Business
Stories on space business, including company updates, funding announcements, and contract awards.
ISRO to Launch OneWeb Satellites This Year
OneWeb has found another launch provider: NewSpace India, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The two have inked a deal to start launching satellites later this year, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. Left in the lurch The LEO broadband constellation developer was launching with Roscosmos…until March. Since…
Loss of Antonov Planes may have GEO Shipping Impact
Ukrainian firm Antonov owns and operates the largest cargo aircraft in the world. A significant portion of the company’s fleet has been grounded or destroyed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leaving many GEO satellites to find other rides to the launch site. Heavy-lift aircraft: Antonov’s large cargo aircraft are some of the only planes in…
BryceTech Releases Report on the State of Space Startups
BryceTech has released its 2022 report on the state of space startups. 2021 saw record levels of investment and a record-breaking number of deals funneling into space tech. By the numbers: The startup space sector saw $9B in venture capital investment, an 82% increase YoY. There were 120 total VC deals, up 52% YoY. Overall,…
Redwire Space Releases Q4 and Full-Year 2021 Financial Results
Redwire Space (NYSE:RDW), a space infrastructure conglomerate, released its FY2021 and Q4 financial results after the bell on Thursday. The sixth in the rush of space companies that de-SPAC’d in 2021, Redwire began trading on the NYSE in September. The company dabbled on a few key business updates, including its Nov. acquisition of 3D bioprinting…
SpaceX Increases Launch and Starlink Prices
ICYMI: SpaceX is hiking up prices for launch, satellite internet, and end user terminals, the company told customers Tuesday (H/T CNBC). The increases are certain to have cascading ripple effects across the space industry, while also affecting the ~250,000 consumers/businesses that use Starlink. The fine text Starlink: The broadband-via-megaconstellation service bumped up the cost of…
Euroconsult Releases High Throughput Satellite Report
Projected HTS capacity demand in 2030. Graphic: Euroconsult Euroconsult has released the 6th edition of its report on the High Throughput Satellite (HTS) market. The takeaway: Business is booming. The HTS market has seen major growth since 2019, and that growth is expected to continue booming over the next few years. Euroconsult predicts growth in…
OneWeb and SpaceX Sign Launch Services Agreement
In an absolute plot-twist of a partnership, OneWeb and SpaceX have let bygones be bygones and signed a launch services agreement. OneWeb had an outstanding agreement with Roscosmos through European launcher Arianespace to launch aboard Soyuz rockets. But those satellites became stranded amid sanctions and rising tensions between the West and Russia. A batch of…
CesiumAstro Raises $60M Series B
CesiumAstro has raised a $60M Series B, the company announced this morning. Airbus Ventures and Forever Ventures co-led the round, with L3 Harris also making a strategic investment. Previous investors, including Kleiner Perkins, Lavrock Ventures, Franklin Templeton Blackhorse Fund, and HEICO, also participated in the round. CesiumAstro 101: The startup’s core product is its steerable,…
$SPCE Reports 2021 Q4 and FY Results
Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) announced its Q4 and FY 2021 results after market close yesterday. A few key numbers from Q4 results: $141,000 in revenue Losses of 31 cents per share Adj. EBITDA losses of $65M Net loss of $81M The company had $931M in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities as of the end of 2021. …
Something’s Rotten in the State of the Defense Industrial Base
On Wednesday, the Department of Defense released a report on the state of competition in the defense industrial base (DIB). So, how is the state of competition? Not great, per the report. Synopsis: Since the 1990s, consolidation has hit the aerospace and defense sectors harder than most. There were 51 prime contractors in the ’90s. Now, there…
Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne Part Ways
After a few weeks of tension, Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) has decided to call off its acquisition of missile and rocket propulsion manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne (NYSE:AJRD). ICYMI: In late January, the FTC sued to block a $4.4B acquisition deal between Lockheed and Aerojet, originally announced in 2020. The commission alleged that the merger would allow Lockheed to inflate the…
Spire (NYSE:SPIR) Releases Preliminary Q4 Results and 2022 Guidance
On Monday, Spire Global (NYSE:SPIR) released preliminary Q4 and full-year 2021 financial results. The “space-to-cloud analytics” provider expects to post Q4 revenues of $15.3M, a 111% year over year increase, and full-year revenue of $43.7M, a 53% YoY jump. Annual recurring revenue (ARR) is expected to be ~$70.8M, a 96% YoY increase. And ARR customer count climbed…
Q4 Earnings Recap
One-month performance (before market open, Jan. 31). Chart: Promus Ventures Last week, the big names in US defense and aerospace contracting reported earnings. Ongoing supply chain and labor were a persistent headwind across the sector, and more broadly, results were a mixed bag. Let’s run through the space highlights. On Tuesday, Raytheon (NYSE:RTX) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT)…
