Space Kinetic

Space Kinetic Corporation develops advanced capabilities for national security space operations, with a focus on missile defense and space superiority. Founded in 2022 by Scott Ziegler and Ryan Sullivan, the company is headquartered in El Segundo, California, with operations in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The co-founders met during graduate school at UC Berkeley and conceptualized the company based on a garage-built prototype. The venture gained early momentum through the New Mexico Lab-Embedded Entrepreneur Program (NM LEEP) at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The company's core technology is a patented, propellant-free electromechanical system, referred to as "Longbow" and "Whirlwind". This system is designed to be integrated into a host satellite, from which it can deploy a diverse range of smaller payloads and micro-satellites at high velocities. It operates by using a rotary arm to accelerate a payload and release it on a new trajectory, imparting an instantaneous velocity change without firing a thruster or consuming fuel. This capability enables low-signature, flexible, and repeatable maneuvers, creating a "one-to-many" architecture that moves beyond traditional single-use systems. The objective is to make space maneuverability abundant and affordable, likening the approach to bringing the economics of drone technology to space missions. Space Kinetic operates on a B2B model, targeting government agencies and commercial space enterprises as its primary clients. Its revenue is generated through direct sales agreements and strategic partnerships for its deployment systems. The company has secured multiple contracts with the U.S. government, including a multi-million dollar award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to advance its asymmetric missile defense architecture. It has also received contracts from the US Space Force and the National Science Foundation. In August 2025, Space Kinetic raised $12 million in a seed funding round led by Balerion Space Ventures, with support from various other venture firms, to further product development and expansion. Keywords: space superiority, missile defense, electromechanical deployment system, propellant-free, in-space logistics, national security, space vehicle manufacturing, DARPA, Longbow system, Whirlwind platform, one-to-many architecture, host satellite, micro-satellite deployment, dual-use technology, space maneuverability, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Scott Ziegler, Ryan Sullivan, aerospace and defense, dynamic space operations