationary satellite… Read More

Space Force and Starfish Space lay out their roadmap for satellite docking mission

The U.S. Space Force says a Pentagon partnership with Tukwila, Wash.-based Starfish Space will result in a “first-of-its-kind docking mission”… Read More

Starfish tests satellite rendezvous system — and wins a $37.5M Space Force contract

Months after Starfish Space said it was giving up on its plan to test its satellite docking system in orbit,… Read More

Illustration: Gravitics space station module in orbit

Three Pacific Northwest space companies win awards from Space Force venture fund

SpaceWERX, which essentially serves as a venture fund for the U.S. Space Force, has awarded contracts worth as much as… Read More

Starfish Space scrubs plan for a satellite rendezvous after thruster suffers anomaly

Five months after a tilt-a-whirl spin spoiled the debut of Starfish Space’s first spacecraft, the Tukwila, Wash.- based startup has… Read More

Illustration: Starfish's Otter spacecraft in orbit

Starfish Space wins NASA contract to plan demonstration of orbital debris inspection

Even as Starfish Space works to get its first orbital demonstration mission back on track, the Tukwila, Wash.-based startup has… Read More

Spin control: Starfish Space makes use of magnetism to stop satellite’s death spiral

Two and a half months after Starfish Space’s first orbital mission teetered on the edge of failure because its Otter… Read More

Starfish Space wins $1.8M to keep working on satellite guidance system for Air Force

Kent, Wash.-based Starfish Space says it’s been awarded $1.8 million by AFWERX, the innovation arm of the Department of the… Read More

Clean-room team with Orbiter SN3 space tug and Otter Pup docking spacecraft

Spinning spacecraft adds unwelcome twist to Starfish Space’s docking test mission

Starfish Space’s ambitious mission to test its on-orbit satellite docking system has taken an unfortunate turn — or, more precisely,… Read More

SpaceX launch gives a big sendoff to Starfish Space’s satellite docking craft

A well-traveled SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket today launched dozens of satellites, including an experimental docking craft created by a Seattle-area… Read More

Illustration: Lunar power beaming system

NASA awards millions to boost technology innovations created by small businesses

NASA’s latest round of small-business grants will support aerospace-related technologies ranging from a new kind of spacecraft docking mechanism to… Read More

Illustration: Otter servicing vehicle docked to larger satellite in orbit

Starfish Space raises $14M to advance development of satellite servicing vehicles

Starfish Space, a Seattle-area startup founded by two veterans of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture, has raised $14 million… Read More

Starfish Space reveals ambitious plan to demonstrate satellite docking

Just three years after it was founded, a Tukwila, Wash.-based startup called Starfish Space is putting the pieces in place… Read More

Illustration: Astronauts working on moon

Moondust buster? NASA funds far-out research projects, including four in Washington state

How do you keep moondust from gumming up the works in NASA’s future spacesuits and spacecraft? That’s one of the… Read More

Founded by Blue Origin veterans, Starfish Space raises $7M for satellite servicing tug

Kent, Wash.-based Starfish Space says it’s raised $7 million to boost its drive to develop a space tug capable of… Read More

Starfish Space partners with Benchmark Space Systems to support orbital refueling

Starfish Space, a startup founded by veterans of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture, is teaming up with… Read More