Kayhan Space Corp¶
Lafayette/Boulder, CO. Founded 2019. Software company providing autonomous spaceflight safety and space traffic management (STM) tools. No spacecraft — pure software/analytics.
Last updated: 2026-04-14 (session 11 — reclassified from no-visible-outcome to transitioned)
SST projects (1 + 2 SBIRs)¶
| projectId | Title | Status | Period | TRL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 155358 | Kayhan SSPICY Mission Concept Study | Completed | 2023-08 → 2023-12 | 3→4 |
| 125418 | SBIR Phase I — collision probability | Completed | 2022 | — |
| 158175 | SBIR Phase I — autonomous GNC with optical GEO tracking | Completed | 2024 | — |
PI: Siamak G. Hesar. Notable: Hesar was previously at Blue Canyon Technologies, where he worked on the X-NAV autonomous navigation demonstration (106811, SST program, TRL 4→8). This is a direct SST-to-SST people-chain: BCT's X-NAV (SST-funded) → Hesar founds Kayhan → Kayhan wins SSPICY study (SST-funded).
Products¶
- Pathfinder: Conjunction assessment, collision avoidance maneuver planning, autonomous traffic coordination.
- Satcat (launched Feb 2025): Unified space intelligence platform combining Pathfinder with orbital analytics.
Federal funding (USASpending — $2.29M across ~11 awards)¶
NASA — ~$650K¶
| Award | $ | Period | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80NSSC23CA200 | $159K | 2023 | SSPICY concept study |
| 80NSSC24PB351 | $149K | 2024 | SBIR Phase I — GNC/optical tracking |
| 80NSSC22PB062 | $145K | 2022 | SBIR Phase I — collision probability |
DoD — ~$1.3M¶
| Award | $ | Period | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FA864921P1517 | $749K | 2021–2022 | STTR Phase II — satellite drag model |
| FA875022C1018 | $250K | 2022–2023 | Autonomous proximity ops |
| + 5 SBIR Phase I | ~$300K | 2020–2021 | USAF SBIR awards |
NOAA/Office of Space Commerce — $336K+¶
| Award | $ | Period | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | $336K | 2024–2026 | TraCSS Consolidated Pathfinder — SSA data quality monitoring for LEO regime |
TraCSS Consolidated Pathfinder (Jan–May 2024): Kayhan was 1 of 5 companies selected (alongside COMSPOC, LeoLabs, Slingshot Aerospace, SpaceNav). Total program value: $15.5M across all participants. Kayhan assessed accuracy, consistency, and quality of commercial SSA products. Orders placed through NASA Global Data Marketplace (BlueStaq/DoD). Program extended May 2024. This represents non-NASA federal transition — SST-funded autonomous GNC expertise applied to civil space traffic management. Confidence: confirmed (OSC press releases, Breaking Defense).
Venture funding¶
- $12M total across 4 rounds.
- Key round: $7M seed extension (Sep 2023) led by Space Capital and EVE Atlas.
- SEC Form D: SPV entity filed Feb 2026, suggesting new round in progress.
SST relevance assessment¶
Moderate-to-high — people-chain + non-NASA federal transition. Kayhan's SSPICY study ($159K) was small, but the PI's prior SST-funded work at BCT (X-NAV 106811) directly informed Kayhan's autonomous navigation expertise. The TraCSS Consolidated Pathfinder selection (2024) shows this capability reaching operational use in civil space traffic management — a clear non-NASA federal transition. Kayhan's STM products are downstream of the same autonomous GNC capability that SST matured through BCT's projects.
Outcome reclassification: Changed from no-visible-outcome to transitioned (session 11). The TraCSS selection demonstrates federal uptake outside NASA. The $12M VC funding demonstrates commercial viability. The people-chain from BCT X-NAV (SST) → Kayhan → TraCSS is a confirmed technology transfer pathway.
NTRS publications¶
No publications found under Kayhan Space.
See also: Starfish Space, Blue Canyon Technologies (stub — session 3), SSPICY mission studies.
Sources: TechPort projects 155358/125418/158175; USASpending; Kayhan Space website; SpaceNews (Satcat launch); NOAA TraCSS announcements.