Startups
Stories about the new players changing the space game.
SpaceWorks to Fly In-Orbit Manufacturing Tech in 2026
The 2026 mission marks the kick-off of both companies’ commercial offering.
Firefly Files IPO Prospectus
Firefly Aerospace is $FLYing into the Nasdaq with the space industry’s latest exit attempt.
Q&A with Varda’s CEO Will Bruey
Varda Space Industries closed a $187M Series C yesterday. In the wake of the fundraise, Payload sat down with Will Bruey, Varda’s CEO, to discuss how the new funds will be put to use.
CisLunar Industries Raises $1M to Scale Production
The investment marks a step forward for CisLunar’s plans to transform from a small batch producer of PPUs for research and grant projects to a large-scale manufacturer for commercial and defense customers.
Northwood’s Satellite Ground Terminal Is Ready To Talk
“These things get dropped off the back of the truck and turn on.”
LH3M Wins Five Patents for Lunar Helium-3 Extraction
Lunar Helium-3 Mining, LLC (LH3M) secured its fifth US patent last month, covering the company’s end-to-end architecture for He-3 detection, extraction, and refinement on the Moon.
K2 Hotfire Paves a Path to Multi-Orbit Missions
K2 Space has spent the last year buying down risk and burning up fuel in preparation for its first customer mission in February 2026.
Atomic-6 Wins $2M DoD Contract For Solar Array Tech
Atomic-6 won a $2M contract from SSC to continue development of its Light Wing solar array, which collapses to enable RPO and stealth missions.
Skynopy Raises €15M to Expand Its Ground Station Service
Skynopy’s future plans include building a network of over 100 ground stations to make real-time connectivity possible for satellites in orbit.
Xona Raises $92M For Unhackable PNT Constellation
Xona is one of many companies trying to solve PNT’s vulnerability problem.
OrbitsEdge’s First Mission to Space is a Shoe In
OrbitsEdge’s Edge1 computing module will host a range of AI agents, including the first AI shoe designer in space.
Transporter-14 To Launch Multiple Maritime, Defense Sats
After a weekend-long weather delay, SpaceX is expected to launch its fourth rideshare mission of the year this afternoon.
