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🚀 Elon, the 1st Trillionaire?

🚀 Elon, the 1st Trillionaire?

October 22, 2021

The Space Scoop

Week Ending 10.22.2021

Happy Friday and a warm welcome to our new readers! What started as a slow Monday on the news front didn't last long. $IRDM kicked off Q3'21 earnings season along with 6 contact announcements, 5 capital raises, 2 new commercial space stations, and vast bullishness brewing behind SpaceX.

Market Max-Q 📈

Morgan Stanley Calls SpaceX’s Starship and Starlink a “Double Flywheel” With Institutional Interest Soaring

Two weeks ago, SpaceX crossed a $100B valuation. This week, Morgan Stanley released an equity research note titled "SpaceX Escape Velocity.. Who Can Catch Them?" Analyst Adam Jonas starts off reporting that “More than one client has told us that if Elon Musk became the first Trillionaire... it won't be because of Tesla. Others have said SpaceX may eventually be the most highly valued company in the world - in any industry.” Quite the high praise, but is it possible? Last year, $MS forecasted that SpaceX would become a $100B company when their valuation was only ~$44B. Jones is very bullish on both Starship and Starlink, noting that Starship is “This technological development that has the potential to transform investor expectations around the space industry. As one client put it: ‘talking about space before Starship is like talking about the internet before Google ($GOOGL).’” This comes as Starship test fired a raptor vacuum engine on Thursday evening. Morgan Stanley views SpaceX's "launch capabilities and Starlink as inextricably linked whereby improvements in launch capacity / bandwidth and cost of launch improve the economics and path to scale of Starlink’s LEO constellation.” The Wall Street firm bases the majority of SpaceX’s valuation on Starlink, which Elon himself has previously stated could annually generate ~$30B of revenue.Morgan Stanley also ran a survey among “institutional investors and industry experts” and the majority expect SpaceX to "command a higher valuation and significance" than $TSLA (whose current market cap is ~$900B), seeing the company as the "more attractive investment." In the survey, Morgan Stanley asked two questions: 1) “Which do you think is a more attractive investment from here?” and 2) “Which do you think has the potential to be a more valuable company over the long term?” Of the 32 responses received, SpaceX was chosen for both questions by 63% of participants. Jonas concluded, “Investors are beginning to appreciate the potentially wide-ranging use-cases for SpaceX’s reusable launch architecture across communications, transportation, earth observation and other space-related domains. What SpaceX is doing on the shores of South Texas is challenging any preconceived notion of what was possible."

Iridium Releases Q3'2021 Earnings

$IRDM announced third quarter 2021 financial results on Tuesday prior to market open. The company reported total revenue of $162.2M for the period, +7% versus the same period in 2020. Service revenue accounted for $127.8M, or 79% of the total, and grew by +9%. Iridium closed September with 1.69M total billable subscribers, or +18% higher year-over-year which was driven by growth in commercial IoT customers. Net loss was $2.1M, or $0.02 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $4.0M, or $0.03 per diluted share, quarter-over-quarter. Per the company, the decrease was primarily the result of operating profit improvements and lower net interest expenses. CEO Matthew Desch noted, "With the flood of new capital making its way into the space industry, Iridium continues to distinguish itself as a leader in satellite communications by leveraging its unique network and spectrum position to connect people, vehicles and assets on the move. We continue to generate stronger free cash flow as we attract new subscribers to our network, which sets us up well as we plan for 2022." The stock finished +3.6% by 4:00pm ET and is currently down -2.6% YTD.

Rocket Lab To Introduce Helicopter Recovery Operations During November Electron Launch

$RKLB previously announced the ‘Love At First Insight’ mission with BlackSky ($BKSY) is scheduled during a 14-day launch window opening on November 11th. This week we received some new details regarding their third ocean recovery: the company will "station a helicopter in the recovery zone ~200 nautical miles offshore to track and visually observe a descending stage in preparation for future aerial capture attempts." The helicopter will not be attempting a mid-air capture, but will rather test communications and tracking to refine the concept of operations for future Electron aerial captures. CEO Peter Beck stated, "We’re gearing up for the next stage. It’s ambitious, but with each recovery mission we've iterated and refined the hardware and processes to make the impossible ordinary. I'm excited to take what we learn from this launch and put it into practice with aerial capture missions in future.” The stock was down slightly -0.3% on the news, and has recently corrected -41% after rallying +111% upon SPAC merger completion.

Nanoracks, Voyager Space, and Lockheed Martin Joining Forces To Develop a Commercial Space Station

The three companies aim to develop the first "free flying commercial space station", which will be known as Starlab. The space station plans to be a "continuously crewed commercial platform, dedicated to conducting critical research, fostering industrial activity, and ensuring continued U.S. presence and leadership in low-Earth orbit." Starlab will be developed specifically to meet customer demand for space services like materials research, plant growth and astronaut activity. Nanoracks will lead Starlab development effort, Voyager Space will lead strategy and capital investment and Lockheed Martin ($LMT) will serve as the manufacturer and technical integrator. As a refresher, Voyager Space acquired a majority stake in X.O. Markets, the parent company of Nanoracks in May 2021. Starlab plans to host up to four astronauts and commence operations by 2027. "We see this partnership as just the beginning of our work together,” said Dylan Taylor, Voyager Space Chairman & CEO, who also appeared on CNBC to discuss.

Blue Origin Eyeing Participation With U.S. Military For ‘Rocket Cargo’ Program

Thomas Martin, BO's Director of National Security Programs, was at the National Defense Transportation Association’s fall conference this week where he spoke on a panel regarding military logistics. During the panel he mentioned that the company is "in conversations with U.S. Transportation Command” regarding a Cooperative Research & Development Agreement, or CRADA. He noted that Blue Origin formally responded to a request for information issued by Transportation Command, but has yet to decide whether to move forward it. Under a CRADA, information is shared between the parties but the government does not commit to buying anything. Martin said Blue Origin has been looking at the point-to-point space transportation market and there are still major questions and details to be answered. With New Shepard, Blue Origin is “learning a lot about how you launch quickly. We’re directly applying what we’re learning to New Glenn. There is a lot we have to solve to make rockets anything like aircraft flying operations,” he said. "This is the work of decades and we’re taking those first baby steps.” Despite the numerous challenges with such a task, Martin was confident that the US military is a more attractive market than the commercial sector for point-to-point space transportation.

In Other News 🛰️

TrustPoint Raises $2M Seed Round

(SpaceNews)

The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) startup plans to expand its engineering team, continue developing core technologies and extend key partnerships. The round was led by DCVC, which has also invested in Capella Space and Rocket Lab ($RKLB).

Seraphim Capital Hires Ex-Virgin Investment Director

(Company)

Andre Ronsoehr, former Investment Director of Virgin Management, has been hired to help develop and build out Seraphim's space investment portfolio. Seraphim Capital is the manager of the Seraphim Space Investment Trust (LSE:$SSIT), the world’s first listed Space Tech Fund, which IPO'd in July.

Venture Orbital Launches Production Site for Micro Launchers

(Direct Industry)

The micro launcher and rocket engine startup will open a 17,00 sq ft factory in France and double headcount by the end of 2022. This will be the first rocket designed in France in over a quarter-century. The first commercial launches are expected in 2024.

SatelliteVu Raises $20.7M Series A

(Satellite Evolution)

The startup plans to launch seven thermal and infrared imaging satellites into space to provide real-time data on how green every building on the planet is. The round was led by Seraphim Capital, with participation from Draper Esprit, AO Proptech, Ridgeline Ventures, Earth Science Foundation, E2MC Ventures and Stellar Solutions / Ford Family Trust.

Rogue Space Closes $1.6M Pre-Seed Round

(24/7 Press Release)

The spacecraft transport and in-space services startup round includes $500K in cash and $1.1M valued Cooperative Research & Development Agreement with Air Force Research Lab. CEO Jeromy Grimmett also announced the opening of their institutional Seed round.

Infostellar Raises $6.2M Series B

(Company)

The Japanese Ground-Segment-as-a-Service (GSaaS) provider, completed the first round of a Series B raise for $6.16M. The final round will close later in 2021. Investors include Space Frontier Fund, Mitsubishi, ITOCHU, tb innovations, and Mizuho Capital.

Quick Links 🔗

NASDAQ Interviews Astra ($ASTR) CEO at Silicon SlopesHow Did Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin Fail To Dominate the Billionaire Space Race?Kepler Communications ÆTHER Secures Contract With ESATwo PE Firms Invest $100M in Comtech Telecommunications ($CMTL)Ovzon Awarded $1.92M DoD Contract For 50 T6 Mobile Satellite TerminalsSpire ($SPIR) To Provide Hyper-Local Weather Forecasting for Southern Launch’s Rocket Launch SitesUBS Downgrades Virgin Galactic ($SPCE) To ‘Sell’ From ‘Neutral’ With Price Target of $15 Per Share, Citing Valuation ConcernsMBRSC Launches "Space Ventures," a Launchpad For Space Sector StartupsStartup Helios Signs Agreement With OHB System AG To Test Oxygen Production on Moon MissionVirgin Galactic ($SPCE) Could Face Near-Term Selling Pressure Due To Lock-Up PeriodLack of Financing Options Is Holding European Space Startups BackKleos Space (ASX:$KSS) Signed New Contracts With ISISPACE and Spaceflight Inc To Build and Manage the Launch Its Fourth Satellite ClusterFormer Virgin Galactic ($SPCE) Lead Test Pilot, Mark Stucky Is Joining Blue OriginAstrocast ($ASTRO:NO) and iWire Partner To Develop End-to-End IoT Asset Tracking SolutionStifel Expects Rocket Lab ($RKLB) To Rise +80%, Calling It “One of the Highest Quality Space Companies To Enter the Market”Eutelsat (ENXTPA:$ETL) CEO Will Step Down in 2022Blue Origin Plans To Build a Commercial Space StationIntelsat (OTC:$INTEQ) CEO To Retire Following Chapter 11 Bankruptcy EmergenceCosmiCapital Raises $44.2M Space Venture FundUS Army Space & Missile Defense Technical Center Signs CRADA with Capella SpaceSmall Launch Firms Are Outsourcing Their Engines in Their Race to OrbitHoneywell ($HON) Reports Q3'2021 Earnings

Earnings Calendar 📅

Legacy Space:$LMT: October 26th -

$RTX: October 26th -

$BA: October 27th -

$GRMN: October 27th -

$NOC: October 28th -

$LHX: October 29th -

$SPCE: November 8th -

$GILT: November 9th -

$SPIR: November 10th -

$RKLB: November 15th -

$ACCMF: November 25th -

Note: Includes company confirmed dates only.

🚀 Elon, the 1st Trillionaire?