SpaceX Activates Starlink in Iran
Protests in Iran reached their 10th night and 50 cities over the weekend, following the death of Mahsa Amini in custody. A digital curtain descends… In response to anti-government protests, Tehran has throttled internet access and mobile networks and blocked WhatsApp and Instagram, popular Western services within the country. NetBlocks, Cloudflare, and OONI are documenting…
A Q+A with Quindar (YC S22)
Quindar aims to become the complete web application for satellite constellation mission analysis, testing, and operations. The Denver-based startup recently graduated from Y Combinator. Quindar’s six technical co-founders—yes, six, and all technical—believe satellite operations should look more like elegant, modern software stacks. The platform, if successful, could cut traditional dependencies on engineers, IT teams, and…
Predicting Arctic Sea Ice Thickness by Satellite
Each year, seawater in the Arctic freezes, melts, and re-freezes with the changing of the seasons. And each year, brave researchers trek out into the cold to stick poles into the snow and float buoys on the sea to measure just how thick that ice is. Why not just measure the ice thickness with satellites? …
Planet, Microsoft, and Nature Conservancy Launch Renewable Energy “Atlas”
What do you get when Planet, Microsoft, and the Nature Conservancy walk into a bar? Probably some pretty wonky and in-the-weeds convos, but also, the potential for a productive collab. To that end, the three organizations have just lifted the wraps on the Global Renewables Watch (GRW). They describe the tool as “a first-of-its-kind living…
LeoLabs Announces Space Insurance Tool
This week, LeoLabs launched a space insurance tool in beta. The tool is geared toward underwriters, who can use the service to assess the orbital debris collision hazards in LEO. Specifically, the space insurance tool will let companies and space agencies rapidly determine collision risk; calculate risk probabilities; visualize LEO; predict future collision risk evolution over…
Starburst Launches Early-Stage Fund
Starburst Ventures is launching a new early-stage fund, the company announced yesterday. The company’s new venture arm is focusing its first investments in pre-seed and seed stage startups in aerospace, defense, and aviation. Starburst 101: Starburst began its accelerator program in 2015. The face of the aerospace industry has changed a lot since then, and…
RFA Sign Two Launch Contracts Over Three Days
On Days #2 and #4 of IAC in Paris, German launch startup Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) signed a pair of launch contracts with Spaceflight Inc. and Indian space situational awareness (SSA) startup Digantara. Spaceflight signed a launch contract that will see RFA take the Seattle company’s Sherpa space tug to orbit. To date, Spaceflight has…
Crowdfunding Platform’s SpaceX “Petition” Passes $11M in Pledges
Spaced Ventures is waging a longshot bid to amass retail investors and petition SpaceX to raise a community round. In under a week, the space crowdfunding investment platform has passed $11M in pledges from users. The tally includes pledges from both unaccredited and accredited investors. Spaced Ventures’ MO is opening up space private markets to…
Pathfinder #0017, featuring Redwire’s Peter Cannito and Al Tadros
Bonjour, and welcome to another Pathfinder from Paris dispatch. We have a surprise in store for you…a twofer! That’s right, two guests for the price of one and packaged up into one standard-length Payload. Today’s guests: Redwire CEO + Chairman Peter Cannito, who is also an operating partner at AE Industrial (AEI) Redwire CTO Al…
Planet Reveals Details of Tanager Hyperspectral Constellation
There’s a new hyperspectral constellation concept in town. Yesterday, Planet ($PL) announced it will build and launch a hyperspectral constellation, starting next year, with the Carbon Mapper Coalition. The planned constellation is known as Tanager, named after a colorful family of birds native to South and Central America. Tanager will focus on sources of methane…
Microsoft Launches First Product with SpaceX
Microsoft is scaling up its presence in space, in a figurative rather than literal sense. Azure, the company’s cloud computing arm, is focused on building out software tools and partnerships within the industry, rather than launching its own hardware into space. Azure Space launched in Oct. 2020. It’s apparently been quite busy since then. The…
Have you met SUSIE?
During Day 1 of IAC in Paris, ArianeGroup execs unveiled the Smart Upper Stage for Innovative Exploration spacecraft concept…SUSIE, for short. The proposal is intended to equip Europe with independent crew and cargo access to LEO. Currently, the continent relies solely on the US for its crew transportation needs, after cutting ties with Russia’s launch…
