Fundraising Fox

Orbital Operations

YC W25

Los Angeles, US · Founded 2024 · Delaware corporation · 10 employees · Hiring · 9 known investors

Orbital Ops develops propulsion systems and related aerospace hardware for airborne vehicles. The company draws on deep expertise in turbomachinery and propulsion integration.

Also known as Orbital Ops

Advanced ManufacturingDeep TechDefense TechHardwareSpace TechUnited States of AmericaAmerica / Canada

Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (W25)

Orbital Operations was founded in 2024 by Ben Schleuniger, Ross Doherty, and Hunter.

BSBen Schleuniger
Ben SchleunigerinCEO | Co-FounderHe previously held engineering roles at NASA focusing on propulsion, SpaceX, and Relativity Space, where he worked on rocket engine systems and led the development of components and integrated design teams.
RDRoss Doherty
Ross DohertyinCo-Founder | COOHe previously worked in aerospace manufacturing and propulsion at Aerojet Rocketdyne, Blue Origin, and Relativity Space, where he led turbomachinery manufacturing for the Aeon-R engine and managed Flight Termination System qualification for the TM-1 rocket.
H
Hunter

Investors · 9

Black FlagSan Diego · $100K – $1M
GoAhead VenturesMenlo Park · $500K – $1M
Olive Tree CapitalBoston
TRAC (Third Round Analytics Capital)San Francisco · $250K – $2Mvia Fred Campbell · inferred
Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K
Harpoon VenturesreportedSan Diego · $100K – $5M
Initialized CapitalreportedSan Francisco · $1M – $5M
Karman VenturesreportedAustin · $100K – $500K
Rebel FundreportedSan Francisco · $100K – $5M

Reported raises · per SEC filings

Form D private placements

$519.5K disclosed across 1 round · 2025

▶$519.5KraisedFeb 2025 · 6 investors · Other Technology
Rule 506(b)
Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
  • Ross DohertyDirector
  • Benjamin SchleunigerExecutive Officer, Director
Offering amount
$1M
Amount sold
$519.5K
Proceeds to insiders
$300K
First sale
Jan 2025
Incorporated
Corporation, Delaware, 2024
Federal exemptions
06b
Full filing on SEC EDGAR ↗

Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.

The YC application· Winter 2025 batch

▶ Application video — watch on YC ↗

Company profile

researched Aug 2026

Orbital Operations (also presented as Orbital Ops) develops orbital maneuvering vehicles positioned for defense applications in space. Its stated flagship program is Astraeus, a vehicle intended to perform intercept, defense, and repositioning maneuvers across regimes from low Earth orbit to cislunar space, with transit times the company describes in hours rather than months. The company also advertises payload hosting capacity and LEO-GEO-LEO delivery capability, and characterizes its vehicles in terms of thrust, payload mass, delivery mass, and delta-v.

Public-facing material centers on propulsion and cryogenic fluid management, including liquid hydrogen as a propellant and technologies for active cooling and long-duration propellant storage. The company publishes updates organized around defense, milestones toward Astraeus, and technology topics, and offers a partnership and contact pathway for prospective customers and collaborators.

Latest developments

The website's news section features an announcement that Orbital Operations raised $8.8M to build a high-thrust vehicle for satellite defense, along with posts on milestones toward the Astraeus vehicle and on the rationale for using liquid hydrogen.

▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market

Market position

Orbital Operations positions itself around rapid, high-delta-v orbital maneuvering for defense missions, contrasting hours-scale repositioning with conventional timelines measured in months.

Technology

The company's approach centers on high-thrust in-space propulsion paired with cryogenic propellant handling. Its site highlights liquid hydrogen as a propellant choice and cites tested and proven technologies for active cooling and propellant storage as the enabling elements for high delta-v maneuvering between low Earth orbit and cislunar orbit. Vehicle capability is described along the axes of thrust (lbf), hosted payload mass, LEO-GEO-LEO delivery mass, and delta-v.

Go-to-market

The company markets directly through its website, which references partners and provides a contact route for parties seeking to partner or get started with Orbital Operations.

Messaging is oriented toward defense-related space missions, emphasizing intercept, defense, and repositioning capabilities, alongside payload hosting and orbital delivery services for organizations seeking rapid maneuver in LEO through cislunar orbit.

Compiled by commissioned research from 1 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.

Key figures

latest reported
HeadcountAug 202622

Company-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.

Images

Orbital Operations photo

Competitors · 7

by search overlap
Loft Orbital38 shared keywordsLoft Orbital operates space infrastructure, providing satellites equipped with sensing resources, onboard edge compute, and connectivity that let customers run missions without deploying their own hardware. It serves commercial and government customers, including national security stakeholders, through virtual missions on its satellite constellation.
Orbital AI-industrial32 shared keywordsOrbital Industries is an "AI Industrial" company that develops physical AI models—including AI-accelerated simulators and autoresearch agents for advanced materials—to speed up the design and manufacture of hardware products. Its first commercial products are new molecular classes for high-density GPU cooling in AI data centers, with plans to expand into energy, semiconductors, and other materials and machines.
Orbital25 shared keywordsOrbital builds commercial AI compute infrastructure in Low Earth Orbit, deploying satellite-hosted GPU payloads with high-bandwidth ground links for AI inference. The company positions space-based data centers as a way to bypass terrestrial power grid constraints.
Capella Space23 shared keywordsCapella Space designs, builds, and operates synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellations that provide all-weather, day-and-night Earth observation imagery at sub-0.25m resolution. It offers an automated end-to-end tasking and data delivery platform serving defense and intelligence, maritime, disaster response, and infrastructure monitoring customers.
Terran Orbital21 shared keywordsTerran Orbital manufactures satellite platforms and spacecraft, offering flight-proven vehicles with interchangeable, configurable components for government and commercial partners. It supports missions in defense, Earth observation, and deep space exploration.
Orbital Composites16 shared keywordsOrbital Composites builds autonomous robotic systems that 3D print high-performance polymer, ceramic, and metal matrix composite parts at scale without tooling or manual layup. Its manufacturing platform serves the defense, aerospace, space, and energy sectors, producing components such as UAV airframes, marine hulls, thermal protection systems, and space-grade structures.
Orbital Insight16 shared keywordsPalo Alto geospatial analytics company applying AI and computer vision to satellite, aerial and mobile location data; acquired by Privateer in 2024.

Companies competing with Orbital Operations for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.

Timeline · 1

launches, deals, and filings
Jan 2025
Orbital Operations raises $8.8M to build high-thrust vehicle for satellite defense

A headline on the company's website announces a raise of $8.8M to develop a high-thrust vehicle for satellite defense.

$8.8M source ↗

Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.

Legal entities · 1

corporate structure
Orbital OperationsDelaware

In the news

Orbital Operations Raises $8.8M to Build High-Thrust Vehicle for Satellite Defense - Orbital Opsorbitalops.tech · Aug 2025Orbital Operations Raises $8,8M in Seed Funding - space vehicles powered by hydrogen - Hydrogen Centralhydrogen-central.com · Aug 2025Orbital Operations Raises $8.8M in Seed Fundingfinsmes.com · Aug 2025Orbital Operations Raises $8.8M For High Thrust Orbital Vehicle - Payloadpayloadspace.com · Aug 2025Orbital Operations raises seed round for orbital vehicle using liquid hydrogen fuel - SpaceNewsspacenews.com · Aug 2025Orbital Operations – High Thrust, Reusable Vehicles in Space🚀ycombinator.com · Feb 2025

▸Research sources · 1

primary sources listed

1 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.

Frequently asked questions

What does Orbital Operations do?
Orbital Operations builds Astraeus, a high-thrust orbital maneuvering vehicle for satellite defense and repositioning.
Who founded Orbital Operations?
Orbital Operations was founded by Ben Schleuniger, Ross Doherty, Hunter in 2024.
Who are Orbital Operations's investors?
Orbital Operations's investors include Black Flag, GoAhead Ventures, Olive Tree Capital, TRAC (Third Round Analytics Capital), Y Combinator, Harpoon Ventures, Initialized Capital, Karman Ventures and 1 more.
How much funding has Orbital Operations raised?
Orbital Operations has disclosed $519.5K raised across 1 round.
Where is Orbital Operations headquartered?
Orbital Operations is headquartered in Los Angeles, US.