Una Stella secures $4.4 mn pre-Series A funding

South Korean start-up Una Stella announced on Monday that it has secured 5.5 billion won ($4.4 million) in pre-Series A funding, led by Strong Ventures, with support from Hana Ventures, InterValue Partners, Base Investment, A-Stone Ventures, and Hana Securities.

Founded in Feb. 2022, Una Stella is headed by CEO Park Jae-hong, a former rocket developer at the German Aerospace Center, with a mission to advance the frontier of space exploration.

The company is developing a manned space launch vehicle capable of reaching an altitude of 100 km and an electric motor pump cycle engine system.

In December of last year, Una Stella signed a 10-year agreement with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) to use KARI's "electric pump for small rocket engines" technology.

This month, the company made a significant milestone with a successful ground combustion test of its proprietary 50-kN combustor.

"We are thrilled to announce the successful closure of this funding round. Our aim is to continuously attract investment and eventually develop low-cost, high-efficiency projectiles, and we are determined to achieve this goal," said CEO Park Jae-hong.

Write to Jong-Woo Kim at jongwoo@hankyung.com