President Biden plans to nominate Michael G. Whitaker to be the new FAA chief, a position that has been open for more than 500 days. The nomination comes five months after Phillip Washington withdrew from consideration after congressional pushback over his limited aviation industry experience. The position has been vacant since March 2022, with Billy […]
Chinese rocket startup Galactic Energy launched its Ceres-1 solid rocket from a mobile sea platform yesterday, becoming China’s first commercial rocket to achieve the feat. The launch, which transported four IOT birds to LEO, took place off the coast of Haiyang in the Yellow Sea. Sea launcher: With this launch, China has now completed five […]
SatSure, an EO intelligence startup, secured a $15M Series A, the company announced Wednesday. The capital influx will be used to develop a fleet of four high-res and multispectral satellites, which are expected to launch in Q4 2025. Baring Private Equity Partners and Promus Ventures led the round, which consisted of a mix of equity […]
Space robotics startup GITAI announced yesterday it had raised an additional $15M of funding, bringing its total Series B extension round to $45M after securing $30M in May. The funding for the Japan-based company—which included equity from Green Co-Invest, Pacific Bays Capital, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, and a MUFG Bank loan—will be used to expand its […]
For Rocket Lab ($RKLB), the well-worn proverb is proving true: Everything old is new again. The startup is planning to launch its Electron rocket with only reused engines on a future mission TBD, the company’s CEO Peter Beck said Thursday on X, formerly known as Twitter. Beck announced the first stage full reusability goal just […]
The DOJ unveiled a lawsuit against SpaceX on Thursday, claiming the launch giant discriminated against refugees and asylees in its hiring practices. “Through this lawsuit, we will hold SpaceX accountable for its illegal employment practices and seek relief that allows asylees and refugees to fairly compete for job opportunities and contribute their talents to SpaceX’s […]
Yesterday’s successful Chandrayaan-3 lunar landing sparked a wave of national pride and enthusiasm across India. The country’s fervor for space has spilled over into its stock market, where its space stocks are surging. While India hasn’t caught the space pure-play SPAC bug like the US, it has several prominent publicly traded industrial companies that have […]
Sidus Space ($SIDU) announced yesterday that it has acquired Exo-Space, an AI computing startup focused on space applications. Sidus said the deal will help it to bolster its talent pool, secure contracts, advance its tech, and integrate edge computing with its satellite sensors. “This transaction provides the opportunity for us to enhance our presence in […]
Axiom Space raised a $350M Series C round to support growth, the company announced yesterday. The round takes Axiom’s total funding to more than $505M, the company said in a statement. “We are building on the legacy of the International Space Station, leveraging the pillars that were constructed in low-Earth orbit more than two decades […]
The lunar surface has claimed another victim. Russia’s Luna-25 crash-landed on the Moon this weekend after the spacecraft fired its engines in an attempt to maneuver into its pre-landing orbit. The failed mission is a blow to the Russian space program, which hoped for a triumphant return to the lunar surface after a 47-year absence. […]
True Anomaly unveiled a flurry of announcements yesterday, including the opening of a 35,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Colorado and new authorization from the government to image other space assets and rendezvous with spacecraft in orbit. True Anomaly 101: The company emerged from stealth in April with $30M in funding. The startup builds spacecraft […]
Partners are teaming up across the pond to work on spacecraft propulsion tech. Pulsar Fusion, a propulsion startup based in England, announced last week it is partnering with the University of Michigan to research electric Hall-effect thruster tech. The UK Space Agency is funding the collaboration. “This is another key US partnership for Pulsar—we continue […]
