Orbital tug startup Quantum raises $300 million by merging with a SPAC
Quantum’s proposed Ranger tug
The orbital tug startup Quantum Space has gone public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), raising $300 million in the process.
Quantum Space announced June 8 that it will merge with Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. VI, a SPAC traded on the Nasdaq exchange. The companies expect the deal to close in the fourth quarter, with Quantum Space then trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol QSPC.
The deal includes a $300 million investment, known as a private investment in public equity, or PIPE, by Inflection Point into Quantum Space. The SPAC also has $253 million in trust that would go to Quantum Space, assuming none of its shareholders redeem their shares. The deal would value Quantum Space at more than $1.1 billion if there are no SPAC redemptions.
The company’s press release is here. Quantum gets extra press because its CEO is Jim Bridenstine, former NASA administrator. The company is developing a tug it labels Ranger, designed with the War Department in mind, capable of not only moving satellites around but also maneuvering to other satellites for reconnaissance and surveillance.
The company however is a latecomer to the orbital tug field. There are several tug and satellite servicing companies (Impulse, Starfish, Momentus, to name just three) that have already flown their tugs and done actual missions. Another, Katalyst, will be launching its first mission in about a month, to rescue the Gehrels-Swift space telescope.
It will be interesting to see if Bridenstine can succeed in playing catch up.
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You’re right that Bridenstine and Quantum are playing catch-up football. But Anthony Colangelo interviewed Bridenstine recently on his Main Engine Cut-Off podcast and it seems Quantum has some novel propulsion technology that allows it to use hydrazine monopropellant in both conventional and electric thrusters. Thus the Ranger tug can be both a long-distance runner and a sprinter as required. So Quantum is not without a – thus far, anyway – unique selling point.
Interesting. If so, the company should be able to catch-up relatively fast, once it flies and proves the technology.