September 27, 2024

BlackSky Prices $40M Public Offering of Common Stock (Source: Space Daily)
BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) has announced the pricing of its upsized public offering, where it will sell 10,000,000 shares of its Class A common stock at $4.00 per share. This offering is expected to generate gross proceeds of approximately $40 million before deducting underwriting discounts, commissions, and other related expenses. (9/26)

SkAI Initiative Aims to Expand Astrophysics Research with AI (Source: Space Daily)
With a $20 million, five-year grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Simons Foundation, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) is partnering with academic institutions and federal labs in the Midwest to advance AI-driven astrophysics research. The collaboration, led by Northwestern University, will establish the NSF-Simons AI Institute for the Sky (SkAI), which will be one of two new centers designed to help astronomers unlock new insights into the universe. (9/22)

Italy's D-Orbit Raises $56 Million (Source: Space News)
Italian space logistics company D-Orbit announced Friday it raised an additional 50 million euros ($56 million) in the second part of a Series C round. The company said it added the funding to 100 million euros it raised in January in the first part of the Series C round. Japan's Marubeni Corp. led the Series C round and has the exclusive rights to offer D-Orbit services in Japan and Southeast Asia as a result. The funds will enable D-Orbit, which has flown more than a dozen orbital transfer vehicle missions, to develop space-based cloud computing and in-orbit servicing systems. (9/27)

Space Force Happy for Next-Gen OPIR Missile Warning System Progress (Source: Space News)
The Space Force says it is making progress on a program of more traditional, large missile-warning satellites. The Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) program, with an estimated cost of $14 billion, is among the most expensive satellite procurement efforts in the Space Force today, placing missile-detection payloads in geostationary and polar orbits. Frank Calvelli, the Space Force's top procurement official, said contractors are meeting milestones and development timelines for Next-Gen OPIR at a faster pace than previous systems. The system is intended to complement constellations of smaller satellites in LEO and MEO. (9/27)

Starfish Space Wins $15 Million From NASA For Debris Inspection Mission (Source: Space News)
Starfish Space won a NASA contract for a debris inspection mission. NASA announced this week it awarded a $15 million contract to the company for its Small Spacecraft Propulsion and Inspection Capability (SSPICY) mission launching in late 2026. SSPICY will approach several defunct objects in low Earth orbit and inspect them. Industry has pushed NASA to fund flight demonstrations of satellite servicing technologies like this, citing similar efforts in Europe and Japan. NASA has focused on the OSAM-1 mission, but the agency plans to cancel it unless Congress steps in, citing cost and schedule overruns. NASA issued an RFI earlier this month seeking ideas  for "alternate use cases" of the OSAM-1 spacecraft. (9/27)

DirectTV and Dish Near Deal on Merger (Source: Bloomberg)
DirectTV and Dish Network are in advanced talks on a merger of the two direct-to-home satellite TV companies. A deal could be reached as soon as next week where DirecTV would acquire Dish, creating a company with 20 million subscribers. Both companies have suffered losses of subscribers as consumers moved from traditional TV services to streaming platforms. The companies had considered a merger several times over the years, but a deal now would be less likely to face antitrust scrutiny given changes in the broader marketplace. (9/27)

Air France Switches to Starlink (Source: Space News)
Air France is the latest airline to select Starlink for in-flight connectivity. Air France said Thursday it will start adding Starlink to its fleet next year, but did not state how long it would take to convert the entire fleet to Starlink. The airline will provide the service to passengers at no charge. The announcement comes two weeks after United Airlines announced it would convert its fleet to Starlink. (9/27)

Starlink Reaches Four Million Subscribers (Source: Tech Crunch)
Starlink now has four million subscribers worldwide. SpaceX announced Thursday that it hit the milestone after the company's president, Gwynne Shotwell, told Texas legislators earlier this week that the subscriber milestone was imminent. The company passed three million subscribers in May. An analysis by Quilty Space earlier this year estimates that Starlink will generate $6.6 billion in revenue for SpaceX this year. (9/27)

Launch Startup MaiaSpace to Use Former Soyuz Pad at Kourou Spaceport (Source: Space News)
MaiaSpace has won access to the former Soyuz launch pad in French Guiana. The small launch vehicle startup, backed by ArianeGroup, said Thursday that the French space agency CNES awarded it access to the pad, which has been idle since Russia halted Soyuz launches there in 2022. MaiaSpace said it will spend several tens of millions of euros to convert the pad for its small launcher, slated to begin commercial service in 2026. The rocket will be able to place up to 1,500 kilograms into sun-synchronous orbit when expended and 500 kilograms when its first stage is recovered and reused. (9/27)

Hydrosat Extends Reach in Latin America (Source: Space News)
Washington-based thermal data and analytics startup Hydrosat is expanding its Latin American business. Hydrosat said it is working with Mexican companies to provide farmers in Mexico and Guatemala with access to Hydrosat tools to improve water use efficiency, increase crop yields and promote sustainable agriculture. Hydrosat uses data from NASA and ESA spacecraft, as well as a thermal infrared instrument launched in July on Loft Orbital's YAM-7 mission, to provide insights for agricultural markets. (9/27)

Veteran Ventures Capital invests in Agile Space Industries (Source: Space Daily)
Veteran Ventures Capital (VVC), a firm focused on investing in dual-use national security technology companies led by veterans, announced a strategic investment in Agile Space Industries. Agile specializes in developing advanced chemical propulsion systems for satellites and spacecraft, including thrusters and rocket engines, which are designed, 3D printed, and tested in-house. This investment is the first from Veteran Ventures Capital's 2nd Fund and complements their prior investment in Phase Four, a company focused on electric and multi-mode propulsion systems. (9/27)

ISS Crew-9 Will Conduct Research Into Genetics, Cardiac Health, and Space Farming (Source: Space Daily)
Once aboard the ISS, the team will support hundreds of experiments spanning multiple scientific disciplines. Among these are several key projects sponsored by the ISS National Lab that aim to further scientific knowledge and develop technology with potential benefits for life on Earth. Click here. (9/27)

FAA Chief Says Boeing and SpaceX Should Be Treated the Same After Elon Musk Accuses Regulator of Playing Favorites (Source: Business Insider)
The head of the Federal Aviation Administration has pushed back against Elon Musk's claim that the agency should punish Boeing for its Starliner failures rather than impose "petty" fines on SpaceX. The FAA's administrator, Mike Whitaker, said Boeing and Space X should be treated equally after Musk accused the regulator of fining his rocket company "for trivia" and neglecting Boeing's Starliner issues. (9/26)

Astronomers Catch a Glimpse of a Uniquely Inflated and Asymmetric Exoplanet (Source: Phys.org)
An international group of researchers including University of Arizona astronomers, using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, has observed the atmosphere of a hot and uniquely inflated exoplanet. The exoplanet, which is the size of Jupiter but only a tenth of its mass, is found to have an east-west asymmetry in its atmosphere, meaning that there is a significant difference between the two edges of its atmosphere. (9/24)

FCC Releases More Radio Waves for NGSO Broadband (Source: Space News)
The Federal Communications Commission voted to open up more spectrum to Starlink and other non-geostationary satellite (NGSO) operators to improve broadband speeds in the US. The regulator unanimously voted to give NGSO operators access to frequencies in the 17.3-17.7 gigahertz band for satellite communications provided to fixed points on Earth, such as a stationary residential antenna. The decision provides 1300 megahertz of contiguous spectrum in the 17 GHz band for NGSO fixed-satellite service (FSS) operators, which they must share with geostationary peers while abiding by power limits and other conditions. (9/26)

Before and After: Photos Show SpaceX Misuse of Neighbor's Property on Texas Border (Source Sherwood News)
Since the purchase, CAH has gotten new neighbors — and problems with a new billionaire. Musk’s SpaceX, which has a launch facility 3 miles away, has since purchased the plots of land on either side of CAH. (A spokesperson for CAH said they didn’t know when those transactions took place and SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment.) Here’s Google Earth imagery of what the land looked like in March 2022, a few years after CAH (using an LLC called Hole Holding) purchased it, versus April of this year after SpaceX began developing the plots. It appears SpaceX has altered both its and CAH's property. Click here. (9/25)

Earth Observation Companies Wary of Starshield (Source: Space News)
After seeing the disruption that Starlink has had on the satellite communications market, companies in the Earth observation sector are closely following the development of a related SpaceX system. Executives with several Earth observation companies said during a panel at World Space Business Week here Sep. 19 that they are keeping tabs on SpaceX’s Starshield system, with some seeing competitive concerns and others opportunities for partnerships. (9/19)

Scientists Believe They Finally Know What Happened to Mars’ Missing Atmosphere (Source: Independent)
They propose that much of the missing Martian atmosphere was absorbed by the planet’s crust – in the form of methane – some 3.5 billion years ago. This raises hope that one day, the methane stored in Martian clay could be recovered and used as fuel in future missions between Mars and Earth, the researchers said. (9/27)

Rocket Lab Completes Second Spacecraft for Varda Space Industries, Advancing In-Space Manufacturing (Source: Business Wire)
Rocket Lab has completed testing and integration of its second Pioneer spacecraft for Varda Space Industries, the world's first in-space pharmaceutical processing and hypersonic Earth re-entry logistics company. Rocket Lab’s first Pioneer spacecraft for Varda was launched in June 2023. Varda successfully crystallized the HIV drug Ritonavir while on orbit and Rocket Lab and Varda successfully landed the re-entry capsule in the Utah desert in February 2024.

The Company is now preparing Varda’s second mission during which Rocket Lab and Varda will once again conduct in-space operations, reentry positioning maneuvers, and deorbiting to recover Varda’s capsule. Varda received permission from the FAA under a Part 450 license earlier this month, making them the only company to ever secure a second reentry license. (9/26)

Skycorp's ARMAS Sensor to Gather Radiation Data From Lunar South Pole (Source: Space Daily)
SpaceBilt Inc. has announced that its ARMAS (Automated Radiation Measurement for Aerospace Safety) sensor will be included in Lonestar Data Holding's Freedom Payload during Intuitive Machines' upcoming mission to the Lunar South Pole. This mission represents a significant step toward gathering essential radiation data to ensure the safety of future missions in Cislunar space and on the lunar surface. (9/19)

China Advances Space Medicine to Support Future Space Exploration (Source: Space Daily)
China's space station has achieved early successes in space medicine that are expected to play a key role in upcoming manned lunar landings and other deep space missions, as highlighted at the Second Frontier Forum of Space Medicine held this weekend in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. The two-day forum brought together leading experts and scholars to exchange insights on new theories and explore advancements in space medicine. Key discussions focused on ensuring astronaut health and survival during long-term deep space missions. (9/22)