ARKX Q1 Recap
ARK Space Exploration & Innovation (ARKX) is an ETF managed by the eponymous, iconoclastic, and currently down-bad NYC fund manager ARK Invest. The space ETF launched at the end of last March, so it just recently celebrated its first bday. Time for a check in… At the end of Q1, ARKX’s assets under management stood…
JSX, Hawaiian Airlines Announce Starlink Deals
JSX, a short-haul “hop-on jet service,” announced Thursday that it’s inked a deal with SpaceX to become the first air carrier to adopt Starlink for in-flight connectivity services. JSX flies between Austin, Burbank, Concord/Napa, Dallas-Love Field, Houston-Hobby, Las Vegas, LA, Monterey/Carmel, Oakland/SF, Orange County, Phoenix, Reno/Tahoe, and San Diego. Its fleet spans 77 Embraer 135s…
Miami Tech Week Panel Recap
On Friday, Payload CEO Mo Islam took the stage at Miami Tech Week to moderate “Earth’s Future With Space.” Bright and early at 9:30, Mo kicked off the 45-min space industry panel with: John Gedmark, CEO of Astranis Chris Power, CEO of Hadrian Delian Asparouhov, cofounder of Varda Kevin Weil, president of Planet (NYSE:PL) At…
ISRO to Launch OneWeb Satellites This Year
OneWeb has found another launch provider: NewSpace India, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The two have inked a deal to start launching satellites later this year, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. Left in the lurch The LEO broadband constellation developer was launching with Roscosmos…until March. Since…
SpaceX rules the ultimate roost in Q1
BryceTech has released its 2022 Q1 report examining rocket launches and satellite deployment. Who’s leading the race? SpaceX tops the charts with 11 rockets launched and 502 spacecraft deployed. China takes silver this quarter, with eight launches and just 38 spacecraft deployed. Although Roscosmos takes bronze for launches with four, Arianespace takes third for the…
NASA Awards Communication Services Project Contracts
NASA has awarded six contracts to LEO broadband operators to support the development and demonstration of near-Earth communications technology. The contracts have a combined total value of $278.5M, with each company expected to “match or exceed” NASA’s investment over the next five years. The awardees: SpaceX, receiving $69.95M to develop Starlink, its LEO broadband constellation.…
National Academies Release 2022 Planetary Science Decadal Survey
Once every blue moon ten years, NASA tasks the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine with determining the highest-priority planetary science missions for the next decade. The Academies published the fruits of their labor– “Origins, Worlds, and Life: A Decadal Strategy for Planetary Science and Astrobiology 2023-2032”—yesterday, revealing a new ranked menu of deep-space…
Lockheed, Iridium Report Q1 Earnings
Yesterday, Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) and Iridium (NASDAQ:IRDM) reported Q1 2022 financial results. To set the scene, Lockheed has a $122.6B market cap and is up 29.4% this year. Iridium is at a $5.4B market cap and up 3.3% YTD. $LMT LM Space recorded $2.6B in Q1 revenue, a 15% annual drop. The defense contractor attributed…
White House Bans US Direct-Ascent ASAT Weapons Testing
The White House is instituting a self-imposed ban on direct-ascent ASAT, or anti-satellite, tests, VP Kamala Harris announced yesterday on a visit to the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The administration is hoping that other nations will agree to adopt the same ban in an effort to reduce orbital debris creation (and protect national…
Kepler Demonstrates Intersatellite Data Relay
Kepler has successfully demonstrated the ability to communicate between satellites on orbit, the company’s CEO Mina Mitry announced (H/T SpaceNews). Two data-relay terminals aboard satellites launched in January have been sending data packets back and forth since four days after launch, per Mitry. Intersatellite links The elusive tech is a big opportunity for satellite operators…
ESA Withdraws from Roscosmos Lunar Missions
Putin declared that Russia is going to restart its own lunar program, develop a nuclear space tug, and field a new launch vehicle, Russian media reported. But ongoing sanctions on Russia warrant some healthy skepticism on the feasibility of these programs. The Russian leader made the announcement on Yuri’s Night, the 61st anniversary of Soviet…
Colorado & Texas Lawmakers Push to Keep Space Assets within State
Two states that are among the biggest movers and shakers in the US space economy are fighting back against federal decision-making, albeit in very different ways. Colorado Senators Michael Bennet (D) and John Hickenlooper (D) and Reps Doug Lamborn (R) and Jason Crow (D) released a joint statement Monday: “We have said before that the…
