
Ocean to Orbit: Pioneering launch at sea
Without investment in launch facilities, the space economy will stall, failing to deliver on its immense potential. Offshore launch sites offer a complementary alternative to existing land-based facilities with many clear advantages. Seagate Space is a forward-thinking maritime company focused on developing this cutting-edge infrastructure for the space industry. Our Gateway concept is a next generation drone ship that enables the launch of rockets offshore in a cost-effective, rapidly deployable manner.
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Michael Anderson
founder
Sean Fortener
founder
Jonathan Marcel
investor
The problem we are solving is simple: U.S. launch infrastructure is insufficient for the aims of the modern space economy. Existing launch sites were built for the Apollo era, and an aging network of coastal facilities is now facing significant limitations. These fixed locations are increasingly congested, constrained by surrounding communities and environmental regulations, and vulnerable to weather disruptions and security risks. As the demand for launch services grows, these bottlenecks threaten to stall the progress of the space economy at a time when momentum is critical. Our Gateway-S concept is a purpose-built semisubmersible platform designed to resolve this constraint by enabling cost-effective and efficient launches offshore. The current design is tuned for the launch of a smaller (40-80 foot) rocket vehicle, offering a ~50% reduction in capital cost while improving speed and stability performance over traditional barge designs. Once proof of concept is established with a smaller rocket, our long-term vision is a network of staging, launch, and recovery infrastructure that allows launches to occur entirely offshore for an array of rocket sizes.
Announced an agreement to continue to develop our Gateway concept in tandem with Firefly Aerospace, integrating our design with the mobile launch system for their Alpha vehicle
Pre-seed round closed after exceeding the $1.5M target with investors including New World Angels, DraperU Ventures, and other VC and angel backers.
ABS has granted approval in principle (AIP) to Seagate Space for their unmanned semi-submersible launch platform – the first offshore asset to receive AIP under the newly published ABS Requirements for Offshore Spaceports
Seagate Space provided advanced planning guidance on maritime logistics for future offshore operations (subcontract HQ086025C0003)
Full utility patent application submitted, covering multiple platform configurations and following on to January's provisional patent (Application #19256379)