AnalysisEOSatcom

New Satellite Constellation Companies are in Decline

The number of new satellite constellation businesses has sharply declined over the past decade as the space market matures and new startups struggle to find angles to differentiate. 

Travel

The Highway to Mars

Five years ago, Adalberto Roca drove down the barren stretch of Texas highway from downtown Brownsville to Boca Chica Beach to start his first day of work at SpaceX building Starship rockets bound for orbit—and, one day, Mars.

AnalysisBusinessEO

BlackSky’s Gen-3 Sat Enters Orbit, Company Lands String of Contracts

BlackSky launched its first Gen-3 Earth observation satellites aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket yesterday, adding higher-resolution imaging to its data offerings. 

AnalysisResearchSatcom

Direct-to-Cell Pricing Revealed, Market Impact: Analysis 

The most exciting moment of Sunday’s Super Bowl was finally getting concrete direct-to-cell pricing numbers. 

Lunar

Blue Ghost Completes Trans Lunar Injection, Prepares for Landing

After spending three weeks in a highly elliptical Earth orbit, Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander is finally on its way to the Moon, having successfully completed its critical lunar insertion burn on Saturday.

Startups

Urban Sky Nabs $30M for Stratospheric Balloons

Urban Sky raised a $30M Series B led by Altos Ventures to advance its balloon technology, the company announced this morning.

BusinessCivilScience

AVS Secures ESA Study for Dark Matter Probe Platform

Added Value Solutions (AVS) won an ESA contract to advance the design and development of its satellite platform for the ARRAKIHS dark matter astrophysics mission.

AnalysisResearch

Estimating SpaceX’s 2024 Revenue

Payload is back with our SpaceX revenue breakdown. In 2024, we estimate SpaceX’s revenue reached $13.1B in 2024, up from $8.7B in 2023. Business line estimates:

SatcomStartupsVC/PE

AscendArc Raises $4M for its Small GEO Sats

AscendArc emerged from stealth this morning with $4M in funding to develop small GEO communication satellites.

EquitiesSatcom

AST SpaceMobile Announces $400M Convertible Notes Raise

AST SpaceMobile is raising $400M through convertible notes to continue building out its BlueBird constellation, the company announced on Wednesday.

AnalysisLaunchMilitaryResearch

US Launches 122 Defense Payloads in 2024, Europe Launches 1

The US launched 122 defense payloads in 2024, surging 184% YoY, according to data compiled by astronomer Jonathan McDowell. The upswing was driven by the National Reconnaissance Office’s deployment of 106 SpaceX and Northrop-built Starshield remote sensing recon satellites.

LaunchVC/PE

Stoke Secures $260M Series C For Its 100% Reusable Rocket 

Stoke Space raised $260M to continue developing its fully reusable Nova rocket and to complete the build out of its launch pad, the company announced yesterday.