TAMPA, Fla. — NorthStar Earth and Space plans to raise funds to expand the space-based sensor network behind its space situational awareness (SSA) business by merging with Viking Acquisition Corp. I, a publicly listed shell company.
The Canadian SSA provider announced plans April 17 to merge with the special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, which had about $230 million in trust Dec. 31 shortly after listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
How much of that cash ultimately reaches NorthStar will depend on shareholder redemptions ahead of the merger vote, although the deal is structured to deliver at least $30 million before any additional funds remaining in trust.
Viking is sponsored by KingsRock Advisors, a New York-based financial advisory firm. Viking CEO N. Håkan Wohlin, who also founded KingsRock, previously served as Deutsche Bank’s global head of debt origination, capital markets and treasury solutions.
The merger includes a $30 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) add-on, anchored by Cartesian Capital Group, a U.S.-based private equity firm that led NorthStar’s Series C funding round in 2023.
NorthStar says it has raised about $100 million to date, including backing from the governments of Quebec and Luxembourg.
The transaction, slated to close before the end of September following shareholder and regulatory approvals, gives NorthStar a pre-money valuation of $300 million.
“At this critical juncture, becoming a public company provides NorthStar with unprecedented access to capital to scale our operations,” NorthStar founder and CEO Stewart Bain said in a statement.
“The transaction positions NorthStar to keep pace with the challenges presented by the increased frequency of new launches and deliver greater value to stakeholders across the space industry.”
Rocky road to space
NorthStar announced in 2020 that it had picked Thales Alenia Space to build an initial batch of satellites for tracking other spacecraft and debris in orbit.
The company pivoted two years later in a deal with space-as-a-service operator Spire for smaller cubesats, targeting a ride to low Earth orbit (LEO) in 2023 with Virgin Orbit, only to have those plans upended by the horizontal air-launcher’s bankruptcy earlier that year.
Rocket Lab later successfully deployed four 16U satellites for NorthStar in January 2024, following delays stemming from an Electron launch failure.
The satellites were equipped with sensors designed to enable them to track objects as small as five centimeters across LEO and 40 centimeters in geostationary orbit.
However, one of those satellites was ultimately lost in space and the other three failed to produce contract-compliant images, NorthStar alleged in legal action against Spire.
NorthStar has sought damages for alleged breach of contract, willful misconduct and fraudulent misrepresentation, claims that Spire denies in full.
An arbitral tribunal held an evidentiary hearing on the dispute in January 2026.
Spire, which at one point had a contract covering options for 33 satellites for NorthStar, did not respond to a request for comment.
NorthStar’s investor presentation on the SPAC merger refers to having four of a planned 96 satellites in orbit.
“NorthStar can confirm that it has four operational satellites in orbit, including satellites launched by Spire,” a NorthStar spokesperson said in response to SpaceNews questions.
The company declined to comment on the apparent addition of a non-Spire spacecraft, and whether it is connected to the loss of one of its satellites in orbit.
“We have no further comment on ongoing legal proceedings,” the spokesperson continued.
“This morning’s news regarding the proposed merger with Viking, demonstrates the company’s momentum and points to the future. We believe this transaction will position NorthStar to address the urgent need for advanced Space Situation Awareness globally and service the rapidly growing space economy.
“Safeguarding our orbital environments and advancing sustainability in space has never been more important, and we expect NorthStar will play a critical role in advancing this mission.”
In 2023, NorthStar said five Earth observation satellites from Japan’s Axelspace are helping it keep tabs on orbits.
Expanding SSA capabilities
NorthStar said in the presentation that it currently draws on 80 million observations a day to track activity and detect threats in orbit, supported by third-party ground- and space-based data.
The company pointed to growing demand from government and commercial customers, estimating more than $30 million in revenue in 2026.
The presentation also outlined a phased deployment of “bespoke sensors,” with more than five planned for the next phase to support a “120-minute revisit rate of all resident space objects.”
A final phase in the roadmap, which does not provide details such as a timeframe, envisions more than 90 sensors supporting a 20-minute revisit rate.
The proposed merger comes amid signs that SPACs are returning to the space sector, after the last cycle around five years ago left many investors wary of aggressive long-range projections.
Meanwhile, the industry is seeing an uptick in traditional, more heavily scrutinized IPOs as plans for a blockbuster SpaceX listing this summer add another tailwind for investor interest in the industry.
Jason Rainbow
Read More