From Labs to Launchpads: Women Founders in SpaceTech

SpaceTech used to be a gated community.
Old boys’ club. Giant budgets. Locked labs.
But something changed: women showed up with algorithms, physics degrees, startup grit, and a very impolite refusal to accept “no entry.”

Now they’re not just participating — they’re founding companies, leading missions, building satellites, decoding orbital data, and designing robots to explore worlds we haven’t even named yet.

This week, we zoom in on the women cracking open the cosmos — and what it really takes to break into this high-barrier industry.

🚀 1. Satellite Tech: Tiny Hardware, Massive Power

Micro- and nanosatellites are rewriting the rules of space.
Cheaper. Faster to build. Smarter.

Women founders are leading the charge:

• Sara Spangelo, co-founder of Swarm Technologies, expanded global connectivity through tiny satellites the size of toast.

• Dr. Anastasia Volkova, founder of Regrow, uses Earth-observation data to protect global agriculture.

• Aleksandra Przegalińska (Poland) isn’t a SpaceTech founder, but her work on human–AI interaction fuels the very decision-making models satellite companies rely on.

These women are redefining access to space in a way that’s inclusive, scalable, and deeply practical.

🛰️ 2. Orbital Data: The New Gold Rush

Space isn’t just a destination.
It’s the biggest data source in the universe we can currently reach.

Female-led companies are extracting insights from orbit that reshape life on Earth:

• Dr. Mareen Reimann, OKAPI:Orbits, keeps satellites from colliding and helps clean up space traffic.

• Lauren Lyons, aerospace engineer & SpaceX alum, now guides startups shaping next-gen launch systems and orbital analytics.

• Poland’s Dr. Anna Wójcicka, co-founder of DNAlytics and tech innovator, advocates for scientific entrepreneurship — inspiring a wave of Polish women entering complex deeptech fields, including SpaceTech.

From weather forecasting to climate action to monitoring illegal fishing, orbital data is the new frontier — and women are ensuring it’s used for good.

🤖 3. Space Robotics: Because Someone Has to Fix Things 400km Above Earth

If satellites are the organs, robots are the surgeons.

Women are designing robotic systems that can:

• navigate microgravity

• repair satellites

• build structures in orbit

• inspect the harshest environments

• prepare for lunar and Martian exploration

Think Dr. Jenni Sidey-Gibbons, astronaut and robotics expert.
Think Dr. Julie B. Robinson, shaping science operations on the ISS.

Their work proves a simple truth:
Robotics isn’t just for factories — it’s for galaxies.

🌙 4. The Polish Trailblazers to Watch

You asked me to always include them — and I will.

Here are Polish innovators lighting the path toward SpaceTech, DeepTech, and frontier science:

• Dr. Agnieszka Sergot, astrophysicist and high-energy particle researcher, inspiring young Polish women to pursue astronomy and space science.

• Dr. Weronika Śliwa, astronomer and science communicator, making SpaceTech accessible and exciting for the next generation.

• Professor Katarzyna Malinowska, expert in space law, shaping how nations — and companies — behave beyond Earth.

These women prove SpaceTech isn’t just rockets.
It’s physics, law, data, robotics, engineering, and ethics.

🧩 5. Breaking Into SpaceTech: Practical Advice (No Billion-Euro Budget Required)

SpaceTech feels intimidating — but there are entry points.

Here’s where women are starting:

• Start with the data

Earth-observation datasets from NASA, ESA, and Copernicus are free.
Analyse them. Create projects. Post your findings.
Nothing opens doors faster.

• Build skills in AI, robotics, or cybersecurity

Space is becoming software-first.
You don’t need to build a rocket — you can build the systems that support one.

• Join SpaceTech accelerators and communities

Look at programs like:

• ESA BIC

• Techstars Space

• Seraphim Space Camp

• Women in Aerospace Europe

Connections matter here.

• Work with satellites from your laptop

Open-source mission simulators like GMAT and STK allow you to test real orbital scenarios.

• Publish your thinking

Deeptech blogs, academic-style breakdowns, and open project reports attract investors, employers, and collaborators faster than CVs.

• Collaborate globally

Space is international by default.
Your network should be too.

💫 6. Why This Matters for TechSheThink

SpaceTech represents the purest form of ambition — the audacity to look up and say “why not?”

Women are no longer waiting for permission to explore the universe.
They’re coding the systems, funding the missions, leading the labs, launching the satellites, and redefining what it means to innovate.

And the more we highlight their work, the more girls and women will believe that orbit is not a limit — it’s an invitation.

🎤 Call to Action

This week:

• Follow a woman founder in SpaceTech

• Download a free dataset and explore orbital analytics

• Share this newsletter with someone who dreams big

• tag a Polish woman in deeptech or science you admire

• subscribe for more TechSheThink inspiration

Space belongs to all of us — and women are making sure we finally act like it.