Blue Skies Space raises £2M to open up access to satellite data

London-headquartered Blue Skies Space has secured over £2M in funding that will accelerate the delivery of its fleet of satellites. The funding will enable it to launch its first stargazing satellite in 2025.

Space data company Blue Skies Space offers satellite-acquired data on stars, planets and other science domains to the global research community, which has traditionally been served by government agencies only. Traditionally, space data has been provided to researchers through government agencies (such as NASA, ESA etc) but there is huge demand for these satellites and they are often heavily oversubscribed. Blue Skies Space facilitates data sharing to any scientist in the world through annual memberships.

The funding will enable the launch of Blue Skies Space’s first small satellite Mauve which will measure the activity of nearby stars, helping scientists understand the impact of powerful stellar flares on exoplanets and the prospects of harbouring life.

The company aims to have a fleet of satellites in operation to complement the work researchers are doing with data from national space agencies. Universities and institutions from eleven countries have already signed up, including Cardiff University and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.

Blue Skies’ team hail from NASA, Airbus, Surrey Satellite Technology, California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and University College London (UCL).

The funding round includes investment from Japanese backers SPARX and SFC Capital in the UK.

Dr Marcell Tessenyi, CEO and co-founder of Blue Skies Space, commented: “We believe great science doesn’t always need large satellites. Our first small satellite Mauve will measure the activity of nearby stars, helping scientists understand the impact of powerful stellar flares on exoplanets and the prospects of harbouring life. This funding enables us to launch Mauve by early 2025 and accelerate the deployment of subsequent satellites already under development, with the backing of SPARX and SFC Capital.”