Stories about the new players changing the space game.
Earlier this week, space safety company Kayhan Space launched the next tier of its space traffic management (STM) platform, Pathfinder Pro. Kayhan’s ultimate goal is to fully automate all collision avoidance maneuvers in orbit, cofounder and CTO Araz Feyzi told Payload. LEO, in particular, is poised to get a lot more crowded over the coming […]
San Francisco-based Capella Space has announced Acadia, its next generation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites. Capella’s SAR satellites can see through clouds and provide all-weather, 24/7 imaging. The startup primarily serves defense and intelligence customers. Backstory: Capella launched Denali, a backpack-sized SAR satellite, in late 2018. Next came the 100-kg. Sequoia in Aug. 2020. […]
Students across the globe could soon have the ability to identify near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) for a grade, thanks to a collaboration between TransAstra and Slooh. The two companies have announced a partnership that will ultimately let K-12 students book time on a telescope. TransAstra is a space startup that graduated from Y Combinator in Summer 2021. […]
Benchmark has agreed to acquire plasma thruster technology from AASC, the two announced this morning. Benchmark is short for Benchmark Space Systems, a chemical propulsion provider based in Burlington, VT. Benchmark’s Starling and Halcyon satellite propulsion systems are its bread and butter. AASC is short for Alameda Applied Sciences Corporation. The Oakland-based entity keeps a […]
Integrate Space Corp. aims to modernize how you launch your payload through its new software stack. The newly hatched startup is creating a collaborative tool for spacecraft manufacturers, rideshare aggregators, and launch providers to organize missions digitally. The basics: Launched by space industry veteran John Conafay and technical lead Paul Reesman earlier this year, Integrate […]
Slingshot Aerospace has its sights set on being the industry leader in space situational awareness (SSA). This morning, the company announced that it has acquired Numerica’s Space Domain Awareness (SDA) division and UK-based Seradata. “These acquisitions bring a single, unified space intelligence platform to the market that the market needs, and hasn’t seen,” said Melanie […]
Ahead of its second orbital launch attempt, Firefly Aerospace tells Payload it’s made a slew of new executive leadership hires. Though the Cedar Park, TX launch unicorn has been through the ringer in recent months, its Alpha rocket is vertical at Vandenberg and liftoff is seemingly weeks away. Moreover, Firefly is sounding a confident note […]
Last week, Relativity Space and Impulse Space announced a partnership to launch the first private mission to Mars. To much fanfare, the two startups say they’ll try to launch a Red Planet lander as early as 2024. Under the agreement, Relativity will launch Impulse’s Mars Cruise Vehicle and Mars Lander on the 3D-printed Terran R […]
While government-operated orbital outposts may not have the amenities of future private stations, in-space internet, it would appear, will be table stakes. Driving the news: NASA’s Lunar Gateway module, set to begin launching in a few years, will serve as a comms hub, a research lab, short-term living quarters for astronauts, and a holding bay […]
As NASA prepares to send humans back to the moon through its long-awaited Artemis program, it’s taking big steps to encourage commercial lander development. First order of business: CLPS. NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program is funding 14 separate lander concepts from Astrobotic, Deep Space Systems, Draper Labs, Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, Lockheed Martin, […]
Satellite data can do many things for governments. One under-discussed use case is giving them a leg up against illegal fishing. A team of startups aims to use space-based edge computing to get fishing insights in near real-time. Edge computing = localized computing, in this case on a satellite. Los Angeles-HQ’d Exo-Space will provide their […]
We’ve made it halfway through 2022. The year has flown by, but it’s been filled with big news and firsts for the space industry. Here’s our recap of the off-Earth goings-on during these last six months. Q1 The year started off with a bang as JWST unfolded successfully, reached its new home a million miles […]
