St. Pete-based startup partners with Space Florida

Seagate Space, a St. Petersburg based startup, has developed an offshore semi submersible launch platform for rockets. The company is building a single module prototype in collaboration with Tampa Ship at Port Tampa Bay. A steel plate cutting ceremony for the initiative was held Tuesday. The partnership, entitled Project Manta, was officially announced June 2. It involves support from Space Florida, which promotes the economic growth and development of the space industry in the state. Seagate Space co founder and CEO Michael Anderson said the investment gives a pathway to develop hardware. He explained the modular design allows prototyping modules at full scale for testing and fine tuning. The Gateway Series platform can be placed in open water. The launch system can also be used for recovery operations. It received approval in principle from the American Bureau of Shipping in December 2025. Seagate Space completed an over 1.5 million dollar pre seed round in February. Investors included Boca Raton based New World Angels and Orlando based Phase Shift Ventures. By April the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Firefly Aerospace to collaborate on an offshore launch platform for the Alpha rocket. Anderson said Project Manta solidifies the company's position in the Florida ecosystem and sets it up for future manufacturing and operations in the state. The company operates out of spARK Labs by ARK Invest and was established in early 2025. Space Florida president and CEO Rob Long said Seagate Space is the kind of Florida grown company the organization exists to support. He added the partnership is another signal to the market that ambitious space companies keep choosing Florida. Anderson said the collaboration can bring some of the Space Florida economy to different parts of the state. Project Manta delineates a memorandum of understanding with Space Florida. It sets out the pathways to design, build and operate an offshore launch structure in Florida starting with the prototype. The full scale asset will take about 45 days to structure. Outfitting will require an additional 30 days.