TRL11, Inc., has closed a pre-seed funding round of more than $3 million, which enables expansion of their team, leasing of a facility and the launch of two, prototype, video payloads to LEO — TRL11 aims to make full motion video (FMV) solutions commonplace in all space applications.
According to Nicol Verheem, company Founder and CEO, typical video solutions in 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 (Artificial Intelligence / Machine Language) of FMV over the past few decades. The M&E industry supports a much higher volume of video products in circulation, and typically has quick refresh cycles which fuel rapid and ongoing innovation. This helps hone and mature video products over time, which explains why M&E is ahead of the Aerospace industry.
Under his lead, TRL11 will be bringing some of the best video solutions and expertise from M&E into the nascent space market, targeting on-orbit applications such as mission confirmation, space domain awareness, and proximity operations like docking or debris removal.
As the common phrase “space is hard” suggests, the operating environment is uniquely harsh, but many technologies and techniques used in media map well to space, and with the right modifications and the correct support, can perform well in space.
“I’ve always been a science fiction space nerd, but I never thought it could be a career path. However the recent explosive growth in the number of launches to Low Earth Orbit creates some real challenges and thus exciting new opportunities, some of which can best — or sometimes only — be solved with full motion video solutions on-orbit. The bandwidth is obviously not there yet to support every one of the many applications of video that are possible in space, but it’ll come. We’ve been through similar transitions in other industries before, more than once. Time and time again, video finds a way to add new value to just about every industry on Earth. Space will be no different. That’s why I love video and why it will always continue to shine as a key enabling technology.”
— Nicol Verheem, TRL11 Founder and CEO, serial entrepreneur and Technical Oscar
and Emmy award winner
About the company…
TRL11, Inc. designs and manufactures state-of-the-art full motion video solutions and the supporting subsystems for aerospace applications. Headquartered in Irvine, California, the company was started in 2022 and launched the first prototypes to orbit in less than a year. The name TRL11 is meant to imply taking the first step toward the next chapter of space exploration. e Vu CFO), will join Anthony Baker on the Board, representing the company.