MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Los Angeles startup OurSky announced a merger Feb. 4 with telescope manufacturer PlaneWave Instruments to create Observable Space, a vertically integrated software and hardware products company.
“Everyone knows that telescopes are the cornerstone of cosmic observation and exploration, but what people don’t realize is that they are also extremely critical for the multibillion-dollar commercial space sector,” Daniel Roelker, Observable Space CEO and former SpaceX vice president of software engineering, said in a statement. “Our vertically integrated space observation products provide the foundational elements customers need to understand, navigate and operate in space.”
Observable Space plans to offer accessible software-defined telescopes and a platform for real-time space data and analysis “to fill the critical gaps in today’s space observation capabilities,” according to the news release. In addition, Observable Space intends to establish “the world’s largest telescope network.”
More than 1,000 customers have worked with Observable Space and its predecessor companies including NASA, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon Technologies, the U.S. Space Force, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory. NASA, for example, transmitted optical data through a PlaneWaves telescope from the ground to the TeraByte Infrared Delivery payload in low-Earth orbit.
“With this merger, we can better serve our current customers, while also enhancing our offerings to meet the needs of the entire space community,” Observable Space President and co-founder Richard Hedrick and PlaneWave CEO and co-founder, said in a statement. By integrating hardware and software, Observable Space aims to allow customers of any skill level to “easily connect and control these very powerful, top-of-the-line telescopes from a smartphone or laptop,” Hedrick added.
Observable Space and its predecessors have raised $11 million. Investors include In-Q-Tel, the U.S. intelligence community’s investment arm, Upfront Ventures, Venrex Investment Management, Oceans Ventures, Marlinspike Partners and Embedded Ventures.
About 100 people work at the Los Angeles headquarters for Observable Space and its manufacturing and optics research facility in Adrian, Michigan.
