| By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: Tomorrow.io raises $175 million for weather satellites, China prepares for a key test of a new crewed spacecraft, the Space Force's interest in asteroid mining, and more.
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| | | | | | Top Stories
Tomorrow.io has raised $175 million to fund work on a new weather satellite constellation. The company announced the new round this week, led by Stonecourt Capital and HarbourVest, to fund DeepSky, a satellite constellation designed for gathering vast quantities of atmospheric data for artificial intelligence models. The company operates a set of cubesats that collect weather data with a 60-minute global revisit time. In January, it announced DeepSky, involving larger satellites with new instruments. [SpaceNews]
The Pentagon sees the Golden Dome missile defense initiative as a way to demonstrate a more risk-tolerant approach to acquisition. Marcia Holmes, the deputy director of the Golden Dome program, said at a conference Thursday that the program is being used deliberately to test acquisition reforms championed by the Trump administration. The goal, she said, is to move away from what officials see as an overly cautious procurement culture that has slowed the delivery of advanced capabilities. She added that Golden Dome is being used internally to rethink how the Pentagon staffs and manages major programs. [SpaceNews]
NASA has selected two Earth science missions for development. The agency said Thursday it picked Stratosphere-Troposphere Response using Infrared Vertically resolved light Explorer, or STRIVE, and the Earth Dynamics Geodetic Explorer, or EDGE, as the first Earth System Explorer missions. STRIVE will provide daily measurements of atmospheric temperature, composition and aerosol properties from the upper troposphere to the mesosphere. EDGE will use a laser altimeter to make three-dimensional measurements of terrestrial ecosystems, such as forests, and map surface features on glaciers and other icy terrain. The missions are the first for the Earth System Explorer program, a line of competitively selected Earth science missions with higher cost caps that smallsat missions but less expensive than directed missions. Each mission has a cost cap excluding launch of $355 million, with launch no earlier than 2030. [SpaceNews]
China is days away from an in-flight abort test of its Mengzhou crewed spacecraft. Airspace closures indicate a launch on the evening of Feb. 10 (U.S. time) from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center. The launch will use a Long March 10A rocket carrying a prototype Mengzhou spacecraft, which will separate from the rocket near maximum dynamic pressure to test the performance of its abort system. A successful test would pave the way for a potential first full mission of Mengzhou and the Long March 10A rocket to low Earth orbit and even a visit to the Tiangong space station later this year. [SpaceNews]
Voyager Technologies is partnering with Max Space on expandable module technologies for lunar exploration. The companies announced a strategic partnership Thursday to leverage the expandable modules Max Space is developing and Voyager's space technology expertise on concepts such as lunar habitats. The companies said they are working toward an in-space demonstration of the concept by the end of the decade. Voyager separately announced earlier this week a "strategic lunar initiative" using technologies it has that could be used to meet a new goal, included in a space policy executive order in December, of establishing the initial elements of a permanent lunar outpost by 2030. [SpaceNews]
Quindar will provide its mission management software to satellite servicing company Starfish Space. Under an agreement announced Thursday, Quindar will provide software to manage and automate operations for Starfish's initial Otter missions, which are expected to begin launching this year. Financial terms were not disclosed. Quindar offers a cloud-hosted platform that allows satellite operators to track spacecraft, send commands and automate routine ground operations as an alternative to traditional custom-built control systems. [SpaceNews]
| | | | | | Other News
Russia launched a classified mission on its first launch of the year Thursday. A Soyuz-2.1b rocket lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at 1:59 p.m. Eastern. Russian officials did not disclose the payload for the launch, but it appears to include multiple satellites on a classified mission. [RussianSpaceWeb.com]
The FAA has approved Starship launches from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A. The FAA released a final environmental impact statement and record of decision for SpaceX's proposal for up to 44 Starship launches annually from LC-39A, along with 44 landings each of the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage. The FAA concluded that the benefits of the launches outweighed any concerns about noise or impacts on air traffic. SpaceX is moving Falcon 9 launches from the existing pad at LC-39A to nearby SLC-40, devoting LC-39A for Falcon Heavy and Starship. [SpaceNews]
The Space Force is showing an interest in asteroid mining, but not because of the resources such mining could extract. Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisitions, said the service is interested in companies pursuing asteroid mining because of the challenges they have to overcome, such as navigating with limited infrastructure and detecting objects that are faint and difficult to track. AstroForge, a company developing asteroid mining missions, confirmed it met with Purdy about the technologies it is developing. [SpaceNews]
The merger of SpaceX with xAI is structured in a way to largely insulate SpaceX from the artificial intelligence and social media company. The deal is set up so that xAI remains a wholly owned subsidiary of SpaceX rather than fully integrating the companies. Doing so means that xAI's debt and legal liabilities remain separate from SpaceX, which could protect SpaceX from any legal action taken against xAI. The arrangement also has financial benefits, allowing SpaceX to avoid repaying xAI debt and allowing shareholders to avoid taxes. [Reuters]
SpaceX has also made a far smaller acquisition. Norwegian company Hexagon Purus announced Thursday it sold its aerospace business, Hexagon Masterworks, to SpaceX for $15 million. That unit produces high-pressure composite storage cylinders for aerospace and space launch applications in North America. Hexagon Purus said that unit reached a stage where "an industrial owner with a dedicated aerospace focus is deemed to best support its future," adding that potential other applications of those products for hydrogen-fueled vehicles had not materialized. [Hexagon Purus]
NASA astronauts will get to take their smartphones on their missions. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said late Wednesday a new policy, which will take effect in time for the upcoming Crew-12 and Artemis 2 missions, will allow astronauts to use the "latest smartphones" on their flights. Isaacman said the agency "challenged long-standing processes and qualified modern hardware for spaceflight on an expedited timeline." He did not disclose the specific smartphones astronauts will be able to use. [Ars Technica]
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| "Then you go public, and then you get to see your scorecard every day. You get to see the volatility of who's buying, who's selling, what your stock price is doing. And, obviously, you get the calls from your parents and your friends: 'What happened today?'"
| | – Kirk Konert, managing partner at AE Industrial Partners, discussing at the Miami Space Summit Thursday the process of taking both Firefly Aerospace and York Space Systems public in recent months.
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