What Moonshot Space does

Moonshot Space is an Israeli deep-tech startup founded in 2024 that is developing an electromagnetic mass accelerator — branded EMMA (Electromagnetic Mass Accelerator) — for two purposes: on-demand, high-cadence delivery of small-to-medium cargo payloads to low Earth orbit, and commercial hypersonic flight testing as a near-term revenue line. The core technology uses sequenced electric pulses to accelerate payloads along a linear channel of staged coils to hypersonic speeds (target up to 8 km/s), eliminating chemical propellants as the primary energy source and enabling a single-stage-to-orbit architecture that, per company claims, increases payload fraction from the rocket-standard ~4% to over 45% (targeting 60%).

The product surface consists of three revenue streams: Space Logistics launch services (transaction-fee model for orbital cargo delivery), Hypersonic Testing Services (professional-services engagements with defense and aerospace developers, including Israeli defense companies), and Space Logistics and Refueling Partnerships (recurring agreements with orbital service providers such as D-Orbit and Orbit Fab). The commercial launch business is in development with revenue not expected before 2027; the hypersonic testing offering is positioned as the nearer-term cash pathway. Distribution is direct enterprise field sales to satellite constellation operators, orbital infrastructure providers, defense agencies, and lunar mission programs, supplemented by strategic partnerships (D-Orbit, Orbit Fab, Alaska Aerospace Corporation for a US launch site) and thought-leadership content marketing.

The company was founded by Hilla Haddad Chmelnik (CEO, former Director General of Israel's Ministry of Innovation and Iron Dome/Arrow systems leader), Fred Simon (CTO, co-founder of $6B JFrog), and Shahar Bahiri (COO, former CEO of Valerann), and is headquartered in Caesarea, Israel with a stated headcount of 25 across two sites. Total disclosed funding is approximately $14.5M across a $2.5M pre-seed (Aug 2023, Angular Ventures-led alongside Fred Simon) and a $12M seed (Dec 2025, Angular Ventures-led with a $1M Israel Innovation Authority grant). As of April 2026 the company reported achieving 100 m/s in testing toward the 8 km/s orbital target and signed a preliminary US launch-site agreement with Alaska Aerospace.

Name

Moonshot Space

Legal name

Moonshot Space

Website

https://moonshot.space

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Israeli deep-tech startup developing an electromagnetic mass accelerator (EMMA) for high-cadence cargo delivery to low Earth orbit and hypersonic flight testing. Founded in 2024, it serves satellite operators, space logistics providers, and defense agencies as a complement to chemical rockets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Space Launch Services

NAICS

Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing (336414), Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Propulsion Unit and Propulsion Unit Parts Manufacturing (336415)

SIC

Guided Missiles & Space Vehicles & Parts (3760)

akta.pro primary industry

Launch Vehicles & Orbital Rockets (IMABACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hypersonic Systems (Weapons & Defense) (IMABAOAG), Space Logistics & In-Orbit Servicing (Refueling, Tug, Debris Removal) (IMABACAM)

Keywords

• Electromagnetic launch systems
• Space logistics services
• Hypersonic testing
• Orbital cargo delivery
• Satellite deployment

Headquarters

HQ city

Caesarea

HQ country

Israel

HQ region

Middle East

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Space Logistics Launch Services: Revenue from providing on-demand electromagnetic launch services for delivering small-to-medium cargo payloads to low Earth orbit, including fuel, oxygen, raw materials, spare parts, and experimental payloads for orbital infrastructure operators and satellite constellation deployers. The company targets a fundamentally different cost and cadence profile compared to traditional rockets.
2. Hypersonic Testing Services: Revenue from offering hypersonic testing capabilities to defense companies and aerospace developers. EMMA serves as a commercial test bed for validating high-speed flight technologies, including systems for Israeli defense companies testing hypersonic systems. This provides near-term revenue while the orbital launch system is developed.
3. Space Logistics and Refueling Partnerships: Revenue potential through agreements with D-Orbit and Orbit Fab for space logistics and orbital refueling services, enabling in-space infrastructure operations and sustained orbital presence.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Moonshot Space is developing EMMA (Electromagnetic Mass Accelerator), a ground-based electromagnetic launch system that accelerates cargo payloads to hypersonic speeds of up to 8 km/s for delivery to low Earth orbit. The company offers Space Logistics kinetic launch services for small-to-medium orbital cargo and Hypersonic Testing Services using EMMA as a commercial test bed for defense and aerospace developers. Revenue from launch services is targeted for 2027, while hypersonic testing provides near-term revenue.

Product overview

Moonshot Space is developing an on-demand electromagnetic launch system with two core offerings: EMMA (Electromagnetic Mass Accelerator), which serves dual purposes as both a hypersonic test bed for aerospace development and as the propulsion technology for their kinetic launch system, and Space Logistics (Kinetic Launch), which enables high-frequency, cost-effective delivery of small-to-medium cargo to orbit. The system uses sequenced electric pulses to accelerate payloads along a linear channel to hypersonic speeds of up to 8 km/s, creating a scalable logistics backbone for sustained orbital operations that complements traditional rockets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EMMA (Electromagnetic Mass Accelerator): The company's electromagnetic mass accelerator technology for launching payloads to hypersonic velocities and into orbit.

Products and services

• Space Logistics (Kinetic Launch) On-demand electromagnetic launch service for high-frequency delivery of small-to-medium payloads (fuel, oxygen, raw materials, spare parts, experimental payloads) to satellite constellation operators, orbital infrastructure providers, and lunar mission programs. Uses sequenced electric pulses to accelerate cargo along a linear electromagnetic channel to hypersonic speeds, enabling single-stage-to-orbit insertion.
• Hypersonic Testing Services Commercial hypersonic testing service that uses the EMMA electromagnetic accelerator to launch test models at hypersonic velocities with high repeatability and minimal setup time. Serves defense agencies and aerospace developers needing validation of hypersonic vehicles, missile systems, and high-speed flight technologies where traditional wind tunnels and CFD methods cannot reproduce realistic high-Mach, high-Reynolds-number conditions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Payload fraction increased from 4% to over 45% (targeting 60%), enabling a theoretical 10X reduction in spacecraft mass and 10X increase in payload capacity.
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered strategic.

• Alaska Aerospace CorporationstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Preliminary agreement with Alaska Aerospace Corporation for a launch site, positioning Moonshot to conduct electromagnetic launch operations from a US-based facility.
• D-OrbitstrategicTechnology or Integration · 1 December 2025Initial agreement with Italy-based D-Orbit for space logistics partnerships, integrating Moonshot's launch capabilities with D-Orbit's space logistics infrastructure and services.
• Orbit FabstrategicTechnology or Integration · 1 December 2025Initial agreement with US-based Orbit Fab for orbital refueling partnerships, integrating Moonshot's launch capabilities with Orbit Fab's in-space refueling infrastructure.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Calspan: Calspan operates traditional hypersonic and transonic wind tunnel testing facilities used extensively by aerospace and defense customers. It is an incumbent in the hypersonic testing market that Moonshot's EMMA-based testing services would disrupt with higher-cadence, real-flight-condition testing.
• D-Orbit: D-Orbit is an Italian space logistics company providing in-orbit transportation and satellite deployment services. It is both a strategic partner of Moonshot and a fellow participant in the orbital logistics ecosystem that Moonshot's launch services would feed.
• Orbit Fab: Orbit Fab provides in-space refueling services (gas stations in orbit) and is a strategic partner of Moonshot. Both companies are building complementary infrastructure layers for sustained orbital operations, and Moonshot's launch capability is positioned as a feedstock for Orbit Fab's in-orbit fuel depots.

Emerging players

• Relativity Space: Relativity Space uses 3D-printed, AI-designed rockets (Terran 1, Terran R) to reduce manufacturing costs and iteration cycles. It pursues a fundamentally different cost-reduction approach than Moonshot (additive manufacturing vs. electromagnetic launch) but targets the same small-to-medium launch customer base.
• ABL Space Systems: ABL Space Systems developed the RS1 small-payload launch vehicle with a focus on responsive launch for defense and commercial customers. It competes for the small-payload responsive launch market segment that Moonshot's electromagnetic system also targets.
• Stoke Space: Stoke Space is developing a fully reusable Nova rocket focused on small-payload launches with rapid turnaround. It competes for the same high-cadence, small-to-medium cargo niche that Moonshot targets with electromagnetic launch, representing an emerging capital-light alternative.

Broad incumbents

• Rocket Lab: Rocket Lab is a leading small-to-medium launch provider (Electron, Neutron) serving the small satellite market. Its planned Neutron reusable rocket directly competes for the same small-to-medium cargo mission profile that Moonshot targets, and represents the most credible 'rocket-side' threat to Moonshot's niche.
• SpaceX: SpaceX is the dominant commercial launch provider with reusable Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Starship. While Moonshot positions itself as complementary rather than competitive, SpaceX's aggressive cost-per-kg reductions (especially with Starship) directly threaten the niche economics that justify Moonshot's approach.

Direct peers

• Stratolaunch: Stratolaunch operates the Talon-A hypersonic testbed vehicle and offers hypersonic testing services for defense and aerospace customers. Moonshot's hypersonic testing offering directly competes with Stratolaunch's reusable hypersonic test platform, serving the same defense customer base with high-cadence testing.
• SpinLaunch: SpinLaunch is developing a kinetic launch system using a centrifugal accelerator to hurl payloads to suborbital altitudes without chemical propellants. It is the most direct comparable to Moonshot's EMMA in approach (kinetic/electromagnetic launch rather than chemical rockets) and target market (small payloads to LEO at lower cost-per-kg).

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/moonshot-space

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Moonshot Space