Jessica Lis
FCC Nixes SpaceX Bid for $866 Million in Broadband Payouts
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has rejected SpaceX’s bid for $866M in subsidies to roll out Starlink in the rural US, according to a press release issued yesterday. “Consumers deserve reliable and affordable high-speed broadband,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. “We must put scarce universal service dollars to their best possible use…
Maxar ($MAXR) Releases Q2 2022 Earnings
Maxar booked $438M in revenue this quarter, down 7.3% YoY. Earth Intelligence revenue increased slightly YoY, while Space Infrastructure fell ~10% YoY. The EO mainstay noted that sales within its Space Infrastructure segment dipped (or dove) by $36M, enough to put Maxar in the red. The company’s quarterly operating loss was $30M (vs. $45M YoY). …
Catching Up On Last Week’s Earnings
Earnings season is fully upon us, with companies from both sides of the launch and satcom aisle releasing results last week. The SPAC side of last week’s reporting left much to be desired, as companies adjust to a harsh macroenvironment, program delays, and shortening runways. Starting with the launch SPACs… $ASTR: Astra won’t launch again…
A Q+A with Integrate Space Corp’s John Conafay and Andrew Sloan
Integrate Space Corp. aims to modernize how you launch your payload through its new software stack. The newly hatched startup is creating a collaborative tool for spacecraft manufacturers, rideshare aggregators, and launch providers to organize missions digitally. The basics: Launched by space industry veteran John Conafay and technical lead Paul Reesman earlier this year, Integrate…
Airbus ($AIR) Reports H1 2022 Earnings
Airbus ($AIR) reported its H1 2022 earnings yesterday. Supply chain issues led the European aerospace giant to cut commercial aircraft estimates, but Airbus expects little short-term impact as it maintains its free cash flow targets. The overall numbers: Revenue = €24.8B ($25.3B), a 1% YoY increase Free cash flow = €2.0B ($2.0B) Adj. EBIT = …
Boeing ($BA) Reports Q2 2022 Earnings
Boeing ($BA) Q2 results fell short of Wall Street expectations yesterday, due to weaker defense sales and program delays. Robust commercial plane orders softened the blow, and the company stuck by its forecast to return to positive free cash flow this year. The overall numbers: Operating cash flow = $100M Revenue = $16.7B, a 2%…
Moscow Removes Rogozin from Top Roscosmos Role
Moscow removed Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin from his position on July 15, as part of a wider shake-up in the Russian government. No official reason was given for his ousting. Rogozin will be replaced by Yuri Borisov, who was previously the deputy prime minister for defense and space. Rogozin: Rogozin doubled down on his penchant for…
White House Unveils First Sneak Peek JWST Image
Standing alongside NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, President Biden and VP Harris unveiled the first image from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, taken by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera. After enough of a delay to fill Space Twitter™️ with nervous laughter, the image revealed the deepest and highest-resolution infrared view of the…
SpaceX Launches First Group of Starlink’s Third Shell
SpaceX launched its 51st set of Starlink satellites this evening, with the workhorse Falcon 9 lifting out of a thick layer of fog enveloping Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Sunday evening marks the 50th dedicated Starlink launch. The mission’s first-stage booster previously launched Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, NASA’s DART planetary defense mission, and three Starlink…
Virgin Galactic Orders Two Next-Gen Motherships
Virgin Galactic ($SPCE) has selected Aurora Flight Sciences to build its next generation of motherships. The Boeing ($BA) subsidiary will build two motherships for Virgin, the human spaceflight company said Wednesday. $SPCE rose over 5% in after-hours trading. Terminology first: The mothership carries and air-launches Virgin’s spaceship at a release altitude of ~50,000 feet. The…
Virgin Orbit Successfully Launches Straight Up Mission
This weekend, Virgin Orbit launched its fourth successful mission. Straight Up launched from Mojave under the cover of night for the first time. That name may sound familiar as the mission was named after a 1988 Paula Abdul song and included a prep visit from the pop legend herself. Cosmic Girl and Launcher One delivered…
Several Pure-Play Space Companies Join Russell 3000
Space just got added to your retirement accounts. The Russell 3000, an index that benchmarks the US stock market, added several space companies Monday: Astra ($ASTR) Momentus ($MNTS) Planet ($PL) Redwire ($RDW) Rocket Lab ($RKLB) Spire ($SPIR) Terran Orbital ($LLAP) Spire and Terran Orbital touted their inclusion in the index. “We are honored to be…
