Blackswan Space raises €2.5m to commercialise spacecraft RPO Kit and expand in US

Lithuanian space company Blackswan Space closed its second funding round on 30 September 2026, raising €2.5 million (about $2.9m) in a round led by Iron Wolf Capital. Lemonade Stand, NGL Ventures and angel investors Linas Sargautis and Tomas Žalandauskas also took part. Total funding now stands at €3.2 million.

The money will go towards commercialising the RPO Kit, a plug-and-play payload built on the firm's vision-based navigation system for autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations, and towards growth in the United States. The company's Mission Design Simulator already has commercial customers in the EU and US, including Auria Space.

An in-orbit test of the RPO Kit is scheduled for Q4 2027. It is to be followed in 2028 by ASTRAL, a European in-space refuelling mission led by Orbit Fab, in which the kit would enable docking. ASTRAL is backed by up to €3.3m from the UK Space Agency and ESA.

Why it matters: Autonomous proximity navigation underpins satellite servicing, inspection and collision avoidance, which affects the long-term sustainability of the orbits that Earth observation and navigation assets rely on. The story has no specific African link.