Santa Barbara-Based Space Technology Company Expands to Virginia with $6.75 Million Investment

Santa Barbara-based space technology company Umbra is expanding its operations to Northern Virginia with a $6.75 million investment.

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger announced the expansion, which is expected to create more than 100 high-tech jobs in Fairfax County.

The move comes as demand increases for high-performance, U.S.-built space systems, according to the company.

Umbra will open a 20,000-square-foot office in Reston, building on its existing Arlington headquarters.

Umbra maintains facilities in Santa Barbara, California, and Northern Virginia, according to its website.

The $6.75 million investment will support Umbra’s continued growth in remote sensing and satellite system development. The new facility is expected to expand its work in advanced radar imaging and resilient spacecraft technologies serving defense and commercial missions.

CEO David Langan said the company is responding to increasing demand for domestically produced space systems.

“Today, Umbra leads in modern mesh antenna technology and persistent remote sensing capabilities that support critical national security and commercial missions,” Langan said in a statement.

Langan added that the expansion will allow Umbra to grow its team, attract skilled professionals in the region, and continue delivering space-based capabilities.

.@umbraspace, a leading U.S. space technology company, will expand its Northern Virginia presence with a $6.75 million investment and over 100 new jobs in Fairfax County. Read the news here: https://t.co/4Pz2dxYlBY @FairfaxEDA pic.twitter.com/SQIqNEXG1r

— Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) (@VEDPVirginia) February 12, 2026

Governor Spanberger approved a $500,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Fairfax County with the project.

Funding and services to support employee training will be provided through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.

Umbra has also partnered with SpaceX to launch several of its satellites, according to the company.

Launch complete, signal acquired.

Umbra-12 is on orbit after lifting off aboard the @SpaceX Twilight Mission from a Falcon 9 at @SLDelta30 on Sunday, January 11 at 8:44 a.m. ET.

Just 45 days after the first launch of our next-generation systems, Umbra-12 keeps the momentum… pic.twitter.com/EiRD7SgkUq

— Umbra (@umbraspace) January 12, 2026

In June 2025, Umbra opened a new 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Southern California, expanding its U.S.-based satellite production capabilities.

The facility boosts annual satellite production capacity, supporting satellites with more than four times the imaging throughput and enabling significantly larger radar apertures, according to the company.

We’ve scaled up! Umbra’s new 50,000 sq ft facility in SoCal quadruples our production capacity, strengthening U.S. space and defense readiness with trusted, American-made SAR.

Read more: https://t.co/WUVIP0JW6q pic.twitter.com/Rs0pfYa8db

— Umbra (@umbraspace) June 25, 2025

Founded in 2015 in Santa Barbara, Umbra specializes in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology and operates a satellite constellation capable of delivering high-resolution radar imagery. The company is fully U.S.-owned and was co-founded by Langan and Gabe Dominicielo.