The window to deliver space superiority for the U.S. is open but shrinking rapidly, according to defense startup True Anomaly.

The Centennial-based company hit a milestone in its pursuit to help deliver that, announcing Tuesday that it raised $650 million in late-stage investment money, bringing its total valuation to $2.2 billion. 

Since its inception in 2022, the company has raised more than $1 billion.  

The company, which has factories in Colorado and California, outlined an aggressive plan for the next 18 months. 

“Space superiority matters now because China and Russia have turned space from a sanctuary into a contested warfighting domain,” the release stated. “China now has more than 1,300 satellites in orbit, including 510-plus (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance)-capable systems, giving the PLA a rapidly expanding ability to find, fix, track, target, and strike U.S. carriers, expeditionary forces and air wings.”

True Anomaly plans to double in size, from 250 to 500 employees by the end of this year. By 2028, it plans to double again, to more than 1,000 people, as it scales up to deliver on one of President Donald Trump’s main priorities, American superiority in space. 

The company intends to fly multiple missions, including the Space Force’s tactically responsive space mission called Victus Haze. The mission is designed to get a spacecraft into orbit quickly. 

Last year, the Space Force and its industry partners completed the Victus Nox mission, delivering, fueling and launching a satellite in 27 hours. 

Victus Haze, launching later this year, will build on Victus Nox as the next step in the initiative’s rapid production and launch.  

This is all part of the Space Force’s evolution, which is critical to gaining and maintaining dominance in space. A 2024 report by the Mitchell Institute indicated that producing a large number of inexpensive, small satellites will be crucial to retaining American dominance in space.

The trend is to move away from a reliance on “exquisite” systems.

The large, often bespoke, satellites represent a strategic vulnerability because their orbits are somewhat predictable, making them easy to dodge, avoid or shoot down, according to Gen. Stephen Whiting, head of U.S. Space Command. At the 41st annual Space Symposium, held at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, he emphasized the need for nimble spacecraft.  

“New warfare demands rapid, focused and unexpected actions that shatter the enemy’s cohesion,” he said. 

True Anomaly believes it can provide tools for this new warfare. The Jackal spacecraft and Mosaic software platform enable rapid reprogramming or repositioning to counter incoming threats, the company said. Jackal offers a great degree of maneuverability, according to its webpage.

The company’s two factories give it ample capacity to increase production quickly, it said, adding that the flexibility will be needed to help meet demand. 

“The legacy model of a few large, exquisite spacecraft creates targetable single points of failure and timelines too slow for the threat,” the company said. “The future requires more systems, fielded faster, distributed across LEO and GEO, resilient by design, and capable of being upgraded as the fight evolves.”

It is not clear whether True Anomaly will expand into Colorado Springs, and the company did not respond to a request for comment as of Wednesday.