CHF 150k · Other round · Space · Dübendorf, Switzerland
Stellar Alpina has completed Venture Kick’s three-stage programme, bringing its cumulative support to CHF 150,000. According to Startupnews, the September award will help the Dübendorf-based company expand its test infrastructure, run further hotfire campaigns and develop its first flight engine. Tech.eu classifies the event as Other, the canonical label used for this brief.
The programme pays support across three stages — CHF 10,000, CHF 40,000 and CHF 100,000 — so the CHF 150,000 figure is cumulative rather than a single new cheque.
From hotfire evidence to a flight engine
Stellar Alpina is developing compact rotating detonation rocket engines for moving spacecraft after launch. Unlike conventional rocket engines, RDREs generate thrust through controlled supersonic detonation waves. The company says this architecture could deliver higher performance with fewer mechanical components and less system volume, attributes that matter when every kilogram and cubic centimetre constrain a satellite or transfer vehicle.
The team has already moved beyond simulation. Stellar Alpina says it built its test infrastructure and completed its first engine campaign within 82 days of incorporation, carrying out eight detonative hotfires and demonstrating as many as five stable detonation waves. Those tests show that the team can build and fire hardware quickly; they do not yet establish flight performance or commercial reliability.
The Venture Kick support follows a CHF 3.5m pre-seed round announced in May 2026 and led by Founderful, with LP&E and strategic investors participating. The earlier financing funds the broader build-out, while the staged programme support is tied to the next test and flight-engine work.
More tests should narrow the engineering risk
Additional hotfire campaigns can help Stellar Alpina iterate engine geometry, materials and operating conditions before committing hardware to a flight programme. Switzerland Innovation says the company has grown to 13 employees and set a target of testing up to 28 engines or engine configurations in 2026. That pace matters because an RDRE’s commercial promise depends not only on theoretical efficiency, but on repeatable ignition, stable operation and integration into a complete propulsion system.
The next proof point is therefore a flight-capable engine, not simply a higher test count. Stellar Alpina ultimately wants its propulsion technology to underpin modular in-space vehicles and lunar delivery systems. Turning that ambition into a product will require the team to translate rapid ground iteration into reliability that spacecraft operators can qualify and buy.
Explore this theme
Looking to the Stars — Partech, partner article hosted on EUVC · 13 March 2026. The article examines why Europe’s space ambitions depend on sovereign capability and fast, iterative technical execution, the same tension Stellar Alpina is addressing at engine level.
Sources checked:
Startupnews · Venture Kick · Stellar Alpina company announcement · Stellar Alpina founder profile · Switzerland Innovation · Tech.eu Funding Explorer
Display date uses Startupnews’s 5 September 2026 report; Tech.eu records 4 September 2026.
