Russia has used space assets in its assault on Ukraine, including using electronic warfare capabilities against targets in orbit and interfering with European Sentinel-1 SAR satellites over the country, according to a new report evaluating the counterspace capabilities of 11 countries. The Secure World Foundation on Friday released the 2023 version of its annual Counterspace […]
Astra reported significant financial setbacks in FY22, but brought in $9.4M in revenue. The launch company’s engine sales drove income as Rocket 4 nears launch test readiness. Astra’s Q4, by the numbers: Times of trouble: It’s been a tough year for Astra. Last week, the company outlined a plan to prevent Nasdaq from delisting its […]
Planet ($PL) saw $191.3M in full year revenue, a 46% jump from last year, the company revealed Wednesday. This comes in at the top end of its previous projection of $188M to $192M. Planet’s Q4, by the numbers: The company expects revenue to grow 35% this year, in the range of $248M to $268M. An […]
The UK Space Agency has awarded Rolls-Royce £2.9M ($3.5M) to continue development of a lunar nuclear reactor. Under the contract, UKSA and Rolls-Royce are aiming to get a demo model on the Moon’s surface by 2029. The agency previously funded a £249,000 (~$305,000) study last year. The micro-reactor program A bet on nuclear energy is […]
Satellogic is launching a new Space Systems product, the publicly traded satellite operator ($SATL) announced last week. With Space Systems, Satellogic says countries or companies can buy and fly their own EO satellite “with submeter resolution, proven performance, and custom mission options.” In other words, the product represents a space-as-a-service offering for those who have […]
BlackSky ($BKSY) is paring losses; winning key contracts; and sees a near-term path to (adjusted) profitability. Those were the key takeaways bright and early at 7:30am on Tuesday, when the Herndon, VA satellite operator reported its fourth-quarter and full-year 2022 financial results. For the full year, BlackSky pulled in $65.4M in revenue, up 92% over […]
Quindar, a startup building a web app for satellite owners to design, test, and operate their constellations with little to no human intervention, announced this morning the closing of a $2.5M seed round raised from Y Combinator, FCVC, Soma Capital, and Liquid 2 Ventures. “One of the value propositions of being an aerospace company with […]
Virgin Orbit’s historic first launch from the Spaceport Cornwall in the United Kingdom, Start Me Up, failed to reach orbit on Monday evening. Shares of Virgin Orbit ($VORB) were off by as much as 22% in pre-market trading on Tuesday morning. What happened? Virgin Orbit reported that LauncherOne had reached space, but the webcast’s mission […]
South Korea is set to soon get its own NASA counterpart. That’s the plan, President Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday. Yoon laid out ambitious plans for bolstering his nation’s space economy, including goals to land a spacecraft on the Moon by 2032 and Mars by 2045. The 2045 Mars landing is aptly timed for the 100th […]
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released its first National Cislunar Science & Technology Strategy on Thursday. The document lays out a whole-of-government R&D plan for American science and technology leadership, in service of “responsible, peaceful, and sustainable exploration and utilization of cislunar space, including the Moon.” Cislunar, what? OSTP defines […]
Lockheed Martin and Nvidia are joining forces to develop a global weather digital twin for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the two companies announced Thursday. The AI-driven earth observation system will help NOAA monitor and increase global weather conditions, including extreme events increasing in frequency. Digital twin, you say? Digital twins are virtual […]
Despite deteriorating economic conditions on Earth—and plenty of reasons to be bearish on the sector—space tech is set to have a banner year in VC funding. Global venture investment into space startups totals ~$6.2B billion this year, according to a recent PitchBook tally (the data runs through Oct. 24). That’s roughly the same amount as […]
