NorthStar space infrastructure. Photo: SES

Canadian space domain awareness (SDA) company NorthStar Earth & Space plans to go public through a SPAC deal announced Friday that values the company at $300 million. 

NorthStar integrates ground-based and space-based data to monitor activity and detect threats in orbit. The company is headquartered in Montreal with operations in Luxembourg and New York.

The company plans to combine with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Viking Acquisition Corp. I to go public on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the sign “NSTR.” It is expected to close in the third quarter of this year. 

The deal announced Friday includes a $30 million PIPE anchored by Cartesian Capital Group. The company expects gross proceeds of at least $30 million. The proceeds will be used to fund build-out of the company’s constellation including sensors, spacecraft integration and deployment, and non-recurring engineering expenses.

The company is projecting $30 million of revenue this year, according to the investor presentation. 

“NorthStar intends to play a vital role in safeguarding orbital environments and advancing sustainability in space. At this critical juncture, becoming a public company provides NorthStar with unprecedented access to capital to scale our operations,” NorthStar Founder and CEO Stewart Bain commented. 

According to its investor presentation, NorthStar says it has demonstrated full custody tracking for the U.S. government — tracking an object just 10 cm large in orbit over a period of 26 hours. The company offers SDA services like maneuver detection and pattern of life analysis. 

NorthStar previously deployed four satellites with Spire Global’s Space Services business in early 2024, but the satellites had performance issues. NorthStar claimed in litigation that one satellite was lost and the other three did not meet expected performance. The case was stayed in 2025 pending arbitration.  

SPACs, also referred to as “blank check” deals, are an alternative way to go public than the traditional IPO process. SPACs were very popular in 2021 with Rocket Lab, Spire, BlackSky, Momentus, AST SpaceMobile, and others using SPACs to go public; although SPACs have drawn a lot of criticism as well.