Ursa Major has struck a deal to supply Vector Launch with “several” propulsion systems, the company tells Payload. Ursa’s Hadley engines will power the main stage of the Vector-R launch vehicle in future demonstration missions for national security customers. A word on Vector: The seven-year-old startup, which has raised more than $180M, declared bankruptcy in […]
Last night, JAXA’s H3 rocket debut ended in failure. The Japanese space agency was forced to send termination commands to the launcher a few minutes into the flight, when the engine on the second stage failed to ignite. The road so far: JAXA has been building the H3 rocket, intended as a less expensive successor […]
Ukraine’s space agency has questioned the findings of an independent inquiry formed to investigate the failure of a Vega C launch vehicle last December. The failure resulted in the loss of two Airbus Pléiades Neo Earth observation satellites. The independent inquiry’s findings Following a successful first stage separation and second stage ignition, a progressive decrease […]
The European Space Agency announced on Friday that an eroded engine nozzle component caused the Vega C rocket failure in December. Yuzhnoye, the Ukrainian nozzle component supplier, will now need to be replaced. The supplier swap will push back the next Vega-C launch attempt to late 2023. A mishap with high stakes: “I would claim […]
United Launch Alliance, a joint venture formed in 2006, may soon have a new corporate home. That’s because co-owners Boeing ($BA) and Lockheed Martin ($LMT) are reportedly putting ULA up for sale, according to a blockbuster story last week from Ars Technica’s Eric Berger. Morgan Stanley and Bain were hired to facilitate the transaction, which […]
What time is it on the Moon? The answer, it turns out, is a little complicated. As several countries across the globe collectively spanning just about every time zone prepare for the impending cislunar economy and get ready to send humans to the lunar surface, it may be time to put some standard processes—like an […]
Virgin Galactic ($SPCE) released its Q4 and FY 2022 results Tuesday after the bell. The numbers show significant losses compared to 2021, but roughly in line with expectations. Virgin Galactic’s Q4, by the numbers: Virgin Galactic lost roughly half a billion dollars in 2022, up from 2021’s net loss of $353M. As of market close […]
Rocket Lab ($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 […]
Japan’s astronaut corps Across the Pacific, two cadres of spacefaring hopefuls are getting the chance to train for extended stays off Earth. This week, China and Japan both announced plans to train new astronauts to support their respective human spaceflight programs. Two candidates have joined Japan’s astronaut corps. Yesterday, JAXA announced the new recruits—the first […]
For the second time in less than a year, SpaceX has adjusted pricing on rideshare launches and Starlink. Rideshare: The price tag of a Falcon 9 Transporter launch increased by 18%, from $5,500 per kg to $6,500 per kg. The hike comes after a 10% increase the previous year. Starlink: In an email to customers, […]
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 […]
Ed. note: This analysis was authored by Mo Islam, Payload’s cofounder and a former Wall Street analyst. This is an educated best guess, not based on access to any SpaceX internal data or proprietary info! We’re attempting the impossible yet again: predicting SpaceX’s revenue. Before we get into Act 2—aka 2023—we’re revising our 2022 projections, […]
