China conducted a successful test of a hypersonic glide vehicle over the summer, according to an in-depth report published by the Financial Times. The FT’s story draws on interviews with five unnamed officials. The purported launch and covert demonstration of the vehicle, which glides around space, caught US intelligence agencies off guard. The nuclear-capable spacecraft travels through…
The Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday released its fiscal year 2022 appropriations bill. We’ll Ctrl+f to the part you’re here for: The bill would provide ~$24.8 billion to NASA, almost exactly what the agency asked for in its 924-page FY22 budget request (yes, we counted). Allocating nearly $25 billion to NASA would be a 6+% bump over FY21, which was a 3% boost…
Can anyone catch SpaceX? That’s the question posed by a Morgan Stanley Research team in a recent, updated note to investors. Spoiler alert: The analysts seem to believe the answer is no. Payload read and digested the updated memo, which was first covered Tuesday by CNBC. For starters, the report is front-loaded with choice quotes from investors: …
With all the talk of satellite constellations in beta or build phase, we figured we’d check up on one that’s fully up and running. Satellite operator Iridium reported Q3 earnings Monday. The McLean, VA-based company generated ~$162 million in Q3 revenue, a 5.5% beat. Its net loss was $2.1 million. Commercial services revenue totaled ~$102 million, equal…
What’s the expert view on hypersonic glide vehicles, in light of recent news? To get some answers, we spoke with Jaganath Sankaran, a professor at UT Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs. Sankaran’s research spans space weapons, missile defense, and arms control policy. NB: HGV = hypersonic glide vehicle; FOBS = fractional orbital bombardment system. Payload…
Phantom Space Corp. said today that longtime space exec Chris Thompson has joined the company as CTO. In the chief technologist role, Thompson will oversee the development of Phantom’s rockets and satellites. Thompson’s résumé, in reverse-chronological order: Chief engineer of advanced projects at Astra VP of advanced programs at Virgin Orbit 2nd “official” employee at…
Last month, Lynk claimed a first: two-way satellite-to-smartphone connectivity. The breakthrough was not the connection, but that Lynk satellites communicated with ordinary, unmodified phones. Phones were talking to satellites without any special satellite receiver. Lynk is negotiating contracts with mobile carriers and preparing for Gen-1 satellite production, CEO Charles Miller tells Payload. You can find the full interview…
ICYMI: Nanoracks and Lockheed Martin have announced a partnership to develop and launch Starlab, a free-flying commercial space station in low-Earth orbit (LEO). Nanoracks, which is majority owned by Voyager Space Holdings, expects Starlab to “achieve initial operational capability” by 2027. The continuously crewed station will double as a research site and commercial hub. Commercial use cases could manufacturing…
Airbus Ventures announced this morning that it’s invested in ispace. The moon exploration startup was one of five finalists in Lunar XPRIZE, Google’s $30M lander competition. While no team ultimately won the grand prize, the competition was still successful in kicking off a wave of privately funded companies who have their sights set on the moon. Meet ispace. Headquartered…
A political battle is a-brewin’ over the formation of a Space National Guard, which could “bring in citizen guardians with private-sector experience,” Politico reports. In favor? The National Guard, for starters. Spearheading or supportive of the idea? Elected officials from Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, and other US states with strong bases of space activity. In the 2022 National Defense…
Blue Origin and Sierra Space will build the Orbital Reef outpost in low-Earth (LEO), the two announced in Dubai yesterday. Blue and Sierra are partnering with Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering Solutions, and Arizona State University on the private space station. Each organization brings a unique skillset to the table. Genesis, for example, will contribute a…
Today, Cambridge, MA-based “Hedron” said it’s closed a $17.8M Series A. The on-orbit communications company (née Analytical Space) has officially rebranded to Hedron. Justin Timberlake from The Social Network would approve. The cap table: Fidelity-affiliated Fine Structure Ventures led the round, joined by Lockheed Martin Ventures, Republic Labs, Lime Street, and Explorer 1. Existing investors The Engine, Flybridge,…
Last week, London startup Satellite Vu closed a £15 million ($20.7 million) Series A, led by Seraphim. Satellite Vu, which raised a ~$5 million seed earlier this year, now has enough capital to finance production of its first satellite. Also participating in the Series A: Draper Esprit, A/O PropTech, Ridgeline Ventures, Earth Science Foundation, E2MC Ventures,…
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