South Korean Rocket Startup Unastella Raises $24 Million in Series B

Unastella, a Seoul-based startup, raised $24 million in a Series B round led by Altos Ventures. Korea Development Bank, Strong Ventures, and Hana Ventures also participated. The round brings the company's total funding to $44 million. The company develops its own launch vehicles and engines.

It focuses initially on small satellite launch services and uses a kerosene-liquid oxygen propulsion system with an electric motor pump. The design choice trades some payload capacity for simpler, lower-cost manufacturing.

Unastella launched the Una Express-I rocket from South Korean soil in May 2025. That flight served as the first end-to-end test of the company's design, manufacturing, ground operations, and flight systems. The 22-person firm handles all work in-house.

Founder and CEO Jae Park previously worked on combustion systems for South Korea's Nuri rocket and later at the German Aerospace Center. The company has received technology transfers from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute and flown components for the national space agency.

The next vehicle, UNA EXPRESS-II, is scheduled for later this year. Reaching 100 kilometers altitude would mark a key milestone and could open partnerships with South Korean aerospace and defense firms. The company is not yet generating revenue. South Korea's commercial launch sector remains early-stage.

Hanwha Aerospace now operates the government-built Nuri rocket. Two other startups, Innospace and Perigee Aerospace, are also developing vehicles. None have completed a commercial orbital launch. The global space launch market was valued at roughly $15 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $41 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research.

South Korea's space agency committed $266 million over seven years to expand launch infrastructure.