French small launch developer Latitude It has closed $30 million in new capital as it eyes the first flight of its Zephyr rocket in 2025.
While other rocket companies are expanding, developing more massive rockets, Latitude takes a different approach: light, small, and cheap enough to outpace competitors. Its first rocket, Zephyr, will stand just 62 feet tall and will be able to deliver up to 100 kilograms of payload to low Earth orbit. (For reference, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has a payload capacity of 22,800 kilograms to low-Earth orbit.) The two-stage rocket will be powered by eight 3D-printed engines called Navier, which Latitude is developing internally.
In a statement, Latitude CEO and co-founder Stanislas Maximin said 2024 will be a “pivotal year” ahead of the Zephyr’s maiden flight in 2025.
In fact, the company aims to use the funding to further develop the next version of Zephyr — a slightly larger launch pad that will be able to carry 200 kilograms of payload by 2028. In addition, Latitude said in a press release that the funding will enable the construction of a new assembly line, manufacturing the first launcher, conducting additional testing and adding more employees to the team of over 100 people.
Existing Latitude investors, such as Crédit Mutuel Innovation, Expansion, Bpifrance via DeepTech 2030 and UI Investissement, as well as Blast.club, Kima Ventures and unnamed individual investors, contributed to this round. The company has now raised nearly $55 million to date.
Latitude is part of a growing number of European launch companies looking to boost that continent’s domestic launch capacity, which has been sorely lacking with ongoing launch delays of next-generation rockets like Arianespace’s Ariane 6. directly in a statement, saying that “Europe needs to regain full sovereignty over space launch pads.”
The French government has also made its own efforts to support the local space industry, which Latitude is already benefiting from. The country’s DeepTech 2030 Fund aims to invest more than €50 billion to jump-start France’s deep tech ecosystem.