Payload’s take on what you need to know about the news of the day.
The US launched 122 defense payloads in 2024, surging 184% YoY, according to data compiled by astronomer Jonathan McDowell. The upswing was driven by the National Reconnaissance Office’s deployment of 106 SpaceX and Northrop-built Starshield remote sensing recon satellites.
Based on publicly available data from 20 launches with published payload mass numbers over the past three years, dedicated customer LEO launches have averaged just 3,370 kg of payload, just 19% of total capacity.
In 2024, US (*ahem, SpaceX*) launch numbers grew, while China, Russia, and Europe plateaued.
The best and worst of space technology in 2024.
Hockeystick SPAC charts. Wallstreetbets Reddit page buzz. Short squeezes. Everything to the Moon euphoria.
Space is a nascent market with vast, unbounded potential, where an early-stage startup can become a dominant business integral to the very infrastructure of the space economy for decades to come.
Over the past few weeks—with growing confidence in the Starship program—SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and Starbase General Manager Kathy Lueders have been publicly mapping out what to expect from SpaceX and Starship in the coming years.
First, a ULA sale process, now Starliner.
Astranis, a startup building small GEO broadband satellites for targeted service, led the way this quarter with its $200M monster Series D round, by far the largest US space raise so far in 2024.
200 Mbps Wi-Fi offered for free sounds pretty good to me. What’s in it for the airlines? Is Starlink going for the sweep? What happens to the GEOs?
NASA found that quickly disposing of spacecraft at the end of their life is one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent trash in orbit, according to an orbital debris management cost-benefit analysis that compared the effectiveness of 24 different tools to mitigate space debris
America’s newest military branch still has some maturing to do to earn the respect and support of the public and the nation’s adversaries, according to analysts.
