🚀 D-Orbit To Go Public

🚀 D-Orbit To Go Public

January 28, 2022

The Space Scoop

Week Ending 01.28.2022

Happy Friday and a warm welcome to our new readers! This week Satellogic officially hit the public markets, earnings season has kicked off with legacy companies reporting, Blue Origin announced their first acquisition and D-Orbit is set to go public via a SPAC merger later this year. Lets dig in.

Market Max-Q 📈

Indices:SPY +0.9% | QQQ +0.0%UFO -2.7% | ROKT -3.3%ARKX -3.9% | SSIT -4.3%This Week's Movers: SIDU +9.9% | MAXR -8.8%ASTR -10.5% | MNTS -12.4%ARQQ -14.7% | SATL -54.2%

Top Stories 🚀 

Satellogic SPAC Merger Approved & Begins Trading on the NASDAQ

Following numerous shareholder meeting adjournments, Satellogic officially announced the completion of its business combination with CF Acquisition Corp. V ($CFV) on January 24th. The company will receive gross proceeds of ~$262M, including the $150M from Steve Mnuchin's Liberty Strategic Capital. $CFV officially became $SATL on Wednesday and commemorated the moment by ringing the Nasdaq opening bell. Shares ended the day -12.0% lower.

Blue Origin Acquires Honeybee Robotics

Blue announced the acquisition of the space R&D engineering company on Tuesday for an undisclosed amount. Honeybee has delivered "more than 1,000 advanced projects to government and industrial customers," including NASA. Business will continue “as usual” with no notable changes. “We look forward to further expanding our capacity to meet the most exciting challenges in next-generation space” said Kiel Davis, President of Honeybee Robotics. The transaction is expected to close in mid-February.

NASA Announces 12 Companies for VADR Program

VADR, or Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare, is a five year program with a maximum total budget for $300M in contracts to provide launch services. The awarded include: ABL Space, Astra Space ($ASTR), Blue Origin, L2 Solutions, Northrop Grumman ($NOC), Phantom Space, Relativity Space, Rocket Lab ($RKLB), Spaceflight Inc., SpaceX, United Launch Services and Virgin Orbit ($VORB). Note: These 12 companies have not yet won contracts, but can now submit bids for launch services for VADR missions.

Legacy Space Q4'2021 Earnings Highlights 

Earnings season has officially kicked off with legacy space names such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman reporting this week. Highlights include:• $LMT: Space net sales and operating profit were down -9.8% and -16.3% YoY, attributable to the renationalization of the Atomic Weapons Establishment program and ~$60M of lower equity earnings from ULA due to launch vehicle mix.• $BA: Defense, Space & Security revenue decreased -13.5% and operating margin decreased to -4.4% YoY, primarily due to lower volume and less favorable performance across the portfolio. Backlog was $60B, which 33% represents orders from outside U.S. customers.• $GD: Aerospace revenues were up +5.1% but operating earnings fell -11.9% YoY. Backlog grew to $16.3B, +40% from Q4'2020, driven by the strongest order year for Gulfstream since 2008. • $NOC: Space Systems sales increased +4.2% YoY, primarily due to higher sales in both the Launch & Strategic Missiles and Space business areas. Q4 organic sales increased +6%.

D-Orbit To Go Public via SPAC Merger at $1.2B

On Thursday, the Italian-based space logistics and transportation company announced plans to become publicly listed through a SPAC merger with Breeze Holdings Acquisition Corp. ($BREZ). Upon successful completion, the combined company will have ~$185M of cash, which includes a $29M binding convertible debt financing provided by ATW Partners. D-Orbit is expected to list on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol $DOBT in Q2/Q3 2022. Shares closed +0.1% on the news.

In Other News 🛰️ 

FTC Blocks Lockheed's Acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne

(FTC)

On Tuesday, the FTC blocked $LMT's $4.4B purchase of $AJRD, alleging that if the deal proceeds "the deal would give Lockheed the ability to cut off other defense contractors from the critical components they need to build competing missiles."

AccuWeather Acquires Plume Labs 

The live air quality company has been acquired by current investor AccuWeather Group for an undisclosed amount. Plume will operate as its "center for climate and environmental data, with a focus on AI for climate."

Epsilon 3 Raises $2.8M Seed Round 

The spacecraft operations software startup's round was led by Stage Venture Partners and MaC Venture Capital, with participation from new investors Lux Capital, Village Global, Y Combinator, Pioneer Fund, Soma Capital, and Broom Ventures.

Skyroot Aerospace Raises $4.5M Bridge Round 

The startup that is building India’s first privately built launch vehicles successfully raised a bridge round to its Series B fundraise. The round was led by Sherpalo Ventures, with participation from Wami Capital.

Needham Initiates Coverage on Planet Labs 

The firm began equity research coverage on $PL with a ‘Buy’ rating and price target of $10.50 per share, noting a "five-year lead on potential competition." Shares finished -2.0% lower.

Quick Links 🔗

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Rocket Lab ($RKLB) Teases Helicopter Rocket Recovery

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Hughes ($SATS) and NSS Announce Eight-Year Agreement

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Intelsat ($INTEQ) and Gilat ($GILT) Expand Aviation Partnership in Asia

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Orbit Fab Announces Collaborations With Phase Four and Rogue Space

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Isar Aerospace Wins European Commission Horizon Prize Launch Award

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Sidus Space ($SIDU) Announces the Composition of the Board of Directors

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Comtech ($CMTL) Rejects Unsolicited Takeover Proposal From Acacia ($ACIA)

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Sultanate of Oman and Virgin Orbit ($VORB) Announce International Consortium on Mission to Deep Space

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Tomorrow.io ($PTOC) Co-Founder Explains Why the Software Company Turned to Space

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Spire Global ($SPIR) Launches Localized Weather Forecasts Customized for Global Ports

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SpaceX Is Planning 52 Launches in 2022

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ABL Space First Launch Delayed by Three Months

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The Cost of Space Flight Before & After SpaceX

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Deutsche Bank Names Rocket Lab ($RKLB) a 2022 Top Stock Pick

Opinion 🗣️

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The Implications of New Space Liquidity

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Arqit Quantum ($ARQQ) Is Terrestrial for Now, But Will Go To Space

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2 Top Space Stocks Ready for a Bull Run

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5 Explosive Space Stocks To Buy in 2022 and Beyond

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Virgin Galactic ($SPCE) Still Looks Like a Long-Term Long Shot

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Virgin Orbit ($VORB): What To Consider About This Recent IPO

Calendar 📅

• $VSAT: February 3 - Before Market Open• $IRDM: February 17 - Before Market Open• $SPCE: February 22 - After Market Close*Company confirmed dates only.

Chart of the Week 📊