Q4 2022 News Roundup
Can you believe 2022 is nearly over? It’s been a jam-packed year for the space industry, full of groundbreaking moments in science, turbulence in the markets and world order; substantive policy developments; and historic mission firsts. We’re kicking off our year-end coverage by looking at objects closest in the rear-view mirror. Payload combed through the…
Roscosmos and NASA Investigate ISS Leak
Last week, a pair of cosmonauts aboard the ISS were all suited up for a spacewalk, ready to step out of the decompressed airlock, when flight controllers noticed that the Soyuz M-22 capsule docked with the station had sprung a leak. Over the past week, NASA and Roscosmos have been investigating the leak, which spilled…
Kamala Harris Updates National Space Council Advisory Group
On Friday, the White House announced the latest group of leaders to staff a key advisory board for the National Space Council. Formerly known as the User’s Advisory Committee (UAC), the group will inform policy decisions and actions considered by the council. The group includes 30 representatives from the space industry, climate scientists, educators, advocacy…
Maxar, Aerojet Rocketdyne Agree to $6.4B and $4.7B Takeovers
On Friday morning, the markets woke up to quite a surprise: A PE firm was taking Maxar ($MAXR) private in a mega-deal worth $6.4B. Then, we saw a monster merger confirmed Sunday evening, with L3Harris ($LHX) agreeing to buy Aerojet Rocketdyne ($AJRD). $MAXR take-private Maxar’s board voted unanimously to enter into a definitive merger agreement…
House Introduces Situational Awareness Transition Bill
On Wednesday, members of the House Space, Science and Technology committee introduced a bill to properly organize the rules surrounding space safety and space situational awareness (SSA). This bill, the Space Safety and Situational Awareness Transition Act of 2022, was spearheaded by Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA) chairman of the subcommittee on space and aeronautics, and…
Satellogic Gives Q3 Update
Satellogic ($SATL) expects 2022 revenue to be in the $6M–$8M range, the EO satellite operator said in a Thursday business update. In H1 ‘22, “Satellogic took the most significant steps in our history towards realizing our mission, beginning to fully commercialize low Earth Observation,” chief executive Emiliano Kargieman said. By the numbers The highlights: Satellogic…
TransAstra Receives NASA and DoD Awards for Debris Removal and Awareness
This morning, TransAstra, a Y Combinator alum building space situational awareness (SSA) and space tug technology, announced that it has received two grants—a NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award and a DoD Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) award—to advance its space debris removal and awareness tech. Right now, TransAstra is focused on space sustainability.…
Planet Reports Record Q3 Earnings
Yesterday, Planet ($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 Raises $15M
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 Since Mariner 2’s Venus Flyby
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…
Ariane 5 Launches Trio of Geostationary Satellites
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…
FCC Aims to Speed Up License Approvals
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…
