Loft Orbital
US space infrastructure operator providing hosted-payload and virtual-mission services through the Cockpit SDK platform. Founded 2017. Closed a USD 170M Series C in January 2025 at a unicorn valuation. Now prime on the French DESIR programme and a Helsing-led EU sovereign mission. As of early 2026, more than 30 payload customers are on the waitlist for upcoming spacecraft slots, making the company inbound-constrained rather than demand-constrained. Discovery via conferences, press, and contact form; no public pricing. Customer-facing technology stack is the Cockpit REST API and the HubKit SDK for post-contract integration.
Loft Orbital is a US-French space infrastructure company that operates the YAM (Yet Another Mission) series of multi-payload smallsats and provides mission-as-a-service (MaaS) for commercial, government, and defense customers. Founded in January 2017 by Pierre-Damien Vaujour (CEO), Alex Greenberg (COO), and Antoine de Chassy (President), all formerly at Spire Global, the company abstracts satellite operations behind two software layers: the Hub universal payload adapter, which standardises hardware integration across bus platforms, and Cockpit, a mission control interface accessible via web UI or REST API.[^loft-home]
The YAM satellite series, operated in low Earth orbit at roughly 540 km altitude, has carried payloads for customers spanning Earth observation, maritime domain awareness, edge AI, and defense. YAM-8, launched March 15, 2025 on SpaceX Transporter-13, introduced the Longbow platform, an adaptation of the Airbus Arrow 150 bus developed under ESA GSTP and CNES co-funding.[^esa-gstp][^yam8-blog] Earlier YAM missions used prior bus configurations. YAM-9, launched November 28, 2025, hosts Wyvern's Dragonette-005 hyperspectral camera and demonstrates the next-generation Hub Compute architecture with networked heterogeneous processing units.[^yam9-blog]
Loft operates as an infrastructure intermediary, procuring standardised buses (Airbus Longbow, LeoStella) rather than manufacturing them, and provides integration, launch campaign management, and on-orbit operations. As of January 2025, the company had logged over $500 million in cumulative bookings across more than 30 satellite programs, with named programs including a 10-satellite constellation for EarthDaily Analytics, hyperspectral payload hosting for Wyvern and Esper, and a multi-sensor LEO constellation for defense AI company Helsing scheduled for 2026 launch.[^tc-series-c][^helsing-pr]
In January 2026, Loft was named prime contractor for DESIR, France's first sovereign space-based radar imaging demonstrator, in a consortium with Thales Alenia Space and TEKEVER France. The satellite will use the Longbow platform; initial operational service is targeted for early 2029.[^desir-pr] Loft also operates through Loft Federal, a FOCI-mitigated US subsidiary serving classified national security programs, and Orbitworks, a joint venture with UAE-based Marlan Space established in August 2024 targeting 500 kg-class satellite production in Abu Dhabi.[^orbitworks-pr]
Loft closed a Series C round of EUR 170 million in January 2025, led by Tikehau Capital and Axial Partners with participation from Bpifrance, Temasek, and others, bringing total funding to approximately $330 million.[^tc-series-c] The Series C valuation was not formally disclosed; reports placed it above $1 billion based on company and investor communications.[^sifted-series-c]