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Summary
- New space project to be funded by Rocket lab besides others.
- University students gearing up for research on satellites.
- Support from investors and mentors means expanded horizons for further growth.
In a recent update, three university students who were working on a project for their Company Astrix Astronautics have collected a sum of half a million dollars. This shall fund the research that is being held to determine the functionality of small radar satellites.
Image Source: © Rangizzz | Megapixl.com
Fiona Jones, the chief executive of the Company, along with Max Daniels and Will Hunters, engineering students from the University of Auckland, formed this Company in late 2020. Rocket Lab, Icehouse Ventures, as well as K1W1 by Stephen Tindall, have backed this project financially.
Jones was of the view that the mentors and investors in the project had been a great help while the team was learning the nitty gritty of starting a new business, which would eventually help in making more successful and efficiently designed space missions in the time to come.
It was further explained that these funds shall be utilised in the further research and development of the novel inflatable solar array technology. This technology is said to be compact and easier to than that the current bulky prototypes. The novel design shall contain storage along with power generation and this is something that makes it ideal for future use.
It was explained by her further how the inflatable form structures had been available for a while, but they were not equipped to deal with spacecrafts of a smaller capacity, which was precisely what the new technology was going to be focused upon.
It was further added by Beck from the Advisory board at Astrix, that it was refreshing to see young entrepreneurs to take command of new initiatives and space start-ups. He was responsible for the first NZ$15000 funding in the project. He is of the view that as the pace of things in the space industry is currently picking up and with the increase in demand, there is need for more and more start-ups to indulge in the process of finding solutions to businesses that are largely dependent on satellites for their operations. This could in turn help in dealing with matters such as food scarcity, global warming, and so on.
