Orbite Space, a venture that aims to offer down-to-Earth spaceflight training programs on a “try before you fly” basis, is raising more capital amid the company’s preparations for an expansion of operations.
The financial arrangements were reported this week in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In the filing, Orbite reports an equity offering of $6.775 million and says that $2.725 million of the offering has already been sold. The company says those amounts include the conversion of previously issued convertible securities. So far, seven investors have taken part in the offering, according to the SEC filing.
GeekWire reached out to Orbite with additional questions about the funding round, but the company declined further comment.
Orbite traces its roots to Seattle: Its founders are CEO Jason Andrews, who formerly headed Seattle-based Spaceflight Industries; and executive chairman Nicolas Gaume, a French-born entrepreneur who also works at Microsoft.
The company’s expansion plans focus less on Seattle and more on Florida, where Orbite plans to build an Astronaut Training and Spaceflight Gateway Campus. Last month, Andrews told GeekWire that the campus is scheduled to open in 2026, and that it would become the home base for Orbite’s private-sector astronaut training programs. Between now and then, Orbite plans to offer its clients a series of space-themed travel experiences and training sessions.
“We are working to design our curriculum and facilities to support the missions of tomorrow, which will include professional astronauts, mission specialists and career astronauts working in low Earth orbit, on the moon and potentially Mars,” Brienna Rommes, Orbite’s director of astronaut training, said in a November news release.
