SPiN

Market position

SPiN presents itself as a supplier of plug-and-play modular integration technology addressing the historically customized, non-standardized nature of satellite assembly. It was selected among the Top 70 Innovative Companies for Pioneers in 2016 and the Top 500 for Hello Tomorrow in 2019, and was named by ESA as one of twenty "Rising Stars" companies of 2024 at IAC 2024 in Milan.

The MA61C removes the need to select and conform to a single interface standard by automatically recognizing and integrating devices and converting between supplier protocols, which the company says lets manufacturers source from a wider range of suppliers and cuts design costs by 50%, production costs by 30% and integration time by a year. Combining the adapter with model-based system engineering allows satellites to be designed as modular systems rather than bespoke assemblies.

Technology

The MA61C is built around a GR712RC dual-core 32-bit LEON3-FT SPARC V8 radiation-tolerant processor with a built-in timer based on an onboard oscillator, 64 Mbit of SRAM and 64 Mbit of FLASH for onboard software, drivers and data storage. Its onboard software provides plug-and-play device recognition, self-configuration, driver installation from an embedded driver database, data routing, protocol conversion and buffering across multiple interfaces usable as inputs or outputs. The product ships with an API for commanding and monitoring connected units and a Windows graphical user interface. SPiN pairs the adapter with model-based system engineering for flexible satellite design, and is developing a modular closed-loop standalone ADCS for small satellites toward TRL 6 with ESA and GMV, plus a programmable payload interface system with an integrated operating system to host artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain and quantum encryption applications.

Go-to-market

SPiN reaches customers through demonstration missions that establish flight heritage for MA61C, partnerships with satellite suppliers, integrators and research institutions, agency-funded projects with ESA and the Italian Space Agency, and participation in accelerators and space industry competitions. The company has described internationalisation across global space markets as a commercial growth driver in 2025.

Spacecraft and satellite manufacturers of all sizes, including start-ups and NewSpace companies, established corporations, universities and research centres, and European space agencies; MA61C is also offered for ground support equipment use.

Geography

Headquartered in Frascati, Italy after relocating from Germany; earlier incubated at ESA BIC Bavaria and involved in programmes in Luxembourg (Fit 4 Start) and the United States (Techstars Allied Space, Hyperspace Challenge), with mission partners across Germany, Luxembourg, France, Sweden, South Africa and Italy.

History

After its 2015 founding in Germany, SPiN joined the European Space Agency Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC Bavaria) and became a Techstars portfolio company through the Techstars Allied Space accelerator, also passing through the Hyperspace Challenge, CASSINI and Luxembourg's Fit 4 Start space-track programmes. Its first demonstration mission, SPiN-1, a 1U CubeSat, launched on SpaceX Transporter-5 on 25 May 2022 to validate MA61C in orbit alongside partners including Telespazio Germany, AAC Clyde Space, CrystalSpace, NewSpace Systems and TU München. In January 2024 the company closed a €1.63 million seed round and relocated its headquarters to Frascati, Italy. In June 2024 it was awarded an ESA contract for an in-orbit demonstration CubeSat mission, and in December 2024 signed a further ESA/Italian Space Agency ARTES AGILE contract. Two MA61C units flew as main computer and RTU aboard ATMOS Space Cargo's PHOENIX 1 re-entry capsule launched 22 April 2025, and the 3U SPiN-2 CubeSat completed integration in June 2025 ahead of a 19 November 2025 launch.