Plus: SpaceX launches more NRO satellites
By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: Star Catcher raises funding for a space power grid, Poland's Creotech seeks money for a new satellite factory, SpaceX launches more NRO satellites and more.
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ST Engineering MRAS is a leading manufacturer of complex aerostructures including nacelle systems and critical airframe components. Operating from a 2 million sq ft site near Baltimore, Maryland, the company houses design, engineering, manufacturing, and MRO operations under one roof. MRAS has been involved in the space industry since the 1960s, when it contributed components for the Gemini spacecraft as part of Martin Marietta Corporation. Today, MRAS applies its composite materials expertise to produce fuselage sections, external panels, heat shields, and technologies for reusable rocket structures and in-space satellite panels, supporting various space programs and projects. Read more. |
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Top Stories
Star Catcher, a startup developing a space power grid for satellites, has raised $65 million. The company announced its Series A round Tuesday, led by B Capital with Shield Capital and Cerberus Ventures, the venture arm of Cerberus Capital Management, among other investors. The funding will allow the Florida company to perform in-space tests of its technology that uses spacecraft to focus sunlight on the solar panels of other satellites, enabling them to generate more power. The company has performed ground tests of the technology and also secured $60 million in commercial and government contracts. Several people are joining the company's board, including retired Space Force Gen. Jay Raymond, the first chief of space operations. [SpaceNews]
Polish space technology company Creotech Instruments is planning to raise $118 million for a new satellite factory. The company's current facilities, capable of producing 10 microsatellites a year, are fully booked building spacecraft for the Polish government and military. Creotech hopes to have a new facility in place by 2029 that can produce 40 satellites a year. The company achieved a net profit for the first time last year as its revenues surpassed $40 million. [SpaceNews]
NASA plans to keep rotating crews on the International Space Station about every six months after considering longer missions. NASA said earlier this month it moved up the Crew-13 mission, which was to launch in November, to mid-September. At a briefing Monday, agency officials said that schedule adjustment means it plans to exchange crews every six months or so after weighing eight-month rotations last year, enabling it to "get the most out of station as we can" in its final years. Officials also said Monday they had no updates on the status of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, which was to make an uncrewed test flight to the station at some point this year. That mission, though, is not on the agency's manifest of ISS missions for 2026. [SpaceNews]
U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is evaluating a mobile software platform to give operators in the field access to commercial satellite imagery on handheld devices. The platform, developed by Austin-based geospatial data company SkyFi, integrates with ATAK devices, ruggedized smartphones and tablets running the Android operating system. The project responds to a growing push by operators who want direct access to satellite data on mobile devices during missions, rather than relying solely on imagery processed and distributed through centralized analysis centers. SkyFi received a contract of undisclosed value to develop the software and an ATAK plugin, as well as conduct exploratory field tests with SOCOM operators. [SpaceNews]
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Other News
SpaceX launched another mission for the National Reconnaissance Office Monday night. A Falcon 9 lifted off on the NROL-172 mission at 10:13 p.m. Eastern from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The NRO said after liftoff this was the 13th launch for its proliferated constellation of "multi-phenomenology" reconnaissance satellites. [Noozhawk]
Transcelestial has taken a step forward in its efforts to develop space-to-ground laser communications technologies. The company said Tuesday it recently performed a test where ground stations in Singapore and Spain were able to detect and track a laser from a satellite in orbit. That test allows the company to proceed with attempts to transmit data through that laser system. Transcelestial says it sees strong demand for both intersatellite optical links as well as space-to-ground systems that can provide far higher bandwidth than traditional radio communications. [SpaceNews]
The U.S. government has pressured South American countries to halt cooperation with China on observatories. U.S. officials convinced the government of Argentina to halt construction of a large radio telescope China was building in the country, out of concerns that the antenna could also be used to eavesdrop on American satellites. Argentina said it stopped the project because of "procedural violations" in its agreement with China and declined to say if U.S. influence played a role. A project in Chile where China planned to build 100 telescopes has also been halted, again because of concerns raised by the U.S. [New York Times]
A former congressman who was influential on space issues has died. Bill Posey died Saturday at the age of 78, according to the office of Rep. Mike Haridopolos, who succeeded Posey in Congress. Posey, a Florida Republican, represented a district on Florida's Space Coast from 2009 to 2025. He was active on space issues, serving on the House Science Committee and pushing for more commercial space jobs in his district. He authored legislation enacted in 2015 that gives companies legal rights to sell and use space resources they extract. [Orlando Sentinel]
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The SpaceMob
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"There's tons of eccentric people in the mob. You know, if you're called a mob, that's going to happen."
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– Tanner Ottaway, a member of the "SpaceMob," a group of retail investors who own stock in and promote AST SpaceMobile. [Bloomberg]
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FROM SPACENEWS |
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Missile defense at machine speed: On May 13, join SpaceNews and Wind River for a discussion that explores the mission assurance challenges behind missile defense initiatives, examining what military organizations must consider to ensure the software backbone connecting these systems remains resilient, interoperable and trusted in high-consequence environments. Register now. |
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