Reflex Aerospace has closed a €50 million Series A funding round that will, in part, be used to expand the company’s existing manufacturing capacity.
Founded in 2021, Reflex Aerospace aims to offer a versatile satellite platform for a range of applications, including Earth observation and communications. The company’s first satellite was built for the German satellite communications provider MBS and launched in January 2025. Reflex is now developing its next-generation platform, Praetora, which the company says is purpose-built for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) applications. Prior to its Series A, Reflex raised €9 million in seed funding in April 2023
On 4 November, Reflex Aerospace announced that it had secured €50 million in new funding in a round led by US-based venture capital firm Human Element, alongside Alpine Space Ventures, Bayern Kapital, HTGF, and other “German and European investors.”
“Europe cannot afford to remain reliant on external actors for space-based intelligence,” said Reflex Aerospace CEO Walter Ballheimer. “We will invest our own capital, we will work with the best partners in their respective domains, and we will act now because in the current environment, there is no time to waste.”
According to the company, the new funding will be used to accelerate the development of its satellite platforms and expand its existing manufacturing capacity. Reflex Aerospace currently operates a design centre in Berlin and a “MicroFactory” in Munich capable of producing up to 12 satellites per year. The company has also stated that it plans to establish a new manufacturing facility in Berlin with an annual capacity of up to 50 satellites. However, the production boost funded by its Series A round will be focused on expanding the company’s existing capacity in Munich.
In its 4 November announcement of the Series A round, Reflex Aerospace and its lead investor, Human Element, outlined a strategy focused on developing solutions targeting the German and broader European defence space market. The release quotes German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius from the same address in which he announced that Germany would invest €35 billion in space-related defence projects through 2030, stating, “Satellite networks today are an Achilles’ heel of modern societies.” Pistorius added, “Whoever attacks them paralyzes entire nations.”
Against this backdrop, the company identifies a shortage of sovereign space-based intelligence capabilities that it aims to address. Reflecting on this goal, Christian Sullivan, Managing Partner at Human Element, said Reflex’s approach offers the “flexibility and speed needed to meet the growing ISR demand across Germany and allied markets.”
Reflex’s announcement is the fourth large funding round announced by a European satellite manufacturer in as many months. In August, Belgium’s Aerospacelab closed a €94 million Series B, and Finland’s ReOrbit secured €45 million in Series A funding in early September. Less than a week before Reflex Aerospace announced its Series A, Bulgaria’s EnduroSat raised $104 million in new funding. All four have stated that the funding will be used to boost manufacturing capabilities to meet growing demand, primarily driven by defence programmes.
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