Starbridge made a new investment this week in Carbice, an Atlanta, Georgia based materials engineering company developing thermal management technologies using vertically aligned carbon nanotubes. Their materials have flown on several satellites and has many terrestrial applications related to heat transfer from electronic components.
Amidst the turmoil in US politics, the space industry marched on this past week with the first launches of the year from SpaceX and Blue Origin. The US space industry is eagerly awaiting some direction on space policy from the incoming Biden Administration but so far nothing substantive has been made available. The same goes for both the House and Senate as committee assignments for the House have not been released and the upcoming shift in the balance of power in the Senate has not started.
Outside of the Government programs the industry itself is still struggling to find enough skilled workers to fill open positions. Many companies began hiring recruiting firms to attract workers from outside the space industry. This will probably appear as an increase in burn rate as compensation rates increase. In the space finance world ARK Invest’s intention to open up a Space technologies ETF created a few waves. Starbridge believe this is a very significant event and will lead to increased demand for new space sector listings and thus pressure on private space sector companies to go public either through SPACs, direct listings, or traditional IPOs.
This week's picks of space sector news compiled from Jeff Foust's FIRST UP newsletter are:
OneWeb has raised $400 million in funding from SoftBank and Hughes Network Systems.
A Dragon cargo spacecraft splashed down off the Florida coast Wednesday night.
NASA has signed an agreement with Japan regarding cooperation on the lunar Gateway.
The first Momentus mission, which was also slated to fly on Transporter-1, is being delayed.
China's main space contractor is planning at least 40 launches this year.