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Muon Space has raised $56.7 million to advance development of smallsats for Earth monitoring. The company announced Monday the Series B round led by Activate Capital with participation from several existing investors. The company said it plans to use the new capital to accelerate the development of its Halo low Earth orbit satellite platform and scale operations. Muon Space also revealed a new agreement with aerospace and defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) to produce three satellites for SNC's Vindlér commercial radio-frequency remote sensing system. [SpaceNews]
Japanese startup Interstellar Technologies has raised $21 million for launch vehicle and satellite systems. Several investors contributed to the Series E investment round announced at the Small Satellite Conference on Monday, including Japanese mobile phone network operator NTT Docomo. The company, previously known for development of the Zero rocket, is expanding into satellite communications thanks to government contracts and private investment. [SpaceNews]
The CEO of The Aerospace Corporation foresees a future where smallsats operate in swarms. Speaking at the Small Satellite Conference on Monday, Steve Isakowitz said advancements in autonomy, artificial intelligence, collaboration and networking will allow small satellites to work together to accomplish new applications. He said advances in smallsats have demonstrated that they are not just toys, instead becoming a disruptive technology. Isakowitz encouraged organizations to keep embracing the "kind of entrepreneurship, innovation and risk-taking" that the smallsat sector exhibits. [SpaceNews]
Tight budgets at NASA could create new opportunities for smallsats. At a town hall session during the Small Satellite Conference Monday, agency officials emphasized how smallsats have become widely adopted in science missions from Earth science to astrophysics, becoming part of a "balanced portfolio" along with larger missions. NASA science programs are facing budget pressures, which those officials said could unlock new opportunities for smallsats to show how they could carry out low-cost science. [SpaceNews]
AST SpaceMobile won conditional approval to operate its first five direct-to-device satellites. The company said Monday it received an FCC license to use V, S and UHF frequencies in space to support gateway and control operations for the initial BlueBird spacecraft. However, the FCC deferred a decision on whether to grant AST SpaceMobile permission to use cellular frequencies to test its planned service, as well as the company's long-term plans for a 243-satellite constellation. AST SpaceMobile is targeting a September launch for the five BlueBird spacecraft on a Falcon 9. [SpaceNews]
Voyager Space will continue to be a subcontractor to Lockheed Martin on missile defense work. Voyager announced Monday it will provide a solid propulsion roll control system designed to stabilize the Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) missile being developed by Lockheed. This follows a $94 million contract awarded to Valley Tech Systems in December 2021, shortly after it was acquired by Voyager. Lockheed won a Missile Defense Agency contract in April to develop NGI, which is intended to protect the United States from intercontinental ballistic missiles. [SpaceNews]
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| Other News
China launched Tuesday the first satellites for a broadband constellation called Thousand Sails. A Long March 6A rocket lifted off from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 2:42 a.m. Eastern and placed 18 satellites into low Earth orbit for Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology. That company is planning an initial constellation of 1,296 satellites, half of which are scheduled to be launched by the end of next year. Thousand Sails, previously known as G60 Starlink, is one of two planned Chinese systems to challenge U.S. projects like SpaceX's Starlink. [SpaceNews]
A Cygnus cargo spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station this morning despite an earlier thruster problem. The NG-21 Cygnus was grappled by the station's robotic arm at 3:11 a.m. Eastern and berthed to the station a little more than two hours later. The Cygnus launched Sunday but did not perform its initial orbit-raising thruster burns as planned. NASA said Monday that engineers concluded that a low-pressure reading that halted one burn was not a problem and rescheduled the maneuvers to allow the spacecraft to reach the station on schedule. [NASA]
Intuitive Machines and SEOPS are collaborating on lunar rideshare opportunities. The two companies announced Monday that SEOPS will resell excess capacity on future launches of Intuitive Machines lunar lander missions, offering customers the ability to send spacecraft to lunar orbit or elsewhere in cislunar space. SEOPS will offer customers the option of using an orbital transfer vehicle to get their satellites to their desired destination after deployment. Those opportunities will begin after the IM-3 mission next year. Intuitive Machines has been selling rideshare missions on its own for the IM-2 and IM-3 missions. [SpaceNews]
Benchmark Space Systems has entered into a strategic partnership with another propulsion company, Starlight Engines. Under an agreement announced Monday, Benchmark will offer hybrid propulsion systems that pair Starlight Crucible Hall-effect thrusters with Benchmark non-toxic chemical thrusters. The hybrid propulsion system is designed for high-endurance or high-specific-impulse missions and spacecraft with a mass of 1,000 kilograms or less. One potential application for the hybrid propulsion system is a kick stage Benchmark is designing under a NASA SBIR contract. [SpaceNews]
Viasat plans to demonstrate automated constellation management software for use by smallsat missions. The Multi-Mission Orchestrator's (MMO) algorithms would draw from publicly available orbital data and information from participating satellite operators to reduce the need for ground-based control teams. These algorithms could run terrestrially or hosted onboard small satellites, according Viasat, enabling spacecraft to cooperate and coordinate operations across the fleet and orbital domain. Viasat plans to test MMO in 2026 along with its Integrated Space Access Network service, which aims to offer near-Earth mission operators improved relay communications via Viasat's satellite and ground-based networks. [SpaceNews]
Solestial, a startup developing solar arrays for space applications, is partnering with Swiss solar cell manufacturer Meyer Burger. Through the partnership, Solestial and Meyer Burger plan to produce one megawatt of solar cells annually by mid-2025, 10 times Solestial's current production rate. Solestial argues this would provide a significant increase in global capacity for space-rated solar cells, which is currently about two megawatts a year. [SpaceNews]
The Small Satellite Conference is moving to Salt Lake City next year. The organizers of the conference, held at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, since its inception nearly four decades ago, said Monday that the 2025 conference will be held at the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center in downtown Salt Lake City. The growth of the conference has strained resources in Logan, including a lack of hotel rooms, prompting the move. The conference will charge "slightly" higher rates for exhibitors next year, but expects lower costs for hotels and transportation will offset that increase. [SpaceNews]
| |  | Aerospace Avengers
"If you look up on the screen, that logo up there, a circle A, many of you are thinking, 'That looks really familiar.' All I can say is we are the original Avengers. We had that logo before they did. We've been around since 1960 and the Avengers have not been around as long. So, if you promise to keep it secret, I will tell you that the reason I am CEO is I am Iron Man."
– Steve Isakowitz, CEO of The Aerospace Corporation, noting similarities between Aerospace's logo and that of The Avengers during a talk at the Small Satellite Conference Monday. | | | |
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