At Best Startup California we track over 300,000 Californian startups and over 1,500,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and organisations we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
We’ve ranked the top 77 Space Travel companies in California, United States. The companies, startups and institutions listed in this article are all exceptional companies, well worth a follow. We have included links to their websites, socials and CrunchBase (if you’re interested in their financials).
We selected the organisations listed in this article based on:
- Track record
- Executive leadership
- Market share
- Innovation
- ESG rating
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Top Space Travel Companies & Startups (California, United States)
SpinLaunch
SpinLaunch develops a kinetic launch system for sending satellites to low-Earth orbit.
Founder(s): Jonathan Yaney
Location: Long Beach, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Manufacturing, Space Travel
Follow:
Akash Systems
Akash Systems is focused on developing and supplying the next generation of communications gear for space satellites.
Founder(s): Felix Ejeckam, Ty Mitchell
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Information Technology, Manufacturing, Satellite Communication, Space Travel
Follow:
Orbit Fab
Orbit Fab offers a supply of satellite propellant in Earth Orbit that expands the operational potential of new and existing space assets.
Founder(s): Daniel Faber, Jeremy Schiel
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Fuel, Logistics, Space Travel
Follow:
Inversion
Inversion builds space capsules to return cargo back to Earth for the commercial, civil, and defense industries.
Founder(s): Austin Briggs, Justin Fiaschetti
Location: Los Angeles, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Space Travel, Transportation
Follow:
Phase Four
Phase Four is a provider of electric propulsion (EP) for small satellites.
Founder(s): J. P. Sheehan, Simon Halpern
Location: El Segundo, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Innovation Management, Space Travel
Follow:
Kairos Aerospace
Kairos Aerospace combines innovative aerospace systems with advanced data science to solve pressing global problems
Founder(s): Brian Jones, Steve Deiker
Location: Mountain View, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Data Visualization, Energy, Oil and Gas, Space Travel
Follow:
Turion Space
Turion Space produces spacecraft to remove orbital debris and provide services to existing satellites.
Founder(s): Patryk Wiatr, Ryan Westerdahl, Tyler James Pierce
Location: Irvine, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Information Technology, Space Travel
Follow:
Astra
Astra is a rocket launch startup that provides satellite delivery and launch services.
Founder(s): Adam London, Chris Kemp
Location: Alameda, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Space Travel
Follow:
Virgin Orbit
Virgin Orbit operates LauncherOne, a flexible launch service for commercial and government-built satellites.
Founder(s): Richard Branson
Location: Long Beach, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Satellite Communication, Space Travel
Follow:
TransAstra
TransAstra develops a technology to find, prospect, harvest and use space resources.
Founder(s): Joel Sercel
Location: Los Angeles, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Industrial, Software, Space Travel
Follow:
Momentus
Momentus offers the infrastructure services necessary to enable enterprise and human existence to flourish in space.
Founder(s): Mikhail Kokorich
Location: Santa Clara, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Space Travel, Transportation
Follow:
Nebula Compute
Space Technology Company
Founder(s): Ken Sunshine, Michael Bloxton, Peter Stridh
Location: Newport Beach, California, United States
Industries: Satellite Communication, Space Travel
Follow:
SpaceVR
SpaceVR is a virtual reality (VR) experience in zero gravity floatation, delivering cinematic, virtual space, therapy and super learning.
Founder(s): Ryan Holmes
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Industries: Content Creators, Space Travel, Therapeutics, Virtual Reality, Virtual World
Follow:
SSL
Space Systems/Loral provides geostationary commercial satellites.
Founder(s):
Location: Palo Alto, California, United States
Industries: Broadcasting, Manufacturing, Space Travel
Follow:
Frontier Aerospace
Frontier Aerospace focuses on conceptualizing, designing, and proving-out innovative in-space.
Founder(s): Jim McKinnon
Location: Simi Valley, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Geospatial, Space Travel
Follow:
Exo-Space
Hardware and software for new age satellites
Founder(s): Marcel Lariviere, Mark Lorden
Location: Los Angeles, California, United States
Industries: Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, Hardware, Information Services, Machine Learning, Satellite Communication, Software, Space Travel
Follow:
Leo Aerospace
Leo Aerospace is building a dedicated delivery service for microsatellites.
Founder(s): Abishek Murali, Dane Rudy
Location: Los Angeles, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Satellite Communication, Space Travel
Follow:
Bagaveev Corporation
Bagaveev is currently working on upper stage propulsion, turbomachinery and GNC.
Founder(s): Nadir Bagaveyev
Location: San Mateo, California, United States
Industries: Advanced Materials, Aerospace, Space Travel
Follow:
Epsilon3
Epsilon3 is the OS for spacecraft and complex operations.
Founder(s): Aaron Sullivan, Laura Crabtree, Max Mednik
Location: Los Angeles, California, United States
Industries: B2B, Information Technology, Productivity Tools, Software, Space Travel
Follow:
Broadband Discovery Systems
A technology innovation company.
Founder(s): Cory Stephanson
Location: Scotts Valley, California, United States
Industries: Information Technology, Innovation Management, Space Travel
Follow:
Type One Ventures
Type One Ventures invests in anything progressing humanity towards a Type One Civilization. Space, robotics, fin-tech, and frontier tech.
Founder(s): Justin Walker, Tarek Waked
Location: Los Angeles, California, United States
Industries: Artificial Intelligence, FinTech, Hardware, Robotics, Software, Space Travel
Follow:
Beyond Earth
Beyond Earth builds small rockets to provide dedicated CubeSat launches to low-earth-orbit on short notice.
Founder(s): Fred Radford
Location: Menlo Park, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Space Travel
Follow:
UP Partners
UP Partners is an early stage venture capital fund dedicated to supporting companies that are transforming the moving world.
Founder(s): Ben Marcus
Location: Santa Monica, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Air Transportation, Autonomous Vehicles, Drone Management, Drones, Logistics, Mapping Services, Navigation, Shipping, Space Travel
Follow:
Outliers Fund
A collective of joint research initiatives and venture funds turning science fiction into scientific facts.
Founder(s): Matt Huang, Poseidon Ho, Yen Yeh
Location: Palo Alto, California, United States
Industries: Blockchain, Finance, Space Travel, Venture Capital
Follow:
Orion Span, Inc.
Orion Span is building Aurora Station, the World’s Private Space Platform.
Founder(s): Frank Bunger
Location: San Mateo, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Space Travel, Tourism
Follow:
Terra Space Technologies
Terra Space Technologies is an aerospace company that designs, manufactures and launches rockets and other spacecrafts.
Founder(s):
Location: Hawthorne, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Satellite Communication, Space Travel
Follow:
Rothenberg Ventures
Rothenberg Ventures invests in early-stage frontier technology startups.
Founder(s): Mike Rothenberg
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Industries: Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Big Data, Digital Entertainment, Drones, Machine Learning, Robotics, Space Travel
Follow:
OffWorld
OffWorld is developing a learning robotic workforce for heavy industrial jobs on Earth, Moon, asteroids & Mars.
Founder(s): Dr. Alicia Kavelaars, Dr. James Jason Murray, Dr. Norbert Frischauf, Erika Ilves, Jim Keravala, Joshua Izenberg, Mark Nall
Location: Pasadena, California, United States
Industries: Artificial Intelligence, Industrial Automation, Manufacturing, Mining Technology, Robotics, Space Travel
Follow:
NAXC
NAXC was an aerospace company that designs, manufactured and launched rockets into space.
Founder(s): Sem Van Der Vegte
Location: Hawthorne, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Space Travel
Follow:
Maverick Space Systems
Maverick Space Systems offers satellite deployment hardware as well as integration and launch brokering services.
Founder(s): Roland Coelho
Location: San Luis Obispo, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Electronics, Space Travel
Follow:
Millennium Space Systems
Millennium Space Systems, a provider of agile, flight-proven small-satellite solutions.
Founder(s): Stan Dubyn
Location: El Segundo, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Space Travel
Follow:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory engages in the construction and operation of robotic planetary spacecrafts and NASA’s Deep Space Network.
Founder(s): Apollo M. O. Smith, Frank Malina, Jack Parsons, Qian Xuesen, Theodore von Kármán
Location: Pasadena, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Construction, National Security, Robotics, Space Travel
Follow:
Arcturus UAV
Arcturus UAV – Complete Unmanned Aircraft Systems.
Founder(s): D’Milo Hallerberg
Location: Rohnert Park, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Manufacturing, Space Travel
Follow:
Intellectus Partners, LLC
Intellectus is an exclusive, private MFO for Entrepreneurs offering Wealth Creation&Preservation,Investment Mgmt, Venture & startup Advisory
Founder(s): David J. La Placa, Jay Casey
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Industries: Artificial Intelligence, Financial Services, FinTech, Space Travel
Follow:
OrbitsHub
OrbitsHub is a technology startup providing Tracking and Monitoring solutions using Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning tools.
Founder(s): Divya Krishnamoorthy, Praveen Krishnamoorthy
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Machine Learning, Satellite Communication, Space Travel
Follow:
Heron Systems
Heron Systems helps to innovate and apply cutting-edge AI to build technological supremacy that solves modern war-fighting problems.
Founder(s):
Location: California City, California, United States
Industries: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Space Travel, Web Development
Follow:
Tesseract
Tesseract is a provider of cost effective propulsion components and systems for in-space applications.
Founder(s): Jake Teufert, Jeff Gibson
Location: Livermore, California, United States
Industries: Robotics, Software, Space Travel
Follow:
Skycorp Incorporated
Skycorp Incorporated is in the business of expanding spaceflight capabilities between the Earth and the Moon, and beyond.
Founder(s): Dennis Wingo
Location: Santa Clara, California, United States
Industries: Electronics, Manufacturing, Space Travel
Follow:
EXO Corp
EXO Corp is a mobile game platform.
Founder(s): David Cuban, Trevor Ormonde, Ummon Karpe
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Mobile, Space Travel, Video Games
Follow:
Shuttle
Shuttle is an outer space travel company that offers a commercial spaceflight booking platform.
Founder(s): Avery Haskell, Brittney Mickel, Nico Sell
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Space Travel
Follow:
VACCO Industries
VACCO Industries provides intelligent fluid control solutions for propulsion and life support systems.
Founder(s):
Location: South El Monte, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Commercial, Industrial, Machinery Manufacturing, Manufacturing, Space Travel
Follow:
Arkisys
Space Infrastructure as a Service
Founder(s): Dan Lopez, David A Barnhart
Location: Los Alamitos, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Space Travel
Follow:
Karman Missile & Space Systems
Karman is a platform designed to deliver enhanced capacity, supply chain solutions, and engineering technology on the most critical.
Founder(s):
Location: Brea, California, United States
Industries: Information Technology, Manufacturing, Space Travel
Follow:
Continuum Space Systems
Continuum Space Systems develops a platform that helps stakeholders collaboratively achieve their space needs and objectives.
Founder(s):
Location: Pasadena, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Management Information Systems, Space Travel
Follow:
Advanced Rockets Corporation
Advanced Rockets Corporation is an aerospace company with a focus on hypersonic flight systems.
Founder(s): Dane Matheson, Othniel Mbamalu, Trever Gregory
Location: Lomita, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Air Transportation, Space Travel
Follow:
Aeroscraft
Aeroscraft is a leading manufacturer of airships and aerostats.
Founder(s):
Location: Montebello, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Air Transportation, Manufacturing, Space Travel
Follow:
Automatski
Intellectual Property & Equity Holding Company
Founder(s): Aditya Yadav, Renu Yadav
Location: Los Angeles, California, United States
Industries: Quantum Computing, Robotics, Space Travel
Follow:
Arrowhead Products
Arrowhead Products designs, tests, manufactures and sells high-pressure metallic systems and low-pressure systems for the aviation industry.
Founder(s):
Location: Los Alamitos, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Delivery, Manufacturing, Space Travel
Follow:
Gamma Alloys
Gamma Alloys offers lightweight aluminum alloys, reinforced with nanotechnology.
Founder(s): Mark Sommer
Location: Santa Clarita, California, United States
Industries: Manufacturing, Marine Technology, Space Travel
Follow:
EXO Technologies
EXO Technologies is a developer of GPS technology providing high-accuracy solutions for autonomous and connected vehicle applications.
Founder(s): Adam Hillier, Adam Weiner, Isaac Zafarani, Nuri Golan
Location: San Mateo, California, United States
Industries: Automotive, Software, Space Travel
Follow:
Global Air Logistics and Training
Global Air Logistics and Training is an innovative airborne systems delivering warfighter focused solutions.
Founder(s):
Location: Del Mar, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Space Travel
Follow:
II-VI Aerospace & Defense
II-VI Aerospace & Defense provides optical assemblies, objectives, infrared optics, thin film coatings and optical materials.
Founder(s):
Location: Murrieta, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Apps, Manufacturing, Space Travel
Follow:
NovaWurks
NovaWurks is a California company that has developed modular satellites.
Founder(s): Talbot Jaeger
Location: Los Alamitos, California, United States
Industries: Space Travel
Follow:
SBM Ventures
Investment, Growth Capital, Asset Management, Merchant Banking
Founder(s): John Trotter
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Industries: Electronics, Embedded Software, Information Services, Information Technology, Satellite Communication, Space Travel
Follow:
Nycote Laboratories
Nycote Laboratories manufactures liquid nylon protection coating that is a barrier against friction and conductivity.
Founder(s):
Location: Los Angeles, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Industrial, Manufacturing, Space Travel
Follow:
Infinity Aerospace
Infinity Aerospace is a technology company working in the space and aircraft industry.
Founder(s): Manu Sharma
Location: Moffett Field, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Government, Space Travel
Follow:
Symvionics
Symvionics is a Developer of hardware and software products
Founder(s):
Location: Arcadia, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Software, Software Engineering, Space Travel, Training
Follow:
The Arch Mission Foundation
The Arch Mission Foundation is a non-profit corporation designed to preserve and disseminate humanity’s knowledge across time and space.
Founder(s): Nova Spivack
Location: Los Angeles, California, United States
Industries: Big Data, Non Profit, Space Travel
Follow:
Stellar Amenities
Stellar Amenities designs highly functional and comfortable places in small spaces from Earth to Mars and everywhere in between.
Founder(s): Anastasia Prosina
Location: Los Angeles, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Architecture, Industrial Design, Space Travel
Follow:
Vanreusel Ventures
Corporate Finance CFO Consultants in San Francisco, CA
Founder(s): James Vanreusel, James Vanreusel
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Industries: Air Transportation, Consulting, Finance, Financial Services, Non Profit, Social Entrepreneurship, Social Impact, Space Travel
Follow:
Advanced Onion
Advanced Onion is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business
Founder(s):
Location: Sacramento, California, United States
Industries: Local Business, Space Travel
Follow:
Hamby
The Hamby Corporation has been a trusted partner for major defense and aerospace company.
Founder(s):
Location: Valencia, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Air Transportation, Space Travel
Follow:
Terralliance
Terralliance is a technology-based exploration company that develops and uses aircraft-based remote-sensing platforms.
Founder(s):
Location: Newport Beach, California, United States
Industries: National Security, Space Travel
Follow:
Unical Aviation
Unical Aviation has been the industry’s go-to global supplier of aircraft parts and components for more than two decades
Founder(s):
Location: City Of Industry, California, United States
Industries: Space Travel
Follow:
Vitalize
Tangible and Intangible Services and Products.
Founder(s): Vitaly Tennant
Location: Los Angeles, California, United States
Industries: Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Dietary Supplements, E-Commerce, Education, Personal Health, Smart Cities, Space Travel, Wellness
Follow:
Innovative Algorithms
Innovative Algorithms offers UGS, cameras with machine vision, repeaters, sensors, RF smart switch & cyber products for security & defense.
Founder(s):
Location: San Diego, California, United States
Industries: Security, Sensor, Space Travel
Follow:
neutrino labs
Mobile apps and devices
Founder(s): Thomas Goddard
Location: Larkspur, California, United States
Industries: 3D Technology, Augmented Reality, Autonomous Vehicles, Classifieds, Computer Vision, Digital Entertainment, FinTech, Media and Entertainment, Mobile, Mobile Apps, Organic Food, Retail Technology, Shopping, Space Travel, Sports, Ticketing, Virtual Reality, Wine And Spirits
Follow:
Newport Artificial Intelligence
NewportAI offers a suite of software applications for data-driven decision making empowering organizations to answer complex questions.
Founder(s):
Location: Newport Beach, California, United States
Industries: Analytics, Autonomous Vehicles, Big Data, Software, Space Travel
Follow:
Cranky Concierge
Cranky Concierge is a air travel assistance company providing their clients help with the entire flying experience.
Founder(s):
Location: Long Beach, California, United States
Industries: Air Transportation, Space Travel, Transportation
Follow:
Automatski Fundamental Research
Fundamental Research, 100+ Millennium Inventions
Founder(s): Aditya Yadav, Renu Yadav
Location: Los Angeles, California, United States
Industries: Artificial Intelligence, Education, Environmental Engineering, Peer to Peer, Pharmaceutical, Quantum Computing, Robotics, Space Travel
Follow:
Birri
Birri – (a conglomerate) a Company of Companies – comprises the Birri Group, AG B, Birri Holdings, and Birri Enterprises.
Founder(s): Astor Birri
Location: Palo Alto, California, United States
Industries: Agriculture, Business Development, Communications Infrastructure, Education, Finance, Industrial, Information Technology, Internet, Internet of Things, Life Science, Media and Entertainment, Mining Technology, Property Development, Security, Social, Space Travel, Textiles, Transportation
Follow:
Glactica
Space exploration for mankind.
Founder(s): Alireza Mirmontazeri
Location: Los Angeles, California, United States
Industries: Space Travel
Follow:
Melrose Nameplate & Label Co.
Melrose is a medium-sized electronics manufacturer & supplier in USA.
Founder(s): Chris Somers
Location: Hayward, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Consumer Electronics, Electronics, Embedded Systems, Industrial Manufacturing, Manufacturing, Space Travel
Follow:
Space Games Federation
The first and only international governing body seeking to organize and sanction competitive games played in zero and microgravity.
Founder(s):
Location: Sherman Oaks, California, United States
Industries: Gaming, Space Travel, Sports
Follow:
Federal Manufacturingrporation
Federal manufactures and distributes aerospace fastener products to the aviation industry.
Founder(s):
Location: Chatsworth, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Industrial Automation, Manufacturing, Space Travel
Follow:
SpaceX
SpaceX is an aviation and aerospace company that designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft.
Founder(s): Elon Musk
Location: Hawthorne, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Manufacturing, Space Travel, Transportation
Follow:
Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic is a commercial spaceline that develops commercial spacecrafts.
Founder(s): Maureen Gannon, Richard Branson
Location: Mojave, California, United States
Industries: Aerospace, Commercial, Space Travel
Follow: