Astrobotic
American space robotics company developing lunar landers, rovers, and surface power systems for commercial and government planetary missions
- CEO / Founder
- John Thornton
- Team Size
- 201-500
- Stage
- Growth Stage
- Total Funding
- Undisclosed
- Latest Round
- Grant
- Key Investors
- NASA; Space Angels; Dylan Taylor; Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP); Idea Foundry
Technology & Products
Key Products
Peregrine lunar lander (up to 120 kg payload); Griffin lunar lander (larger, ~500+ kg payload); CubeRover (standardized compact lunar rover); Xodiac reusable rocket lander (suborbital testing); Xogdor reusable rocket; Chakram rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE); Luna Grid surface power system; MoonBox (personal payload capsules); PermiAM patented metal additive manufacturing technology
Technological Advantage
Patented PermiAM metal additive manufacturing technology (co-developed with Elementum3D) enabling tunable porosity in printed metal components for advanced rocket engines; Chakram RDRE with longest-ever 300-second continuous burn; vertical integration across landers, rovers, propulsion, and surface power; NASA CLPS vendor with two task orders; acquisition of Masten Space Systems added propulsion and testing capabilities
Differentiation
Value Proposition
End-to-end lunar logistics and delivery services via commercial landers (Peregrine, Griffin), rovers (CubeRover), and surface power infrastructure, making the Moon accessible to governments, companies, universities, and individuals
How They Differentiate
Astrobotic offers the broadest portfolio of lunar capabilities (landers, rovers, surface power, propulsion) under one roof; patented PermiAM metal AM for advanced engines; deep NASA CLPS heritage with two task orders; Pittsburgh-based with strong state government support; acquired Masten Space Systems for propulsion expertise
Market & Competition
Target Customers
NASA (CLPS program), other space agencies (ESA, Italian Space Agency), defense (DoD), commercial space companies, universities, research institutions
Industry Verticals
Aerospace/Defense; Space Exploration; Lunar Logistics; Robotics; Propulsion
Competitors
Intuitive Machines; Firefly Aerospace; ispace (Japan)
Growth & Milestones
Growth Metrics
Over $600M in total NASA/DoD/commercial contracts; 275+ employees (as of 2025); 60+ contracts; 28+ payloads manifested for first mission from 8 nations
Major Milestones
2007: Founded by Red Whittaker and John Thornton; 2016: $2.5M seed round from Space Angels; 2018: Selected for NASA CLPS vendor pool; 2019: $79.5M NASA CLPS contract for Peregrine Mission One; 2020: $199.5M NASA contract to deliver VIPER rover; 2022: Acquired Masten Space Systems; 2024: Launched Peregrine Mission One (first US commercial lunar lander attempt — anomaly prevented landing); 2025: Griffin Mission One planned for lunar south pole landing; PermiAM Chakram RDRE sets 300-second continuous burn record at NASA Marshall
Notable Customers
NASA (CLPS program); European Space Agency; Italian Space Agency (via Thales Alenia Space); Astrolab; DHL; MrBeast; multiple universities and research institutions