Unastella: South Korean Rocket Startup Based at Home Raises $24M in Funding

As SpaceX nears what could be the largest IPO in history, the race to develop next-generation launch vehicles is heating up, especially across Asia. Startups in Australia, India, Japan, and South Korea are eager to secure their share of a market historically dominated by the U.S. and China.

Among these startups is Unastella, a South Korean company established four years ago, which has recently completed a $24 million Series B funding round, bringing its total funding to $44 million. The firm achieved a successful launch of its rocket, the Una Express-I, from South Korean soil in May 2025.

Situated in Seoul, Unastella is working on its launch vehicles and engines, primarily targeting small satellite launch services. Founder and CEO Jae Park informed TechCrunch that the company’s short-term goal is to validate its technology and business model through orbital launches, with a long-term vision of enabling crewed suborbital spaceflights.

Unastella utilizes a kerosene and liquid oxygen propulsion system, one of the most reliable combinations in rocket history, comparable to SpaceX’s Falcon series. The company has opted for an electric motor pump in place of a traditional turbo pump, which offers a more straightforward and cost-efficient solution, as demonstrated by Rocket Lab’s successful flights.

However, this choice does entail a trade-off regarding payload capacity. Electric motor pumps are bulkier, leading to reduced capacity for satellites. Park noted that this is a conscious strategy.

“We’re not just an R&D team striving to build the most advanced rocket,” Park remarked. “We’re a commercial launch entity emphasizing rapid market entry.”

Park further highlighted that Unastella oversees every aspect of its operations in-house, including design, manufacturing, ground operations, and flight data collection. The UNA EXPRESS-I launch last year was the first extensive real-world test of their entire system, as Park pointed out.

Park has devoted his entire professional life to rocket engine development. Before founding Unastella, he worked on combustion systems for Korea’s Nuri rocket, the country’s inaugural domestically produced orbital launch vehicle developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). He then moved to the German Aerospace Center in Berlin to work on European launch vehicle engines, later returning to Korea to collaborate with another aerospace startup before deciding to create his own.

Though Unastella has yet to generate revenue, investors appear optimistic about its future endeavors. Altos Ventures led the Series B round, with participation from Korea Development Bank, Strong Ventures, and Hana Ventures, among others.

Park is especially focused on the forthcoming UNA EXPRESS-II launch, anticipated later this year. Reaching an altitude of 100 kilometers would signify a critical achievement, one that Park believes will pave the way for collaborations with South Korea’s prominent aerospace and defense firms.

The 22-member startup has laid a solid foundation and built institutional connections. South Korea’s national space agency has incorporated components from UNA EXPRESS-I, and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute has provided Unastella with electric motor pump technology.

Unastella is not the sole contender in the race for the global space launch market, which was valued at approximately $15 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to nearly $41 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research.

While South Korea’s commercial launch sector is still in its early stages, its landscape is beginning to solidify.

Hanwha Aerospace, the country’s largest defense conglomerate, acquired the government-developed Nuri rocket last year after obtaining comprehensive technology rights from KARI. Two additional startups are also vying for market share: Innospace, which has gone public on the Korean stock exchange and achieved a suborbital launch, and Perigee Aerospace, which is in the midst of developing its Blue Whale rocket. To date, none have managed a commercial orbital launch. South Korea’s space agency KASA, established in 2024, has committed $266 million over seven years to bolster launch infrastructure, reflecting strong government confidence in the private sector’s potential.

The competition extends beyond South Korea, as China leads the Asian market, featuring companies like Galactic Energy, LandSpace, and iSpace that have all successfully completed multiple launches. Japan’s H3 rocket, developed by JAXA and Mitsubishi, achieved its first successful launch in 2024, while startup Interstellar Technologies is crafting its own small vehicle. In Australia, Gilmour Space attempted its first orbital launch this year. Additionally, Rocket Lab, originally founded in New Zealand and now publicly listed on Nasdaq, stands out as the only Asian-founded company to have established a commercially viable launch operation.