BusinessEquities

Virgin Orbit Nears Deal to Raise $200M From Texas Investor

In a story that nearly writes itself, a Texas investor is swooping in to save a troubled rocket company just as it was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Dallas-based VC Matthew Brown is set to invest $200M into Virgin Orbit ($VORB), a source told Payload. The news was first reported by Reuters on Wednesday.  […]

BusinessEquities

Terran Orbital Triples Revenue

Terran Orbital ($LLAP) saw sales triple in Q4 compared to the prior year, the company revealed Tuesday in fourth-quarter and full-year 2022 financial results.  Terran Orbital’s Q4, by the numbers: Terran generated 2022 sales of $94.2M, driven by a record 19 satellite deliveries (10 were SDA/Lockheed birds).  Rivada contract: Last month, Terran won the monster […]

EOEquities

Satellogic Launches “Space Systems”

Satellogic is launching a new Space Systems product, the publicly traded satellite operator ($SATL) announced last week.  With Space Systems, Satellogic says countries or companies can buy and fly their own EO satellite “with submeter resolution, proven performance, and custom mission options.” In other words, the product represents a space-as-a-service offering for those who have […]

BusinessEquities

Astra Requests an Extension to Avoid Nasdaq Delisting

Gravity may be a tough opponent, but it’s got nothing on the unrelenting forces of public markets.  On Thursday, launch startup Astra ($ASTR) announced that it has requested additional time from Nasdaq to boost its share price and avoid a delisting.  Astra’s road: Over the last couple of years, the Alameda, CA company has struggled […]

Equities

Japan’s ispace to IPO in April

Japanese lunar lander startup ispace has filed the paperwork and announced plans to go public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on April 12.  IPO → lunar landing Eyes on the prize: ispace could be a central player in a cislunar economy that’s expected to generate $100B over the next decade, according to estimates from research […]

EOEquities

BlackSky Reports Q4 Results 

BlackSky ($BKSY) is paring losses; winning key contracts; and sees a near-term path to (adjusted) profitability. Those were the key takeaways bright and early at 7:30am on Tuesday, when the Herndon, VA satellite operator reported its fourth-quarter and full-year 2022 financial results.  For the full year, BlackSky pulled in $65.4M in revenue, up 92% over […]

Equities

Momentus Reports Q4 and FY22 Results

Momentus ($MNTS) is in a race against its cash burn.  That’s the read from the space tug developer’s Q4 results, which portend a runway crunch in the coming year. At the same time, though, Momentus touted key new customer wins and a clean bill of health for its Vigoride-5 space tug. And it also has […]

EquitiesLaunchMilitaryRocketsVC/PE

Who Will Buy ULA? What Payload Readers Say

United Launch Alliance, a joint venture formed in 2006, may soon have a new corporate home. That’s because co-owners Boeing ($BA) and Lockheed Martin ($LMT) are reportedly putting ULA up for sale, according to a blockbuster story last week from Ars Technica’s Eric Berger.  Morgan Stanley and Bain were hired to facilitate the transaction, which […]

Equities

Rocket Lab Projects Busy 12 Months

Rocket Lab ($RKLB) fired off a number of key business updates on Tuesday’s earnings call. To start, the company reported robust Q4 revenue of $51.8M, an 88% YoY increase.  The business outlook Rocket Lab’s backlog increased from $241M in Q4 ‘21 to $504M at the end of 2022.  Strong order volume is driven largely by […]

Equities

Dish, EchoStar Report Q4 Earnings

Dish Reports Q4 2022 Earnings: Yesterday, Dish ($DISH) reported that Q4 net income increased to $936M, a substantial rise from $552M in the prior year. The revenue story was not as bright: Dish generated $4.04B in Q4 sales, down 9% from the prior year. The culprit for revenue declines is a lower subscription base across […]

EquitiesLEOSatcom

Terran Orbital Wins $2.4B Rivada Contract

Live long and prosper… Another day, another three-comma space contract. Terran Orbital said Wednesday that it won a $2.4B contract to design, build, and deploy a 300-bird constellation for Rivada Space Networks. The Rivada constellation will consist of 288 LEO satellites and 12 spares. They’ll be linked by lasers, packing on-board data routers, and tasked […]

CislunarEquities

Intuitive Machines Stock Skyrockets, Tripling Three Days after Going Public

On Thursday, shares of newly public Intuitive Machines ($LUNR) closed at $44.77 a pop, up a staggering 251% on the day. The company’s stock has tripled in three days of trading. Trading of the lunar exploration company’s stock was briefly halted midday as volatility triggered the NASDAQ circuit breaker. The surge comes just three days after […]