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