Disney star Bridgit Mendler launches satellite startup Northwood Space

Bridgit Mendler is no stranger to reaching millions of people — now she wants to change how satellite data reaches the ground.

A former Disney Channel star and singer — with a filmography including “Good Luck Charlie,” “Wizards of Waverly Place” and “The Clique” — Mendler has spent the past several years studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Law School.

By way of her self-described “engineering household” and time at the Federal Communications Commission’s new Space Bureau, where she “completely fell in love with space law,” Mendler is launching a new career in the space industry as CEO of startup Northwood Space, based in El Segundo, California.

“The vision is a data highway between Earth and space,” Mendler told CNBC. “Space is getting easier along so many different dimensions but still the actual exercise of sending data to and from space is difficult. You have difficulty finding an access point for contacting your satellite.”

Rather than build rockets or satellites, Northwood aims to mass produce ground stations. Also known as teleports, ground stations are the typically large and often circular antennas that connect to satellites in space.

Already, Northwood is attracting high-profile venture investors, with about $6 million in initial funding raised from investors including Founders Fund, Andreessen Horowitz and Also Capital.

Mendler is building Northwood with two cofounders: the startup’s chief technology officer, and her husband, Griffin Cleverly, as well as head of software Shaurya Luthra.

Both Cleverly and Luthra spent time at Lockheed Martin as engineers. The former recently spent time at the Mitre Corporation…