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Washington Harbour Partners Invests in Space Situational Awareness Firm Turion Space
WASHINGTON — Washington Harbour Partners has made a key investment in Turion Space, a California-based firm focused on space situational awareness. The venture is developing spacecraft and mission software for debris removal and in-orbit services, the companies reported on April 2.
The financial details of the investment were not made public.
Funding to Bolster Space Domain Awareness Capabilities
This investment, Washington Harbour’s first in Turion Space, was part of a larger funding round. Participating firms included venture capital leaders Y Combinator and Forward Deployed VC, among others. The capital infusion is intended to expand Turion’s capabilities in space domain awareness, missile warning and tracking, orbital debris management, and collision avoidance. These technologies are vital to both U.S. national security interests and the global space economy, according to Turion’s Co-founder and CEO Ryan Westerdahl.
Strategic Alignment with National Security Interests
Washington Harbour Partners, based in Washington, D.C., specializes in investments in technology companies serving government and national security sectors. The firm’s foray into space technology reflects growing federal interest in leveraging commercial satellite capabilities. The Pentagon and intelligence agencies are increasingly seeking robust and agile space-based infrastructure.
Turion Space’s Droid.002 Satellite
Turion Space recently deployed its latest satellite, Droid.002, last month. This spacecraft is designed for space situational awareness and debris monitoring missions.
Follows Previous Strategic Investment
The investment from Washington Harbour is subsequent to another undisclosed strategic investment in Turion by Critical Software. Critical Software, headquartered in Portugal, specializes in software solutions for civil and defense space applications.
U.S. Space Force Contract
In late 2024, Turion secured a $32.6 million contract from the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command. The contract tasks Turion with developing three satellites for off-world imaging applications. These satellites will execute rendezvous and proximity operations to conduct satellite-to-satellite imagery collection. This capability enables detailed inspection of other objects in orbit.