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🚀 Sidus Space IPO Soars

🚀 Sidus Space IPO Soars

December 17, 2021

The Space Scoop

Week Ending 12.17.2021

Happy Friday and a warm welcome to our new readers! In yet another busy week for space, we saw Rocket Lab announce its third acquisition of Q4, Planet report its first earnings as a public company and Virgin Orbit invest in two satellite-related companies. Lets dig in.

Market Max-Q 📈

Rocket Lab to Acquire SolAero Holdings

$RKLB continues its buying spree now having announced an acquisition each month of Q4'2021. The company previously announced the purchase of Advanced Solutions and Planetary Systems following the influx of capital after its successful merger with SPAC Vector Acquisition Corp. This time Rocket Lab is acquiring SolAero Holdings, a supplier of space solar power products and precision aerospace structures, for $80M in cash. The acquisition will add space solar cells to its space systems business and growth strategy of vertical integration. "By combining our innovative teams, technologies, and strong resources, we can advance space exploration and enable our customers to push the boundaries of what’s possible in orbit," said Founder and CEO, Peter Beck. The addition of SolAero’s 425 person team brings Rocket Lab’s total headcount to more than 1,100 employees. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022 and shares finished +6.9% on the news.

Planet Labs Report Q3'2022 Earnings

Last week, $PL officially became a publicly traded company. On Monday, they released their first financial earnings report. Highlights include:• Revenue +16% YoY to $31.7M• % of Recurring Annual Contract Value: 94%• Customer Count +32% YoY to 742 customers• Gross Margin of 34%• Net Loss was $41.5M• Adjusted EBITDA was -$12.3M“Our strong performance this past quarter continues to demonstrate Planet’s ability to capture the market opportunity ahead of us,” said Will Marshall, Co-Founder, CEO and Chairman of Planet. CFO Ashley Johnson added, "We remain focused on executing against our top line growth plan and capitalizing on the robust demand that we see in the market for Planet’s data." Wall Street had different expectations as the stock fell -22.1% the following day.

Sidus Space's IPO Debut

2021 has brought us yet another public space company, but this time it came without a SPAC. The "space-as-a-service" provider Sidus Space went the traditional IPO route, listing on the NASDAQ and raising $15M at an $81M market capitalization. It offered 3M shares at $5, pricing in the middle of its expected $4 to $6 range. The company focuses on commercial satellite design, manufacture, launch, and data collection by supporting commercial space, aerospace, defense, underwater marine, and other commercial and government customers. Sidus has generated space related manufacturing revenue, but has not yet generated revenue from its commercial constellation space offering. Financial highlights through Q3'2021 include: Revenue of $885k, Net Loss of $1.320M, Cash of $2.234M and Liabilities of $5.373M. Sidus was previously known as Craig Technologies Aerospace Solutions, LLC. After surging to $29.70, or +494.0%, following its debut, shares were halted. $SIDU ended up finishing the day +143.8% higher to $12.19.

Virgin Orbit Buys Stake in Hypersat

On Wednesday, $NGCA announced an 17.5% stake in Hypersat LLC. The company is a vertically integrated, geospatial analytics focused provider of high resolution hyperspectral satellite imagery to government and commercial customers. The investment will further expand Virgin's space solutions business through imagery capabilities by providing insights to customers in the agriculture, defense, energy, insurance, and minerals industries. The investment is also a part of the company’s desire to leverage the relationships with its satellite launch customers and space solutions end users. Hypersat previously selected Virgin Orbit as its launch platform for its six-satellite constellation. "Hypersat has a great technology solution and an excellent developing capability that meshes well with our other space solutions to provide a complete package of useful data to drive critical decisions," said Jim Simpson, Chief Strategy Officer of Virgin Orbit. Shares finished +0.0% on the news.

ProcureAM Space ETF Rebalance

On December 9th, the Alerian S-Network Global Indexes announced the results of the December 2021 quarterly and monthly reviews. Space investors, especially holders of the ProcureAM Space ETF ($UFO), are in for good news. Listed below are the additions and deletions of the December rebalancing:• Add: ArQit Quantum $ARQQ• Add: Astra Space $ASTR• Add: BlackSky Technology $BKSY• Add: Momentus $MNTS• Add: Mynaric AG $M0Y / $MYNA• Add: Redwire Corp. $RDW• Add: Rocket Lab USA $RKLB• Add: Spire Global $SPIR• Drop: MDA Ltd. $MDAAll changes will be implemented by the close of trading on December 17th for market open on Monday, December 20th. While we don't yet know the size of each companies allocation to the index yet, we finally have an ETF with NewSpace exposure. $UFO, which tracks the Alerian Space Index, will beat Cathie Wood's $ARKX to owning the slew of freshly public space companies.

In Other News 🛰️

SPAC Activity May Pause But It Will Be Back

(SpaceNews)

Nearly a dozen space companies have announced or completed SPAC mergers in 2021, which has benefited and provided much needed liquidity for space startup investors. While the rate of space SPACs has recently slown, the panel at TechCrunch Sessions: Space believes the trend isn't over. In the near term, opportunities may slow due to a lack of appropriate targets.

Kayhan Space Raises $3.7M Seed Round

(SpaceNews)

The space traffic analytics startup round was co-led by Initialized Capital and Root Ventures, with participation from Overline Venture Capital and Jacob Helberg. The company currently has four commercial customers, but were not disclosed.

SatRevolution Secures $30M Series B Funding

(BusinessWire)

The Polish developer and manufacturer of nanosatellites and related technologies secured the funding from Virgin Orbit ($NGCA), valuing the company at $150M. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the Q1'2022.

STOKE Space Raises $65M Series A Round

(BusinessWire)

The reusable rocket developer announced the funding will develop its fully and rapidly reusable rocket. The round was led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and included new investors Spark Capital, Point72 Ventures, Toyota Ventures, Alameda Research and Global Founders Capital. Existing investors NFX, MaC Ventures, 776, Liquid2 and others also participated.

Intelsat Plan of Reorganization Confirmed

(BusinessWire)

On Thursday, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division, approved $INTEQ's final milestone in the company's financial restructuring. Intelsat is set to emerge from bankruptcy in early 2022 with a 50% reduced debt load - from ~$16B down to $7B.

Quick Links 🔗

• BlackSky ($BKSY) Add Two More Satellites to Constellation• Viasat ($VSAT) Named 2021 Global Satellite Business of the Year by Euroconsult• Albedo Wins License To Sell 10-Centimeter Imagery• Former Airbus ($EADSY) CEO Dirk Hoke Appointed to Voyager Space Advisory Board• NASA Selects Axiom Space for Second Private Astronaut Mission to ISS• Voyager Space CEO Dylan Taylor Interview on CNBC Post-NS19 Flight• Mu Space Unveils $4M Ultra-Fast Internet Satellite• Redwire ($RDW) To Launch Four Payloads With SpaceX for NASA to the ISS• Yahoo Finance Interview With ProcureAM Space ETF ($UFO) CEO• Type One Ventures Raises Space Fund II Investment Target on Demand• Maxar Reserves May 15 to June 13 Window for First WorldView Legion Launch• MDA ($MDA) and ICEYE Sign Agreement To Integrate X-Band SAR Satellite Into CHORUS Constellation• ReOrbit and EnduroSat Sign Contract To Demonstrate On-Orbit Capabilities• RBC Signals and Inmarsat ($VSAT) Announce Strategic Agreement• Washington Exec Interview With BlackSky ($BKSY) Chief Revenue Officer• Honeywell ($HON) And Skyloom Sign Agreement On Space-Based Optical Communications• Raytheon ($RTX) Wins $67M Space Force Contract To Build Weather Satellite Prototype• Isar Aerospace Signs Launch Contract With Astrocast ($ASTRO)• Spire ($SPIR) Successfully Delivers Space Force SSC Payload• Arqit Quantum ($ARQQ) Announces Financial Results for FY2021• SpaceX VP Says Starship Is Already Winning Commercial Launch Contracts• Sidus Space ($SIDU) Announces $1M in Contract Agreements

Opinion 🗣️

• Goldman Believes Maxar ($MAXR) Is Going To Have a Big Year in 2022• $RKLB: Undervalued Play In A Massive Market• Blue Origin Flight Has $ARKX Back in Limelight• Virgin Galactic ($SPCE) Looks Like a Moonshot Candidate as It Continues to Fall• Tomorrow.io ($PTOC): A Weather Intelligence Platform• Space Investing Above and Beyond Tourism• BlackSky ($BKSY): A SaaS In Space Worth Monitoring• A Beginner’s Guide to Investing in European Spacetech• Potential Takeoff For Planet Labs ($PL)

Chart of the Week 📊

Calendar 📅

• $NGCA: Fireside Chat with Dan Hart, CEO 12/20 - 11am EST• $CFV: Merger Vote: 12/20 - 9am EST• $NGCA: Merger Vote: 12/28 - 9am EST

🚀 Sidus Space IPO Soars