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🚀 SpaceX Facing Bankruptcy?

🚀 SpaceX Facing Bankruptcy?

December 03, 2021

The Space Scoop

Week Ending 12.03.2021

Happy Friday and a warm welcome to our new readers! It was a see of red out there in the markets this week. We also heard choice words from Musk to SpaceX employees, a detailed look into Rocket Lab's new Neutron rocket, $400M in NASA awards for commercial space destinations and the latest Space SPAC merger approved.

Market Max-Q 📈

SpaceX Could Face "Genuine Risk of Bankruptcy"

Over Thanksgiving weekend, Elon Musk reportedly emailed SpaceX employees a dire warning: "We face genuine risk of bankruptcy if we cannot achieve a Starship flight rate of at least once every two weeks next year." Musk elaborated: "Unfortunately, the Raptor production crisis is much worse than it seemed a few weeks ago. As we have dug into the issues following exiting prior senior management, they have unfortunately turned out to be far more severe than was reported." Last week, it was reported that two Vice Presidents, one of whom worked on Raptor engine development, recently left the company. The real question is whether this statement has any merit and what Elon's state of mind was at the time of sending.. Michael Sheetz at CNBC noted that "this is absolutely a rallying cry and is being seen as such internally at SpaceX, according to sources I've spoken with." On Tuesday, Musk gave us some clarity via Twitter: "If a severe global recession were to dry up capital availability / liquidity while SpaceX was losing billions on Starlink and Starship, then bankruptcy, while still unlikely, is not impossible." SpaceX is probably the only company in the world that can raise billions of dollars within an hour so for now we will continue to focus on progress over words.

BlackSky Satellites Enter Revenue Generation Six Days After Launch

On November 18th, Rocket Lab's ($RKLB) “Love at First Insight” launch from Launch Complex 1 successfully added two satellites to $BKSY's constellation. The company announced Tuesday that the satellites "were fully operational and commercially available within six days of launch. This was the fastest BlackSky dual-satellite commissioning process in the company’s history,” said COO Nick Merski. “Within one work week customers were able to directly task the satellites from our Spectra AI platform and pull real-time geospatial analyses and insights to their desktops and devices in under 90 minutes.” The company expects to achieve a 12 satellite constellation by year end. Shares traded +0.5%.

Bank of America Initiates Rocket Lab Coverage With a 'Buy' Rating

The bank called $RKLB the "most mature and consistent small lift platform," projecting that the company could eventually constitute 15-20% of the expected small and medium satellite launch market by 2030. $BAC has placed a price target of $20 per share on the stock. "We look favorably upon the company’s revenue generation, mature launch capabilities relative to competitors, and growing satellite components business, which we expect to contribute over 50% of revenue by 2035. The addition of a U.S.-located launch complex and continued Neutron development put Rocket Lab in a prime position to benefit from the small-sat market surge that will likely persist through the remainder of the decade." Shares finished the day +2.6% to $15.86.

Rocket Lab Provides Neutron Update

On Thursday, $RKLB released their highly teased Neutron rocket update. CEO Peter Beck shared the "absolute beast" via livestream:• New Archimedes rocket engine designed for reliability and reuse• Unique captive ‘Hungry Hippo’ fairing design to enable streamlined first stage and fairing reuse• Carbon composite structure, making Neutron the world’s first carbon composite large launch vehicle• Designed for ‘return to launch site’ propulsive landing• Maximum payload capacity of 15,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit“Neutron is not a conventional rocket. It’s a new breed of launch vehicle with reliability, reusability and cost reduction hard baked into the advanced design from day one," said Mr. Beck. "Like we did with Electron, rather than starting with a traditional rocket design, we focused on our customers’ needs and worked back from there. The result is a rocket that is right-sized for market demand and can launch fast, frequently and affordably.” Shares finished -2.5% lower.

Planet Shareholders Approve SPAC Merger

On Friday, dMY Technology IV ($DMYQ) SPAC shareholders approved the proposed merger with satellite-imaging company Planet Labs. The business combination expected to close early next week and Planet will begin trading on the NYSE under ticker symbol $PL. Ahead of the vote, Planet noted there was strong investor support demonstrated with only ~2% of shares submitted for redemption. This is a remarkably low number and drives home investor confidence in the company. For reference, in Q3'21 six space SPACs merged with an average redemption rate of 53% (two were greater than 90%). As of writing, we are awaiting official numbers from the company. Earlier this week, the WSJ reported that Planet plans to win more customers, increase its data offerings and strike more acquisitions after going public. The company plans to use the ~$600M it expects to raise from its public offering for that, CFO Ashley Johnson said. “Now we're putting the capital behind scaling our commercial infrastructure." Once public, Planet Labs will invest in marketing and expand its software offerings. Shares finished -5.4%.

In Other News 🛰️

ADA Space Raises $55.6M Series B Round

(SpaceNews)

The Chinese satellite operator and remote sensing data startup raised $55.6M for satellite network capacity building and R&D. The round was led by Hengjian Holding, with participation from Shenzhen Oriental Fortune Capital, Dongguan Financial Holdings, Qingchuang Bole and others.

Blue Origin Partners with Spear Power Systems

(PR Newswire)

The companies announced the signing of a multi-year agreement on Tuesday. The agreement will provide BO with "a reliable domestic supply of one of the world's most advanced aerospace batteries." The battery systems will be installed on New Glenn, the heavy-lift orbital reusable launch vehicle.

Anuvu Secures $50M in Growth Capital

(Company)

The commitment is anticipated to support the expansion of constellation ground and space networks, including its network management, data platforms and advanced mobility-focused antennas. Anuvu received full support from existing investors Apollo Capital Management, Sound Point Capital, and Arbour Lane Capital Management among others.

Q-CTRL Raises $25M Series B Round

(TechCrunch)

The quantum control engineering solutions startup sees the new funds as critical in delivering "real value to the space, defense and commercial sectors.” The round was led by Airbus Ventures, with participation from Ridgeline Partners, Main Sequence Ventures, Horizons Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sierra Ventures, DCVC, Sequoia Capital China and In-Q-Tel.

NASA Signs Three Space Destination Agreements

(NASA)

The agency seeks to maintain an uninterrupted U.S. presence in LEO by transitioning from the ISS to other platforms. The total estimated amount for all three funded Space Act Agreements is $415.6M. The companies that received awards include: Blue Origin for $130M, Nanoracks for $160M and Northrop Grumman Systems ($NOC) for $125.6M.

Quick Links 🔗

• Virgin Orbit ($NGCA) Announces Proposed Board of Directors• Blue Origin Seeks Environmental Permit for Kennedy Space Center Expansion• Indian Government Tells Starlink To Stop Selling Until It Gets a License To Do So• Lockheed Martin ($LMT) Names Robert Lightfoot As Space Executive Vice President• Acquisitions Closed: Spire ($SPIR) and exactEarth; Rocket Lab ($RKLB) and Planetary Systems• Momentus ($MNTS) To Join MSCI Global Small Cap Indexes• Commonwealth Fusion Systems Raises $1.8B Series B Round• Could a SpaceX IPO Happen? Elon Musk’s Tweet Gets Investors Excited• Interview With Astrocast ($ASTRO) CFO Kjell Karlsen• Rocket Lab ($RKLB) Readies Electron for Lift-Off in Fastest Launch Turnaround Yet• Maritime Launch Services Creates U.S. Subsidiary• Space BD Raises $9M Funding Round• BioHarvest Sciences Appoints Chris Hadfield to Board, Expands Focus on Space Biology• Yanni Barghouty of Cosmic Shielding Named to Forbes 30 Under 30• NanoAvionics Signs Contract With Lemu For the World’s First Global Biodiversity Observation Mission• Palantir ($PLTR) Inks $43M Space Systems Command Contract Extension• Bankruptcy Judge: Satellite License Is Theia’s “Largest Asset by Far”• Redwire ($RDW) Provides Update Regarding Delayed 10-Q Filing• SpaceX Launched 48 Starlink Satellites and 2 BlackSky ($BKSY) Spacecraft to OrbitOpinion• Every Space Tourism Package Available in 2021 Ranked• Why Space Tourists Won’t Find the Awe They Seek• Why Maxar Technologies ($MAXR) Will Blast Off in 2022• $MOON: Better Innovation Growth Funds Out There• The Past and Present Are Telling of the Future, So What’s Next for Planet ($DMYQ)?• Why We’re Avoiding Rocket Lab ($RKLB)• The Ethics of an Arms Race

🚀 SpaceX Facing Bankruptcy?