Israeli startup Moonshot Space has raised $12 million led by Angular Ventures, including a $1 million grant from the Israel Innovation Authority. The company was founded in 2024 by: Hilla Haddad Chmelnik, former Ministry of Science director general and a member of the Iron Dome development team; Fred Simon, cofounder of software unicorn JFrog; and Shahar Bahiri, cofounder of AI-driven smart mobility company Valerann.
Moonshot is developing an electromagnetic spacecraft launcher built like a rail track pointing to the sky – an electromagnetic accelerator designed to launch cargo into space at hypersonic speed. Due to the high acceleration used, it is not suitable for astronauts. The company plans to enter the niche market of launching cargo into space, initially the low flight range (400-800 kilometers) where low-earth orbit satellites (LEO) cruise, but the company believes that they will later be able to launch objects that will cruise with the help of an engine to the higher satellite flight ranges and in the future even for mining efforts on the moon.
Innovative space launch
Moonshot Space focuses on an innovative space launch vehicle that does not use rocket propulsion as is customary at NASA or SpaceX, but rather inertial force alone, based solely on electricity. It is a powerful electromagnetic accelerator, built to launch objects to hypersonic speeds of up to 8 kilometers per second (28,800 km/h), in a short time and using only electricity.
Using induction, the launcher hovers on a railway track that juts into the sky, in a manner reminiscent of a monorail, and detaches the spacecraft at top speed to altitude. Due to the fact that launch rockets are not involved, and the spacecraft does not need to carry fuel for this purpose, objects can be launched more easily and make more intelligent use of inertial force, as well as freeing up more space for payload – the rule of thumb says that any rocket launched into space can only carry 4% of its weight as payload. From the moment that launched capsule passes the speed threshold of 2.5 kilometers per second, it will reach an orbit around the earth.
A crowded field
Haddad Chmelnik explains about the emerging niche for cargo flights into space, a field that is becoming increasingly crowded and will also be used in the future for warfare, data storage and mining. “Just as you wouldn’t send containers of water bottles in business class, there is no need to send cargo into space in launch rockets, but you can make do with a cheaper means, even if it is done at a high acceleration that is not intended for humans,” she says.
“The concept of launching linear spacecraft has existed since the days of Jules Verne and hasn’t changed much since then,” she continues. “What made it feasible after more than 100 years is a collection of technologies that have matured: energy storage, its rapid discharge, extraordinary computing power to discharge energy at short, consistent times. Some of these technologies were developed for particle accelerators, and we have reached a point where they can be maintained at reasonable prices and sizes.”
The company explains that they have no intention of competing with Elon Musk’s SpaceX launchers or Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. “We pay for them with a dedicated launcher to supply the needs of the expanding space industry: fuels, raw materials and equipment for space systems operating in orbit, manufacturing in a zero-gravity environment, private space stations, tourism, data centers, and high-speed satellite Internet.”
Focusing on building a prototype
Moonshot Space has signed initial agreements with companies in the field of logistics and space refueling, including Italy’s D-Orbit and US firm Orbit Fab.
The company is focusing on building a prototype – a scaled-down model that will travel on a track of only a few dozen meters, which will also be used by Israeli defense companies in testing aircraft and hypersonic systems. The accelerator is expected to accelerate objects to speeds of 6 times the speed of sound (7,200 km/h).
“Against the backdrop of the international hypersonic development race, in which the US is investing in the ‘Golden Dome’ program, and Israel stands out with systems like Arrow 3 and David’s Sling, engineers are forced to make do with partial simulations, cumbersome wind tunnels and expensive missiles, to develop systems. Moonshot’s accelerator will speed up the pace of trials from one per week to several per day at low cost,” the company said.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on December 1, 2025.
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