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Satellite manufacturer K2 Space announced Thursday it raised $250 million to scale up production. The company said its Series C was led by Redpoint, with additional backing from several other investors. K2 was founded in 2022 to build large satellites with more onboard power and volume than typical platforms in low, medium or geostationary orbit. It plans to launch "Gravitas," the first unit of its "Mega Class" line, in March, and will use the funding to scale up production of that class of spacecraft. [SpaceNews]
The United States should not assume China's accelerating progress in space and missile technology is simply the result of copying American systems, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink warned. Speaking at the Spacepower Conference Thursday, Meink said that while China is copying U.S. capabilities in some ways, such as development of its launch complexes, the country is also "super innovative" in areas like operations. A central concern, Meink said, is China's ability to manufacture and field systems at far greater scale than the United States. Meink's warning comes as the Pentagon and the defense industrial base are looking to accelerate development timelines, adopt more agile acquisition practices and increase production capacity. [SpaceNews]
SpaceX's new interest in pursuing an IPO could lead other space companies to follow. One investor said that a SpaceX IPO, potentially as soon as the second half of next year, would be a "seismic event for the space economy," while another said that an IPO might encourage others in the industry to also go public. One such deal, on a far smaller scale, is Starfighters Space, which announced this week it will go public on the NYSE American exchange, seeking to raise $40 million. The company operates a fleet of aging F-104 Starfighter jets with plans to use them as air-launch platforms. [SpaceNews]
NASA selected a heliophysics mission to move into the next phase of development. NASA said Thursday it will provide funding for the Cross-scale Investigation of Earth's Magnetotail and Aurora, or CINEMA, mission to go into Phase B of development. CINEMA would fly nine smallsats in polar orbits to study the magnetotail, an extension of the Earth's magnetic field linked to geomagnetic storms. At the end of the Phase B study, costing $28.2 million over 10 months, NASA will then decide whether to proceed into full development, with a total cost not to exceed $182.8 million. CINEMA was one of four mission concepts NASA picked in 2023 for additional study as part of the heliophysics Small Explorer, or SMEX, program. NASA will also provide $2 million to another SMEX proposal, Chromospheric Magnetism Explorer, or CMEx, to mature its design for potential future consideration. The award comes as the heliophysics community is reeling from proposed major budget cuts and mission cancellations that raised doubts about the ability to implement the missions recommended in the field's latest decadal survey a year ago as well as to retain researchers. [SpaceNews]
An improved budget profile is giving new cause for optimism for NASA's astrophysics program. That division was facing a budget cut of nearly two-thirds in the administration's 2026 budget proposal, forcing the cancellation of many active or proposed missions. However, the acting director of NASA's astrophysics division said at an event this week that he has been told to plan to funding levels in a House spending bill, which largely rejected the cuts but offers slightly less than a Senate bill. With that budget profile, NASA is moving ahead with a selection of a probe-class astrophysics mission next year along with the launch of the Roman Space Telescope as soon as next fall. Several smaller missions are also set to fly in the coming months, as well as an effort to reboost the Swift mission. [SpaceNews]
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