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First-of-its-kind launcher from Moonshot Space could be coming to Alaska

KMXT | By Davis Hovey

Published April 22, 2026 at 12:00 PM AKDT

Moonshot Space and Alaska Aerospace Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding at the 41st Space Symposium in Colorado Springs to "explore next-generation launch technologies and the potential expansion of commercial space activity in Alaska." Pictured from left to right are: Fred Simon, CTO & Co-Founder of Moonshot Space; Shahar Bahiri, COO & Co-founder of Moonshot Space; John Oberst, CEO of Alaska Aerospace Corporation; Maggie Minton, COO of Alaska Aerospace Corporation. — Moonshot Space and Alaska Aerospace Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding at the 41st Space Symposium in Colorado Springs to "explore next-generation launch technologies and the potential expansion of commercial space activity in Alaska."
Pictured from left to right are: Fred Simon, CTO & Co-Founder of Moonshot Space; Shahar Bahiri, COO & Co-founder of Moonshot Space; John Oberst, CEO of Alaska Aerospace Corporation; Maggie Minton, COO of Alaska Aerospace Corporation.

Last week, the state-owned Alaska Aerospace Corporation formally committed to work with an Israeli start-up. The agreement aims to send more payloads into space using a unique launch system at a cheaper cost.

According to an Alaska Aerospace press release, the corporation signed a memorandum of understanding with Moonshot Space during the annual Space Symposium in Colorado Springs earlier this month.

Moonshot Space was founded in 2024 by three individuals who have ties to the Israeli government, as well as the software and artificial intelligence industries, respectively. The three founders are Hilla Haddad Chmelnik, former director-general of Israel’s Innovation, Science and Technology Ministry, Fred Simon who is a co-founder of JFrog software company and Shahar Bahiri, a co-founder of an AI driven road traffic management company called Valerann.

Just like the name implies, the Israeli company Moonshot Space is working on an electromagnetic launcher that it says will send payloads into space without relying on the traditional chemicals used for rocket launches, such as liquid oxygen and hydrogen.

According to reporting from The Jerusalem Post, the company claims that by using electricity instead of chemical propellants, it can increase the carrying capacity the traditional rocket has for payloads by 40% and reduce costs.

Moonshot Space’s team is based in Caesarea, Israel. However, Chmelnik told the Jerusalem Post that the physical launcher will be built in Alaska but did not give details or a timeline.

Alaska Aerospace Corporation’s CEO and President, John Oberst, told KMXT in a brief phone interview that Moonshot Space has not decided on a final location for the launcher. But the company is considering the Poker Flat Research Range, north of Fairbanks.

Oberst said the corporation is currently in the process of licensing that launch site with the Federal Aviation Administration to do vertical orbital launches and Moonshot Space could be an anchor tenant as part of that license.

The new partnership comes as Alaska Aerospace is set to upgrade its facilities at the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska, which it owns and operates on Kodiak Island. The state-owned corporation is also competing for billions of dollars in government contracts to support the Trump administration’s push to build a Golden Dome missile defense system.

Oberst said he expects to sign an official contract between Alaska Aerospace and Moonshot Space in the coming months. Moonshot Space has also signed preliminary agreements with D-Orbit in Italy and Orbit Fab in Colorado.