Planet Reveals Details of Tanager Hyperspectral Constellation
There’s a new hyperspectral constellation concept in town. Yesterday, Planet ($PL) announced it will build and launch a hyperspectral constellation, starting next year, with the Carbon Mapper Coalition. The planned constellation is known as Tanager, named after a colorful family of birds native to South and Central America. Tanager will focus on sources of methane…
Microsoft Launches First Product with SpaceX
Microsoft is scaling up its presence in space, in a figurative rather than literal sense. Azure, the company’s cloud computing arm, is focused on building out software tools and partnerships within the industry, rather than launching its own hardware into space. Azure Space launched in Oct. 2020. It’s apparently been quite busy since then. The…
Have you met SUSIE?
During Day 1 of IAC in Paris, ArianeGroup execs unveiled the Smart Upper Stage for Innovative Exploration spacecraft concept…SUSIE, for short. The proposal is intended to equip Europe with independent crew and cargo access to LEO. Currently, the continent relies solely on the US for its crew transportation needs, after cutting ties with Russia’s launch…
Iridum, OneWeb, SpaceX, and AIAA Develop Satellite Orbital Safety Best Practices Guide
For the last ten years, the pace of activities in space has dramatically increased, providing new capabilities that contribute to economic growth, improve science, and better connect the global community. To extend the benefits of these services, satellite operators from around the world have developed increasingly sophisticated constellations leveraging satellites equipped with advanced technology. Now,…
Intuitive Machines Announces Plans to Go Public
Space SPACs…are still alive! Houston-headquartered Intuitive Machines said today that it intends to go public, by merging early next year with Inflection Point Acquisition Corp ($IPAX). Assuming the two can take the transaction to the finish line, upon de-SPAC, the lunar lander startup will be listed on the Nasdaq. Key #s The transaction will generate…
Searching for Biomolecules on Mars
NASA’s Perseverance rover is currently trekking through an ancient river delta on the Red Planet, searching for signs of life. As it journeys through the great rocky wasteland, here and there, the rover is taking small samples of Mars rocks a few centimeters deep and storing them in little metal tubes. But our favorite little…
Regulating Orbital Debris, Part Three
This is the third installment of our deep dive on orbital debris. Read Part One and Part Two. – Space is getting more crowded, especially in the regions where satellite operators vie for the best orbits. The density of operational satellites is increasing faster each year. And as for the debris already up there? It’s…
Senate Introduces ORBITS Act
This week, Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) introduced the Orbital Sustainability (ORBITS) Act on the Congress floor. The bipartisan bill is aimed at developing active debris removal (ADR) technology, with the eventual goal of removing dangerous debris objects from orbit. The debris problem: 100M+ individual pieces…
SkyFi Launches App in Beta, Tops Off Seed Round
SkyFi has a very ambitious vision: making satellite imagery available and accessible for the masses. But before it can even dream about widespread EO democratization, the Austin, TX startup must develop a clean, consumerized experience, with a web portal and mobile app that support a marketplace for imagery, data, and analytics. To that end, SkyFi…
Slingshot Offers Beacon SSA Platform Free of Charge
In an attempt to get as many space operators communicating on the same platform as possible to lower collision risks in space, Slingshot Aerospace today announced that it plans to offer a version of its Beacon space situational awareness (SSA) platform for free. “We just feel a grand responsibility here, since we do have the…
Countdown Capital Raises $15M Fund to Help “Rebuild American Industrial Base”
Last week, Miami-based Countdown Capital announced that it had closed a $15M Fund II. Started in late 2020 by Jai Malik, Countdown backs hard tech startups looking to “rebuild the American industrial base.” The firm invests at the pre-seed stage and often writes the first check. Malik is the founder and a solo GP of…
Pathfinder #0016, featuring Caleb Henry
These days, the satellite sector is hard-pressed to go a single week without fresh multibillion-dollar megamerger speculation or new household names (ahem, Apple, T-Mobile) jumping into the fray. That’s why we’re thrilled to have locked down Caleb Henry as today’s Pathfinder guest. He joins us this week to help make sense of the industry madness,…
