The technology behind the company was born in the USSR. In the 1980s, the Kurs rendezvous system was developed by Kyiv specialists and manufactured by the Kyiv Radio Plant. According to InVenture, it has been used for more than 300 dockings of Soyuz and Progress spacecraft with the Mir orbital station and the International Space Station. Deliveries of Kurs to Russia ceased in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea, and the people now behind Kurs Orbital began searching for new products based on this legacy.
From the State Agency to an Independent Company
Vladimir Usov, a native of Odesa and a graduate of Odesa National Maritime University, headed the State Space Agency of Ukraine in 2020. That same year, the country passed a law on private space companies. Usov is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics and lives in Turin. Together with Vadym Vasyliev, he is credited with founding the company, which dates to 2022.
The legal and technological history of Kurs Orbital is two-layered. On January 4, 2022, a Ukrainian patent application was filed, and on January 3, 2023, the company submitted an international PCT application, which allows extending protection for an invention to multiple countries. February 2022 became a turning point: after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, some investors withdrew from the project. The company kept its office in Turin, while development remained in Kyiv.
The Italian connection quickly became apparent. On November 8, 2022, the project took first place in the regional startup competition Start Cup Piemonte, receiving €10,000 and the Jacobacci Silver prize. In November 2022, in an interview with AstroSpace, the bureau reported that ARCap was 50–60% ready, with a mission planned for 2024. Between January and March 2023, the company participated in the pre-accelerator of the Saudi Space Commission, run by the American accelerator network Techstars, and in the same year completed the program of the British fund Seraphim Space Camp.
What ARCap Is and Where the Money Will Go
ARCap is described as a single standardized rendezvous and docking module that can be installed on any satellite, orbital transfer vehicle (OTV), cargo or crewed spacecraft, or platform. Rendezvous and docking in orbit have always been expensive, one-off operations, so the idea of a ready-made module that does not need to be redesigned for each mission is the essence of the proposal. The commercial market for satellite servicing and space debris removal has been growing rapidly in recent years, and operators are looking for inexpensive ways to extend the life of spacecraft and move them to other orbits.
The round, according to, will allow the company to complete the first flight model, conduct integration tests, and expand the team. At the time of the round, Kurs Orbital employed 11 people. The sum of €3.7 million corresponds to approximately $4 million.
Investors
The round was led by OTB Ventures, represented by partner Wojtek Walniczek. Credo Ventures and Galaxia, which works with CDP Venture Capital, Italy's state investment fund, joined the round. Along with it, Obloo Ventures and the regional co-investment fund Piemonte Next, which CDP VC created with the support of the regional agency Finpiemonte, participated. Among the participants are also In-Q-Tel, a venture fund associated with the U.S. intelligence community, and the Italian fund Inovo.
Usov emphasized the significance of the round for the company:
“This round is critical for the next step: bringing to market a powerful and cost-effective rendezvous technology,” said Vladimir Usov.
Claudia Pingue, Head of Tech Transfer at CDP Venture Capital, said the fund is glad to join forces with OTB Ventures. listed all participants of the round by name, and it is this composition, according to the portal, that became the main outcome of the announcement.
The company, which began with the legacy of the Soviet rendezvous system and closed a round in Turin, entered 2024 with a ready technology, a team of 11 people, and a first flight model that was yet to be brought to testing.
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