Ryan Duffy
Goldman Initiates Coverage of Planet
Goldman Sachs has initiated coverage of Planet (NYSE:PL) with a buy rating and $11 price target, implying an upside 80+%. $PL traded up ~10.5% on Wednesday. Earth observation (EO) company Planet went public (via SPAC, obviously) in early December, in a deal valuing the company at $2.8B. The company’s stock has fallen by ~50% since…
Above the Clouds Pushed Back a Day
Yesterday, newly public Virgin Orbit (NASDAQ:VORB) held a pre-flight press briefing for its upcoming Above the Clouds mission. Virgin’s LauncherOne rocket and Cosmic Girl will take off from Mojave Air and Space Port in California, and follow a flight path approximated in the graphic above. Manifest: Four Pentagon R&D satellites, a NASA-sponsored university payload, two nanosatellites for Polish…
Sentinel-1B Has a Power Problem
A flagship European satellite has a power issue. Sentinel-1B (S-1B), an Earth observation satellite, hasn’t been generating data since Dec. 23, when ESA noticed an issue with the Sentinel and switched off its powerful radar platform. According to an alert published Monday, ESA was unable to restore the power needed for radar operations in recent days. Sentinel 101: ESA…
Paying for Space Cleanup, Part Two
Ed. note: Read Part One of this story here. Last week, the US Space Force (USSF) detailed how it would tap the private sector with orbital debris removal services. Beyond relatively small funding awards, how might governments more holistically address the problem of space junk? Here’s a few ideas. 1) Accept responsibility. “When it comes to liabilities and…
Paying for Space Cleanup, Part One
The Space Force (USSF) is hoping to gin up demand for debris removal by eventually buying services directly from the private sector. “We need your help,” USSF Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David Thompson said in a recent video addressed to the private sector (H/T SpaceNews). The vision here = “Aggressively explore [debris removal]…
Arianespace Takes a Victory Lap
On Thursday, the French rocket firm recapped a robust year of launch. At a glance: Revenues grew 30% annually to €1.25B (~$1.4B), powered by 15 successful launches (+5 YoY). Arianespace’s three different vehicles—Ariane, Soyuz, and Vega—transported 305 satellites to orbit from three different launchpads. And what better way to close out 2021 than by launching Webb? Thanks to the…
Report: Governments Spend Record $92B on Space in 2021
Despite the pandemic and an uncertain macroeconomic backdrop, 2021 was a banner year for government space spending. Total investment topped $92B, according to Euroconsult’s latest Government Space Programs report. That’s an 8% annual jump over 2020, though with today’s inflation, who knows what the real increase really was… Civil vs. military breakdown: Civilian space programs received a cumulative $53B in…
Earth’s Busiest Spaceports in 2021
Where did the 133 successful orbital launches of 2021 start their journey? Visualize the busiest launchpads via Spaceports of the World, a data repository compiled by the Aerospace Security Project at CSIS, a DC-based think tank. The top three spaceports by orbital launch (H/T Thomas G. Roberts): Cape Canaveral / Kennedy Space Center, with 31 launches (+1 YoY)…
Who Wants to Go to the Moon?
Whether it’s being part of the Artemis Generation or harboring a greater appetite for adventure, Gen Z seems more enticed by the idea of traveling to the moon (even if today that remains a far-fetched proposition). 52% of Americans aged 18–34 say they’d be interested in visiting the moon if money were no object, per new polling from Axios…
Space Investing in 2022
What does the year ahead hold for space investors? Before trying to answer that question, let’s take stock of how last year drew to a close. The space economy, broadly speaking, is growing. “Space infrastructure” companies raised $10.3B YTD through the end of Q3, setting new records, per Space Capital. SpaceX cleared a $100B valuation after secondary share…
NASA: White House Supports Space Station Extension through 2030
The new year has brought a new lease on life for the ISS. News dump much? NASA said Dec. 31—via blog post—that the White House formally supports the extension of ISS operations through the end of the decade. Until now, US policy was to keep the ISS kicking through at least 2024. Unofficially, the assumption was…
Virgin Orbit SPAC Receives Shareholder Approval; Air Launcher Prepares to Go Public
Virgin Orbit said Tuesday SPAC shareholders have voted to approve its SPAC merger with Nextgen Acquisition Corp. II. Virgin expects the de-SPAC to take place this year (so, this week). After the transaction closes, the combined entity will become a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ with the $VORB ticker. SPAC deets: Virgin Orbit expects to pull…
JWST, By the Numbers
Best Christmas Gift Ever? If you’re an astronomer, the answer to that question is a resounding Yes. ICYMI: The James Webb Telescope (JWST) blasted off on Christmas aboard an Ariane 5. As successor to Hubble and the most powerful space telescope ever built, JWST should significantly advance our understanding of the observable universe. The $10B telescope is…
