ThinkOrbital Inc.
"We build space"
Boulder, CO in-space infrastructure startup: ThinkToolkit robotic arm and end effector for e-beam welding and cutting, plus ThinkX orbital X-ray inspection.
ThinkOrbital Inc. is a space infrastructure and space domain awareness company at 5721 Arapahoe Ave, Suite 1B, in Boulder, Colorado. It was co-founded in 2021 by CEO and President Colonel Lee Rosen, a SpaceX veteran who led the build of three Falcon launch pads and Dragon spacecraft operations and previously held military space assignments at the Pentagon, the National Reconnaissance Office and Space Systems Command, and Vojtech Holub, Ph.D., whose AIAA Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets article the company calls its founding thesis for scalable space infrastructure. The company says it was founded by veterans of SpaceX, the US Space Force and NASA.
ThinkOrbital's robotic product line is ThinkToolkit, a suite consisting of a robotic arm and an arm-agnostic end effector intended to support in-space servicing, construction (electron-beam welding, cutting and additive processes), proximity X-ray inspection of satellite interiors and military operations. The company pitches the Toolkit as a way to turn any medium-sized or larger spacecraft, including space tugs, into a servicing, anomaly-diagnosis and in-space servicing, assembly, manufacturing and construction (ISAM&C) platform, and to manage and aggregate orbital debris. Electron-beam welding is central: ThinkOrbital notes it requires high vacuum, which space provides, and can weld up to 30 cm of steel in a single pass at over 90% energy efficiency. In May 2024 the company flew Flight-1, which it describes as the world's first autonomous in-space welding system; it reported completing the first autonomous in-space weld and returning flown electron-beam weld samples for analysis by NASA and the European Space Agency, after the payload passed vibration, shock and thermal testing and received FAA and FCC authorization.
While testing its electron-beam welder, the team found it could generate X-rays, which led to ThinkX, an orbital X-ray imaging and material-characterization system for space domain awareness. ThinkX splits a source and a receiver onto two maneuverable rendezvous and proximity operations satellites positioned on either side of a target; the first demonstration plans imaging at 1 km separation, with a follow-on test at 10 km. The receiver is manifested on Argo Space's first water-propelled spacecraft, and the demonstration is funded partly by ThinkOrbital and partly by a Tactical Funding Increase contract from Space Systems Command and US Space Command. A terrestrial derivative, ThinkXT, is an autonomous platform-to-platform X-ray imaging system flown on a drone for stand-off inspection at 10-30 m, aimed at public safety, defense and infrastructure inspection.
Longer term, ThinkOrbital is developing ThinkPlatforms, spherical modules for on-orbit servicing, assembly, manufacturing and storage, ranging from station-attached modules with 300 to 4,000 cubic meters of volume to a free-flying station concept with four times the ISS volume. NASA selected the company for a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) study in January 2025 to examine a space dry-dock, and it is working with Georgia Tech on a Space Force-funded SBIR study of forward-basing depots in orbit. In January 2026 SpaceNews reported that ThinkOrbital had closed a seed round of undisclosed size led by TFX Capital to advance its X-ray inspection and autonomous construction and servicing technologies. In June 2026 the company was featured on the NatSec100 list.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
ThinkToolkit
Robotic arm plus arm-agnostic end effector for in-space servicing, e-beam welding, cutting, additive work and proximity X-ray inspection; turns tugs into service stations.
Flight-1 autonomous in-space welding payload
Company-described first autonomous in-space electron-beam welding system; flew on Falcon 9 in May 2024 and returned weld samples for NASA and ESA analysis.
ThinkX orbital X-ray imaging system
Two-satellite X-ray source/receiver for imaging satellite interiors, first at 1 km then 10 km; receiver on Argo Space vehicle; part-funded by Space Force SSC/SPACECOM.
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Contact ThinkOrbital Inc.
WEBSITE
https://thinkorbital.comHEADQUARTERS
United States
Company Facts
Founded
2021
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
North America
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
Early-Stage VC
Funding Total
-
