# Portal Space Systems

> Portal Space Systems is a Bothell, Washington spacecraft manufacturer building maneuverable, refuelable vehicles for defense, commercial and scientific missions. Its Starburst platform targets responsive operations within an orbital regime, while the larger Supernova is designed around a proprietary solar-thermal propulsion system called FLARE that Portal says can deliver up to 6 km/s of delta-v. The bet is that cheaper launch created a new bottleneck: satellites can reach space more easily than they can move once there.

- **Founded:** 2021
- **Headquarters:** Bothell, United States
- **Founders:** Jeff Thornburg (CEO and Co-founder), Ian Vorbach (COO and Co-founder), Prashaanth Ravindran (VP of Engineering and Co-founder)
- **Team size:** About 45 employees as reported by the U.S. Small Business Administration in 2026; a supplied company data record lists 42.
- **Products:** Supernova, FLARE Solar Thermal Propulsion, Starburst, Mini-Nova, Debris Removal as a Service
- **Notable:** Emerged from stealth in 2024 with more than $3 million in U.S. government contracts., Won a $1,698,825 Phase II SBIR award for Supernova integration and qualification in 2024., Selected for a $45 million STRATFI award in August 2024.

## Products & services

- **Supernova** — A payload-agnostic, multi-role spacecraft designed for up to 500 kg of payload capacity, as much as 6 km/s of delta-v, cross-orbit operations and eventual refuelability. Its first FLARE-powered in-space demonstration is contracted for 2028.
- **FLARE Solar Thermal Propulsion** — Portal's propulsion architecture uses deployable mirrors to concentrate sunlight, charge a thermal battery and heat storable monopropellant inside the 3D-printed HEX thruster. Portal completed operational-performance thermal-vacuum testing in 2025.
- **Starburst** — An ESPA-class rapid-maneuverability spacecraft targeting about 1 km/s of delta-v for rendezvous, proximity operations, retasking and payload delivery within an orbital regime. Starburst-1 is manifested for October 2026.
- **Mini-Nova** — A hosted technology demonstrator that established flight heritage for Portal's flight computer, power system and other critical avionics before the free-flying vehicles.
- **Debris Removal as a Service** — A planned repeatable orbital-debris service combining Portal's maneuverable Starburst spacecraft with Paladin Space's Triton capture payload. Starlab has signed a letter of intent as an early partner.
- **Motus Via Sol rideshare mission** — A 2028 Falcon 9 mission with Maverick Space Systems that will carry the first Supernova and offer surplus ESPA-class and cake-topper capacity to third-party customers.

## Achievements

- Emerged from stealth in 2024 with more than $3 million in U.S. government contracts.
- Won a $1,698,825 Phase II SBIR award for Supernova integration and qualification in 2024.
- Selected for a $45 million STRATFI award in August 2024.
- Raised a $17.5 million oversubscribed seed round in April 2025.
- Completed operational-temperature solar-thermal propulsion testing in a vacuum chamber in September 2025.
- Unveiled the Starburst spacecraft and manifested its first free-flying mission for 2026.
- Established flight heritage for critical avionics through Mini-Nova in 2026.
- Raised a $50 million Series A in April 2026.
- Contracted a 2028 Falcon 9 mission for the first Supernova and FLARE in-space demonstration.
- Expanded into a 62,000-square-foot Bothell manufacturing facility, according to its August 2026 launch announcement.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Signed a contract for a SpaceX Falcon 9 to launch the Motus Via Sol mission in 2028, carrying the first Supernova and the in-space debut of FLARE; Maverick Space Systems will integrate and market surplus rideshare capacity.
- **2026-04** — Raised a $50 million Series A led by Geodesic Capital and Mach33.
- **2026-03** — Announced a debris-removal partnership with Paladin Space, with Starlab joining through a letter of intent.
- **2026-03** — Mini-Nova flew and established flight heritage for critical avionics, including Portal's flight computer and power system.
- **2025-11** — Unveiled Starburst, a smaller ESPA-class platform for responsive maneuvering; its first free-flying mission is scheduled for October 2026.
- **2025-09** — Completed a full-power thermal-vacuum test of the FLARE propulsion system at operational performance.

## Links

- Website: https://www.portalsystems.space
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/portal-space-systems

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/portal-space-systems
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-22