SG’s Equatorial Space bags $1.5m in Seed funding

Equatorial Space Systems, a Singapore-based rocket propulsion and space launch startup, has raised US$1.5 million in seed funding led by Elev8.VC. The round was also joined by SEEDS Capital and Masik Enterprises. The company’s aim is to enable space access at greatly reduced risk, cost, and environmental impact compared to incumbent solutions.

The funding will be used to develop Equatorial Space Systems’s Dorado commercial-sounding rocket family. The rocket will provide low-cost space access for science experiments, technology demonstrators, and academic payloads. The Dorado will be propelled by a hybrid rocket motor using a combination of chilled Nitrous Oxide (cNOX) and a proprietary, patent-pending solid fuel formulation known as HRF-1AL.

Equatorial Space Systems’s breakthrough in rocket propulsion holds the potential to lower barriers related to safety, cost, and sustainability that have traditionally impeded the adoption of space technologies. These advances will play an important role in developing other space technologies in Singapore and add to the vibrancy of Singapore’s innovation ecosystem.

The company’s headquarters and principal R&D facility are in Singapore, but it also has a presence in the US and Australia. The first launches of the Dorado rocket are slated for mid-2024.

Elev8.VC is a Singapore-based early-stage VC fund investing in technologies of the future and founders that create emergent industries with a global impact.

Equatorial Space Systems’s success in securing seed funding reflects the growing interest in the space industry and the potential for innovative solutions that can lower costs and reduce environmental impact. With the launch of the Dorado rocket family, Equatorial Space Systems is poised to make a significant contribution to the development of space technologies and the exploration of space.