Lodestar Space

The company was founded by CEO Neil Buchanan and CTO Thomas Santini. Buchanan has a background in deep-tech, having led the UK's most advanced Hyperloop Pod project, built supersonic rockets, and was a two-time SpaceX Global Finalist. Santini's engineering experience includes building his first 3D printing company at the age of 15 and later working as a Dyson Engineer and Royal Academy of Engineering Scholar, with a Master's degree focused on space robotics for construction on the Moon and Mars.

Lodestar Space is developing a modular and highly dexterous robotic arm as its primary product. This system is engineered to perform delicate and critical tasks in the harsh environment of space, withstanding radiation and extreme temperatures while maintaining precision. A key feature is its supervised autonomy, powered by a computer vision system and a proprietary neural network model that allows it to interpret target structures and materials without relying on a predefined list. This enables interaction with both cooperative and uncooperative objects in orbit.

The business model is centered on providing robotic services to a mix of commercial and government clients, with a significant focus on national security applications. By designing their technology to be platform-agnostic, Lodestar can integrate its robotic arm with any launch provider or spacecraft, offering flexibility to its customers. The company has secured $2.5 million in funding through a combination of a pre-seed round co-led by Inflection and Lunar Ventures and non-dilutive funding from the U.K. Space Agency. Significant milestones include successful zero-gravity testing of its systems in partnership with the Aurelia Institute and MIT, with an in-orbit demonstration planned by the end of 2025. The company is also collaborating with Momentus to define integration requirements for a robotic arm mission on a Vigoride Orbital Service Vehicle.