By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: Starship's first orbital flight, China's Deep Blue Aerospace has raised nearly $300 million, a European Union leader wants to increase launch rates and more.
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FROM SPACENEWS |
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Where do space investors see the biggest opportunities? SpaceNews has mapped the ranks of private space firms valued at $1 billion or more, capturing 37 companies working in launch and satellite broadband, Earth observation, space stations, orbital data centers and other promising markets. Drawing on public disclosures, original reporting and other sources, each profile tracks when and how a company achieved unicorn status and its latest known valuation, alongside funding-round breakdowns and total capital raised from BryceTech’s Startup Space database. Download the report. |
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Top Stories
SpaceX launched Starship this morning on the vehicle's first orbital flight. Starship/Super Heavy lifted off from Starbase, Texas, at 8:48 a.m. Eastern on the Flight 14 mission. One Raptor engine in the Starship upper stage shut down early on ascent, and SpaceX initially said it would not attempt an orbit insertion burn. The company reversed course several minutes later, though, successfully performing the burn. Starship will complete about six orbits during the 10-hour mission, deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites, before splashing down off the coast of Chile. This is the first orbital mission for Starship after 13 suborbital flights dating back more than three years. [SpaceNews]
Chinese launch company Deep Blue Aerospace has raised nearly $300 million. Chinese media reported last week that the company closed B6 and B7 rounds with a combined value of nearly 2 billion yuan ($297 million). The funds will go toward research, development and industrialization of the company’s two launch vehicle families, the medium-lift Nebula-1 and larger Nebula-2. A complete Nebula-1 vehicle was placed on a transporter-erector at a new liquid-propellant launch pad in Haiyang, Shandong province, in late March, but it has not flown and the company has not announced launch plans. Nebula-2 is slated for a first launch in 2027. [SpaceNews]
The European Union's commissioner for defense and space is pushing to increase launch rates of European rockets. Speaking at a conference last week, Andrius Kubilius said demand from EU and other European institutional customers for launch in the coming years will outstrip the capacity of vehicles like the Ariane 6 and Vega C. He called access to space "the most decisive issue for our future in space today" and said he would take a more active approach to the subject, which had traditionally been left to ESA and national governments. He said he would conduct a tour of European launch companies and launch sites and develop an "action plan" for space transportation by early next year. [SpaceNews]
The U.S. Space Force is seeking industry bids for a new generation of ground antennas used to command and control military satellites. The final solicitation for the restructured Satellite Communication Augmentation Resource program, or SCAR, was posted earlier this month with initial white papers due Oct. 15. The Space Force is seeking ground antennas and networks that can track, monitor and command military satellites across all orbital regimes. The move follows the termination earlier this year of a $1.7 billion contract with AeroVironment to develop a customized phased-array antenna. The service is now putting a greater emphasis on commercially developed technology. [SpaceNews]
Finnish radar-imaging company Iceye has established a new satellite technology center in Poland's capital, Warsaw. The new facility accommodates an expanded satellite operations center from which Iceye controls its constellation as well as labs for developing new technologies. The new facility is designed to boost the company's R&D and production capacities in Poland, where Iceye aims to invest more than $31 million through 2028. [SpaceNews]
Satellite manufacturer Aerospacelab won a contract to supply two spacecraft platforms to Lockheed Martin. The Belgian company announced last week that Lockheed is buying two platforms based on its VSP-300 satellite bus for spacecraft that will carry Lockheed Martin payload technologies. The companies did not disclose additional details about the contract. The VSP-300 is a bus weighing about 300 kilograms that can accommodate payloads of up to 100 kilograms. The contract is part of efforts by Aerospacelab to increase its business in the United States, where it has a 35,000-square-foot facility. [SpaceNews]
KBR is spinning off its defense and space business into a new company. KBR said last week that it named Michael LaRouche as president and chief executive-designate of Trinzic, the new name for KBR's Mission Technology Solutions business. Trinzic is scheduled to become a separately traded company Jan. 4. LaRouche's experience in the defense industry includes senior positions at Serco, SAIC, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. He takes over a company with more than $5 billion in annual revenue and 18,000 employees, with customers that include NASA and the Space Force. [SpaceNews]
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Other News
Rocket Lab continues its surge of Electron launches with another mission for Japanese radar-imaging company Synspective on Friday. An Electron lifted off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 8:39 p.m. Eastern and deployed a StriX satellite into orbit nearly an hour later. This was the 13th satellite launched by Synspective, all on Electron vehicles. Rocket Lab has performed six Electron launches since early August, three of which were for Synspective. Rocket Lab is on track to break its record of 21 Electron launches in a year, set in 2025. [SpaceNews]
SpaceX launched a classified mission for the Space Force on Saturday. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 10 a.m. Eastern. The launch was for a mission designated USSF-385, with no other details provided by SpaceX or the Space Force. It is thought to be part of a series of launches since mid-August carrying satellites for Starshield, a military version of Starlink. [Spaceflight Now]
The United States has won approval to establish Golden Dome missile defense facilities in Greenland. Part of an agreement signed last week by the U.S., Denmark and Greenland allows the Pentagon to expand a homeland defense network around Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, where the U.S. Space Force already operates a ballistic missile warning radar. The agreement provides an early indication of where parts of the Golden Dome architecture could be based outside the United States, but does not identify what systems the Pentagon intends to deploy in Greenland. [SpaceNews]
San Marino is the latest country to sign the Artemis Accords. The small European country signed the accords Friday in the Italian city of Rimini. San Marino became the 76th country to sign the accords and the fourth to do so last week, after Albania, Croatia and Côte d'Ivoire. The wave of new signatories comes ahead of a meeting of Artemis Accords countries during the International Astronautical Congress in Turkey next week. [SpaceNews]
China claims to have refueled a satellite in geostationary orbit last year. According to a paper submitted to the Journal of Deep Space Exploration, Chinese researchers said the Shijian-25 spacecraft transferred 142 kilograms of fuel to the Beidou-2 G7 satellite last year. However, tracking data shows that the two spacecraft did not come close to one another during the time the paper claims the refueling took place. The Chinese researchers have not explained the discrepancy. [South China Morning Post]
Plans to develop an Australian spaceport have suffered an environmental setback. Australia's Native Vegetation Council rejected a proposal by Southern Launch to develop the Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex in South Australia. The council said the spaceport site is a conservation area for native plants and animals, including two endangered bird species. The council's decision could be overturned by the state government in South Australia, or Southern Launch could revise its plans to address the council's concerns. [Australian Broadcasting Corp.]
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The Week Ahead
Monday-Wednesday:
Tuesday:
Tuesday-Wednesday:
Wednesday:
Washington: The Space Frontier Foundation hosts a half-day Space Solar Power Symposium as part of the Experience Power conference. Washington: The FCC conducts its September open meeting at 10:30 a.m. Eastern that includes topics on updating environmental policy rules and new satellite spectrum. Arlington, Va.: The ISU Space Café at 6 p.m. Eastern features speakers from Arianespace and Amazon Leo. Thursday:
Thursday-Saturday:
Sunday:
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