ThinkOrbital

Lafayette, United States

Founded 2022

About ThinkOrbital

ThinkOrbital is a Lafayette, Colorado-based space infrastructure developer revolutionizing the industry with autonomous in-space assembly and welding capabilities. Co-founded in 2022 by Lee Rosen, former SpaceX VP of Mission and Launch Operations with over 200 successful launch missions, the company has raised more than $4 million in funding and plans to create up to 60 jobs. Their innovative ThinkPanels launch in flat-packed configurations and are autonomously assembled and welded in space using robotic arms, delivering scalable infrastructure four times the volume of the International Space Station in a single Starship launch. The flagship ThinkPlatform is a single-launch multi-mission space platform supporting satellite servicing, debris removal, in-space manufacturing, research missions, orbital storage and refueling, and space tourism. Additional products include ThinkX for imaging satellite interiors and the ThinkToolkit, a robotic arm with end effectors for construction, inspection, and military operations. ThinkOrbital achieved a historic milestone in May 2024 when they launched and successfully returned the worlds first autonomous in-space welding system aboard Falcon 9, conducting the first-ever autonomous in-space weld and returning flown electron-beam welder samples. The company collaborates with NASA on ThinkPlatforms and CONTESA (Construction Technologies for Space Applications), has won SpaceWERX SBIR Phase II contracts for X-ray inspection technology, and secured $260,000 in US Space Force Orbital Prime contracts with partners including Redwire, KMI, and Arizona State University.