TRL11 Inc announcedtoday that it has closed a pre-seed funding round of over $3 million, whichenables expansion of their team, leasing of a facility, and allows launching twoprototype video payloads to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). TRL11 aims to make fullmotion video solutions commonplace in all space applications.
“I’ve always been a sci-fi space nerd, but Inever thought it could be a career path,” said Nicol Verheem, TRL11 Founder andCEO, who is a serial entrepreneur, and also a Technical Oscar™ and Emmy™ awardwinner. “However the recent explosivegrowth in the number of launches to Low Earth Orbit creates some realchallenges and thus exciting new opportunities, some of which can best -- or sometimesonly -- be solved with full motion video solutions in orbit.”
According to Verheem, typical video solutionsin space are far behind those used in the media and entertainment (M&E)industry, which has invested billions of dollars in advancing sensors, edge processing,transmission, and the AI/ML of full motion video over the past fewdecades. The M&E industry supports amuch higher volume of video products in circulation, and typically has quickrefresh cycles which fuel rapid and ongoing innovation. This helps hone andmature video products over time, which explains why M&E is ahead of the Aerospaceindustry”.
Under his lead, TRL11 will be bringing some ofthe best video solutions and expertise from M&E into the nascent spacemarket, targeting on-orbit applications such as mission confirmation, spacedomain awareness, and proximity operations, e.g. docking or debris removal.
As the common phrase “space is hard” suggests,the operating environment is uniquely harsh, but many technologies andtechniques used in media map well to space, and with the right modifications, andthe right support, it can be made to perform well in space.
The bandwidth is obviously not there yet tosupport every one of the many applications of video that possible in space, butit’ll come,” he continued. “We’ve been through similar transitions in otherindustries before, more than once. Time and time again, video finds a way toadd new value to just about every industry on Earth. Space will be nodifferent. That’s why I love video andwhy it will always continue to shine as a key enabling technology.”
TRL11, Inc. designs and manufactures state-of-the-artfull motion video solutions and the supporting subsystems for aerospaceapplications. Headquartered in Irvine,CA, the company was started in 2022 and launched the first prototypes to orbitin less than a year. The name TRL11 is meant to imply taking the first step towardthe next chapter of space exploration.
Contact: media@trl11.com
