Involve Space partners with Kayser Space to accelerate stratospheric validation and technology qualification for biotech applications
The agreement combines Involve Space’s stratospheric flight capabilities to create a new end-to-end platform for technology validation and development with Kayser Space’s expertise in scientific payloads, space systems integration and qualification.
Como, 3rd November 2026 – Involve Space signed a framework collaboration agreement with Kayser Space aimed at developing and delivering integrated stratospheric missions for biotechnology validation, qualification and scientific experimentation.
The collaboration brings together Involve Space’s proprietary stratospheric platforms and flight operations expertise with Kayser Space’s long-standing experience in the design, integration and operation of scientific payloads. Together, the two companies intend to establish the stratosphere as a practical and accessible environment for testing, validating and advancing technologies destined for applications in biotech.
Under the agreement, the partners will develop joint activities spanning the entire lifecycle of scientific and technological missions. The collaboration will support the flight validation of hardware, subsystems, sensors, communications technologies and innovative payloads, enabling the exposure of experiments to significant environmental conditions that can guide faster product deployment. By leveraging stratospheric flight as an intermediate step between laboratory testing and production, the companies aim to reduce development risk, accelerate qualification processes and increase the maturity of emerging biotechnologies.
The partnership will also focus on the creation of end-to-end mission services for institutional, industrial, scientific and commercial customers, from mission definition and feasibility assessment to post-flight analysis. The resulting proposition will provide customers with a single framework for designing, executing and evaluating complex experimental campaigns in a representative operational environment.
“Behind every successful scientific experiment lies a long process of verification, iteration and learning. The stratosphere offers a unique opportunity to bring that process out of the laboratory and into a real operational environment,” said Jonathan Polotto, CEO and Chairman of Involve Space. “By partnering with Kayser Space, we can provide researchers, institutions and the biotech industry with a complete framework for testing ideas, validating technologies and building confidence before committing to product development. We see this collaboration as an important contribution to making space innovation faster, smarter and more accessible.”
“One of the greatest challenges in biotechnology development is proving performance in conditions that are representative of challenging operational environments without bearing the costs and complexity of a test during a space mission”, maintained David Zolesi, Administrator of Kayser Space. “Through this collaboration, we can offer customers an intermediate step that is both rigorous and accessible, enabling technologies to be tested, refined and validated without reaching orbit. By combining Kayser Space’s experience in mission engineering and payload integration with Involve Space’s flight capabilities, we are creating a practical pathway from concept to qualification.”
The agreement also creates a framework for future joint developments, including dedicated customer missions, technology demonstrators, advanced recovery systems and new commercial services based on the combined capabilities of both companies.
About Involve Space
Involve Space is an Italian aerospace company operating in stratospheric balloon technology, with the mission of developing innovative platforms for Earth Observation, defence, testing and research. Founded in Como in 2021, the company has carried out numerous commercial missions and introduced proprietary solutions such as Stratostats® and Stratorelay®, enabling Earth Observation applications aligned with satellite standards and, in some respects, capable of delivering a superior level of accuracy and timeliness. Backed by international investors and European development programmes, Involve Space combines economic growth and social responsibility, pursuing a model of accessible, low-environmental-impact innovation with global expansion ambitions. Involve Space is a certified B Corporation.
For media inquiries and interview requests:
Maria Paola Vercesi
Head of Communication
About Kayser Space
Founded in 1986 by Valfredo Zolesi and headquartered in Livorno, Italy, Kayser Space is an Italian company specialising in aerospace systems engineering and the design, development, and manufacture of technologies for scientific experimentation in microgravity and space exploration. Over four decades, the company has designed and developed more than 150 payloads for over 100 space missions, including missions aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Kayser Space has worked with space agencies, scientific institutions, and industrial partners worldwide, supporting advanced scientific experiments and technological developments in orbit. Since 2025, Kayser Space has been part of the FAE Technology Group, forming the core of its Space Division alongside its subsidiary, Kayser UK.
For media inquiries and interview requests:
Kayser Space Press Office
THANAI Communication Advisors
Calvin Kloppenburg
Mob. 393.1188058
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