Starfield Space has completed Series A++ and other rounds of financing, with Zijing Sci-Tech Innovation and Jiangning Jingkai Lingyi Fund leading the investment.
Batch Deployment of Krypton Working Medium Hall Electric Propulsion Systems in Orbit, Star Space Launches New Round of Financing
As the two major domestic LEO satellite internet constellations enter the intensive networking phase, the demands for satellite orbit transfer, orbit keeping and attitude adjustment are released in a concentrated manner. The cost of working medium and the reliable delivery capacity of propulsion systems have become two core indicators for constellation builders to measure power solutions. Founded in 2019, Star Space (currently the main entity is Nanjing Star Space Technology Co., Ltd., formerly Beijing Star Space Technology Co., Ltd.) has chosen a different path from most peers: replacing the traditional xenon working medium with krypton working medium, deploying two product lines of electric propulsion and chemical propulsion at the same time, and taking mass manufacturing as an equally important investment direction. Up to now, the company has delivered more than 80 sets of various propulsion systems, with a total of over 40 sets of products operating in orbit, and all Hall electric propulsion systems that entered orbit in 2024 adopted krypton working medium. The company has launched a new round of financing for new product R&D and mass production capacity expansion.
From Xenon to Krypton: Reducing Working Medium Cost for Constellation Construction
The space propulsion system is responsible for satellite orbit transfer, orbit keeping and attitude adjustment, which is a core subsystem with a relatively high value proportion in the satellite platform. In the construction of LEO communication constellations, a single satellite needs to carry working medium to complete the climb from the insertion orbit to the working orbit and long-term orbit maintenance. The procurement cost of working medium and the weight of the storage and supply system are directly included in the total satellite cost. Xenon has long been the mainstream working medium choice for domestic Hall electric propulsion due to its low ionization energy and high storage density, but it is scarce in resources, high in price and obvious in price fluctuation. The reserve of krypton is about ten times that of xenon, the market price is less than 1/25 of that of xenon, and its theoretical specific impulse under the same conditions is better than that of xenon working medium. This means that under the scale of a ten-thousand-satellite constellation, the choice of working medium route will bring considerable cost differences.
Switching the working medium is not just replacing the gas in the gas cylinder. Krypton has a smaller atomic weight, faster gas diffusion, more difficult ionization, and low density, which also brings problems of high-pressure in-orbit storage and stable supply. The efficiency gap can reach about 15% under extreme conditions, which constitutes two major thresholds for the engineering application of krypton working medium. Star Space's approach is to break down the difficulties at the component level and solve them one by one: overcome the efficient ionization of krypton working medium at the thruster end, break through the high-precision continuous control of small flow under high pressure and high-pressure storage at the storage and supply end, and support reconfigurable high-reliability power supply technology. Its first 200W Hall electric propulsion system entered orbit with the Galaxy Aerospace Lingxi 03 satellite (Noah Flat Panel Satellite) on July 23, 2023, using xenon working medium. It has worked in orbit for more than 500 days, with a total ignition duration of more than 400 hours and more than 500 startup times. The steady-state output thrust attenuation is less than 2% compared with the initial stage of orbit insertion.
The engineering verification of krypton working medium was implemented intensively in 2024. On September 18, 2024, the company's 400W krypton working medium Hall electric propulsion system successfully achieved in-orbit ignition, becoming the first domestic krypton working medium Hall electric propulsion system applied to the actual orbit control scenario, and realized 25MPa-level krypton working medium high-pressure in-orbit storage, high-precision continuous control of small flow under high pressure, and micro-flow stable control based on anode current closed-loop. On November 30 of the same year, the Long March 12 Y1 carrier rocket sent the satellite internet technology test satellite into orbit. The 900W krypton working medium Hall electric propulsion system on board completed the continuous orbit raising task from 1000km to 1100km in 36 days, which was the first time for domestic medium-power krypton working medium Hall electric propulsion to complete a 100km-level continuous orbit raising. The steady-state thrust of this system is continuously adjustable within the range of 35mN to 43mN, and the error between the in-orbit measured thrust and the ground calibration is less than 2%. On December 17, 2024, four X-band radar remote sensing satellites were launched into orbit with one rocket, all equipped with the company's 400W krypton working medium products. The deviation between the in-orbit thrust calibration of the four satellites and the ground actual measurement does not exceed 7%, which is regarded by the company as the first in-orbit mass delivery of domestic krypton working medium Hall electric propulsion.
Parallel Development of Electric Propulsion and Chemical Propulsion, Aiming at Mass Delivery
Star Space's products cover Hall electric propulsion, ion electric propulsion, chemical propulsion and cold gas propulsion. The power of electric propulsion products ranges from 100W to 2000W, and the thrust ranges from 5mN to 90mN, which can adapt to the orbit control requirements of 30kg micro-nano satellites to 1500kg large satellites; chemical propulsion products cover 0.5N to 10N monopropellant and bipropellant propulsion, suitable for scenarios such as rapid maneuver, attitude control and rocket upper stage. The company claims that it is currently the only domestic commercial company that has mastered core technologies such as 100W-level low-power Hall electric propulsion, 200W to 1700W medium and high power krypton/xenon dual-working medium Hall electric propulsion, cathode and low-power RF ion electric propulsion, and has the full-chain development and delivery capability of chemical propulsion. This judgment comes from the company's own statement, and there is no fully comparable third-party caliber.
Compared with simply competing for individual thrust indicators, constellation customers pay more attention to consistency. The multi-satellite batch launch requires that the performance dispersion of each set of propulsion systems is small enough, otherwise the orbit control rhythm will deviate, affecting the phase keeping of the entire constellation. In the four-satellite batch mission in December 2024, the in-orbit consistency performance of the four thrusters was taken by the company as direct evidence of its mass manufacturing capability. In terms of production capacity, the company has a wholly-owned subsidiary in Chongqing, with a 5,000-square-meter production base and vacuum test chambers, and has put into use automatic production lines for machining, assembly and welding, with an annual production capacity of more than 500 sets of propulsion systems; when completing the nearly 100 million yuan Series A financing in 2023, the company's plan was to increase the annual production capacity of electric propulsion systems from 100 sets to 1000 sets, and chemical monopropellant propulsion systems from 20 sets to 500 sets. According to the publicly disclosed delivery data, the company has delivered more than 80 sets of various propulsion systems, with a total of over 40 sets operating in orbit, and a total of 36 sets of chemical propulsion systems in orbit.
The technical accumulation of propulsion systems is also extending to other scenarios. The company cooperated with Galactic Energy to provide millinewton-level krypton working medium Hall electric propulsion payload for its Eros stay-orbit test platform, to carry out principle verification of in-orbit towing vehicles. The platform entered orbit with the CERES-1 Y13 carrier rocket on June 6, 2024, which is the first domestic commercial rocket upper stage stay-orbit test platform. The second-generation platform launched again on September 5, 2025, forming a dual-platform in-orbit service capability. After completing the main mission, the rocket upper stage continues to stay in orbit and perform orbit maneuvers, which essentially verifies the power and long-term in-orbit capability of the orbit transfer vehicle. At the moment when rideshare launch has become the mainstream, rockets usually release payloads in the same initial orbit, while different satellites have different target orbits and inclinations, so the business model of secondary delivery by powered vehicles has gained room for existence. Third-party research institutions have large differences in the caliber of market size forecast for orbit transfer vehicles, and this domestic business is still in the verification period, so this direction is more suitable to be regarded as an option rather than a current income source.
Team With State-owned Aerospace Background and New Round of Financing
Pan Hailin, the founder of Star Space, once served as the director of the Propulsion System Development Center of the 502 Institute of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the academic leader and chief expert of propulsion technology of the 5th Academy, presided over the development of China's first low-power Hall electric propulsion system that successfully completed in-orbit test, and was also the chief designer of the Dongfanghong-4 satellite bipropellant unified propulsion system, with 51 domestic and foreign patents. Ouyang Gaoxiang, the co-founder, once served as the director of the General Space Department of the Institute of Optics and Electronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, responsible for product overall planning and daily management; Ouyang Yongxiang, the co-founder, once served as the general manager of the Investment Department of China Aerospace Science and Industry Asset Management Co., Ltd. and the investment director of Hubei Changjiang Aerospace Fund, responsible for finance and financing.
The company's financing rhythm is basically synchronized with its production capacity investment. In August 2022, it completed tens of millions of yuan of Pre-A round financing, invested by Puhua Capital and Qifu Capital; in September 2023, it completed nearly 100 million yuan of Series A financing, jointly led by Yuanhang Capital and Gaomai, with participation from Rongding Capital, Huacang Capital and others; in October 2025, it completed Series A++ round financing, with investors being Zijing Kechuang; in November of the same year, it obtained another round of financing led by Nanjing Jiangning Economic Development Lingyi Fund, and the funds were used for key technology research, product iteration and upgrading, talent expansion and production capacity expansion. In terms of the main entity, the company moved from Beijing to Nanjing and changed its name in May 2025. At present, its legal representative is Pan Hailin, its registered address is in Jiangning District, Nanjing, and its manufacturing base is located in Chongqing. The company said that this round of financing will be mainly used for new product R&D and mass production capacity expansion to support the delivery of existing large-scale orders.