NewOrbit Closes $18.5M Series A to Commercialize VLEO
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NewOrbit has closed an oversubscribed $18.5 million Series A round to commercialize Very Low Earth Orbit, a band of near-Earth space that has long been off-limits to commercial operators. The satellite manufacturer, based in Reading, United Kingdom, announced the round on June 8, 2026.
The funding was led by Voyager Ventures, with participation from Atlantic VC, Lifeline Ventures, Illusian, Custos Family Office, former Nvidia chief scientist David Kirk, and Tier Mobility co-founder and former CEO Lawrence Leuschner. The round was oversubscribed, reflecting investor appetite for a company targeting a part of space that has barely been touched commercially.
NewOrbit builds satellites designed to operate in Very Low Earth Orbit, the region between 200 and 300 kilometers above the planet. That band has historically been reserved for spy satellites and the International Space Station, in part because flying so close to Earth presents real engineering challenges. The payoff, according to NewOrbit, is significant. By operating nearer the surface, its satellites can deliver drone-resolution imagery and direct-to-phone connectivity, capabilities that are harder to achieve from higher orbits.
The capital is earmarked for building NewOrbit’s NEO Production Complex, a manufacturing facility planned for 2027. That site is expected to produce the company’s first commercial satellite ahead of a planned launch in 2028, which the company describes as the world’s first commercial satellite to fly at 200 to 300 kilometers.
The timeline is deliberately staged, moving from funding to manufacturing to launch over the next two years. For NewOrbit, the raise is the first major step in a long technical road, and the oversubscribed round gives it the runway to begin turning an ambitious vision of commercial VLEO into hardware.