VCs invested $310.7M in the US space industry during the first quarter of 2023, according to new Pitchbook data. It’s the lowest amount since Q3 of 2021, but the 24 deals closed in the quarter is comparable to last quarter. The biggest deals ranged across different segments of the industry from launch to manufacturing. These […]
The JUICE is Jupiter-bound. ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft launched aboard an Ariane-5 rocket this morning from the European Spaceport in French Guiana. The probe will perform four gravitational assist fly-bys of Venus and Earth before heading to Jupiter, where it’s scheduled to arrive in July 2031. The squeeze: JUICE will spend three […]
What goes up won’t come down. SpaceX is preparing its Falcon Heavy rocket to launch a ViaSat-3 satellite on April 18—the first mission for the rocket in which all three boosters will be expended. The mission: The Falcon Heavy, which consists of three Falcon 9 boosters, will deploy the ViaSat broadband communication satellite to GEO. […]
Shares of Japanese startup ispace closed at 1201 yen a pop on Thursday, up 373% on the day. The surge comes just one day after ispace made its Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market debut. Ispace IPO: Shares were listed at 254 yen each during the IPO, originally valuing the company at 20B yen ($150M), according […]
EU sanctions imposed on Russia-owned rocket maker Khrunichev Center will not slow rocket production, but they will impact customer demand, center Chief Alexey Varochko said Monday in an interview with TASS. On Feb 23, the EU passed its 10th round of sanctions on Russia, which included the rocket maker on the list of prohibited entities. […]
Beijing is working to shore up international support for its joint lunar program with Russia, and has asked Venezuela to become the first partner on its planned Moon base. The head of Venezuela’s space agency met with Chinese officials last week and voiced support for signing an MoU promoting the construction of the International Lunar […]
New Zealand startup Dawn Aerospace announced Wednesday that it successfully completed three flights of its rocket-powered Mk-II Aurora suborbital spaceplane last week. During the test flights, the vehicle reached an altitude of over 6,000 feet. “When we set out to change how we access space, we didn’t want an iterative step on expendable rockets – […]
The countdown has begun for the maiden orbital flight of SpaceX’s Starship. SpaceX has notified the FAA that they are targeting April 10 for Starship’s orbital flight, with April 11 and April 12 as backup dates. On Tuesday, Elon Musk further stoked excitement and seemingly confirmed the date by “liking” three tweets regarding an April […]
On Monday, NASA announced the four Artemis II astronauts who will travel around the Moon aboard the Orion capsule next year. NASA selected Christina Hammock Koch, who holds the record for longest continuous spaceflight by a woman at 328 days, as a mission specialist for the flight. She is the only professional engineer on the […]
Humanity has picked its team for the first step in its grand return to the Moon. Yesterday, NASA revealed the crew of four that will circle the moon on the 10-day Artemis II mission. Without further ado…Here’s the lineup: Now that they’ve received their assignments, the astronauts have time to consider what the mission means. […]
NASA opened the doors to its Moon to Mars Program Office last week and tapped Amit Kshatriya to take the helm. The office will oversee and coordinate NASA’s crewed lunar and Mars missions. “The Moon to Mars Program Office will help prepare NASA to carry out our bold missions to the Moon and land the […]
Dawn Aerospace’s rocket-powered Mk-II Aurora suborbital vehicle is expected to make its maiden flight in April after getting regulatory approval from New Zealand to fly last week. Mk-II Aurora spaceplane: Dawn Aerospace has already completed 48 test flights using traditional jet engines. The upcoming launch marks the first time a remotely piloted, rocket-powered vehicle has […]
