Commercial space venture Helicity Space has successfully raised $5 million in a seed funding round, attracting investments from notable backers including Airbus Ventures, TRE Ventures, Voyager Space Holdings, E2MC Space, Urania Ventures, and Gaingels.
Co-founded by Setthivoine You, former professor in plasma physics at the University of Tokyo and University of Washington, Marta Calvo, previously at Aerojet Rocketdyne with a background in chemical engineering, and Stephane Lintner, formerly at Goldman Sachs with expertise in applied mathematics, Helicity Space focuses on developing innovative in-space propulsion and power technology based on fusion power.
The team at Helicity Space envisions a transformative impact on space exploration efforts, emphasizing the potential of fusion propulsion to enhance sustainability, speed, and safety in traversing the solar system. The company aims to contribute to advancements that not only benefit space exploration but also have positive implications for life on Earth.
Dr. Stephane Lintner, Co-founder of Helicity Space, expressed gratitude for the support from investors, highlighting the pivotal role of nuclear fusion propulsion technology in revolutionizing space exploration. He emphasized the importance of this funding round in advancing the proprietary technology, the Helicity Drive, comprising scalable fusion propulsion engines designed to enable safer, faster, reusable, and more fuel-efficient travel into deep space.
The company’s breakthrough innovation is the result of over two decades of collaborative research by leading scientists. Helicity Space leverages plectonemic plasma jets for confinement, magnetic reconnection for heating, and peristaltic magnetic compression for increasing energy density.
Lewis Pinault, Partner at Airbus Ventures, commended Helicity Space’s commitment to bringing advancements in plasma physics to space propulsion systems. He underscored the potential of space-tested plasma fusion power to address Earth’s energy needs more efficiently.
Helicity Space benefits from the expertise of a distinguished team of strategic advisors, including former NASA Astronaut William Readdy, former NASA Science Mission Directorate Chief Dr. Alan Stern, and former NASA Ames’ Research Center Director Dr. Simon “Pete” Worden.
