Foundational
Foundational operates a fully automated global satellite laser ranging (SLR) network, providing millimetre-precision tracking of satellites and debris from up to 2,000km altitude. The company offers SLR-as-a-service, a line of three passive Laser Retroreflectors for satellite hosts, and the Origin data platform delivering ranging data in TDM, CRD, or JSON formats. Its automated stations are approximately 30x less expensive than legacy facilities.
- Space Technology
- Data & Analytics
- Hardware
Funding
Raised to date
£8.2MRaised to date based on public sources. This may differ from the amount the company actually raised and is based only on what is publicly available on the internet.
Est. $10.4Macross 1 round
AFFITO£8.2M · Pre-Seed
Announced Oct 2026
Disclosed cumulative: $10.4M
Founders
Founder details are not available yet.
Product
Problem
Satellite laser ranging (SLR) has long been the gold standard for precise satellite tracking, but legacy infrastructure is ageing and "perilously close to collapse" according to the UN. As Low Earth Orbit grows more crowded—with ESA tracking around 45,000 objects and an estimated 1.5 million debris pieces between 1cm and 10cm—operators need accurate positional data to identify collision risks and plan safe manoeuvres, yet existing SLR systems are expensive, manually operated, and built as one-off scientific sites.
Solution
Foundational is rebuilding SLR infrastructure for the commercial era through a vertically integrated, fully automated global network. The company builds and operates ground stations that fire eye-safe laser pulses towards satellites, timing the round trip to range objects within millimetres per shot, day and night, from up to 2,000km altitude. Foundational offers SLR-as-a-service, a product line of three passive Laser Retroreflectors (LRRs) for satellite hosts, and Origin, an online data platform that processes and delivers ranging data in TDM, CRD, or JSON formats. The automated stations are approximately 30x less expensive than legacy facilities. Orbit determination and propagation capabilities provide high-accuracy ephemeris for satellite and constellation operators, and the network is already operational with early customers being onboarded through Origin and its API.
Target Audience
Primary customers are satellite operators of commercial constellations, as well as government agencies including the European Space Agency and UK government, aerospace manufacturers, and research institutes requiring precise orbital data for collision avoidance, manoeuvre planning, and mission operations.
Features
- Global SLR ground station network with fully automated, weatherproof stations that track satellites to millimetre-level precision using eye-safe lasers, day and night, from up to 2,000km
- Vertical integration spanning the entire SLR system: retroreflectors, ground stations, and the Origin data platform
- Product line of three passive Laser Retroreflectors (LRRs), TRL-9 flight-proven, requiring no power, electronics, or pointing, rangeable from horizon to overhead through commissioning, safe mode, and after end of life
- Origin data platform delivering raw ranging data and normal points in TDM, CRD, or JSON formats, with orbit determination and propagation for high-accuracy ephemeris
- A uniquely identifiable LRR variant in development and orbit products under validation
- API access for customers to pull data programmatically from the Origin platform