Europe’s New Spacecraft to Map World’s Forests in 3D
Europe will launch a satellite to map the world’s forests in 3D, to hunt down illegal logging and track climate change by mapping how forests store carbon.
Katalyst Acquires OTV Startup Atomos
Katalyst acquired Atomos in a bid to grow its in-space servicing business, the companies announced today.
Lockheed Martin Invests $2M in Farcast
Farcast’s technology aims to increase the US military’s satcom connectivity, especially for highly mobile troops. The company’s main competitive advantage, however, may lie in its high-quality user terminals produced at low cost.
Northwood Raises $30M Series A
Alpine Space Ventures and a16z led the round, which also included participation from Also Capital, Founders Fund, and Stepstone.
Iridium Is Fighting Starlink and Trump’s Tariffs
Despite beating market expectations with first quarter revenue growth of 5% year-on-year, Iridium’s stock fell nearly 7% in the face of competition and trade wars.
Frontier Flies its Lab-in-a-Box on ATMOS’ Reentry Mission
Frontier Space’s first mission is designed to test key components of its lab-in-a-box bioreactor, which will give future space travelers the ability to grow things like food and medicine in space.
EOs, Commercial Cooperation, and Culture: A Recap of Polaris After Dark
The Trump administration has ordered the Pentagon to speed up its defense acquisition process. That will require trained staff to quickly get new commercial tech under contract, according to Col. Richard Kniseley, the senior materiel leader of Space Systems Command’s Commercial Space Office.
Pulsar Fusion Unveils Nuclear-Powered Rocket
The Sunbird Migratory Transfer Vehicle is a nuclear-fusion powered rocket capable of reaching 329,000 mph.
DARPA Eyes Orbital Mission to Map Lunar Water Ice
The program—Lunar Assay via Small Satellite Orbiter (LASSO)—seeks to design, test, build and deliver a spacecraft that can identify regions that are at least 90% probable to have at least 5% water.
NRO Launches First Payload Under New NatSec Contract
The NROL-145 launch is the first under the Space Force’s Phase 3 Lane 1 rubric—a launch contracting mechanism that will spend $5.6B on relatively simple launches with fewer requirements, which might suit new entrants to the national security launch game.
States Vying to Welcome America’s Space Workforce
The headquarters of NASA and US Space Command are caught in a nationwide clash that has many in the US civil and military space workforce wondering: should I stay or should I go?
We Have Some Space Questions About The Golden Dome
President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for a new, satellite-based missile defense architecture around the continental US has defense contractors salivating, but questions about the cost, capabilities, and requirement for such a system remain unanswered.
