🚀 $LUNR Soars in Public Debut

🚀 $LUNR Soars in Public Debut

February 17, 2023

The Space Scoop

Week Ended 02.17.2023

Happy Friday! It was an interesting week for Space SPACs - Intuitive Machines made its parabolic debut, Redwire soared, and New Vista Acquisition (headed by former Boeing CEO) liquidated itself. FY 2022 space earnings continued, Virgin Orbit provided an update on their last flight attempt anomaly and a launch company filed for bankruptcy. Lets dive in.

Market Max-Q

Top Stories

1) Virgin Orbit ($VORB) provided an update on its Space Cornwall mission anomaly.

  • On January 9th, the Company's mission at Space Cornwall failed to reach orbit despite first stage flight, stage separation, second stage ignition, and fairing deployment were nominal.

  • The key takeaways include:

    • A fuel filter within the fuel feedline had been dislodged from its normal position.

    • The downstream filter fuel pump operated at a degraded efficiency level, resulting in a fuel starved and overheated engine.

    • Components downstream and in vicinity of the abnormally hot engine eventually malfunctioned, causing the second stage thrust to terminate prematurely.

 2) On Wednesday, Intuitive Machines rang the opening bell at the NASDAQ and began trading under ticker symbol $LUNR. 

  • Following last week's business combination with Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. ($IPAX), the Company only raised $55M from the process as shareholders redeemed nearly all of the $300M held in a Trust prior to close.. Not great,

  • Investors didn't seem to care though. Shares rose +27.0% on Wednesday and spiked +251.4% the following day. A mere tripling in the three days since going public. Who said SPACs were dead?!

  • CEO and co-founder Steve Altemus appeared on TDAmeritrade to discuss the Company and its future.

 3) SpaceRyde filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection months after noise complaints petitions.

  • The Canadian launch startup was developing a small-lift rocket with a stratospheric balloon as the first stage with plans to start commercial launch operations in 2024 by lifting up 150kg to orbit.

  • The Company filed for bankruptcy last week on February 10 and named Deloitte as the trustee to handle its affairs. While we don't believe it was the only factor, SpaceRyde faced backlash from local residents in Ontario around noise complaints associated with their engine test facility

 4) FY 2022 space earnings season continued this week with three companies reporting. 

  • $IRDM

    • Revenue: $721M, +17% YoY

    • Op. EBITDA: $424M, +12% YoY

    • Net Income: $8.7M, up from $(9.3)M

    • Total Subscribers: 1.999M, +16% YoY

    • Shares: -5.9%

  • $AJRD

    • Net Sales: $2,238M, +8% YoY

    • Net Income: $74M, -50% YoY

    • Adj. EBITDAP: $239M, -20%

    • FCF: $(89)M vs. $162M YoY

    • Shares: -0.3%

  • $AIR

    • Revenue: €11,259M, +11% YoY

    • EBIT: €384M, -45% YoY

    • Order Intake (net): 13,660, flat

    • Shares: +4.9%

In Other News

Orbit Logic Acquired by Boecore 

Orbit Logic, a satellite ground system mission planning and scheduling software company, has been acquired by A&D engineering contractor Boecore. Boecore was acquired by PE firm Enlightenment Capital in January 2022, preceding this acquisition. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Element 84 Acquires Azavea 

Element 84, the cloud-based geospatial data processor, has acquired acquired Azavea, the geospatial software and data analytics startup, for an undisclosed amount. The combined team plans to "solve geospatial problems that address climate change and sustainability challenges globally."

Chart of the Week

Links

• Axiom Space Announces Ax-2 Crew, Second All-Private Mission to Space Station• Maxar ($MAXR) Secures Dedicated Access to Umbra’s SAR Constellation• Maxar ($MAXR) Announces Completion of “Go-Shop” Period• Sidus ($SIDU) Announces Multi-Million-Dollar Agreement With Netherlands• Virgin Galactic ($SPCE) Begins Flight Test of VMS Eve• New Vista Acquisition ($NVSA) Announces Plan for Liquidation• European Commission Reveals In-Depth Review of Viasat’s ($VSAT) Purchase of Inmarsat

Opinion

• Inflation’s Squeeze on Space and National Security Contracts• Too Many or Two Few? The Launch Industry’s Conundrum• A New Leap in Opportunities for the Exploration and Utilization of Space• Redwire ($RDW): Sell the 50% Pop• Spire’s ($SPIR) Growth Could Bring Profits in 2024 but Revaluation Earlier

Earnings Calendar

• $SATS: February 23 - Before Market Open• $RKLB: February 28 - After Market Close• $SPCE: February 28 - After Market Close• $BKSY: March 7 - Before Market Open• $SPIR: March 8 - After Market Close• $LLAP: March 21 - Before Market Open

*Company confirmed dates only.