Fortuna Investments is opening a Miami office with the goal of investing in 12 early-stage space startups over the next few years. “I think it’s an incredible time to get involved and allocate capital,” Fortuna founder and CEO Justus Parmar told Payload. “We have a lot of powder dry and are looking for opportunities.” Fortuna […]
Blue Origin will provide the second lunar lander for the Artemis program, NASA announced on Friday, giving Jeff Bezos’ company a major victory after losing out to SpaceX on the first lander award in 2021. “An additional, different lander will help ensure that we have the hardware necessary for a series of landings,” said NASA […]
China has set out a roadmap to compete with the Artemis program in a race to the Moon, grabbing the attention of NASA and lawmakers. As NASA pursues increased funding to ensure the US lands first, questions remain regarding China’s ability to finance the endeavor. “China’s funding is a bit of a black box,” said […]
Terran Orbital’s ($LLAP) losses piled up despite progress on its monster $2.4B Rivada contract, the satellite bus manufacturer revealed Monday in its Q1 financial results. By the numbers: Rivada’s three-year, 300 satellite contract accounts for the vast majority of the backlog. Terran received its first milestone payment from the contract last month as it inches […]
ULA rolled its Vulcan rocket to the pad Friday and completed tank testing ahead of its expected first flight readiness firing test for the rocket’s BE-4 engine later this week. “With success here, and a resolution of the Centaur V ground test anomaly, we are projecting for a Vulcan Cert-1 Launch this summer,” said ULA […]
Momentus ($MNTS) notched a number of key milestones this quarter, but continues to stare down a dangerously depleting cash reserve, the company revealed yesterday in its Q1 financial results. By the numbers: Proving out space tug: The company has two functioning spacecraft in orbit. “We are now operating Vigoride-5 and Vigoride-6 concurrently, and both missions […]
Virgin Galactic ($SPCE) is returning to space after a nearly two-year hiatus. The company provided further details on the upcoming crewed test flight yesterday, along with its Q1 financial results. By the numbers: Virgin Galactic burned through $136M of operating cash in Q1 as it prepares for its first commercial flight and invests heavily in […]
Two NASA storm-tracking satellites lifted off aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle last night in New Zealand, putting the first half of the planned four-satellite constellation into orbit. The “Rocket Like A Hurricane” mission was the first of two launches that will build the Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation […]
Kratos ($KTOS) is going all-in on space services after growing investment in the division drove strong overall sales growth, the company revealed Wednesday in its Q1 financial results. Overall financials: Breaking out space, satellite and cyber: In the first quarter, Kratos spent $10.2M on R&D, including significant investment in its growing OpenSpace software. OpenSpace is […]
In the ultimate example of competitors coming together, Europe’s largest satellite companies announced yesterday that they are joining forces to bid on the EU’s IRIS2 program contracts. Airbus, SES, Eutelsat, Hispasat, and Thales said the partnership will “leverage the expertise and capabilities in the field of secure satellite communications solutions,” according to a joint press […]
The University of Texas Rocket Engineering Lab is set to hot fire test its engine today as it ramps up to a Kármán Line launch attempt in 2024. UT is one of 20+ schools racing to be the first collegiate group to launch a liquid-fueled rocket to space. Although the Kármán Line has been achieved […]
China unveiled plans for a fully-reusable Long March 9 rocket configuration Sunday at its 2023 Space Day ceremony in Hefei, China. The CNSA aims to begin testing the vehicle, which looks a lot like Starship, by the late 2030s. The fully reusable configuration is noteworthy given China has still yet to nail a partially reusable […]
