Business
Stories on space business, including company updates, funding announcements, and contract awards.
MDA Space Wins Mega Contract To Build Globalstar’s Network
Under the contract, the Canadian space company will build 50+ AURORA sats for the American satellite connectivity company, though the announcement did not lay out a time frame for delivery or launch.
Observable Space Forms From Telescope Hardware, Software Merger
Observable Space wants to become the Tesla of telescopes.
Boeing Starliner Losses Top $2B—And Counting
Years of technological and operational challenges have increased costs to develop Starliner, with Boeing reporting losses almost every year since it began developing the spacecraft in 2014.
Kayhan Space Beefs Up its Space Traffic Coordination Tool
The company hopes the new tool will make it easier for satellite operators to run their missions and coordinate collision avoidance maneuvers with their neighbors.
AVS Secures ESA Study for Dark Matter Probe Platform
Added Value Solutions (AVS) won an ESA contract to advance the design and development of its satellite platform for the ARRAKIHS dark matter astrophysics mission.
Commerce Nominee: Space Data “Fundamental” to US Leadership
Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee to serve as secretary of commerce, committed to supporting the commercial space sector in his confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
What the Trump Administration Could Mean for Primes
“If I was at a large established prime that’s 20+ years or older, I would be in the war room thinking about how the hell we’re going to deal with this,” one space industry source told Payload. “They have a clear preference for the Andurils of the world.”
The Hottest Trend in Space Is A Defense Pivot
“If I had a nickel for every space company that pivoted to national security, well, I wouldn’t need to raise another round,” one spacetech founder mulling that exact strategy told Payload this week.
Blue Abyss Partners with NASA on Astronaut Training Facility
“Expect a modern, commercial, exciting venue that offers all the ingredients necessary to take people off the street…and get them ready to go into space.”
Redwire Plans To Buy UAS Builder to Further NatSec Biz
Redwire intends to acquire Edge Autonomy, an uncrewed airborne system builder (UAS), to boost its ability to offer national security customers a suite of interconnected platforms across domains.
Hadrian’s Plan to Fix Space Manufacturing
The new tool combines a vetted supplier network with supply chain management and DFM (design for manufacturing) software, providing startups with a single point of contact for their entire supply chain.
Starlab Space Announces European Subsidiary
Starlab Space GmbH will provide boots on the ground and legal toeholds to open up business development and engineering opportunities to European companies, space agencies, and research institutions.
SpaceX Set to Debut Upgraded Starship Vehicle
Wednesday’s planned Starship launch may be the seventh test flight of the mega-rocket, but it also represents a couple of important firsts—the first flight of the new and improved second stage and the first time the rocket will attempt to deploy payloads.