Space traffic management startup OKAPI:Orbits keeps the downtime down with €5.5 million
Summary
Germany spacetech startup OKAPI: Orbits has raised 5.5 million in a seed funding round. The seed investment will be used to further expand the platforms product portfolio as the startup sets out on both brand awareness and an expansion of its userbase.Back in the heady days of the space race, other than a meteor or two here and there, astronauts and the teams on the ground that support them, didnt really have too many worries when it came to plotting a course. According to NASA, There are approximately 23,000 pieces of debris larger than a softball orbiting the Earth, traveling at speeds up to 17,500 mph, fast enough for a relatively small piece of orbital debris to damage a satellite or a spacecraft.The issue of space junk has reached the point that todays standard operating procedure is to account for it, with active space objects planning maneuvers around these hazards, but as with any high-risk proposition, things dont always go according to plan.This is where Okapi hopes to come to the rescue, by providing an as precise as possible, and complete map of objects and actions conducted in space. Okapis offer is already in employ with over 50 spacecraft in orbit and some 150+ registered users in Europe, The United States, and Asia-Pacific.Were building the first-ever tool designed to maximize profits and secure zero impact in the precious space environment. With OKAPI: Orbits, everyone who is working in and with space has can access critical information with just one click, integration into customer systems takes less than 10 minutes, and operators know exactly how missions can be optimised without interfering with others, explained co-founder and CEO Kristina Nikolaus.