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🚀 Blue Origin Blunders + Honda Enters Space

🚀 Blue Origin Blunders + Honda Enters Space

October 01, 2021

The Space Scoop

Week Ending 10.01.2021

Hello from New York and a warm welcome to our new readers!

We have an action packed week to cover, including: 11 New Contract Agreements, 3 Funding Rounds, 2 Wall Street 'Buy' Ratings and 1 New COO.

Market Max-Q 📈

Space Force Awards $87.5M to Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, ULA and SpaceX

The branch announced late last week the contracts to "support next-generation rocket testing and enhancements to make upper stages more resilient." Work on these prototype projects should be completed by 2023, and the breakdown includes:• $24.4M to Blue Origin for cryogenic fluid management on New Glenn's second stage• $24.4M to Rocket Lab ($RKLB) to develop Neutron's upper stage• $14.5M to SpaceX for rapid throttling and restart testing of the Raptor engine for Starship, liquid methane specification development and testing; and combustion stability analysis and testing• $24.4M to United Launch Alliance ($BA + $LMT) for uplink command and control for the Centaur V upper stage used on the Vulcan rocket

Spire Global and SpaceChain Announce 'Space Blockchain' Partnership

$SPIR announced a new partnership with SpaceChain, a space-as-a-service solutions provider developing the world’s first decentralized satellite infrastructure (DSI). Together, the two are launching a mission to "demonstrate the feasibility of blockchain technology computation in space and resolve land-based centralized infrastructure issues." By deploying a solution in space, Spire and SpaceChain aim to maximize data security and increase the resiliency of computing operations. The Decentralized Satellite Infrastructure (DSI) can be built and ran without any need for land-based infrastructure. “Space is the next frontier for businesses, and through Spire’s satellite infrastructure we are taking global collaboration to the ultimate vantage point,” says SpaceChain co-founder and CEO.

What Astra’s Travails on the Public Markets Say About Innovation and Investment

"Build in public”, the new mantra of Silicon Valley startups, has spread fast and rocket launch startup Astra ($ASTR) is playing the game. On July 1st, CEO Chris Kemp rang the opening bell at the Nasdaq. Today, its shares are down roughly -28%. What happened? Astra is an early-stage startup that made the decision to go public. Did it get caught up in the Q1'2021 Space SPAC craze? Possibly. The company didn't even have a viable prototype on its first day of trading. What isn't normal is trying rocket science under shareholder watch. "The reality of 'building in public' when you are a deep-tech CEO is managing the long-term iterative design and test process with the short-term retail and day traders. Long-term success requires short-term sacrifice." Regardless of what happens to Astra, it may be a good thing for the space industry and sign of a maturing private space economy for struggling launch providers to consolidate efforts. Consolidation will increase competitiveness, decrease supply and help better pricing in the market. Whether you're long or short, "to see a national security asset start-up like Astra listing publicly and so quickly, stymieing its own innovation trajectory, we should all be worried. At best, Astra will now generate incremental innovation. At worst, it won't be around at all this time next year."

New Report Examines the Economic Drivers and Challenges of Space Mining Technology

Guidehouse Insights released a report discussing how beyond Earth mining "is rapidly approaching both technological and economic viability." The growth behind the demand for rare earth elements is led by electric vehicles, utility-scale electric production and storage, and the Internet of Things. However, extreme barriers to entry in these markets require partnerships with government space agencies and large commercial players to offset prohibitive costs. Mining for rocket fuel elements has the potential to advance sustainable and economical spaceflight allowing spacecrafts to refuel after leaving Earth, dramatically reducing the cost associated with going further in our solar system. Utilizing these resources could enable sustained inhabitation and commercialization of the Moon and beyond. To realize this market potential, companies must "invest in capabilities that enable rapid realization and scaling of potential mining operations on the Moon and near-Earth asteroids."

Honda To Enter the Field of Space Technology

$HMC announced Thursday their plans to challenge and "pursue outside-the-box research on technologies that will bring about new value for people by expanding the potential of mobility into the 3rd dimension, the 4th dimension and ultimately into outer space." The company views the field of space technologies as a place to take on new challenges to realize the 'dreams' and 'potential' of people worldwide while leveraging its core knowledge. Honda plans to develop a "reusable small rocket" and is partnering with JAXA to research a "circulative renewable energy system on the lunar surface."

In Other News 🛰️

Space Forge Awarded $2.3M European Space Agency Contract

(ESA)

The company was awarded a two-year contract through the ESA’s Boost Commercial Space Transportation Services Programme to develop service including both launch and return of a ForgeStar satellite to provide rapid, reliable and reusable in-space infrastructure, and expand microgravity research.

Terran Orbital Announces Major Florida Expansion

(SpaceRef)

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced Monday that satellite provider Terran Orbital will spend $300M to open "the largest satellite manufacturing facility in the entire world" on Florida's Space Coast, providing 2,000 jobs by Q4'2025.

Jeff Bezos Reportedly Doubles His Blue Origin Working Hours

(CNBC)

The CEO has previously called Blue Origin his life’s "most important work" and now Bezos is committing more energy and focus to his space company to now include Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons.

Isotropic Systems Raises $37M+ Series B Round

(Company)

The company is develops transformational broadband terminal technologies and is now funded through to product launch set for 2022. The round was led by Seraphim Space Investment Trust ($SSIT).

Starfish Space Raises $7M Funding Round

(PR Newswire)

The company provides satellite servicing and is founded by former Blue Origin engineers. The round was co-led by NFX and MaC Venture Capital, with participation from PSL Ventures, Boost VC, Liquid2 Ventures, and Hypothesis.

Satellogic and Amazon AWS Cloud Join Forces

(Company)

The goal is to scale up operations to eventually provide a live and searchable catalog of the Earth’s surface, updated daily. $CFV's satellite imagery and data is "critical to solving crucial issues around resource utilization and distribution."

Quick Links 🔗

The Aerospace Corporation UK Announces $3.5M Contract by the UK Space Agency To Provide Technical and Policy SupportHawkEye 360 Awarded $10M Contract From NGAJefferies Initiates Coverage On Redwire ($RDW) with 'Buy' Rating and $15 Price TargetFrench Private Equity Firm, Audacia Capital, Plans $7.5M IPO on Euronext and $58M NewSpace FundMDA (TSX:$MDA) Releases First Details of Its Next Gen Commercial Earth Observation MissionVC's Pick the Five Most Exciting Space StartupsNASA Awards $535K to Seven Teams That Competed in the Space Robotics ChallengeNASA Says Blue Origin 'Gambled' With Its Moon Lander PricingAAC Clyde Space (OTC:$ACCMF) Has Recruited Stefania Mandirola as Chief Operating OfficerSierra Space and German Startup Yuri Launch JV for Microgravity ResearchPhantom Space Announces Agreement to Build and Launch 72 Satellite Constellation for IngenuEutelsat (ENXTPA:$ETL) Surges +15% Higher After Rejecting Unsolicited Bid from Patrick Drahi of AlticeVirgin Galactic ($SPCE) Cleared To Fly Following Conclusion of FAA InquiryStifel Initiates Coverage On Rocket Lab ($RKLB) with 'Buy' Rating and $22 Price TargetTroubling Account of the Conditions Inside Blue Origin From Former Employee Released Inside SpaceX's Mission to Send Humans into Deep Space via Foreign CorrespondentUS Air Force Announces ~$20M Contract With Tomorrow.io To Develop Small Satellites With Advanced Radar To Measure Precipitation From SpaceWhy Spire ($SPIR) Stock Crashed 45% FridayOrbit Fab CEO and Co-Founder Interview on 'The Executive'ShareMySpace Raises First Funding Round of $1.2M

Chart of the Week 📊

Per a new report from SpaceTech Analytics, the U.S. firmly leads the geographic distribution of Space companies in 2021 with a 56.4% share. The UK ranks second, followed by Canada, China, Germany, and India.

🚀 Blue Origin Blunders + Honda Enters Space