Joseph Y. Bae, co-CEO of KKR
"Private capital is much more valuable today than it was last year or five years ago. That's going to create some really, really interesting buying opportunities."
Warren Buffett's instruction to "be greedy when others are fearful" has become doubly important as most investors have pulled back somewhat from both public and private markets exposure. Bae's statement above illustrates the power asymmetry that this creates in private markets in particular where the number of investors is limited enough that investors who are willing to invest have greatly increased pricing power. $1 invested now has roughly the same buying power as $2, or even $3 last year.
Portfolio Company News
SpaceX
Space Forge
Virgin Orbit is delaying its first United Kingdom launch, likely until after the end of the year. (Space Forge's first flight is on this Virgin Orbit launch.)
Space News
Artemis I is complete. At 12:40pm ET yesterday, the Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific, marking the end of its 26-day, 1.4-million-mile journey around the Moon and back again.
dearMoon
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa announced the crew he selected for a Starship flight around the moon. The selection was based on their desire to push the envelope on how space can help other people and greater society in some way plus their sense of teamwork and collaboration with the rest of the crew. Space Twitter (yes, it's a thing) was very happy to see Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, as one of the selectees.
Japanese Commercial Lunar Mission
The first commercial mission to the Moon turns out to NOT be an American company. ispace launched the HAKUTO-R M1 spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket on Friday and is now almost halfway to the Moon.
The National Team 2.0
Blue Origin has revamped its bid for a second human lunar lander by reorganizing the National Team and dropped Northrop Grumman, leaving Lockheed Martin, Draper, Boeing, Astrobotic, and Honeybee Robotics. Northrop Grumman was part of the previous incarnation of the team but has since decided to partner with Dynetics instead.
South Korea
Hanwha Aerospace, the aerospace and defense subsidiary of a South Korean conglomerate, secured a contract worth ₩286B ($212M) to build three rockets for the country’s space program. South Korea is massively upping its space game.
Space Traffic Management
The Department of Commerce's Office of Space Commerce has finally awarded contracts for space traffic coordination pilot project. While many in Congress prefer space policy to live in this office, there is some suggestion that the White House prefers it live in the FAA.
Regulators Gotta Regulate
There are numerous rumors and non-rumors surrounding the US Government introducing some very significant new regulations in the coming months. The only debate seems to be which agencies do the regulating:
The leadership of the House Energy and Commerce Committee introduced bills to reform FCC satellite licensing rules. and The White House is reportedly drafting an executive order to help streamline space licensing.
Other Space News
Saudi Arabia in talks over plans for next-generation space stations
China is considering expanding its Tiangong space station - SpaceNews
Astroscale Japan and JAXA Launch Co-Creation Project for Satellite Refueling Service Concept
Sierra Space won a contract to provide power systems for Maxar satellites.
A NASA mission to look for near-Earth objects (NEOs) will move into its next phase of development.
ISRO is reportedly being told to conduct its first crewed launch before elections in 2024.