Gama raises 2 million euros to deploy a solar sail in space

Gama, a French aerospace company, announces it has
raised 2 million euros with the French Public Investment Bank (BPI), the
French Space Agency (CNES) and leading international angel investors to
deploy a solar sail in space and revolutionize space transportation.

A solar sail allows a spacecraft to be powered solely by sunlight. This new
propulsion technology enables speeds never reached before to explore our
Solar System and beyond.

This first round of funding will finance a demonstration mission: the
deployment of a 73.3m2 solar sail from a satellite launched by SpaceX at
550km altitude. Other missions will follow.

Gama, from dream to reality

Sailing effortlessly through space has long been in the dreams of many.
Kepler first theorized the possibility in a 1608 letter to Galilei, but the
research on propelling a spacecraft solely by the action of the Sun was
only properly funded in the 1970s. 50 years later, Louis de Gouyon Matignon
and Thibaud Elziere met in 2020 to turn the concept into reality.

"In 1999, I wrote my school thesis on solar sails in partnership with
French Space Agency (CNES) researchers. Since then, the passion has never
left me and I had only one obsession, to go from theory to practice. In
2020, I contacted a research group in France, the U3P (Union pour la
Promotion de la Propulsion Photonique), who put me in touch with Louis, a
young entrepreneur with the same dream" says Thibaud Elziere, Gama
co-founder.Andrew Nutter, a space enthusiast and investor in numerous technology
companies, quickly joined as the third co-founder. Today, in addition to
the three founders, Gama has a team of a dozen engineers working to develop
the sail and the software to control it.

A revolutionary technology: photonic propulsion

Solar sails rely on photonic propulsion. This form of propulsion uses the
pressure produced by photons when they hit the surface of a reflective
surface. This force is weak, but when applied to large surfaces, can induce
non-negligible effects.

"In the void of space, with no air friction, a continuous force (even a
small one) applied to a spacecraft induces a constant acceleration and
continuously increases its speed" says Jordan Culeux, technically leading
the first mission.

A solar sail could theoretically accelerate to 20% of the speed of light.
Similar to maritime sailing, it is the position of the sail in relation to
the Sun’s rays that will determine the trajectory of the craft. As with a
conventional sail, it is therefore possible to move away from the Sun but
also to get closer by sailing “upwind”.

Exploration and exploitation of deep space

Unlike conventional chemical or electric propulsion systems that need to
carry fuel, photonic propulsion draws energy purely from the Sun.
Spacecraft using this form of propulsion are thus less massive and can be
accelerated continuously with a virtually infinite source of energy. This
enables missions to reach more distant objectives at significantly lower
cost. These characteristics make it possible to envisage new commercial or
scientific missions to explore and even exploit resources in our Solar
System.

“This is an emerging technology and there are only a handful of successful
solar sail projects. It is attracting the interest of the major space
agencies and we have recently learned that NASA and JAXA (Japanese Space
Agency) are working on similar projects”, says Louis de Gouyon Matignon,
Gama co-founder.

2 million euros to finance the first mission

Gama has raised 2 million Euros from the French public investment bank
(BPI), through the Space Ticket programme in partnership with the French
Space Agency, the CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales), and serial
entrepreneurs and space investors such as Nicolas Pinto (Apple), Marie
Outtier (Twitter), Possible Ventures, Kima Ventures or Romain Afflelou
(Cosmo Connected). This round of financing makes it possible to fund Gama’s
first mission: the deployment of a 73.3m2 solar sail at an altitude of 550
km. This sail will be deployed from a 6U CubeSat satellite launched in
October 2022 by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

“Private companies are proving that space innovation can happen fast,
unlocking vast commercial opportunities. We are delighted to have the
support of the BPI, the CNES and some illustrious Business Angels to reach
an important milestone. This mission will be followed by a second launch in
2024 to test the deployment of a larger sail and onboard navigation system.
In 2025, we will become one of the very few to explore further, at
significantly lower cost, with a mission to Venus”, concludes Andrew
Nutter, Gama co-founder.

About Gama

Gama is a French space company founded by Louis de Gouyon Matignon, Thibaud
Elziere and Andrew Nutter. Gama's mission is to revolutionize access to
deep space using low-cost, reliable and scalable solar sails. A solar sail
allows a spacecraft to be powered solely by sunlight and accelerated to
unprecedented speeds. Gama is offering its photonic propulsion technology
for commercial and scientific missions to explore and exploit resources in
our Solar system.

Gama's investors are an illustrious group of entrepreneurs and deep tech
investors, having collectively raised billions of Euros, had many exits,
and invested in thousands of successful companies, including in the space
sector (Space X, Loft Orbital, Interstellar Labs, Launcher, Aerospace Labs,
Exotrail, Space Cargo Unlimited, UbiquityLink, Radian Aerospace and others)
BPI - https://www.bpifrance.com/
The French Public Investment Bank
Managing the French Tech Seed Fund, of which the Space Ticket programme
focuses on high potential space startups, with the CNES and its partners
identifying and accrediting the startups.
https://www.connectbycnes.fr/en/space-ticket-funding
CNES - The Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (French Space agency)
The world’s third oldest space agency
Q&A
Can the solar sail take off from the Earth's surface?
No, the solar sail enables a spacecraft to be moved in space using only
sunlight.
How is the solar sail sent to space?
The solar sail, made with a very thin material (2.5 microns), is folded
into the spacecraft, launched into space with a rocket, and deployed once
in orbit.
Can the solar sail be punctured by micrometeorites or space debris?
Yes. The Gama team has anticipated this by optimising the assembly of the
sail and using ripstops strategically placed to prevent tears from
propagating.
Once the sail is deployed in space, how will the spacecraft move towards an
objective
Guidance, navigation and control is managed through Sextant, software
developed by Gama specifically for solar sails. The sail’s orientation can
be controlled, and combined with celestial mechanics and the photonic
pressure, the sail can be steered to its target.
Why haven't I heard of a solar sail before?
Because it is a new technology made possible by advances in materials,
alongside the miniaturisation and standardisation in the space industry.
Are other solar sails being developed?
Yes, NASA will fly a solar sail to the Moon and has planned a mission to
the Sun. JAXA, the Japanese space agency, flew a solar sail to Venus in
2010, and is considering a future mission to the Trojan asteroids of
Jupiter. Gama is already working on the next solar missions.
What is the advantage of this technology over other technologies?
Conventional chemical or electric propulsion systems are complex, costly
and limited in range. Solar sails do not need to carry propellant and can
unlock new types of missions (high speeds, polar station keeping, etc) at
much lower cost.
Is this technology more environmentally friendly?
Yes, in that on Earth it does not have a significant impact and in space it
does not carry any propellant or dangerous products, nor does is it
deployed in the more crowded low earth orbit risking collisions. By
reducing mass significantly, it reduces the number of launches required for
a given mission.
Does this technology create space debris?
No, because close to Earth the sail will act like a parachute and cause a
faster atmospheric re-entry. In the Solar System, there is no question of
space debris, and since solar sails cannot run out of fuel, it is always
possible to return spacecraft or send them to non-sensitive locations.
I have read somewhere about plans to shoot lasers at sails to speed them up
and access another star system; is this your plan?
No, our immediate plan is to revolutionise access to the Solar System with
fast, reliable and low-cost solar sails only dependent on the sun’s
existing energy. However, we might be able to one day use lasers to further
accelerate solar sails.
How can I follow Gama's solar sail adventure
On LinkedIn as well as directly on the company's website.

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