Bremen-based startup POLARIS Spaceplanes has secured additional investors to fund the development of its AURORA multipurpose spaceplane and hypersonic transport system.
POLARIS announced on 27 February that it had added E2MC Ventures and deep-tech investor Andreas Kupke to its existing pool of investors. It also revealed that MBB (Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Bremen) had made an investment in the company in 2023.
While the POLARIS announcement didn’t specify any amounts, CCO Annika Wollermann told European Spaceflight that it represented “a significant bridge funding round.”
POLARIS is currently working towards a maiden rocket-powered flight of its subscale MIRA demonstrator. MIRA is 4.25 metres long and is equipped with four kerosene-fed jet engines and one of the company’s in-house designed AS1 aerospike rocket engines. In late January, the company completed the vehicle’s first rocket-powered roll test, with the engine being fired at 60% thrust for three seconds.
MIRA is the fifth demonstrator vehicle that POLARIS has built and tested. It will be followed by one more demonstrator called NOVA before the company proceeds with manufacturing and testing the first AURORA spaceplane. NOVA will be between six and seven metres long and will be used to demonstrate safe and repeatable rocket-powered supersonic flight at high altitudes. The first flight of NOVA is expected to take place later this year.
