Alén Space
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace, NewSpace |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Founder | Fernando Aguado |
| Headquarters | Vigo , Spain |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Nanosatellites, satellite software and hardware |
Alén Space is a Spanish enterprise operating within the NewSpace industry, headquartered in Vigo, located in Galicia, Spain. Since 2008, it has been engaged in the design, manufacture, and development of both software and hardware for artificial satellites, with a focus on nanosatellites smaller than the CubeSat standard.
History
Established in 2007 as a result of a partnership between the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA) and various stakeholders concentrating on miniature satellites for applications such as the IoT, aircraft monitoring, and sophisticated Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), Alén Space emerged from the Strategic Aerospace Group at the University of Vigo, under the leadership of Fernando Aguado. The company initiated the design of Spain’s inaugural nano-satellite, the Xatcobeo, in 2012.
Alén Space played a role in the launches of Humsat-D in 2013 and Serpens in 2015, working alongside the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA).
With financial backing from the Ignacia Program of the Galician Innovation Agency (GAIN) under the auspices of the Xunta de Galicia, Alén Space officially became a university spin-off in 2017.
In 2018, it was acknowledged as one of the top 100 startups by South Summit and also earned the innovation accolade from Cinco Días. The following year, Alén Space attracted €1 million in funding from CDTI and BeAble Capital.
The company was honored as Best Space Startup at the South Europe Startup Awards (SESA) in 2020. That same year, Alén Space entered into a strategic partnership with satellite communication provider Sateliot, collaborating on payload development for Sateliot’s initial nanosatellites designed around a 5G architecture. These nanosatellites incorporate an SDR (Software Defined Radio) card for processing signals, alongside radio frequency conditioning components and antenna systems that facilitate communication with ground-based devices.