Isaacman Pays The Moon Price, Heads For Senate Floor
Sen. Ted Cruz made clear he was voting “yes” because of Isaacman’s commitment to prioritize the Moon.
True Anomaly Raises $260M Series C
While the company has only sent three of its Jackal satellites to LEO so far, its goal is to take on higher and higher orbits with Jackal missions to GEO and cislunar space as soon as next year.
Start Your Engines: The Lunar Rover Race Has Begun
Payload spoke with several companies building next-gen lunar rovers—including Astrolab, ispace, Intuitive Machines, and Lunar Outpost—about the biggest challenges and opportunities in this sector.
New Mexico Adds First Space Tourism Director
Sheli Hinds Armstrong will serve as the first director of space tourism at the SpaceValley Foundation, an Albuquerque-based nonprofit.
House Panel Advances Three Space Bills
The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee approved three bills on Tuesday morning designed to increase astronaut safety, tap the private sector for scientific data, and maintain US leadership for the next generation of deep space exploration.
Kuiper Launches First Production Internet Satellites
Amazon’s long-awaited Starlink competitor finally has a toehold in orbit.
Radian Plans Re-entry Vehicle For Hypersonic Tests
Radian Aerospace said it will build a hypersonic reentry vehicle to generate cash, and support the development of its sled-launched single-stage-to-orbit rocketplane.
Apex Raises $200M Series C
“Demand has increased more than production capacity has,” CEO Ian Cinnamon told Payload. “This allows us to vertically integrate faster, and buy more parts ahead of time and stock inventory.”
Tumbling Russian Sat Highlights Counterspace Threat
A prototype anti-sat weapon Russia launched into orbit in 2022 is tumbling out of control, according to commercial SSA companies who spotted it. That’s a sign the spacecraft is no longer functional.
China Shares Moon Rocks, Steps Up Space Collaboration
China announced that it will share lunar samples with international researchers and fly other nations’ payloads aboard future Moon and Mars missions—a giant leap for Beijing’s space diplomacy efforts.
Axiom Space Goes In-House For New CEO Bhatia
Axiom chief revenue officer Tejpaul Bhatia will be the space station company’s new CEO, the company announced Friday afternoon.
SpaceX’s Spectrum Surveillance Ups Ante in FCC Fight
SpaceX called out rival Echostar for allegedly failing to meet deployment requirements for radio spectrum in the 2 GHz band, using novel evidence: A spectrum analysis performed by a Starlink satellite.
