K2 Space sets up an engineering office in the Seattle area to support big plans for big satellites

California-based K2 Space has established a satellite engineering hub in the Seattle area, joining a thriving regional ecosystem of satellite ventures.

The Pacific Northwest operation will support the company’s drive to build large, high-power satellites for government and commercial customers. The satellites are manufactured at K2’s factory in Torrance, Calif. The company also maintains a policy and strategy office in Washington, D.C.

Since its founding in 2022, K2 Space has raised more than $500 million in capital and registered more than $1 billion in contracts. While many satellite companies focus on miniaturization, K2 Space is going big on satellite mass and power. K2 had its first “mega-class” satellite, dubbed Gravitas, launched into orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in March. The two-ton, 20-kilowatt satellite carried a dozen undisclosed payload modules for multiple customers, including the Department of Defense.

That “go-big” approach is gaining traction: Last month, for example, the U.S. Space Force confirmed that K2 Space would be one of the suppliers for its next-generation military communications network. To serve the anticipated market, K2 Space says it plans to produce hundreds of satellites annually by 2030.

“As we carefully evaluated our expansion plans to align with our next phase of growth, the Seattle area was a natural fit, given its decisive reputation as an aerospace and engineering hub,” K2 Space CEO and co-founder Karan Kunjur said in a news release. “From flight software and autonomy to the low-level systems that drive our satellites’ most demanding workloads, our Seattle team will contribute to satellites operating at the edge of what’s possible.”

Neel Kunjur, K2 Space’s chief technology officer and co-founder, said the company currently has nearly 300 employees. K2 Space’s online job listings include 16 positions based in Seattle.

Seattle already has earned its place as America’s satellite city. More than half of the world’s active satellites were built in the region, primarily driven by SpaceX’s Starlink manufacturing facility in Redmond. Satellites for the rival Amazon Leo constellation (formerly known as Project Kuiper) are produced nearby at a factory in Kirkland.

The region’s other satellite manufacturers include Starcloud in Redmond, Xplore in Bellevue and Portal Space Systems in Bothell. South of Seattle, Tukwila serves as the home base for satellite production facilities operated by BlackSky (formerly LeoStella) and Starfish Space.

California-based Cowboy Space, a data center satellite company formerly known as Aetherflux, has an engineering office in the Seattle area. Another California company focusing on satellite-based computing, Sophia Space, has a Seattle presence as well.