🚀 ULA Seeking New Owner

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The Space Scoop

Week Ended 03.03.2023

Happy Friday! It was a busy week on the news front for Rocket Lab as it kicked off NewSpace earnings with Virgin Galactic and Globalstar. ULA is rumored to be seeking a sale by the end of the year and the numbers are in for February space stock performance. Lets dive in.

Market Max-Q

Top Stories

1) United Launch Alliance is rumored to be up for sale later this year, sources say.

• The potential sale has not yet been disclosed publicly, but three sources confirmed by ArsTechnica note that "potential buyers have been contacted about the opportunity."

• Sources also noted that "a deal is expected to be closed before the end of this year" and advisors Morgan Stanley and Bain & Company "are managing the transaction."

• ULA is a joint venture between Boeing ($BA) and Lockheed Martin ($LMT) dating back to 2005.

 2) NewSpace FY 2022 earnings kicked off this week with Virgin Galactic, Rocket Lab and Globalstar. Highlights include:

• $SPCE

  • Cash & Equivalents: $980M

  • Revenue: $2.3M, -30% YoY

  • Net Loss: $(500)M vs. $(353)M

  • Adj. EBITDA: $(431)M vs. $(245)M

  • FCF: $(397)M vs. $(235)M

  • Shares: -17.7%

• $RKLB

  • Cash & Equivalents: $243M

  • Revenue: $211M, +239% YoY

  • Net Loss: $(136)M vs. $(117)M

  • Adj. EBITDA: $(39)M vs. $(44)M

  • FCF: $(397)M vs. $(235)M

  • Shares: -2.2%

• $GSAT

  • Cash & Equivalents: $32M

  • Total Revenue: $149M, +19% YoY

  • Net Loss: $(257)M vs. $(113)M

  • Adj. EBITDA: $57M, +48% YoY

  • Total Avg Subscribers: 768,391

  • Shares: -7.8%

  • Apple ($AAPL) is lending the Company $252M to help cover upfront costs as prepayment for upgrading its LEO satellite constellation.

 3) In addition to earnings, Rocket Lab ($RKLB) released a handful of news items including:

• Established new wholly-owned subsidiary, Rocket Lab Australia, to explore opportunities to support the expansion of Australia’s national space capabilities.

• Signed multi-launch deal for four dedicated Electron missions for Capella Space, along with a standalone mission. Launches are scheduled to beginning in the second half of 2023.

• Plans for two dedicated Electron missions in March from two continents - USA and New Zealand - for customers BlackSky ($BKSY) and Capella Space.

• CNBC Space Reporter Michael Sheetz spoke with CEO Peter Beck who said the following about their earnings report: “We pride ourselves on executing and we’ll back ourselves to execute this year.”

In Other News

Astroscale Raises $76M Series G 

(Company)

The satellite servicing and orbital sustainability company brings it total raised to $376M+ with funding from new investors Mitsubishi Electric, Yusaku Maezawa, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Mitsubishi Corp., Development Bank of Japan and FEL Corporation. The capital aims to boost global technology development and company growth.

Chart of the Week

February 2023 Performance: The results are in and Intuitive Machines ($LUNR) took the home prize. Finishing +99% higher, after being +700% was quite the ride for this de-SPAC IPO. Sidus ($SIDU) wasn't far behind at +92% while Virgin Orbit ($VORB) and SatixFy ($SATX) lagged -16% and -18%.

Links

• Maxar ($MAXR) Awarded Phase 3b of U.S. Army’s One World Terrain Contract• Spain Grants Globalstar ($GSAT) Terrestrial Authorization• Sidus ($SIDU) To Integrate Exo-Space’s Edge AI Technology in Planned Satellite Constellation• AAC Clyde Space ($ACCMF) Ships First Hyperspectral Imagery Service Satellite to Wyvern• Redwire’s ($RDW) Roll-Out Solar Arrays To Enable Lunar Power Infrastructure for Astrobotic VSAT Program• SatixFy ($SATX) Announces MOU With Astrome To Develop 5G GigaMesh 2.0 Terrestrial Backhauling Product• Astra ($ASTR) Announces Conclusion of TROPICS-1 Mishap Investigation• Viasat ($SATX

) Launches Cybersecurity Service To Help Protect U.S. Businesses and Critical Infrastructure

Opinion

• Private Equity Engagements in the Space Industry• Terran Orbital ($LLAP) Could Become Acquisition Target Amid Space Consolidation• Satellogic ($SATL): Seemingly Compelling Technology, but Little Commercial Success to Date• Spire ($SPIR): Growth at the Expense of Profitability

Earnings Calendar

• $BKSY: March 7 - Before Market Open• $MNTS: March 7 - After Market Close• $SPIR: March 8 - After Market Close• $LLAP: March 21 - Before Market Open• $MDA: March 23 - Before Market Open• $PL: March 29 - After Market Close

*Company confirmed dates only.