Rendezvous Robotics exits stealth with $3M to build reconfigurable space infrastructure

Rendezvous Robotics, a company emerging from stealth mode with $3 million in pre-seed funding, aims to revolutionize space infrastructure by overcoming the traditional constraints imposed by rocket fairings on hardware size and assembly. Founded by Ariel Ekblaw, Phil Frank, and Joe Landon, the company is developing “tesserae,” modular, flat-packed tiles that can autonomously assemble, reconfigure, and scale space structures in orbit using magnetic docking and swarm robotics. Each tile is equipped with its own processor, sensors, and battery, designed for low-cost mass manufacturing. This technology promises to enable larger, more adaptable space structures such as antennas and solar arrays, which are critical for advanced communications and national security missions. The company has already demonstrated its tile prototypes on Blue Origin’s New Shepard and aboard the International Space Station (ISS), validating autonomous docking and reconfiguration capabilities. Rendezvous Robotics plans to conduct further demonstrations on the ISS in early 2026 and subsequently deploy a mission outside the ISS