Space Firm Loft Orbital Raises $170 Million To Scale Up Launches

Loft Orbital raised $170 million in a funding round that will help the space infrastructure startup increase launch frequency and compete for contracts against aerospace juggernauts like Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin Corp.

The San Francisco-based company builds standardized satellites to which paying customers can attach components like sensors, cameras or telescopes. Then, Loft arranges for the spacecraft to be launched into space, allowing third parties a way to collect data and deploy missions to orbit without building their own vehicles. The company, which was founded in 2017, has so far flown five satellites.

“We’re going from a cadence ...