Tina and Tom Sjögren have spent their lives getting to places that are hard to reach. They have summited Everest and skied to both poles, collecting four Guinness World Records along the way [Wikipedia]. Now, from a workshop in Bishop, California, they are aiming for a destination that makes the poles look like a weekend trip. Their company, Pythom Space, is building rockets to get there.
The goal is Mars, but the business starts in low Earth orbit. Pythom is developing a family of small, reusable launch vehicles named Birka and Eiger, designed to carry 150-kilogram payloads to sun-synchronous orbit for a dedicated launch cost projected at $1 million [Pythom Space]. The core bet is a unified, in-house propulsion system they call 'Black Magic,' engineered to power everything from the initial Earth launch to a Mars landing and the return trip [Pythom Space].
From polar ice to rocket ice
The founders' background is unconventional for aerospace. Tina and Tom Sjögren are professional explorers and software engineers, not career rocket scientists [Wikipedia, CB Insights]. This outsider perspective manifests in Pythom's design philosophy, which prioritizes radical simplicity and field logistics. Their Eiger rocket is built from 'paper-thin aluminum' for its large tanks, a choice aimed at minimizing mass and cost [PitchBook]. The company also practices what it preaches on infrastructure, having established a 'microfactory' dubbed Nacka Space Beach near Stockholm to demonstrate low-footprint, rapid manufacturing [Pythom Space, March 2025].
The wedge is a single tank of fuel
Pythom's technical ambition is to collapse the traditional stack of specialized spacecraft. Instead of separate engines for launch, landing, and deep-space transit, the company is developing one adaptable propulsion system.
- Engine commonality. The 'Black Magic' engine is designed to run at twice the chamber pressure of typical smallsat rockets [Pythom Space].
- Vehicle reuse. Both the Birka and Eiger rockets are designed to be 100% reusable, a critical lever for hitting the $1 million launch price target [Pythom Space].
- The full stack vision. The roadmap includes the Olympus lunar and Mars lander and the Pythom Spaceship for interplanetary travel [Pythom Space].
The company has moved from experimental tests to a manufacturing phase for its propulsion system, and reported a successful 'micro-jump' test of its Eiger rocket [Pythom Space, Warp News].
Why Saab wrote the check
In November 2025, Pythom's ambition secured a significant validator: a $10 million strategic investment from Swedish aerospace and defense giant Saab [TCT Magazine, November 2025]. This round brought the company's total disclosed funding to approximately $10.5 million [CB Insights, Pythom Space, March 2020]. The Saab investment is more than capital; it is an industrial partnership. Saab's expertise in rigorous engineering, supply chains, and working with national security clients provides a credibility ramp that a startup of polar explorers would struggle to build alone.
| Investor | Round | Amount | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Space Cowboys et al. | Seed | $500,000 | March 2020 |
| Saab | Later Stage VC | $10,000,000 | November 2025 |
The funding positions Pythom to transition from proving its propulsion to building flight-ready vehicles. The company is already assembling its first space stage in California and has the Birka rocket on display at its Swedish facility [Pythom Space, April 2025].
The gravity of the business
The commercial small launch market is notoriously crowded. Pythom's list of competitors is long, spanning from established players like Astra and Rocket Lab to a global field of aspirants like Skyroot, Agnikul, and LandSpace. Success requires not just a rocket that works, but one that works reliably, frequently, and cheaply enough to capture customer manifests. Publicly named launch contracts are not yet part of Pythom's story, placing them in a pre-revenue development race against dozens of others.
The next twelve months
The immediate milestones are clear. Pythom must progress from static fires and micro-jumps to a full orbital launch attempt for its Eiger rocket. Securing a first paying customer will be the definitive traction signal [PitchBook]. The expansion of its microfactory model, and any further details on the Olympus lander program, will show if the company can execute on its full-stack vision while nailing the basics of launch.
Financially, the $10 million from Saab is substantial for a seed-stage hardware company, but building and flying rockets is a capital-intensive endeavor. The path likely points toward a larger Series A in the next 18-24 months, especially if a launch milestone is achieved.