Stories about the problems posed by trash in orbit, and initiatives from both governments and industry to clean it up.
LeoLabs announced that it has selected a site in Argentina for its next ground radar for remotely identifying and tracking objects in space. The new site, called the Argentina Space Radar (AGSR), is expected to be completed later this year. Keeping an eye on orbit: The Menlo Park, CA-based startup is building out a global […]
Astroscale, a Japanese startup designing orbital debris removal and on-orbit servicing technology, announced Sunday that it has closed a $76M Series G round to accelerate its growth and development. The round, especially notable given the current state of private markets, brings Astroscale’s total funding to date to $376M. The company raised the Series G entirely […]
Another megaconstellation has cleared a key step toward LEO deployment. On Wednesday, the FCC approved Kuiper’s orbital debris mitigation plan, a significant regulatory hurdle that has been keeping Amazon’s broadband constellation out of the sky. The story so far: Amazon has taken a long, winding road with Kuiper. In 2020, the FCC approved the constellation, […]
Seraphim, a leading space VC, has published its 2023 market map, detailing the state of innovation in the in-space economy with an eye on the year ahead. “As the in-space economy takes off, major players in the industry are positioning themselves to capture a slice of the burgeoning market,” Seraphim VP Maureen Laverty said in […]
This afternoon in Western Australia, LeoLabs pulled the curtain off a new project that’s been in the making for the last nine months: the Western Australia Space Radar (WASR), built along with local partners to augment the company’s satellite and debris tracking capabilities. WASR is now fully commissioned and includes two S-band phased array radars […]
Neuraspace, Ienai Space, and EnduroSat announced this morning that they have formed a partnership to demonstrate their end-to-end space traffic management (STM) capabilities. The companies say this will be the first European mission dedicated to performing collision avoidance maneuvers. “I’m really hoping that efforts like our own will help us avoid negative approaches to sustainability […]
NorthStar Earth and Space, a Canadian startup building a constellation for in-situ space situational awareness (SSA), announced this morning it has closed a $35M Series C. New York-based PE shop Cartesian led the round. The round also included participation from Telesystem Space Inc., the Luxembourg Future Fund, the government of Quebec, and the Luxembourg Space […]
The world was busy in space this year. All together, there have been 174 successful orbital launches so far in 2022, and the world’s space agencies have pulled together over the course of the year to make major strides in science, technology, and exploration. Read on for our recap of the top events from space […]
On Wednesday, members of the House Space, Science and Technology committee introduced a bill to properly organize the rules surrounding space safety and space situational awareness (SSA). This bill, the Space Safety and Situational Awareness Transition Act of 2022, was spearheaded by Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA) chairman of the subcommittee on space and aeronautics, and […]
This morning, TransAstra, a Y Combinator alum building space situational awareness (SSA) and space tug technology, announced that it has received two grants—a NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award and a DoD Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) award—to advance its space debris removal and awareness tech. Right now, TransAstra is focused on space sustainability. […]
This morning, Slingshot Aerospace, an Austin-based space situational awareness startup, announced the closing of a $40.85M Series A-2 round. Cap table: Sway Ventures led the round, with participation from C16 Ventures, ATX Venture Partners, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, and Draper Associates. In addition to the equity round, Slingshot received a venture loan from […]
Kayhan Space and Morpheus Space have teamed up to offer their customers automated collision avoidance maneuvers, the two companies announced this morning. By pairing Kayhan’s space traffic management (STM) software, Pathfinder, with Morpheus’ pay-as-you-go propulsion, the companies hope they can make it simpler for satellite operators to prevent space from getting mucked up. “We want […]
