March 1, 2021

Rocket Lab Nears Merger Deal With a SPAC to Go Public (Sources: Wall Street Journal, Reuters)
Rocket Lab USA is nearing a deal to go public through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company Vector Acquisition that would value the small-satellite launch firm at $4.1 billion, including debt. Vector Acquisition is backed by technology-focused private-equity company Vector Capital and raised $300 million in an initial public offering in September.

Rocket Lab’s backers have included defense giant Lockheed Martin. The startup has already launched 97 satellites for the government and private companies for applications that include research and communications. Rocket Lab’s deal with Vector is expected to include additional funds of about $470 million in the form of a so-called private investment in public equity from investors including BlackRock Inc and Neuberger Berman Group LLC, the newspaper said. Rocket Lab is expected to use proceeds from the deal to fund development of a medium-lift Neutron launch vehicle. (2/28)

Rocket Lab Unveils Plan for Large Reusable Rocket (Source: Rocket Lab)
Introducing Neutron - Rocket Lab’s 8-ton class rocket. Peter Beck unveiled plans for a reusable rocket that would ultimately be human-rated. Neutron will build on Rocket Lab’s proven experience developing the reliable workhorse Electron launch vehicle, the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually since 2019. Where Electron provides dedicated access to orbit for small satellites of up to 300 kg (660 lb), Neutron will transform space access for satellite constellations and provide a dependable, high-flight-rate dedicated launch solution for larger commercial and government payloads.

Neutron will provide a dedicated service to orbit for larger civil, defense and commercial payloads that need a level of schedule control and high-flight cadence not available on large and heavy lift rockets. Neutron will be capable of lifting 98% of all satellites forecast to launch through 2029 and will be able to introduce highly disruptive lower costs by leveraging Electron’s heritage, launch sites and architecture. The medium-lift Neutron rocket will be a two-stage launch vehicle that stands 40 meters tall with a 4.5-meter diameter fairing and a lift capacity of up to 8,000 kg to low-Earth orbit.

Neutron will feature a reusable first stage designed to land on an ocean platform. Neutron will also be capable of ISS resupply and human spaceflight missions. Neutron launches will take place from Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. By leveraging the existing launch pad and integration infrastructure in Virginia, Rocket Lab eliminates the need to build a new pad, accelerating the timeline to first launch, expected in 2024. Rocket Lab is assessing locations across America to establish a new state-of-the-art factory to support large-scale Neutron manufacturing, adding hundreds of jobs to the Rocket Lab team. Click here. (3/1)

Race in America: Mae Jemison, MD (Source: Washington Post)
Mae Jemison made history as the first woman of color in the world to go to space on Sept. 12, 1992, aboard the space shuttle Endeavour, which carried her and six other astronauts on 126 orbits around the Earth. A physician, engineer, educator, social scientist and entrepreneur, Jemison has led an inspiring life of breaking barriers and continually “testing limits” for herself and others. Click here. (3/1)

Seraphim Portfolio Company Spire Global to Go Public with SPAC (Source: Seraphim)
Fantastic news that the first investment we ever made from our inaugural spacetech fund - Spire Global - has announced that it will be going public on the New York Stock Exchange via a SPAC merger with Navsaight Holdings. We first invested in Spire just over four years ago. It has been incredible to have seen the progress Peter, Jeroen, Joel and the whole Spire team have made since then. Their mission-driven vision for using nanosats to deliver high-impact insights from hard to reach parts of the planet was the inspiration that led to us investing.

In particular, we have always been big believers in the potential of Spire to dramatically improve how we forecast the weather. With weather disrupting 70% of businesses worldwide and costing more than $600 billion each year in the U.S. alone, and with climate change induced extreme weather events only growing more frequent, the need to more accurately forecast the weather has never been more urgent. (3/1)

Warp Drives Are No Longer Science Fiction (Source: Applied Physics)
Scientists at Applied Physics are excited to announce they have recently constructed the first model of physical warp drives. Applied Physics is an independent group of scientists, engineers, and inventors that advise companies and governments on science and technology for both commercial and humanitarian applications.

In the organization’s most recent news, the team at Applied Physics is announcing the first model of physical warp drives – something that, until now, has only had a place in science fiction. The group’s study was conducted in close contact with distinguished researchers in warp field mechanics, including receiving blessings from the esteemed Theoretical Physicist Miguel Alcubierre, with findings being published in the peer-reviewed journal, Classical and Quantum Gravity. (2/18)

Phobos and Deimos: Two Moons, From One Source? (Source: Universe Today)
A recent study provides crucial clues on the possible ‘origin story’ for the two tiny moons of Mars, Deimos and Phobos. Modern astronomy provides us with a snapshot, a look at the present state of affairs across the solar system… but what were things like in the distant past? The existence of the two tiny moons seen orbiting Mars presents a particular dilemma for astronomers. Close up, Phobos and Deimos resemble tiny misshapen captured asteroids… but how did they get into the neat, tidy orbits that we see today?

Over the years, Two competing scenarios have emerged to explain the existence of the pair of curious Martian moons: Option 1: They’re captured asteroids. This is not likely, however, from an orbital mechanics perspective, as such events are high energy, and would not produce the neat and tidy orbits with a low ellipticity and a low orbital inclination that we see today. Option 2: The moons formed along with Mars early on in the solar system’s history, possibly from a single ‘proto-moon’ or a giant impact on Mars, similar to the impactor proposed in the ‘Theia Hypothesis’ that formed Earth’s large moon.

A new study recently tackled this problem, with intriguing results. The research team posed the question of what the Martian moon system might have looked like in the past, based on the snapshot that we see today. They developed a mathematical model of the propagation of the moons’ orbits over time. They carried out hundreds of numerical runs of the evolution of the orbits of Phobos and Deimos back into the far past. (3/1)

Astra and Rocket Lab Win Launch Contracts (Source: Space News)
Astra and Rocket Lab won launch contracts last week. NASA selected Astra on Friday to launch its TROPICS cubesat constellation to study the development of tropical cyclones. Astra will launch those satellites on three flights of its Rocket 3 vehicle in 2022 from Kwajalein Atoll. General Atomics announced last week it awarded a contract to Rocket Lab for the Electron launch of an Orbital Test Bed satellite. That satellite will carry an Argos-4 Advanced Data Collection System communications hosted payload for NOAA. (3/1)

Aussie Space Startups to Launch Bushfire Satellite (Source: Innovation Australia)
Three Australian space companies will unite to launch a bushfire detection satellite into orbit in a major milestone for building sovereignty capability in the local space sector. In-space transportation provider Space Machines Company has signed a deal with Fireball International to launch a bushfire detection satellite next year. The South Australian startup last year announced a launch agreement with Gilmour Space Technologies to send its orbital transport Optimus-1 into space in March 2022. This rocket will now carry the fire detection satellite, which will provide automated bushfire detection and tracking. (3/1)

Blockchain Transaction Conducted in Space (Source: GomSpace)
The blockchain has made it to space. Smallsat manufacturer GomSpace said last week that it worked with J.P. Morgan to test a blockchain transaction between two GomSpace smallsats. The companies said the test, which took advantage of the reconfigurable technologies on GomSpace's GOMX-4 satellites, "validated the approach towards a decentralized network where communication with earth is not necessary" for blockchain transactions. (3/1)

NASA Astronaut Gets Cameo on AppleTV Space Series (Source: CollectSpace)
Talk about typecasting: a former NASA astronaut had a cameo on "For All Mankind" as… an astronaut. In the latest episode of the AppleTV+ series, Garrett Reisman, who flew on two missions, including a three-month stay on the ISS, appears as the commander of a shuttle mission transporting astronauts back from the moon. Reisman has been a technical consultant for the show, which depicts an alternate history for the space program after the Soviets beat the U.S. landing someone on the moon. Reisman said he hadn't asked for a cameo on the show, but the executive producers had offered one to him. (3/1)

Virgin Galactic Posts Revenue Loss of $238m in Q4 (Source: Sputnik)
Despite the profit challenges, the chief executive of the British aerospace firm told investors he was excited about bringing on new talent to the leadership team and new investments for the company. Virgin Galactic nosedived 93 percent to $238m, down from $3.7bn the year before, the company said in its fourth quarter reports. Year-on-year losses were $273m up from $211m in 2019, the report read, adding losses per share jumped 14 percent to $1.25. Q4 earnings saw no revenues and the company lost a net $74m, compared to $72m the same period in 2019. (2/26)

CAE to Buy Training Unit From L3Harris, Plans Tampa HQ (Source: Reuters)
CAE Inc will buy L3Harris Technologies Inc’s military training division for $1.05 billion in the company’s largest-ever deal, boosting its defense business at a time when the pandemic is weighing on civil aviation. The world’s largest civil aviation training company expects the deal to add to earnings in the first full year after closing and projected annual cost savings of about C$35 million ($27.57 million) to C$45 million after the second year.

Montreal-based CAE, which produces flight simulators for Boeing and Airbus, posted a 50% slump in third-quarter profit but expects to see an uptick in training contracts as more people resume air travel following vaccinations. The deal will be funded by a private placement of roughly C$700 million from two institutional investors, CAE said. Post deal, the training division will be based in Tampa, Florida. (2/28)

NASA, FAA Partner on eVTOL, Drone technology (Source: Press of Atlantic City)
NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration are teaming up to develop electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft and drone technology. The goal is to create new aircraft that can transport cargo and people in urban settings. (2/24)