As SpaceX edges toward a blockbuster public listing, a new generation of launch companies is racing to claim a slice of the global space market. In Asia, one of the most closely watched contenders is Unastella, a young South Korean startup betting that smaller, cheaper rockets can open space to a new class of customers.

Unastella has raised $24 million in Series B funding, bringing total investment to $44 million. The capital will help the Seoul-based company move from experimental flights to regular launch services, starting with small satellites and eventually, it hopes, crewed suborbital missions.

The company drew attention after flying its own rocket, UNA EXPRESS-I, from South Korean soil, a rare feat for a privately built vehicle in a country where space efforts have long been led by government agencies. That launch served as a full end-to-end test of Unastella’s technology, from engine design and manufacturing to ground operations and flight data analysis, all handled in-house.

Founder and CEO Jae Park has spent his career in propulsion. He worked on combustion systems for Korea’s Nuri rocket at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, then on European launch vehicle engines at the German Aerospace Center, before returning home to build Unastella.

Technically, the company is taking a pragmatic path. Its rockets use a kerosene and liquid oxygen propulsion system, a workhorse combination also used by SpaceX’s Falcon rockets. But instead of a traditional turbopump, Unastella employs an electric motor pump, a simpler and cheaper architecture validated in flight by Rocket Lab. The tradeoff is a heavier system and lower payload capacity, a compromise Park describes as intentional in order to reach the market quickly rather than chase record-breaking performance.

Unastella is not yet generating revenue, but investors are backing its roadmap. The Series B was led by Altos Ventures, with participation from Korea Development Bank, Strong Ventures, Hana Ventures, and others, reflecting growing confidence in South Korea’s emerging commercial launch sector.

The next major milestone is UNA EXPRESS-II, a follow-on mission targeting the 100-kilometer boundary of space. A successful flight would strengthen Unastella’s case as a partner for Korea’s aerospace and defense giants and position the 22-person startup as a serious player in a global launch market projected to expand sharply over the coming decade.