Raiden Space secures pre-seed investment for reusable thermal shields

Raiden Space, founded by Elif Özdemir, announced that it has received pre-seed investment led by e2vc. According to a statement shared directly by Özdemir, the startup focuses on reusable thermal shields used during the return of spacecraft to Earth and hypersonic testing infrastructure. The amount of the investment and the company’s valuation have not been disclosed.

The startup's origin stems from the need to develop thermal protection at a scale comparable to increasing launch capacities in space. Özdemir emphasizes that reliable return systems are essential for areas such as commercial space stations, in-orbit manufacturing, and the return of payloads to Earth. The product serves a different role than the launch engine of a rocket, aimed at protecting against the intense heat generated during atmospheric re-entry.

Raiden Space's technical approach consists of three phases. The team develops thermal protection materials based on the thermal conditions of the missions and characterizes these materials. They then plan to create the desired shield geometry using additive manufacturing methods. In the final phase, they aim to validate the design in an in-house testing infrastructure that simulates re-entry conditions, thereby reducing wait times between different facilities in the material-to-part process.

Additionally, the company does not focus on just one type of capsule. The announced applications include payload return vehicles, spacecraft, and hypersonic flight systems. While these areas share high thermal loads, each vehicle's mission profile differs. A material working under a single condition does not guarantee the same result across all missions.

The pre-seed investment indicates that funding has been secured for the startup's early-stage development efforts. The timeline for commercial use of the products, their unit costs, and which customers will utilize them have yet to be disclosed. The company's longer-term goal is to progress from thermal protection to complete re-entry systems. Therefore, this investment announcement should not be interpreted as the debut of a ready spacecraft. Today’s concrete development is the team continuing its work on thermal shields and testing infrastructure with investment support.

Reported by Teknoblog.