Fortastra raises $30 million Series A for orbital-defense spacecraft
Fortastra
Fortastra closed a $30M Series A led by First In to scale its Watchdog on-orbit security spacecraft, per PR Newswire.
what happened
Fortastra announced a $30 million Series A led by First In, with Upfront Ventures, Space Capital, Rsquared, Side Door Ventures, ATX Ventures and existing investors participating, per the company's PR Newswire release. The Torrance, California startup, founded by former SpaceX engineer Mike Smayda, says the round will accelerate development of its Watchdog on-orbit security spacecraft, expand its engineering team and build out its autonomy and manufacturing capabilities. Two Watchdog V0 prototype spacecraft reached orbit October 1 on a SpaceX Transporter-18 rideshare, per Payload.
why it matters
The round adds to a growing pool of venture capital chasing orbital-defense and space-domain-security startups as the US military becomes more open about discussing counter-space capabilities. For operators and insurers, Fortastra's pitch, maneuverable spacecraft that can respond to threats near other satellites, is an early commercial entrant in a niche that has so far been mostly government-run.
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- Fortastra
- Category
- financial
- Impact
- notable
- SNR
- 4 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-10-08
- Published
- 2026-10-08 14:33 UTC