Firefly Acquires Spaceflight

🚀 Firefly Acquires Spaceflight

June 09, 2023

The Space Scoop

Week Ended 06.09.2023

Happy Friday! Planet reported Q1 earnings along with two announcements of acquisitions by well known space startups. Otherwise, it was a quiet week across the board. Lets dive in.

Market Max-Q

Top Stories

1) Q1 space earnings finished up a few weeks ago, but this week Planet Labs reported off-cycle.

  • $PL

    • Cash & Equivalents: $376.2M

    • Revenue: $52.7M, +31% YoY

    • % Recurring Annual Contract: 93%

    • Net Loss: $(34.4)M vs. $(44.4)M

    • Adj. EBITDA: $(19.1)M vs. $(16.3)M

    • Shares: -30.4%

 2) Layoffs and restructurings have hit the space industry.

  • First reported by TechCrunch and then  CNBC, startups Ursa Major and Orbit Fab have undertaken organizational restructurings.

  • Layoffs across the tech-industry has been common news since late 2022, but this is first time layoffs have been publicized specifically from the space industry to our knowledge. It continues to be a tough environment from growth industries.

    • Ursa Major: ~80 people, or roughly 27% of the company’s workforce

    • Orbit Fab: 10 people with ~50 employees left after the restructuring

In Other News

Firefly Aerospace Acquires Spaceflight Inc 

The Texas-based aerospace provider acquired Spaceflight, the end-to-end mission management services company for an undisclosed amount to strengthen on-orbit solutions and service the entire lifecycle of customers’ satellites and spacecraft.

York Space Systems Acquires Emergent Space Technologies

The private equity-owned space mission solution company acquired Emergent, an aerotech focused on developing and fielding mission software and GN&C solutions for multi-spacecraft missions, for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition strengthens York's software capabilities and enhances mission design.

Galvanick Raises $10M Seed Round

The end-to-end industrial operator cybersecurity platform round included MaC Venture Capital, Founders Fund, Village Global, Countdown Capital, Hanover Technology Investment Management, Shrug Capital, 8090 Industries and over 25 angel investors. The startup plans to use the funds for additional core hires and expand the use of its initial product.

Chart of the Week

Growing Customer Base: Planet ($PL) boasts 903 customers as of Q1'2024, which represent 93% of recurring annual contract value. 

Links

• Momentus ($MNTS) To Deliver Nine Satellites to Orbit for Apogeo Space IoT Constellation• Hughes ($SATS) Launches OneWeb LEO In-Flight Solutions to Airlines Worldwide & Announces Global Distribution Partnership• BlackSky ($BKSY) Builds Out Strategic Infrastructure for Second Major International Advanced Tactical ISR Customer• Sidus ($SIDU) To Launch LizzieSat With Edge AI, Hyperspectral and Multispectral Imaging on SpaceX Transporter Mission• Viasat ($VSAT) Selected by AFRL To Deliver Space Relay Communications for Multi-Orbit Mission• MDA ($MDA) Selected by L3Harris ($LHX) for SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer Constellation• Terran Orbital-Developed ($LLAP) CAPSTONE Completes Primary Mission• General Dynamics ($GD) Board Announces Dividend• Terran Orbital ($LLAP) and ImageSat Prepare for Launch of RUNNER-1 EO Satellite

Opinion

• Space Investment Rebounding, but More Selectively• Space Zombies – Facts and Fiction of Final-Frontier Finance• Virgin Galactic ($SPCE): Successful Test Flight Does Not Mean Share Price Will Take Off