Starbridge Weekly Space Update for 11/28/2022

Portfolio Company News

Axiom

While Hungary previously announced plans for sending astronauts to the ISS via Axiom, at the ESA ministerial they announced that they plan to spend $100 million to send a single astronaut to the ISS in two years. 

General Space News

This week's news is significantly abbreviated due to the Thanksgiving holiday last week. With the last month of the year just around the corner and the 118th Congress starting on January 3rd, expect the news to heat up quite a bit over the next four weeks. 

In a success for commercial space and CubeSats in general, the CAPSTONE lunar CubeSat mission is now operational after refining its orbit.

European Space Agency Ministerial Meeting

European Space Agency (ESA) member states have agreed to commit 16.9 billion euros ($17.5 billion) to agency programs over the next three years. The figure is short of the roughly 18.5 billion euros ESA sought going into the meeting, but a significant increase over 2019.

ESA also announced that it had elected a new class of 5 "career astronauts, 1 "parastronaut" who will be part of a feasibility study to see if people with physical disabilities can fly to space, and 11 "reserve" astronauts who may be available for future astronaut activities. 

France, Germany, and Italy also announced an agreement Tuesday on launch vehicle development.

Possibly as a result of knowing it wouldn’t receive full funding and that European launch systems were becoming more uncompetitive, ESA used the meeting to describe a more sustainable path for space exploration it would be implementing, starting with growing commercial partnerships in lunar exploration. 

China

Not to be outdone by Europe, China provided new details about its long-term human and robotic lunar exploration plans. China tied its newly completed Tiangong space station to testing key technologies required for space-based solar power.

Other Space News

• NASA's Orion spacecraft went into a distant retrograde orbit around the moon Friday.

• The U.S. Space Force is planning a new contract for rideshare services.

• The Space Systems Command has established a new office that will try buying technologies using a services approach.

• Astronomers have detected active chemistry in an exoplanet for the first time.

• The space station crew got next-day delivery of cargo over the weekend.

• An Indian rocket launched an Earth observation satellite and eight nanosatellites.

Starbridge Weekly Space Update for 11/21/2022

Portfolio Company News

SpaceX

• SpaceX performed its biggest Starship static-fire test to date Monday.

• SpaceX launched a pair of Intelsat satellites Saturday on the final flight of a frequently used booster.

• NASA awarded SpaceX a $1.15 billion contract modification Tuesday for a second Artemis landing mission.

• Several workers fired by SpaceX earlier this year have filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.

GeoOptics

GeoOptics Inc. won a NASA contract to provide researchers with data acquired by the company's small satellite constellation

The NASA contract is worth up to $7M over 5 years to provide researchers with GeoOptics radio occultation data

Axiom

LEOcloud is partnering with Axiom Space on space-based edge computing projects

The two companies will work togethr to develop and deliver space-based cloud services linked to terrestrial cloud computers to 'reduce the timeframe from raw data to actionable insights'.

General Space News

Artemis I Leaves The Pad

It was a busy week for the Moon last week. CAPSTONE successfully entered its near-rectilinear halo orbit, Artemis I  successfully launched Orion on Wednesday,  and Orion performed a critical flyby that put Orion into Lunar orbit.

South Korea’s first lunar mission is also on the way and Japan’s iSpace launches in December. Q1 next year will be even busier as several CLPS companies make an attempt; India and Israel make their second attempt at landing.

The Cislunar Technology Strategy Interagency Working Group of the National Science & Technology Council, as supported by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, published a National CisLunar Science and Technology Strategy last week. An initial read shows a fair number of recommendations but few hard specifics since any funding or regulations would still need to go through an Agency or Congress. While there is little that appears heavy-handed, the details necessary to translate policy into action are so limited that we will reserve judgment on the importance of the report.

Other Space News

• Satellite servicing startup Starfish Space plans to launch its first demonstration mission next year.

• The leader of a Venus mission facing a three-year delay is lobbying for a reprieve.

• AST SpaceMobile says its BlueWalker 3 spacecraft has unfolded its large antenna.

• Three top executives at smallsat manufacturer Terran Orbital have left the company because of its focus on military projects.

• The girlfriend of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos is planning her own flight to space.

• European space officials are stressing a need for greater autonomy and sovereign capabilities in the wake of geopolitical trends and developments.

• South Korea's first lunar mission has demonstrated "space internet" technologies on its way to the moon.

• Established and emerging companies have differing views on how the European launch sector should evolve.

• Apple plans to expand its satellite-based SOS iPhone service to Europe.

• Boeing is reorganizing the part of the company that handles space and defense work.

• The Japanese government has formally agreed to extend participation on the International Space Station through 2030.

• NASA said Thursday a test flight of an inflatable heat shield last week was a success.

• Microsoft is rolling out software to make it easier to develop space-related applications.

• A Japanese commercial lunar lander is now scheduled for launch late this month.

• An Indian startup successfully launched a suborbital rocket Friday.

• An Exit Interview With Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson 

Starbridge Weekly Space Update for 11/14/2022

Portfolio Company News

SpaceX

UK grants Starlink and Telesat NGSO licenses

British regulator, Ofcom, granted SpaceX and Telesat competing licenses to expand their constellation’s into non-geostationary orbit (NGSO).

A former Tesla executive is now working on SpaceX's Starship program.

A shuffle at SpaceX occurred over the weekend as Elon shifted his attention fully to Twitter. Starbase operations are now being managed by SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell and vice president Mark Juncosa. Starship operations are now being led by Omead Afshar, a Texas-based Tesla operations lead (This has to be the strangest update we’ve written).

General Space News

Astra lays off 16% to focus on spacecraft thrusters and new rocket

Astra Space (NASDAQ: AST) is laying off one-sixth of its workforce, a move the company’s leadership says is needed to focus its resources on production of spacecraft electric thrusters and development of a new launch vehicle. The company has not released a plan for preventing its delisting as its price has been below $1/share for weeks.

Maxar acquires Wovenware as it pursues growth in gaming and media
Wovenware was acquired for its expertise in 3D geospatial technology and machine learning. In particular Maxar intends on using the company’s 3D geospatial intelligence systems to increase the value of Maxar’s new optical imagery products in non-traditional EO markets such as gaming, media, entertainment, and virtual reality. 

Initial inspections of the Space Launch System and Orion rocket show only "very minor" damage so far after the passage of Hurricane Nicole Thursday.

The number of exceptions to normally hard and fast rules by NASA with respect to this first SLS launch suggest a possible bad case of ‘go fever’. But at the same time everyone involved must understand how critical it is that this flight work given the money behind it. The SLS launch plus the eminent test launch of the first Starship illustrates just how focused of an inflection point we are experiencing in the space industry. 

Military Spaceplane Returns Home, After 900+ Days in Space - Payload

The X37-B flights by DoD illustrate how badly DoD wanted its own space capability and how useful it might have been if it had had one much earlier. Of note on this flight was a microwave power beaming experiment that many space solar power advocates point to as the first tests of future systems. X37-B flights are never publicized so there is no news on when the 7th flight is expected or what it will be carrying.

“Dark ships” emerge from the shadow of the Nord Stream pipeline mystery

According to analyst's at SpaceKnow, two large "dark ships" appeared near the gas leaks on the Nord Stream in the Baltic Sea with their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transceivers turned off back in September. Sabotage has been long suspected and multiple countries investigating the incident believe the pipelines were rocked by a series of explosions; possibly from Russia though they have denied involvement. SpaceKnow completed their analysis through scouring 90days worth of archived satellite images of the area using multiple satellite systems.

AEI Closes Acquisition of Majority Stake in York Space Systems

AEI acquisition of York and the incorporation of York’s senior leadership into AEI leadership is a strong indication that AEI’s industry rollup is far from complete. What isn’t known yet is whether York will be incorporated into Redwire or left outside. Redwire’s stock price suggests that York may stay within AEI for the foreseeable future as Redwire struggles to meet expectations by both AEI and the markets.

Other Space News

• Intelsat is buying a small geostationary satellite from 3D printing specialists Swissto12.

• Inmarsat Government announced Monday it won a $410 million, five-year contract extension to provide connectivity for U.S. Army devices.

• A Space Force general says it's "absolutely vital" that the Commerce Department succeed at taking over civil space traffic management (STM) work.

• A federal judge will allow parts of a shareholder lawsuit against Virgin Galactic to proceed.

• Lunar lander company ispace has secured a license for its upcoming mission from the Japanese government.

• Astra is laying off 16% of its staff as it focuses on producing spacecraft electric thrusters and developing a new launch vehicle.

• A Cygnus spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station early Wednesday despite one solar array not deploying.

• A Chinese cargo spacecraft undocked from the country's space station early Wednesday.

• Redwire has named Mike Gold as its new chief growth officer.

• Rocket Lab will conduct its first Electron launch from Virginia next month.

• Rocket Lab separately announced Wednesday a $14 million contract to provide separation systems for a Space Development Agency (SDA) constellation.

• The Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) awarded a $72 million contract to Advanced Space to develop a cislunar space situational awareness spacecraft.

• The Space Force's Space Development Agency (SDA) remains optimistic it will launch its first set of satellites next month.

• Apple revealed Thursday it's spending $450 million to provide a satellite-based "emergency SOS" service for its latest iPhones.

• Divers looking for a World War II-era aircraft instead found debris from the shuttle Challenger.

• JetBlue Selects Tomorrow.io for Weather Forecasting - Via Satellite

Starbridge Weekly Space Update for 11/7/2022

Portfolio Company News

Axiom

Saudi astronauts to fly on Ax-2 mission to ISS

NASA confirmed Axiom will be flying 2 astronauts from Saudi Arabia to the ISS on a private mission spring of 2023. They will be accompanied by Peggy Whitson and John Shoffner on the Ax-2 mission. There is some controversy related to this mission due to the current dustup between the Biden Administration and Saudi Arabia over OPEC's refusal to increase oil output.

General Space News

FCC proposes new bureau for space activities

FCC Chairwoman, Jessica Rosenworcel, announced her intent to reorganize the commission’s International Bureau into a new Space Bureau and a standalone Office of International Affairs to give satellite licensing and regulatory work greater prominence and access to more resources. The push back from other agencies who feel that the FCC is overstepping its mandate, possibly even illegally, was muted but still voiced. The jurisdictional fight over space regulations is only going to get worse in 2023. 

The timing of the FCC's announcement was of particular interest since it comes just two weeks before the National Space Council's 'listening tour' for how to solve some of the industry's regulatory issues and who might be in charge of those. The consensus across the industry is that what is needed is clarity more than new regulations.

Some Key Space Advocates Are Leaving Congress in 2023 - Payload

While some may already be aware that notable Senate and House committee Chairs such as Richard Shelby and Eddie Bernice Johnson are retiring at the end of this Congress, there are numerous other retirements and election losses that will have a significant impact on space policy. The most significant one will be whether there are any changes in party control of the House or Senate. But beyond that the Alabama Senate delegation’s space representation was all but gutted when Mo Brooks was primaried. It will be very interesting to see how this affects the historical strength of Huntsville, AL. Ed Perlmutter’s (D-Colorado) departure means that Congresses primary advocate for Mars is gone. And with Peter DiFazio retiring at the Transportation Committee, the fight over where space regulatory policy lives changes rather drastically. As one lobbyist noted recently, “This is the largest generational transfer of power in Congress since the Reagan administration.”

VCs go outside their comfort zone with bets on defense tech

Investors have begun flocking to portfolio companies with more of a "dual use" case where satellites, robotics, and software tools double as military and commercial technologies. The sector is on track to surpass last year's record deal value of $7.6 billion according to PitchBook data and contrasts with a slowing pace of investments in other sectors. Many investors, including Starbridge, are also looking for “dual use” in the form of space and terrestrial business models. A diverse customer base is a key strategy for thriving during economic downturns.

China’s mystery spaceplane releases object into orbit                  

China had the second launch of their secretive reusable experimental spacecraft back on Aug 4th and the Space Force recently tracked an object close to the spacecraft. China previously released an object from the spacecraft before deorbiting during its first mission in Sept 2020. It is still unknown what this space object’s purpose is. 

Arianespace partners with Australian space tug startup

Arianespace is working with Australian startup Space Machines Company (SMC) to explore compatibility between their rockets and SMC'S orbital transfer vehicles (OTV). SMC plans on launching their first OTV, Optimus-1, in 2023 and plans to carry Australian customer payloads to their final orbital destinations. 

Rocket Lab launches Swedish satellite, fails to catch booster

Rocket Labs' 2nd attempt to recover its rocket booster mid-air via a helicopter equipped with a hook designed to grapple the rocket's parachute failed due to a telemetry problem. The launch and recovery took place out of their Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. The booster was later recovered in the water.

Other Space News

• An independent review of the problems that delayed the launch of NASA's Psyche asteroid mission found more fundamental issues at the center developing it.

• Why Apex Believes the Satellite Bus Sector Is Ripe for Innovation - Payload

• The DIU partnered with AWS, Kuiper Government Solutions, Microsoft Azure, and SpiderOak Mission Systems to demonstrate space-based communications using interconnected commercial and government networks.

• Two Saudi Arabian astronauts will fly to the International Space Station on a private astronaut mission next year.

• The Space Force is funding a project to study the use of artificial intelligence to predict satellite failures.

• Gen. B. Chance Saltzman assumed command of the U.S. Space Force Wednesday.

• Russia launched a missile warning satellite Wednesday.

• The CAPSTONE lunar cubesat mission is closing in on the moon.

• A Chinese space station lab module is now open for business.

• NASA rolled out the Space Launch System vehicle to the pad overnight.

• The NRO plans to soon release an RFP for commercial hyperspectral imagery.

• The head of the Office of Space Commerce said development of a civil space traffic management (STM) system will be gradual process.

• NASA and Boeing have delayed the crewed test flight of the CST-100 Starliner to April 2023.

• Spire Global Unveils Solution for Dark Shipping Detection