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- CubeSpace is manufacturing components that are being used in satellites and a lunar rover.
- The South African company is growing rapidly.
- The technology the company is using was originally developed at Stellenbosch University.
- For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page.
South African satellite component manufacturer CubeSpace, which is using technology first developed at Stellenbosch University, is producing parts being used in NASA satellites and a lunar rover.
CubeSpace is a fast-growing spinoff company of Stellenbosch University that is building parts for satellites being deployed across the world.
CEO Mike-Alec Kearney said the company has built over 5 000 components for satellites since launching 10 years ago, including 300 control systems - one of the most complicated components on a satellite.
Control systems play a crucial role in the operation of satellites, ensuring they can be manoeuvred with precision.
As a component manufacturer, the company does not launch any satellites into space itself, but produces parts of satellites that are used for a host of different applications.
While some electronics are imported, CubeSpace’s 55-strong team designs, manufactures and assembles the products in South Africa, said Kearney.
Kearney explained that the company was started in 2014 as a spinoff of SU. Research at the university formed the basis of the component designs that the company started developing.
The products have been refined through experience based on how they perform in space.
"The interesting thing about space is that you can design and build something to the best of your ability, but you can’t really test it unless you launch it. You have to actually launch it into space to see if it works," said Kearney.
With over 150 clients throughout the world, including space agencies, companies and research bodies, Kearney wants the company to be established as the global leader for the manufacturing of control systems for all sizes of satellites.
"Our goal as a company is to become the standard for control systems for any sized satellites globally," he said.
The company has several high-profile clients showing its strides to achieving this.
The company has provided NASA with a range of stock and customised components that are being used in their smaller satellites.
"I am sure NASA has clever enough people in-house to be able to do these things if they are sending stuff to other planets, but we are really specialised and the fact that they end up outsourcing to us is kind of testament to how niche and complicated this is and how good our team is," said Kearney.
He said the company was also working on building a specialised control system for a lunar lander being developed in the United Arab Emirates.
He said that CubeSpace would build the "brains" and the component that drives the wheels on the lunar rover.
Growth
Since launching, CubeSpace has grown its revenue by over 50% each year, Kearney said.
There has been huge growth in the satellite industry, with significantly more objects being launched into space over the last decade.
According to data compiled on Our World in Data using national registers of launches, there has been a 1 000% worldwide increase in the number of satellites, probes and landers launched into space from 2014 to 2023.
There were 241 launches into space in 2014, compared to 2 664 in 2023, with the US driving the significant increase.
CubeSpace recently secured funding to help its expansion.
The company announced that it had secured its first venture capital funding of R47 million from the University Technology Fund and co-investor Savant Venture Fund.
The venture funding will help the company’s global expansion and help the company build components for larger satellites.
SU still owns a portion of the company, explained Kearney, together with the original founders of the company and the new investors.
Anita Nel, the CEO of SU Enterprises, said that CubeSpace was a good example of the potential of university technology as an asset class.
"The investment in CubeSpace is a great case study demonstrating that local university technology is an overlooked but very promising asset class. This is also supported by the fast growth in the Stellenbosch University group of companies which currently boasts nearly 30 spinout companies," she said in a release about the venture capital funding.
