Capsule Corporation secures 800,000 euros for satellite drives

The Italian space startup Capsule Corporation has completed a seed financing round of 800,000 euros. The aim of the financing is to transfer the company's water-based propulsion technology to series production and prepare for the planned market launch in 2027.

Participants in the round included CDP Venture Capital via the Takeoff Accelerator, kopa ventures, Moonstone Venture Capital and several business angels.

Growing challenges in orbit

The market for satellites is growing rapidly. There are currently more than 9,000 active satellites in space, and this figure could rise to over 60,000 by 2030.

This development also increases risks such as collisions, space debris and operational disruptions. Even single collisions can generate thousands of pieces of debris and trigger so-called cascade effects, a scenario known as Kessler syndrome.

At the same time, operators are faced with high costs and long integration times for propulsion systems, which often delay missions by months.

Water as fuel for more efficient satellites

Capsule Corporation is taking an unconventional approach. Water as fuel. Compared to traditional solutions, this approach is non-toxic, environmentally friendly and easier to handle.

We believe that the use of water can help set a new standard for small satellite propulsion and make both ground and orbital operations more accessible, efficient and, above all, faster.

Francesco Marino, CEO and co-founder of Capsule

This not only reduces safety requirements, but also significantly simplifies integration, testing and refueling. While conventional fuels such as hydrazine require complex infrastructure, water-based systems are much easier to use. According to the company, the integration time can be reduced from several months to just a few weeks and costs can be cut by up to 50 percent.

Focus on WaterCube and market entry

At the center of product development is the "WaterCube" drive system, which is specially designed for CubeSats and small satellites.

The company plans to carry out an in-orbit demonstration mission by the end of 2026. At the same time, a more powerful version, "WaterCube+", is being developed, which should reach a higher level of technological maturity by 2027. Part of the funding will also be used to set up a scalable production chain in order to meet increasing demand.

Positioning in the growing satellite market

In view of the boom in satellite constellations, Capsule Corporation wants to establish itself as a provider of standardized and easily integrated drive systems.

The company is addressing two key challenges in the industry: the increasing need for collision avoidance and the need for faster and more cost-efficient satellite launches.