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. […]
Yesterday, Planet ($PL) reported nearly Q3 revenue and projected an annual haul of nearly $200M. The results speak to “strong execution across the company and the mission-critical nature of our data,” CEO Will Marshall said. To start… …the self-described “Bloomberg terminal for Earth data” would point you to its scale. Planet is currently flying ~200 […]
Quantum Space, a startup focused on building an information “superhighway” in cislunar space, announced yesterday that it has raised $15M from Prime Movers Lab, and that it intends to close a Series A by year’s end. QS 101: The Rockville, MD-based startup has set its sights on building a network of satellites to form the […]
60 years ago today, Mariner 2 flew by Venus, making the probe the first successful interplanetary mission. The flyby spacecraft flew within 21,500 miles of the Morning and Evening Star, taking various measurements and making groundbreaking discoveries about our solar system. The lead-up The Mariner program was first introduced in the early 1960’s, when NASA’s […]
Arianespace successfully launched its third Ariane 5 flight of 2022 yesterday from French Guiana. The nearly 11-ton customer payload was the second heaviest lift for an Ariane 5, topped only by an Oct. 2021 launch that carried the Syracuse A4 and SES-17 into orbit. There were three primary payloads on board. All three satellites were […]
Late last month, the FCC released a notice of proposed rulemaking that aimed to significantly cut down the red tape surrounding satellite licensing. Now, the commission says that it will discuss the revisions to its licensing procedures as part of its Space Innovation agenda on Dec. 21. The notice falls under a larger trend, led […]
Last week, Congress released a compromise defense bill with $858B in topline funding. That represents a ~10% annual increase over last year. The fine text: The fiscal year 2023 (FY23) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) compromise bill went to the House floor last week, and was passed in the lower chamber by a 350-80 vote. […]
Artemis I is complete. At 12:40pm ET yesterday, the Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific, marking the end of its 26-day, 1.4-million-mile journey around the Moon and back again. By all accounts, the first mission in NASA’s grand return to the Moon went smoothly. SLS, the agency’s long-awaited (and over-budget) Moon rocket launched on […]
NASA’s triumphant return to the Moon has begun. Right now, Artemis I is coming to an end, as the Orion capsule hurtles back from lunar orbit for a planned splashdown this weekend. Over the next few years, NASA is planning to lay the groundwork to prepare for long-haul trips to Mars. There’s a lot of […]
In the latest round of lunar Human Landing Systems (HLS), we have a National Team 2.0—along with another group of bidders—vying to build a second vehicle that would take American astronauts to the Moon. The big change? Blue and Northrop Grumman have parted ways in their bid. How we got here: a brief timeline Bidding […]
Kiwi startup Dawn Aerospace announced this week that it’s raised NZ$20M (~$13M) from a group of New Zealand investors to accelerate satellite thruster and spaceplane development. Icehouse Ventures led the round, writing a $10M+ check to the New Zealand startup. Kiwi investors GD1 and Covac also participated in the round. Dawn’s press release announcing the […]
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 […]
