Blackswan Space raises €2.5M to take autonomous spacecraft navigation into orbit

Lithuania's Blackswan Space has raised €2.5 million in its second investment round, led by Iron Wolf Capital, bringing its total funding to €3.2 million. The company's pre-seed round has also contributed to its growth, helping it commercialize its Mission Design Simulator (MDS) software and secure commercial customers in both the EU and US.

Blackswan Space's RPO Kit, a plug-and-play spacecraft payload, is designed to perform complex navigation maneuvers through advanced vision-based target detection, identification, and tracking. This technology is crucial as the number of satellites in orbit grows rapidly, enabling autonomous asset inspection, servicing, collision avoidance, and operations management.

The latest funding will allow Blackswan to accelerate the commercialization of its RPO Kit and expand in the USA. The company plans to test the RPO Kit in orbit next year, with the first European in-space refuelling mission, "ASTRAL," scheduled for 2028. Blackswan Space's technology is seen as a game-changer, providing spacecraft with their own eyes and intelligence to maneuver relative to other objects.