Aria Alamalhodaei

The Latest from Aria Alamalhodaei

Anduril unveils Roadrunner, “a fighter jet weapon that lands like a Falcon 9”

Leading defense tech startup Anduril has developed a new product designed to take-on the proliferation of low-cost, high-powered aerial threats. The product is called Roadrunner, a modular, twin-jet p

Defense startup Epirus CEO leaving to take new job at a public company

Defense startup Epirus is getting new leadership. TechCrunch has exclusively learned staff were informed at an all-hands meeting this morning that CEO Ken Bedingfield was leaving. The news was later c

Former Blue Origin rocket engine manager alleges wrongful termination for whistleblowing on safety

The former program manager of Blue Origin’s BE-4 rocket engines has filed a lawsuit against the company alleging whistleblower retaliation after he spoke up about safety issues. The complaint was fi

SpaceX acquires parachute company for $2.2M, because it turns out space-rated parachutes are very hard

SpaceX is known for its vertical integration, but one component it’s been outsourcing is parachutes — until earlier this month, when the company quietly acquired parachute vendor Pioneer Aeros

Loft Orbital is launching ‘virtual missions’ for developers wanting access to space

SaaS — software-as-a-service — was the paradigmatic acronym for startups operating over the last decade. But if Loft Orbital has its way, SaaS will soon come to mean something very differe

Relativity Space CEO: Building a backlog isn’t ‘worthless,’ it’s the path to product-market fit

Relativity Space CEO Tim Ellis is hitting back against recent comments from fellow aerospace exec Peter Beck, who called launch contracts for un-flown rockets “basically worthless” earlier this mo

Terran Orbital sues former CTO who joined call for leadership shake-up

Terran Orbital is suing its former CTO, Austin Williams, a little over a month after he and other shareholders publicly called for a change in company leadership. Williams was a co-founder of satellit

Max Q: The Thanksgiving edition

For my American readers, I hope you had a restful Thanksgiving with loved ones. In this issue: Venturi Astrolab's first moon rover mission, news from OneWeb India and more.

Venturi Astrolab’s rovers will deploy $160M worth of payloads on the moon

It turns out a NASA contract isn’t the only way to fund a mission on the moon. Lunar technology startup Venturi Astrolab announced today that its first moon rover mission will bring in over $160 mil

Max Q: SpaceX’s mega-rocket for the moon and Mars goes farther than ever before

In this issue: More on Starship's second launch, news from Blackshark.ai and more

5 investors have high hopes for defense tech amid growing venture interest

It is likely not an overstatement to say that the relationship between U.S. defense and Silicon Valley is undergoing its most profound transformation since the 1950s.

SpaceX launches Starship for the second time, going farther than ever before

SpaceX flew Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, for the second time today – and even though both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage had to be blown up in mid-air, it was

How to watch SpaceX launch Starship for a second time live

In less than 24 hours, SpaceX will attempt to launch Starship to space for the second time. The official launch window opens at 7:00 AM CST on Saturday and lasts for just 20 minutes — and no, th

Musk: SpaceX now aiming for Saturday for Starship’s second flight test

SpaceX has officially pushed back the second orbital flight test of Starship by one day, to Saturday, CEO Elon Musk confirmed on X. Rumors about the push-back started to swirl after onsite news organi

Despite setbacks, ispace to launch second moon mission in Q4 2024

Japanese lunar technology company ispace will make its second attempt at putting a lander on the moon in the fourth quarter of 2024, just about two years after it launched its first failed mission, ex

Go for launch: SpaceX receives regulatory green light for second Starship flight

Regulators have given SpaceX the green light to launch its super massive Starship rocket for a second time, just a few days shy of seven months after the first orbital flight test that ended in a spec

SPAC delays $350M merger with stratospheric balloon startup World View – again

The special purpose acquisition company poised to take stratospheric balloon startup World View public is now under official deadline as shareholders voted to again push back the date by which it must

Morpheus Space developed a space mission design platform so intuitive even I could use it

In-space propulsion developer Morpheus Space unveiled its first software product today, a mission simulation and design platform called Journey. The product has been under development for almost two y

Joby, Volocopter fly electric air taxis over New York City

Joby Aviation and Volocopter gave the public a vivid glimpse of what the future of aviation might look like this weekend, with both companies performing brief demonstration flights of their electric a

Launch contracts are “basically worthless” until a rocket is proven and flying, Rocket Lab CEO says

Rocket Lab is waiting until Neutron is more technically mature before signing launch contracts with customers, CEO Peter Beck told investors on Wednesday. The statements provided an inside look on how
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