By Jeff Foust
In this today's edition: SpaceX reveals its finances and trillion-dollar ambitions in its IPO filing, Space Force to test on-orbit servicing on 2027 launch, the White House does its homework for the next WRC, and more.
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Top Stories
SpaceX officially filed plans to go public Wednesday, offering details about its finances and long-term ambitions. The company filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission to go public on the Nasdaq exchange, but did not disclose how many shares it plans to sell or at what price. The filing did provide details about the company's finances, showing it generated $18.7 billion in revenue in 2025 and adjusted EBITDA of $6.6 billion, but a net loss of $4.9 billion. SpaceX divides its business into three segments, called space, connectivity and AI; space includes launch and related services while connectivity includes its Starlink system. Starlink accounted for the majority of its 2025 revenue. SpaceX projected a total addressable market for its services of a whopping $28.5 trillion, a figure dominated by AI, which in turn relies on orbital data centers. [SpaceNews]
SpaceX's growth plans depend on Starship. The company stated in its prospectus that it requires Starship to launch its next-generation Starlink broadband and direct-to-device satellites, which are too launch to launch on Falcon 9. Starship is also required for its proposed orbital data center constellation. Successfully flying Starship, and being able to do so at a high cadence, is a key risk factor, the company stated. SpaceX is gearing up for its next Starship test flight, the first of the upgraded version 3 of the vehicle, today at 6:30 p.m. Eastern. [SpaceNews]
The U.S. Space Force is preparing to launch multiple spacecraft to geostationary orbit in 2027 for in-space services demonstrations. In a space launch mission known as USSF-23, the Space Force will deploy a fuel-transfer spacecraft built by Astroscale U.S., a propellant depot developed by Orbit Fab and a servicing "space tug" from Starfish Space. The spacecraft are intended to demonstrate what the Space Force calls servicing, mobility and logistics. Astroscale's Provisioner spacecraft will attempt to refuel two client satellites known as Tetra-5, while refueling itself using the Orbit Fab depot. Starfish Space's Otter servicing vehicle will separately attempt to dock with a spacecraft and provide "augmented maneuver" capabilities for it. [SpaceNews]
The U.S. commercial space industry remains dependent on components from Chinese suppliers. A study released Wednesday by supply-chain intelligence firm Altana found that since 2022 more than 849,000 commercial space imports had exposure to Chinese suppliers at the third tier of the supply chain or further upstream. The report said the vulnerabilities are concentrated in specialized components that are difficult to replace, including radiation-hardened semiconductors used in satellites and spacecraft, space-grade rubber seals and coatings, and structural metal components such as aluminum ducts, fasteners and rivets. The report also found that companies rely on Taiwanese suppliers for radiation-hardened chips, a supply chain that could be disrupted in any future conflict involving Taiwan. [SpaceNews]
White House officials say the United States will be better prepared than ever for the next World Radiocommunication Conference. At the ASCEND conference this week, officials said they are working to finalize positions on agenda items well ahead of WRC-27, which will take place in Shanghai in the fall of 2027. Doing that early will give the U.S. time to "share and champion" those positions with allies ahead of the conference. The space industry considers WRC-27 critical because about 80% of the agenda items for the international conference involve space applications of spectrum, from extending spectrum access for new services to protecting existing spectrum allocations from terrestrial uses. [SpaceNews]
Starfighters Space, a startup with air-launch ambitions, is moving into microgravity testing. The company said Wednesday it is working with Mu-G Technologies to help test a Dassault Falcon 50 aircraft that company is planning to use to provide parabolic flight services. That work will take place at Starfighters' hangar in Midland, Texas. Starfighters is still awaiting regulatory approval for a debut suborbital mission that would lay the groundwork for Starlaunch, the service that would use F-104 jets as the first-stage lifting platform for payloads released at altitude. [SpaceNews]
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Other News
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites this morning from Florida. A Falcon 9 lifted off at 6:04 a.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral, deploying 29 satellites into orbit. The early morning launch provided dramatic views of the rocket's plume along the East Coast. [Spaceflight Now]
Jeff Bezos is skeptical that orbital data centers will be viable in the near term. In a television interview Wednesday, Bezos called plans to start operating data centers in orbit in the next two to three years "a little ambitious," citing the need to reduce costs of both launch and AI chips. SpaceX, in its IPO filing released later in the day, said it expected to start launching orbital data center spacecraft as soon as 2028. Bezos' Blue Origin has also filed plans for an orbital data center constellation. [CNBC]
The Exploration Company is looking to raise at least $200 million. The European company, developing the Nyx spacecraft for cargo and crew transportation, is meeting with investors in the Middle East for a Series C round. The company raised $160 million in 2024 and, while targeting $200 million in this round, expects it will be oversubscribed. The new funding would support work on a large rocket engine the company is developing in addition to Nyx. [The National]
Former members of the NASA Advisory Council say they are concerned that the agency has effectively disbanded the committee. Members of the council received letters in March informing them they had been removed from the committee, with no replacements named. Those members, which include former astronauts and agency leaders, say they believe current NASA leadership is displaying "a level of ignorance or arrogance" by removing them. NASA noted in a statement that the charter for the NASA Advisory Council remains active and that future membership of the committee "is under discussion." [El Paso Matters]
A new Pentagon study recommends development of a launch site for heavy-lift vehicles in addition to the Cape and Vandenberg. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said at a House Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday that the study, mandated by last year's National Defense Authorization Act, recommended the new launch site given congestion at existing sites. He did not identify what locations the study considered for the site or other findings from the report. [Air and Space Forces Magazine]
German companies are joining forces to sell both submarines and rockets to Canada. German launch company Isar Aerospace announced this week a partnership with TKMS, a German submarine company. The companies said they will join forces as part of TKMS's bid to sell up to 12 submarines to the Canadian military in an ongoing competition. As part of its bid, the companies said they would also make a "significant investment" in a Canadian launch complex, with Isar creating a Canadian entity to offer a sovereign Canadian launch capability. The Canadian government is expected to award the submarine contract later this year. [European Spaceflight]
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One Kind of Cooperation
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"In theory we're already cooperating. They're stealing our intellectual property every day."
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— Mike Kuiken, vice chair of U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, when asked during a panel discussion at the AIAA ASCEND conference Wednesday if there was any possibility of cooperation between the United States and China in space.
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The Week Ahead
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Location: Georgia, Size 18, Normal formatting. faucibus ex sapien vitae pellentesque sem placerat. In id cursus mi pretium tellus duis convallis. Tempus leo eu aenean sed diam urna tempor. Location: Georgia, Size 18, Normal formatting. hendrerit semper vel class aptent taciti sociosqu. Ad litora torquent per conubia nostra inceptos himenaeos. Location: Georgia, Size 18, Normal formatting. leo eu aenean sed diam urna tempor. Pulvinar vivamus fringilla lacus nec metus bibendum egestas. Iaculis massa nisl malesuada lacinia integer nunc posuere. Day:
Location: Georgia, Size 18, Normal formatting. faucibus ex sapien vitae pellentesque sem placerat. In id cursus mi pretium tellus duis convallis. Tempus leo eu aenean sed diam urna tempor. Pulvinar vivamus fringilla lacus nec metus bibendum egestas. Iaculis massa nisl malesuada lacinia integer nunc posuere.
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