Blue Skies Space sends back first ever data from a commercial space science satellite
Our portfolio company, Blue Skies Space, has successfully achieved ‘first light’ with Mauve, beginning a new era in astronomical data delivery from small, rapidly built space telescopes. It marks the first time that a commercial space science satellite has successfully launched and sent back data to astronomers about our universe.
Kristina Pereckaite, Director of South East Angels said “Our investors backed this team before there was a satellite in the sky, what they saw was a group of people brilliant enough to pull this off, and they were right."
Mauve launched aboard a SpaceX rocket in November 2025 and in February 2026 captured its first observation: a star called eta Ursae Majoris, 104 light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. The data confirms all systems are operational and marks the beginning of Mauve's science programme in earnest.
Blue Skies Space has pioneered an entirely new model - making high-quality space science data accessible to the global research community through affordable subscriptions, rather than relying solely on government-funded space agencies. Research institutions across the world - including Columbia University, Kyoto University, and Vanderbilt University - have already signed up.
Over its three-year mission, Mauve will study stars in ultraviolet and visible light, helping scientists understand stellar flares and their impact on the potential for life on distant planets. The team went from concept to launch in under three years - fast by any measure, remarkable for a startup in the space industry.
“Achieving first light with Mauve is a fantastic milestone. It’s great to see Mauve perform brilliantly in orbit. Full instrument performance will be established over the coming weeks as we continue calibration and observe progressively fainter targets,”
Ian Stotesbury,
Lead Systems Engineer at Blue Skies Space.
Pink: Spectrum of eta UMa acquired in a single capture by Mauve on 9 February 2026 with a 5s integration time. Blue: Hubble Space Telescope STIS spectra of the same star recorded by three grisms.
About Blue Skies Space
Blue Skies Space is a company pioneering a new model to deliver high-quality space science data in accelerated timescales to the global scientific community, helping them to answer humanity’s greatest scientific questions.
→ Learn more about Blue Skies Space at bssl.space
