Security in the Skies: 5 High Altitude Balloon and Satellite Startups Hiring Now
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Nearly nine decades after the Hindenburg disaster, some speculate we’re entering the Second Age of the Balloon.
“As all these objects fall, a new space race is rising,” Vox proclaimed.
Tens of thousands of balloons float into near-space every year, and the numbers rise every year. The National Weather Service alone launches around 60k high-flying balloons each year. The Pentagon spent nearly $4B over the past two years on its own high altitude balloons, according to Politico.
Why the interest in such old-school tech? “They’re cheap, easy to transport, can be fielded in large numbers and are payload agnostic,” industry expert George Howell wrote.
Tucson, Arizona-based World View, a stratospheric ballooning company, last month announced plans to go public via SPAC merger. The company develops a “stratollite” that provides high-res imagery for extended periods. (The company also offer space tourism.)
Colorado-based Urban Sky is creating what it claims as the first ever reusable stratospheric balloon. Called “micro-balloons,” they’re the size of a VW bus and can hover in near space to collect data over urban areas. Company founder Jared Leidich has some chops in this arena, having designed the space suit used in the world record space dive in 2014 via a balloon at nearly 136k feet.
Near Space Labs invites people to “step inside a new way of thinking about all things geospatial imaging.” The company's high-altitude balloons that carry a small, autonomous robot called Swifty to capture the world around them at 60k to 85k feet in the air. The company says it’s done zero carbon emissions and recently launched a program to make its high-resolution Earth imagery available to universities and nonprofits for free.
Sounds fascinating, right? Luckily, with a new wave of space technology, comes a brand new, cutting-edge wave of jobs. Check out 5 top startups aiming skywards and hiring now.
- Website
- https://urbansky.com/
- Employees
- 11-50
- Locations
- Denver
- About
Urban Sky is developing the first ever reusable stratospheric balloon (think SpaceX reusable rockets but with high-altitude balloons instead), armed with sensors that collect high-value Earth observation data over entire cities, serving a multi-billion dollar imagery market and making daily and weekly aerial imagery collection a cost-effective reality.
- Industries
Unmanned Air SystemsAerial PhotographySpace Satellites
Providing timely wide-scale imagery from the stratosphere at down-to-earth prices11-50 Employees- B2B
- Early StageStartup in initial stages
- Employees
- 11-50
- About
Near Space Labs provides right-time, high-resolution stratospheric imagery. Use our API to get actionable geospatial information whenever and wherever needed. Our unprecedented imagery supports commercial business and municipalities for improved mobility, leisure and urban planning. Enjoy immediate access to imagery with just one click. We invite you to analyze the past, explore the present and be the first to see the future with us.
- Industries
- GovernmentsDeveloper APIsUrban DevelopmentAerial PhotographyEarth Observation
- B2B
- Growth StageExpanding market presence
- Website
- https://starfishspace.com
- Employees
- 51-200
- Locations
- Seattle
- About
Starfish Space is giving life to on-orbit services. Founded by former Blue Origin and NASA engineers, Starfish is developing the Otter, the first small and versatile space tug that will lower costs and increase availability for satellite servicing missions including life extension and active debris removal.
Starfish technologies, including its proprietary CEPHALOPOD software, are key logistics, autonomy, and robotics infrastructure for the developing off-world economy and orbital industries like manufacturing, assembly, tourism, and mining. Learn more at [starfishspace.com] (starfishspace.com).
- Industries
- Space Satellites
Jobs
3 weeks ago$120k – $170k • 0.05% – 0.15%Seattle3 years of exp
- Website
- https://metasolis.co
- Employees
- 1-10
- Locations
- New Zealand, Remote
- About
Metasolis is building a marketplace for spacecraft collision risk.
- Industries
- BlockchainsSpace Satellites
11-50 Employees- B2B
- Growth StageExpanding market presence
- Top InvestorsThis company has received a significant amount of investment from top investors
- YC FundedStartup funded by Y Combinator
- Website
- https://turionspace.com/
- Employees
- 11-50
- Locations
- Irvine
- About
Turion Space was formed with the vision of building the technology required for humanity's interplanetary future. To achieve this goal, Turion Space is building low-earth-orbit spacecraft called DROIDs to perform space mobility & logistics and space domain awareness missions. Turion Space aims to build the highest delta-V-per-dollar space transport vehicles and is launching the DROID.001 mission in June 2023. If you're interested in being a part of the new age in space, give us a shout through one of our open jobs or at [email protected]!
- Industries
- Satellite ManufacturingSpace Satellites
Security in the Skies: 5 High Altitude Balloon and Satellite Startups Hiring Now
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