Plus: Blue Origin lays off more than 1,000
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| | | A SpaceNews daily newsletter | | 02/14/2025 | | | | | Blue Origin is laying off 10% of its workforce, more than 1,000 employees, to restructure the company and reduce bureaucracy. Dave Limp, Blue Origin's CEO, told employees Thursday that the company is making the layoffs because recent growth resulted in "more bureaucracy and less focus than we needed." The cuts would include staff in engineering, R&D and management. A day earlier, Limp said at the Commercial Space Conference that since taking over as CEO in late 2023, he had seen progress in making the company more decisive, but suggested then there was more to do to improve operations and manufacturing. [SpaceNews]
Satellite manufacturing startup K2 Space has raised $110 million. K2 announced the Series B round Thursday co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Altimeter Capital with participation from several existing investors. The company is developing large satellite buses intended to take full advantage of heavy-lift, low-cost launch options, betting that as launch costs continue to decline, the industry will move toward larger satellites, countering the recent trend favoring small satellite constellations. K2 Space is developing its first government mission, dubbed Gravitas, under a $60 million Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) agreement, with the Space Force and venture investors each contributing $30 million. [SpaceNews]
Lynk Global has raised more than $85 million to help develop its direct-to-device satellite constellation. The venture disclosed the Series B funding in a regulatory filing this week that showed plans to raise a total of $215 million, more than double the amount sought last year. Lynk needs additional capital to scale a constellation that uses cellular spectrum to extend the reach of partner mobile operators in areas terrestrial infrastructure doesn't reach. The company has five satellites in orbit but plans a constellation of 5,000 satellites. Lynk is still in the process of going public through a SPAC merger, but most of the funds of the SPAC have been redeemed by shareholders, with only $23 million remaining. [SpaceNews]
BlackSky is working with Thales Alenia Space to develop a remote sensing satellite constellation for an Indian company. Thales Alenia will produce a high-resolution optical satellite, the first of what is expected to be a larger constellation designed to provide critical intelligence for India's national security and defense agencies, for Nibe Ltd., a growing player in the country's aerospace and defense industry. BlackSky will supply satellite imagery, analytics services, and a high-resolution optical satellite as part of the venture. The BlackSky-Thales Alenia collaboration in India mirrors a similar agreement the two companies forged last year with the Republic of Indonesia. [SpaceNews]
Satellite manufacturer York Space is expanding into services for the U.S. government. York announced Thursday a new commercial services program aimed at delivering "critical national security capabilities as a service." That includes offering fully integrated satellites and services such as rendezvous and proximity operations, space domain awareness, communications and Earth observation. York said it will offer those capabilities using fixed price contracts in an effort to stand out from traditional defense contractors. [SpaceNews]
| | | | | A NASA authorization bill and commercial space legislation are priorities for the leaders of two key congressional committees. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, and Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas), chairman of the House Science Committee, outlined their plans for legislation at a conference Wednesday. They are both interested in a NASA authorization that would ensure no gaps in human presence in low Earth orbit for the U.S. as NASA moves from the International Space Station to commercial stations. They are also interested in legislation that would address "mission authorization" for commercial space activities not currently licensed by other agencies. [SpaceNews]
The House Science Committee is asking the GAO to examine the FAA's implementation of launch licensing regulations. In a letter this week, Babin and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), ranking member of the committee, requested the GAO examine if regulations known as Part 450 are "effectively and efficiently accommodating United States commercial launch and reentry operations." Many in the launch industry have criticized Part 450, intended to streamline the licensing process, stating that the rules have instead made it more difficult to get approvals for launches and reentries. The FAA noted it was able to approve licenses for some recent launches well ahead of need and that a rule-making committee is studying ways to improve the regulations. [SpaceNews]
President Trump's interest in acquiring Greenland comes as the Arctic region is playing a growing role in space. The cornerstone of U.S. space operations in the region is Pituffik Space Base, a critical node in its space infrastructure and missile defense network in northern Greenland. Climate change has transformed the Arctic from an impenetrable barrier into a new frontier of great power competition, and recent reports argue Western nations are lagging Russia and China in establishing a presence in a region that has strategic value in areas ranging from missile warning to satellite ground stations. [SpaceNews]
Shares in Karman Space and Defense rose in its public debut Thursday. Shares in the company closed up more than 36% in its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. That IPO raised $506 million for the company, which works on missile systems and space components. Investors had previously said the performance of Karman's IPO could influence plans by other space companies to go public or improve their ability to raise larger private rounds. [Reuters]
NASA's Near Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission has passed its critical design review. The review, completed last week, allows the mission to proceed into construction and testing. NEO Surveyor is an infrared space telescope designed to search for near Earth objects that could pose a potential impact risk for the Earth. The spacecraft is scheduled to launch as soon as late 2027. [NASA]
| | | | | | | | | "We are now past the place where we have to explain, when we talk about commercial space, we're not talking about square footage."
โ Kelvin Coleman, FAA associate administrator for commercial space transportation, discussing the growth of the industry at the 27th Annual Commercial Space Conference on Wednesday
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