Orbital Operations YC Application
Orbital Operations went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2025 batch as a Industrials company. Below: what the company does, who founded it, and its application to YC, reconstructed question by question in the real YC form.
- YC batch
- Winter 2025
- Industry
- IndustrialsAviation and Space
- Team size
- 2
- Status
- Active
- Launched
- 2025
Founders
Ben SchleunigerFounder
Ross DohertyCo-Founder & COO
What Orbital Operations does
Orbital Operations is developing a high thrust, reusable space vehicle for satellite defense. We protect critical satellites, like GPS and Military communication satellites, from adversarial threats, like China and Russia. Our vehicle will use the exact same propulsion systems that launch vehicles have used for decades by implementing a cryogenic management system. This will give us over 100x the thrust or current in-space propulsion. Ross and I have over 15 years of combined aerospace experience across NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Relativity Space. We’ve worked side by side for more than 3.5 years developing propulsion systems, turbomachinery, and building our own respective engineering teams. We are currently working on the first demo of our unique cryo management system and intend to launch an operational vehicle by 2027.
Orbital Operations's YC application, reconstructed
Y Combinator application
Orbital Operations, Winter 2025 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.
- Founders2
- Company7
- Progress7
- Idea4
- Equity3
- Curious2
- Batch Preference1
Company
Orbital Operations
High Thrust Space Vehicles for Satellite Defense
We are building a reusable space vehicle with high-thrust propulsion for defending satellites against threats like China and Russia. Our product leverages a cryogenic management system to use launch-grade engines in space, giving over 100 times the thrust of current in-space propulsion methods.
We live in Los Angeles, CA, and will base the company here after YC.
Los Angeles gives us access to aerospace talent and facilities needed to develop our propulsion and cryo systems effectively. We both live here and have built teams locally.
21 more answers in the full application
Founders, Progress, Idea, Equity, Curious, Batch Preference are in the full version. Create a free account to open it in YC Insights, next to every other YC batch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the real Orbital Operations YC application?
No. Y Combinator keeps submitted applications private. This is a reconstruction: the real YC form questions, answered from Orbital Operations's public data (launch notes, founder backgrounds, product description). It shows how a company like Orbital Operations would present itself to YC, not the text they submitted.
What YC batch was Orbital Operations in?
Orbital Operations was part of the Y Combinator Winter 2025 batch.
Who founded Orbital Operations?
Orbital Operations was founded by Ben Schleuniger, Ross Doherty.
What does Orbital Operations do?
High Thrust Space Vehicles for Satellite Defense
How do I read the full reconstructed application?
Create a free Round Funded account. The full 26-answer version of Orbital Operations's application, and every other YC batch, is in YC Insights.
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