The crew program you’ve never heard of
Today, there is currently only one initiative developing crewed launch capabilities in Europe. It’s not ESA, CNES, or a private startup. It’s a moonshot venture from a group of enthusiasts working in their spare time, funded by donations. Their north star: develop a single-person suborbital vehicle. The scrappy underdogs Founded in 2011, Denmark-based Copenhagen Suborbitals…
A Convo with Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck on Reusability, Launch Demand, and More
Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) will attempt to pluck a booster from the skies via helicopter later this month. The effort, if successful, would represent the first time that a small launch vehicle’s booster is recovered. “It’s actually, by far, the hardest thing to do,” Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck told Payload Friday. The company…
Sentinel-1B replacement secures a ride
ESA has contracted Arianespace to launch the EU’s Sentinel-1C Earth observation satellite aboard an Avio-built Vega-C rocket. Sentinel-1C is expected to take over the duties from Sentinel-1B, which suffered an anomaly in December. In January, ESA officials said that recovery efforts had failed. By late February, they identified a 28V power-regulated bus as the root…
BlackSky’s Brian E. O’Toole on Space’s “Internet Moment”
BlackSky (NYSE:BKSY) is a geospatial intelligence and continuous monitoring company. The Herndon, VA-based space company has been in the news at fairly regular intervals in recent months, due to its role in supplying open-source imagery and intelligence related to Ukraine. Payload sat down with BlackSky CEO Brian O’Toole at Space Symposium earlier this week to…
Loss of Antonov Planes may have GEO Shipping Impact
Ukrainian firm Antonov owns and operates the largest cargo aircraft in the world. A significant portion of the company’s fleet has been grounded or destroyed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leaving many GEO satellites to find other rides to the launch site. Heavy-lift aircraft: Antonov’s large cargo aircraft are some of the only planes in…
BryceTech Releases Report on the State of Space Startups
BryceTech has released its 2022 report on the state of space startups. 2021 saw record levels of investment and a record-breaking number of deals funneling into space tech. By the numbers: The startup space sector saw $9B in venture capital investment, an 82% increase YoY. There were 120 total VC deals, up 52% YoY. Overall,…
Netflix Releases Return to Space
Doug and Bob. Image: Netflix Netflix is now streaming Return to Space. Directed by Oscar-winning duo Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. The feature-length film chronicles the SpaceX and NASA Demo-2 mission, which restored the US’s capability to domestically send its own astronauts to orbit. Since you’re a space-savvy bunch and Return to Space is nonfiction,…
Ursa Major Passes 200 Employees, on the Heels of First Hadley Engine Deliveries
Images: Ursa Major. Left: Hadley hotfire @ Ursa Major HQ in Berthoud, CO. Right: Hadley being prepped for shipment. Ursa Major officially signed its 200th employee this week, CEO Joe Laurienti tells Payload. The Colorado startup, which bills itself as “America’s only independent pure-play rocket propulsion company,” had just north of 125 employees in early…
Beyond Gravity Wins Big in Amazon/Kuiper Launch Deal
Image: Amazon, Arianespace, & Beyond Gravity. Compiled by Andrew Parsonson. Amazon sent shockwaves throughout the space world yesterday. The largest-ever commercial launch deal gave a kick of nitrous to the European space machine. Beyond the headlines: Arianespace won big, snagging its largest single contract ever. But that wasn’t Europe’s only winner: Amazon’s dealmaking included the largest…
Kuiper Finds Its Workhorses
Good morning from Colorado Spring, where we’re writing this at 5:30 am local time. Amazon front-ran Day 2 of Space Symposium with what it claims is “the largest commercial procurement of space launch services in history.” Driving the news Project Kuiper, Amazon’s LEO broadband initiative, has contracted three heavy-lift vehicles for up to 83 launches.…
ESA Floats Ariane 6 Upgrade
Image credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique vidéo du CSG – JM Guillon The European Space Agency announced last week that it intends to develop an upgraded solid rocket booster for the Ariane 6 and Vega vehicles. So, what’s new? Well, the proposed P120C+ booster will be ~1 meter taller than the current P120, which would allow for an…
Space Frontier Foundation Releases DEI Toolkit
The Space Frontier Foundation, an advocacy group with a 35-year history in the aerospace industry, has released its first survey on the state of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in space. Why? The aerospace industry needs innovation to survive. “Innovation thrives when you bring diverse perspectives into a room together,” Ann Kapusta, Space Frontier Foundation’s…
