Unastella, a South Korean rocket startup, has raised $24M in a Series B round led by Altos Ventures, bringing total funding to $44M. The four-year-old company launched its Una Express-I rocket from South Korean soil in May 2025, making it one of the few Asian startups to test a full end-to-end launch system. Unastella uses a kerosene/liquid oxygen propulsion system paired with an electric motor pump — a simpler, cheaper alternative to traditional turbo pumps, trading payload capacity for speed to market. The 22-person team handles design, manufacturing, ground operations, and flight data in-house. Its next rocket, UNA EXPRESS-II, is targeted for later this year with a goal of reaching 100km altitude. South Korea's commercial space sector is nascent but growing, with government agency KASA committing $266M over seven years to build launch infrastructure.
