Atlas Space Operations To Triple Sales with $15 Million Boost And New Partnerships

On Wednesday, 4 September, Atlas Space Operations, a provider of ground station services, announced that it has secured $15 million in funding to support its goal of tripling revenue within the next year.

Atlas CEO John Williams said that Luxembourg-based NewSpace Capital led the pre-Series C funding round, bringing Atlas’ total venture capital to $50 million since it started seven years ago. 

“We are thrilled to have NewSpace Capital’s support,” he said. ‘Their exceptional expertise in the space industry will strongly bolster ATLAS in executing and expanding in the U.S., as well as its international growth strategy in the European, Middle Eastern, and African (EMEA) markets.”

Williams also mentioned that Atlas currently has 42 employees and plans to double the team by the end of 2024 to expand its operations.

Largest U.S Global Federated Ground Network

Atlas Space Operations is a company based in Michigan. It uses network management software to link antennas and create a shared network, allowing customers to access unused ground station capacity. This software lets customers connect to Atlas’ network with infrastructure managed by partners Viasat and Amazon.

The network includes over 50 antennas spread across over 34 ground stations worldwide. According to Atlas, this makes it the largest U.S.-owned and operated global federated ground network.

“Atlas solves the problem of fragmented ground communication in the space industry. They provide a smoother, more reliable, faster, and more cost-effective solution. We were confident that with our support, they will flourish,” said Martin Halliwell, Partner at NewSpace Capital.

Williams stated that the anticipated growth for its services is linked to U.S. government projects and international commercial customers.

Atlas’ Partners And Investors

Early this year, Freedom Space Technologies, a subsidiary of Atlas, revealed its partnership with defence contractor Omni Federal to create a ground system for U.S. Space Force missile-warning satellites. 

Omni Federal is one of four companies awarded contracts by the U.S. Space Force for the FORGE C2 (Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution Command and Control) program.

Martin Halliwell from NewSpace Capital will join Atlas’ board as part of the investment. NewSpace Capital, which has previously invested in Atlas, has also backed companies like Iceye (synthetic aperture radar), Simera Sense (Earth observation cameras), Kayrros (satellite imagery analysis), and Cailabs (ground-to-space laser communications).

Other current Atlas investors, including Michigan Capital Network, Beringea, Wakestream Ventures, and Boomerang Catapult, also contributed to this funding round. New investors Michigan Rise and Red Cedar Ventures also joined in.

Williams mentioned that a small portion of the Series C funding round is still being secured; however, it may not be necessary.