Business
Stories on space business, including company updates, funding announcements, and contract awards.
Q4 2022 News Roundup
Can you believe 2022 is nearly over? It’s been a jam-packed year for the space industry, full of groundbreaking moments in science, turbulence in the markets and world order; substantive policy developments; and historic mission firsts. We’re kicking off our year-end coverage by looking at objects closest in the rear-view mirror. Payload combed through the…
FCC Aims to Speed Up License Approvals
Late last month, the FCC released a notice of proposed rulemaking that aimed to significantly cut down the red tape surrounding satellite licensing. Now, the commission says that it will discuss the revisions to its licensing procedures as part of its Space Innovation agenda on Dec. 21. The notice falls under a larger trend, led…
SiriusXM Orders Two New Satellites from Maxar
TV…Did Not Kill the Radio Star? SiriusXM ($SIRI) announced Tuesday that it has commissioned Maxar ($MAXR) to build SXM-11 and SXM-12, two new geostationary satellites. The deal doubles the number of SiriusXM satellites in the pipeline. Last year, the American broadcaster ordered SXM-9 and -10 from Maxar. As a matter of fact, these two go…
Hermeus Completes Hypersonic Engine Test
Hermeus, a startup building a hypersonic aircraft capable of traveling five times the speed of sound, has completed a major milestone in engine testing. The company successfully demonstrated that its engine can transition from turbojet—like what’s used in passenger aircraft—to ramjet, a much more powerful engine technology. Hermeus 101: The Atlanta-based startup is moving fast…
Deutsche Bank Initiates Coverage of $PL and $BKSY
Deutsche Bank has initiated coverage on Planet ($PL) with a $7 price target and BlackSky ($BKSY) with a $3 target, issuing buy ratings on both companies, according to a note seen by Payload. Why EO? Space technology is a difficult and capital-intensive endeavor, which raises red flags for risk-averse investors (and especially when frothy markets…
Cognitive Space Wins Two DoD Contracts
Cognitive Space inked a pair of contracts with the Pentagon on Tuesday to automate and improve how quickly information can be shared in space. A first The SBIR Phase I contract with the Space Development Agency is the company’s “first engagement” with the Space Force office focused on quick development cycles and proliferated constellations, Cognitive…
The Space Insurance Landscape
Launching satellites to space is a risky business. The field of orbitally proven vehicles remains small, sensor and payload technology is new and constantly changing, and certain orbital regimes are getting more crowded by the month. Insurers, of course, are no strangers to risk. The space insurance industry dates back nearly 60 years. But the…
Boeing Reports Q3 Results
Boeing ($BA) reported a $3.3B loss in the third quarter on Wednesday, which included significant hits to its space and defense business segment. The losses to fixed-price programs, including the Starliner capsule built for NASA’s Commercial Crew program, were partially offset by more commercial airplane sales. By the numbers: 3Q revenue = $16B, up 4%…
Orbex Secures £40.4M in Series C Funding
Orbex announced earlier today that it had successfully closed a £40.4M ($46.3M) Series C funding round. This latest round of funding pushes the company’s total funding to date past $100 million, making it one of the most well-funded launch startups in Europe. Road to $100+ million July 2018: £30M (approximately $33.8M) funding round that included…
SpaceX and NASA Explore Raising Hubble’s Orbit
Hubble needs a boost, and SpaceX has stepped up to provide it. Yesterday, NASA and SpaceX announced that they’ve teamed up through an unfunded Space Act agreement to conduct a feasibility study into whether a crewed commercial mission could boost Hubble’s orbit and extend its lifetime. Hubble: an abridged history When the Hubble space telescope…
Starlink Passes Two Million Downloads in 2022
The Starlink mobile app has 2M+ downloads in 2022, per third-party estimates from 42matters, a Swiss mobile intelligence provider. The tally includes both installs on Android’s Google Play marketplace and the iOS App Store. Starlink saw ~90,000 downloads over the weekend, 42matters’ Alexander Braelow told Payload. The spike occurred shortly after SpaceX activated Starlink in…
Slingshot Offers Beacon SSA Platform Free of Charge
In an attempt to get as many space operators communicating on the same platform as possible to lower collision risks in space, Slingshot Aerospace today announced that it plans to offer a version of its Beacon space situational awareness (SSA) platform for free. “We just feel a grand responsibility here, since we do have the…
TechStars LA Announces September Cohort
TechStars LA has announced its September cohort. This year, seven of the twelve total companies joining the startup accelerator hail from aerospace. TechStars: The startup accelerator began in 2019 with the vision of connecting the innovative technology developing as part of the growing new aerospace industry in LA with the DoD. “I saw an opportunity…
