InfinAstro has secured initial funding to support its mission of advancing commercial on-orbit services in China.

InfinAstro, formally known as Beijing Infinity Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd., has raised tens of millions of yuan through angel funding. According to an InfinAstro statement on March 24, the investment was led by the venture capital firm Unity Ventures and followed by the Beijing-based venture capital firm InnoAngel Fund.

The funds will hasten China’s on-orbit service commercialization and assist research and development of the company’s “space bus” line of orbital transfer vehicles.

Since 2020, orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs) have been used more frequently for international satellite deployment, according to InfinAstro, and several new and existing space enterprises are entering the market. It also mentioned that Impulse Space, an in-space transportation services company, was founded by Tom Mueller, a founding employee of SpaceX.

After being separated from the launch vehicle, OTVs provide propulsion to put payloads into predetermined orbits; this service is known as last-mile logistics. According to a 2022 Euroconsult Space Logistics Markets research, there may be 120 orbital transport vehicles in operation by 2031, reflecting the increased demand for last-mile logistics.

By facilitating multi-satellite deployment across many orbits, InfinAstro’s “Space bus vehicle” is intended to close a gap in China’s commercial space industry, according to the company. It claims that it can cut orbital insertion time by roughly 85% and deployment costs by up to 66% using its globally competitive technology.

The company’s goals include offering services at altitudes between 200 and 36,000 kilometers, deploying constellations intelligently, conducting multi-satellite rideshare missions across various orbits, and improving the efficiency, speed, and accuracy of satellite deployment.

According to a statement from Li Jian, the founder and CEO of InfinAstro, “the company will accelerate the development of the Space Bus Type I product and the production of the first flight product after this round of financing.” “We will accelerate the closed loop of the space economy ecosystem, encourage the creative development of on-orbit services, and make up for the shortcomings of the industry’s space transportation services through the orbital transfer capability of the Space Bus.”

The flight state power system of InfinAstro’s Space Bus IH-1, the company’s first-generation orbital servicing spacecraft, had a successful ground hot fire test on April 1. However, scheduled dates for orbital flights and tests are not mentioned in its news releases.

The business is aiming for future capabilities including satellite life extension, spacecraft reentry, and payload delivery to locations like geostationary orbit, the moon, and Mars in addition to last-mile orbital delivery.

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the nation’s state-owned primary space contractor, provides the company’s core workforce, according to Chinese tech media 36Kr.

InfinAstro’s rise in China is consistent with a global trend toward in-space logistics and satellite servicing, which is evident in US companies Momentus and Impulse Space as well as foreign firms D-Orbit and Exolaunch. InfinAstro also serves as an example of the growing variety of activities that commercial enterprises are engaging in within China. It comes after the recent announcements of innovative constellation projects, orbital crewed tourism programs, and low-cost cargo ships.

This coincides with larger national initiatives to use commercial space as a catalyst for the expansion of high-tech industries. Following the central government’s support for the commercial space industry, many provinces and localities have created action plans to pull in space enterprises and support their growth.