NewOrbit has announced an oversubscribed $18.5 million Series A led by Voyager Ventures to develop satellites designed to fly in Very Low Earth Orbit, an orbital band between 200 and 300 kilometers above Earth that has remained commercially inaccessible until now. The funding will support construction of the NEO Production Complex, set to open in 2027, and the launch of the world’s first commercial satellite designed to fly customer payloads at VLEO altitudes in 2028.
Flying closer to Earth fundamentally changes what satellites can deliver. From VLEO, NewOrbit’s satellites are designed to provide higher-quality imagery at dramatically lower cost, faster data speeds, and new capabilities including direct-to-device connectivity and live HD video from space — capabilities that are either impossible or significantly more expensive from higher orbital altitudes.
The VLEO band has historically been avoided by commercial operators due to the atmospheric drag and engineering challenges it presents, but NewOrbit said advances in satellite design and materials now make sustained operations at these altitudes viable and commercially compelling.
NewOrbit is building its platform in the UK, with European production to follow, drawing on a team with backgrounds spanning SpaceX, NASA JPL, Rocket Lab, Tesla, Airbus, ESA, and Formula 1. The combination of aerospace, automotive, and motorsport engineering expertise reflects the precision manufacturing and systems integration demands of building satellites capable of sustained flight at the edge of the atmosphere.
