BusinessRockets

Ursa Adds Additive With $14.5M R&D Investment

Ursa Major will buy several industrial 3D printers and hire 15 new employees for an R&D center in Youngstown, OH focused on additive manufacturing.

InternationalThe State of the Japanese Space Industry

The Rise of Japan’s Commercial Space Industry

“There’s this vibrant space community here, and people are starting to recognize that.”

Launch

Firefly Aerospace Investigates CEO’s Alleged Inappropriate Relationship

The company’s culture has become chaotic since CEO Bill Weber took the top job in 2022.

BusinessCivil

The Growing Space Economy Is Doing Its Part To Fight Inflation

The space sector contributed $131B to American GDP in 2022, according to the most recent and precise analysis by the US government’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.

InternationalPolicyThe State of the Japanese Space Industry

Japan Looks to Bolster its Space Sector for a Post-ISS World

The government will dole out investments from a new ¥1T( $6.2B) fund over the next ten years to back private efforts.

Launch

Firefly Sends NASA CubeSats to Orbit in First 2024 Launch

This was Alpha’s fifth launch and second unalloyed success, alongside the company’s first trip to orbit in September for the DoD. 

StartupsTravel

Jeff Bezos’ New Shepard To Fly Reality Competition Winners

SERA plans to host online voting to select applicants.

ISS

Starliner Waits At ISS For Thruster Testing 

“We understand these issues for a safe return. We don’t understand them enough to fix them permanently.” 

DebrisDeep Space

Asteroid Watchers Fret About Politicians Facing Dangerous NEOs

“I know what I would prefer [to do], but Congress will tell us to wait,”

CivilDebris

SpaceX Will Destroy The ISS

NASA will pay SpaceX $843M to develop the US Deorbit Vehicle.

TechnologyVC/PE

Sift Raises $17.5M Series A To Fuel its Telemetry Stack

“Look at the bill of materials for a modern machine—50% of its software.”

ISSLEO

Starliner Deorbit Slips Again As NASA Launches Full Review

The extended stay merited an “agency-level” review of Starliner’s departure “to document the agency’s formal acceptance of proceeding as planned.”

Rockets

Nifty Fifty: How Rocket Lab’s Electron Set A New Speed Record

“We were not the preordained winner of the small launch race.”