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Today’s edition was supposed to be published last Thursday. But while writing it, I became aware of some very sad family news that had to become my immediate priority.

Apologies for the disruption. I’m bringing that edition to you today instead. Read on to discover Stars Edge.

As usual, Premium subscribers get the full story. Upgrade this week and you’ll get 50% off the subscription price for a full year. Bargain!

But first:

• After featuring in our roundup of the 10 startups getting you excited over the past 12 months last week, Voxelo.ai has announced it’s reached a £300,000 first close of its pre-seed round.

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While others go high, Stars Edge is going lower for more accessible satellite technology

Given the state of the world today, being able to monitor what’s happening across the planet is more important than ever.

Whether it’s geopolitical instability, environmental challenges, or a host of other use cases, a clear up-to-date understanding of the current situation is critical for governments and businesses that want to stay ahead.

Satellites can provide this data from across the globe, but cost way more than observation drones, spy planes, and other technology that operate closer to the ground.

Looking to fill the gap for lower-cost, simpler-to-deploy satellites is Stars Edge.

“It’s about trying to connect people in an easier way, in a more democratised way, but also giving that data, whether that is imagery or any other type of sensing data, to those who need it when they need it,” says Sara Alão, founder and CEO of the startup.

Stars Edge’s products are designed to operate at altitudes closer to commercial planes than other very low Earth orbit (VLEO) satellites. Core to the offering is the propulsion technology they use.

“We have a joint expertise pool in both ‘aero’ and ‘space’… That allowed us to make a tailored engine to solve this problem, an engine that can work in a satellite using only electrical power, and then able to sustain itself for months or years at a time, in the upper atmosphere, using the air in the high-density atmosphere as fuel, with added electricity coming from the solar panels to then give us orbital capability,” says Alão.

“It's a solution that we haven't seen others try to adopt… Satellites don't like being in the air, they like being in space. But when you start getting into this mixture [between air and space], you need a bit of this both expertise to really be able to tackle the challenge. And that's what we did. It was designed specifically to tackle this problem.”

The story so far

Stars Edge is a two-year-old company led by Alão, who has an academic background in both ‘aero’ and ‘space’, as she puts it.

The team at the company is made up of people she has met through her career so far, both as colleagues and while running a student space society with hundreds of members.

“It was people that I knew who I had worked with, either directly with me or under me, who already knew my management style, my work ethic, I already knew their flaws, their assets, how to really synergise with them. It was people that I trusted who I brought in, and they are the ones who then really helped me take this further.”

With Alão having recently pitched at the 2025 Conception X demo day, the 12-strong Stars Edge team has reached a point where potential pilot projects are on the horizon. And the plan is for this to be a global business even at its early stage:

“I'm not trying to focus solely on the UK, solely on Europe, solely on the West. We've seen a lot of the emerging markets in Asia and the Middle East be quite attractive, as a lot of these countries are wanting to join the space race and have their own space capabilities.

“We are happy to be able to work with them. Some people would have thought they would have been more secondary [markets], but now they're really taking a lot of the main stage with how much importance, and at times even passion they're putting into the area.”

And Alão is upbeat about the near-term future of the space sector.

“Our team has been sourced from all points in the world. We have team members from East Asia, from the US, from many different parts of Europe as well. It's really those different skill sets and different mentalities that have pushed us quite far. And that's what space is becoming.

“It's an industry for all. It's an industry where everyone can thrive in and really find these new opportunities. It is truly the new frontier, and I think we can be at the forefront of it. I think we will be able to grow and achieve so much and become a standard and massive enabler in what's to come in the space industry. And I'm excited for it.”

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