| By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: Firefly flies in Nasdaq debut, China tests a crewed lunar lander, NASA technology for Golden Dome and more.
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| | | | | | Top Stories
Shares in Firefly Aerospace jumped 34% in the company's debut on the Nasdaq Thursday. Firefly shares closed at $60.34 and traded as high as $73.80 during the day. The company sold nearly 19.3 million shares at $45 each in the IPO, generating net proceeds of $868.5 million. The company plans to use those funds to pay down debt and for other corporate purposes. Firefly's IPO comes two months after Voyager Technologies went public, but industry observers say there are limited opportunities for other space companies to go public in the near term. [SpaceNews]
China conducted a takeoff and landing test for a crewed lunar lander. The first integrated landing and ascent test of the Lanyue ("embracing the moon") crewed lunar lander took place this week, simulating a landing on and ascent from the lunar surface. Footage from the test shows the four-legged lander under thrust, with a yellow plume suggesting the use of a nitrogen tetroxide-based oxidizer, likely in combination with hydrazine. The Lanyue lunar lander consists of a propulsion module and landing module and is designed to transport two astronauts between lunar orbit and the moon's surface. [SpaceNews]
United Launch Alliance is planning nine launches this year. In a call with reporters Thursday, ULA CEO Tory Bruno said the company expected to perform nine launches, down from a dozen he estimated in March and a projection of 20 from last year. About two-thirds of the launches will be for commercial customers, such as Amazon's Project Kuiper constellation, and one-third for national security missions. The first national security Vulcan launch, USSF-106, is scheduled for Aug. 12. Despite the lower forecast for this year, Bruno said ULA still anticipates 20-25 launches in 2026 and beyond, including moving to a cadence of two launches per month before the end of this year. [SpaceNews]
Two small GEO broadband satellites built by Astranis for Anuvu are ready to begin service. Astranis said the satellites, launched at the end of last year as part of the four-satellite Block 2 group, have reached their orbital locations in GEO and are ready to provide broadband services over the continental United States for Anuvu. A third satellite from the launch, for Orbits Corp. of the Philippines, has also reached GEO and is undergoing final health checks before beginning service. The fourth satellite, UtilitySat, continues to suffer thruster problems that are keeping it from raising its orbit. [SpaceNews]
NASA says it has technologies it can offer for the Golden Dome missile defense program. An official with the Marshall Space Flight Center said at the Space & Missile Defense Symposium this week that technologies under development at the center such as a rotating detonation rocket engine, which offers higher efficiency than traditional technologies, could benefit the missile defense initiative. Other technologies from Marshall could include cryogenic propellant management, artificial intelligence and inflatable space structures. [SpaceNews]
| | | | | | Other News
Investors say a changing political climate is making it harder for them to pick winners among space industry companies. They say they have to balance significant increases in defense spending, particularly Golden Dome, with proposed cuts to NASA. Uncertainty about spending levels and priorities has created confusion among investors whose portfolios include space companies with significant government business. One venture capital investor said they planned to pull back from space because of that lack of clarity. [SpaceNews]
A startup has raised a seed round to develop a high-performance orbital transfer vehicle that can loiter in orbit for years despite using cryogenic propellants. Orbital Operations said Thursday it raised $8.8 million from several investors. The startup is working on Astraeus, a vehicle capable of rapid movement between orbits, powered by an engine using liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants. The company has designed a cryogenic propellant management system to prevent boiloff of those propellants, and the seed funding will allow the company to develop an orbital test of that technology in 2027. The company initially explored commercial uses of Astraeus but is now focused on defense applications. [SpaceNews]
Voyager Technologies has acquired a company developing AI systems for space. Voyager said Thursday it acquired ElectroMagnetic Systems, Inc. (EMSI) for an undisclosed sum. EMSI develops AI and machine learning technologies for automated target recognition software and intelligence analytics to be used on space-based radar systems. Voyager plans to use EMSI's technologies for defense and national security applications. [Voyager]
A Florida spaceport is pursuing plans to host spacecraft reentries. The Jacksonville Aviation Authority board unanimously approved plans to seek an FAA license to allow spacecraft reentries at Cecil Spaceport, a former naval air station. Cecil has an FAA spaceport license for launches, but has yet to host a licensed launch. Spaceport officials say a license could support efforts to host research as well as hypersonic testing. The board also approved plans for a "space vehicle facility" at the spaceport, but provided few details about what the facility would entail. [Jacksonville Daily Record]
Astronomers have discovered an exoplanet in the habitable zone of the nearest sun-like star. In research announced Thursday, astronomers said they detected a gas giant planet similar in mass to Saturn orbiting Alpha Centauri A, a sun-like star 4.3 light-years away. The gas giant is in an elliptical orbit that takes it through the star's habitable zone. Astronomers were able to directly observe the planet using an instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope, combining those observations with older data from groundbased telescopes. [Science News]
| | | | | | What Happens When You Don't Read SpaceNews
| "Would you fancy going to space, you know, like Katy Perry did?"
"Did she go to space?"
"Not for long."
"Where'd she go?"
"Katy Perry went into orbit and back."
"She's like floating in the…"
"Yeah."
"And this is true?"
"I've not made this up. This is true."
"Wow, alright, Katy."
| | – An exchange between a BBC radio host and singer Mariah Carey, who appeared unaware of Katy Perry's suborbital spaceflight in April. Asked if she would be interested in going to space as well, Carey responded, "I've think I've done enough." [Instagram]
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