This partnership, entitled Project Manta, was officially announced June 2.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the near term, the investment gives us a pathway to really start to develop some of the hardware,\u201d Seagate Space co-founder and CEO Michael Anderson explained. \u201cOur design is meant to be built modularly. So, we\u2019re able to prototype some of those modules at full scale, which gives us a real test bed for modifying and fine tuning the design on those important components.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seagate Space\u2019s Gateway Series platform is a structure that can be placed in open water. The launch system can also be utilized for recovery operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In December 2025, the product was given approval in principle<\/a> (AIP) from third-party classification society American Bureau of Shipping. According to an ABS document<\/a>, approval in principle is awarded when an asset is in an \u201cearly conceptual design phase.\u201d<\/p>\n Seagate Space\u2019s Gateway Series platform is a structure that can be placed in open water. Rendering provided.<\/p>\n Seagate Space completed an over $1.5 million pre-seed round in February. Investors included Boca Raton-based New World Angels and Orlando-based Phase Shift Ventures.\u00a0<\/p>\n By April, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Firefly Aerospace to \u201ccollaborate on the development of an offshore launch platform\u201d for Firefly\u2019s Alpha rocket, according to a prepared statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLong term, I think Project Manta solidifies our position in the Florida ecosystem,\u201d Anderson added. \u201cIt sets us up for future manufacturing and operations in the state as well. This is something that fits very nicely with a lot of our road map.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The organization, which operates out of incubator spARK Labs by ARK Invest, was established in early 2025. Conversations with Space Florida began soon after.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSeagate Space is the kind of Florida grown company Space Florida exists to support, bold ideas that build the foundation for the industry\u2019s future,\u201d said Space Florida president and CEO Rob Long in a statement prepared for the Catalyst.\u00a0<\/p>\n He added that the partnership \u201cis another signal to the market that ambitious space companies keep choosing Florida because we\u2019ve invested in an ecosystem that allows for startups to grow and scale.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Anderson said that Space Florida has \u201ca lot of great operations\u201d at Cape Canaveral. This area is home to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration\u2019s Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The collaboration can bring \u201csome of the Space Florida economy to different parts of the state.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cProject Manta is really the delineation for a memorandum of understanding that we have signed with Space Florida,\u201d he continued, \u201cwhich sets out the pathways to design, build and operate an offshore launch structure in the state of Florida starting with this first prototype.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The full-scale asset will take about 45 days to structure. Anderson said that outfitting will require an additional 30 days.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0169_RNDR_Offshore-launch-platform_41_c-FINAL-1024x576.jpg\")
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