Cosmo Bee

Cosmo Bee, a satellite electric-propulsion specialist, has launched a KRW 4 billion Series A round. The company plans to begin in-space validation of its Hall thruster for microsatellites. According to the venture capital industry on September 25, Cosmo Bee recently began investor presentations for the round. It had initially planned a Pre-Series A round but changed its roadmap to focus on its in-space validation mission.

“We determined that validating Cosmo Bee’s Hall thruster for microsatellites in space by 2027 is the top priority for market entry,” CEO Dongha Park said.

“We decided to raise Series A funding so we could commit our own resources to preparing the validation mission.” In-space validation means operating a product in space to verify its performance. “We plan to validate the product aboard Nuri and also operate the thruster in space on another satellite company’s test platform,” Park said.

Cosmo Bee’s Hall thruster for CubeSats is scheduled to be installed on a 3U CubeSat aboard Nuri’s fourth launch in the second half of 2025. Cosmo Bee develops electric thrusters for satellites. It is developing an engineering model of a Hall thruster for microsatellites weighing up to 150 kilograms, with completion targeted for the first quarter of 2025. Cosmo Bee’s Hall thruster uses electrical energy to propel satellites. Chemical propulsion is better suited to rapid attitude control, while electric propulsion’s long operating time makes it more suitable for orbit changes. Unlike chemical energy, electrical energy is not subject to the same limits on how much energy can be supplied.

Hall thrusters are especially valuable for small satellites. Falling launch costs and advances in small-satellite and artificial-intelligence technologies are shifting the space-industry paradigm toward small-satellite constellations. These constellations enable low-Earth-orbit communications and real-time Earth observation, establishing a new space-industry business model. Cosmo Bee was founded in July 2023. Park established the company with researchers from KAIST’s Electric Propulsion Laboratory. He studied mechanical engineering at Korea University and earned a master’s degree in Nuclear and Quantum Engineering from KAIST. At Cosmo Bee, he oversees Hall-thruster system design and project management.

Recognized as Korea’s only company capable of developing electric-propulsion systems, Cosmo Bee attracted investment immediately after its founding. It secured KRW 150 million in seed funding from Bluepoint Partners in 2023. The company has also demonstrated its potential by winning awards in numerous competitions. In 2023, it received the Excellence Award at the 3rd Nuclear Innovation and Startup Competition and the Grand Prize at both the Aerospace Technology Startup Academy and the E*5 KAIST Startup Competition.

Original article : Satellite Electric-Propulsion Company Cosmo Bee Begins Raising KRW 4 Billion in Series A Funding