Boeing Still in the Hole
Boeing reported a first quarter loss of $1.27 per share on Wednesday, marking the company’s seventh straight quarter in the red, though this quarter was better than last. Boeing attributed this to 737 MAX production issues, but still announced a plan to increase production from 31 to 38 planes per month. The company did see…
Astroscale Secures ~$44M in Two New Debt Rounds
Astroscale, a Japanese startup designing orbital debris removal and on-orbit servicing technology, announced two debt raises totaling about $44M this week to ensure it has cash on hand in today’s challenging economic conditions. On Tuesday, the company announced that it entered into a loan agreement for ¥3B (~$22M) with Mizuho Bank. Yesterday, Astroscale announced a…
US, South Korea Commit to Closer Cooperation in Orbit
VP Kamala Harris and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visited Goddard Space Flight Center outside DC on Tuesday to get a firsthand look at the agency’s work to monitor and combat climate change. Hot mess: Harris, who chairs the National Space Council, and Yoon, who is in DC for a state visit, received briefings…
ispace HAKUTO-R Lander Likely Hard-Lands on the Moon
The Moon will have to wait a little longer for its first non-governmental visitor.
China Reveals Designs for a Fully-Reusable Rocket
China unveiled plans for a fully-reusable Long March 9 rocket configuration Sunday at its 2023 Space Day ceremony in Hefei, China. The CNSA aims to begin testing the vehicle, which looks a lot like Starship, by the late 2030s. The fully reusable configuration is noteworthy given China has still yet to nail a partially reusable…
Low-cost Star Sensor Could Help Cubesats Find Their Way
Cubesats may soon be able to find their way in space at a lower cost thanks to a new star sensor developed by Indian researchers, which launched to space on Saturday. Starberry-Sense hopes to help small satellites determine their orientation in space in relation to surrounding stars for just 10 percent of the cost of…
Officials Talk In-Space Resources in Luxembourg
Government officials, industry employees, and researchers working toward a mining economy in space gathered last week in Luxembourg to discuss what lessons space miners could learn from their Earth-bound counterparts—and who should oversee the nascent industry in orbit. The annual Luxembourg Space Resources Week is organized by the European Space Resources Innovation Centre (ESRIC), which…
Starship Lifts Off in Historic Launch, Clearing Max Q Before Exploding Midair
SpaceX’s Starship made history yesterday with its first-ever orbital launch attempt that notched a lot of successes and one very fiery failure. With tens of thousands of launch enthusiasts watching from South Texas and millions more tuning in virtually worldwide, the rocket cleared the pad, reached Max Q, and soared to an altitude of 39…
Moonlighter Sat Will Let Hackers Practice in Orbit
Cyber experts will get the opportunity to practice defending assets from cyber attacks in orbit on a new “hacking sandbox” satellite expected to launch later this year. Moonlighter is a joint project from the Aerospace Corporation, Space Systems Command, and the Air Force Research Laboratory that will let good guy hackers look for vulnerabilities in…
North Korea Says it’s Set to Launch its First Military Spy Satellite
North Korea’s military is getting ready to expand to orbit with the launch of its first spy satellite, leader Kim Jong Un announced Wednesday, according to an AP report. North Korea in space: The Hermit Kingdom has previously launched three non-military satellites to orbit: one experimental comms satellite in 2009 and two EO satellites in…
L3Harris Building Comms System for Lunar Missions
L3Harris Technologies announced Tuesday that it will provide the communications system Artemis astronauts use to communicate with each other and with Earth from the lunar surface. While much attention has been paid to the rocket, spacecraft, and people that will part of the first crewed Moon mission in more than 50 years, communications are critical…
VC Investment in the Space Industry Sees Lowest Numbers Since 2021
VCs invested $310.7M in the US space industry during the first quarter of 2023, according to new Pitchbook data. It’s the lowest amount since Q3 of 2021, but the 24 deals closed in the quarter is comparable to last quarter. The biggest deals ranged across different segments of the industry from launch to manufacturing. These…
