Gama is a French aerospace startup developing low-cost solar sails that use light for spacecraft propulsion. It plans an in-space demonstration in October: a CubeSat to be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 that will deploy a 789-square-foot sail at roughly 342 miles altitude (dimensions suggest about 10 meters across). The company deploys its petal-style sail by gently spinning the satellite and using centrifugal force to unfurl large surfaces, which it says reduces structural weight. Gama is iterating rapidly and is already designing a second mission to deploy at higher altitude and demonstrate steering to provide a reliable low-cost alternative to traditional propulsion. Financially, Gama has collected $2 million in funding from the French Public Investment Bank (BPI), the French Space Agency (CNES) and angel investors to support the demonstration. The company was founded in 2020 by Louis de Gouyon Matignon, Thibaud Elziere and Andrew Nutter.

Total raised

$2M

Funding rounds

1

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Mar 2022