The company, which is developing an airborne emergency removal system for space objects, is now supported by the French space agency for the development of a combustion chamber.
Extended partnership
Founded in 2021, the young Ile-de-France company Dark (which we presented last June on the occasion of the 54th Paris Air Show) intends to fight against the proliferation of debris into orbit, by developing a airborne system emergency removal of space objects, called Interceptor.
The system must provide access to any point in low orbit, in less than 24 hours, to remove potentially dangerous objects and prevent the proliferation of space debris.
Last June, Dark signed a contract with the Cnes to simulate a mission.
On September 29, a few months before the test firing of Interceptor’s metalox engine, the startup announced that the partnership was extended with the national agency, through co-financing of the development and a buyout by Cnes la intellectual property on one of the combustion chambers developed by Dark.
Partnership with Bordeaux airport
Furthermore, on September 29, Dark also signed a partnership with theBordeaux airport to prepare for the implementation of its activities.
The implementation project represents around 500 jobs, with Dark planning the first hires in Bordeaux by the summer of 2024 via temporary installations.
Both players already have strong support from the region New Aquitainewhile Dark has attracted various investment funds such as Eurazeo, Frst and Kima ventures (Xavier Niel).
