The Latest from Aria Alamalhodaei
Astra’s playing the long game
In a time when every rocket launch is livestreamed on YouTube, millions of people get a front row seat to a space company’s successes and failures. Astra, a rocket startup-turned-public company, has
Max Q: Rocket booster, meet helicopter
Hello and welcome back to Max Q. In this issue: Rocket Lab’s milestone booster recovery Ursa Major and Phantom Space News from NASA, SpaceX and more Don’t forget to sign up to get the free new
Ursa Major lands order for 200 rocket engines from Phantom Space
Hundreds of rocket engines manufactured by startup Ursa Major will be going to space company Phantom Space over the next few years, part of a massive order that reflects Phantom’s bullish stance on
Max Q: Hold fire
Hello and welcome back to Max Q. In this issue: Launcher debuts full thrust of 3D-printed rocket engine A “sustainable” satellite mega-constellation? FAA’s decision on Starbase delay
OneWeb founder Greg Wyler’s new startup wants to launch a ‘sustainable’ satellite mega-constellation
The proliferation of space junk in low Earth orbit is a problem that isn’t going away. Instead, it’s getting worse — a fact that grabbed headlines last November when a Russian direct-ascent anti
Max Q: Mapping the moon
Hello and welcome back to Max Q. Happy to have you with us and happy belated Earth Day. In this issue: No more ASAT operations for the U.S. NASA gives nearly $300 million in awards to satcom providers
Max Q: Up, up and away
Hello and welcome back to Max Q. The big news from me this week is that…I’m buying Twitter! Just kidding. But I do occasionally tweet over at @breadfrom; say hi, or send an email to aria.
Max Q: One small step for man
Hello and welcome back to Max Q. It was a big week for private spaceflight. As usual, send feedback, comments and tips to aria.techcrunch@gmail.com. You also can catch me on Twitter at @breadfrom. In
Watch Axiom Space send crew of 4 to the International Space Station in historic mission
If you needed any more convincing that we’ve entered a new era of human spaceflight, this mission should finally settle it for you. Houston-based startup Axiom Space will be launching the first
Astranis is contracting an entire Falcon 9 rocket to launch four satellites next year
San Francisco-based startup Astranis has purchased a dedicated launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, eschewing the less expensive “ride-share” model favored by new space companies for an exc
Max Q: Space goes SPAC
Hello and welcome back to Max Q. Welcome to all our new subscribers. For those who are new here, my inbox is always open for feedback, comments and tips at aria.techcrunch@gmail.com. You also can catc
Watch Rocket Lab send a pair of BlackSky satellites to space
Rocket Lab will embark on its 25th mission using the Electron rocket on Friday, this time to send two Earth-imaging spacecraft to orbit for BlackSky. The launch, the second of 2022 for Rocket Lab, wil
Watch Blue Origin launch a six-person crew to suborbital space live
Blue Origin is gearing up for its first crewed launch of the year, and fourth crewed launch overall, as the company seeks to expand its budding space tourism business. This time, the Jeff Bezos-headed
Max Q: A landing system for the moon and beyond
Hello and welcome back to Max Q. Before we dive into this week’s news, a brief note: I’ll be experimenting with the newsletter over the coming weeks, trying out new segments and features,
SpaceX will not be making any more new Crew Dragon capsules
SpaceX will no longer be making new Crew Dragons, the spacecraft that ferries astronauts to and from the International Space Station, and will instead focus on reusing the fleet of four already in exi
SpaceX, Northrop Grumman to resupply the ISS through 2026
NASA just placed another order with SpaceX. The agency said Wednesday it had ordered six additional resupply missions from the company under its Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) contract. NASA a
NASA is looking for a second company to develop a human moon lander alongside SpaceX
NASA will be giving another company a chance to send a lander to the moon, nearly a year after the agency announced that SpaceX beat out competitors including Blue Origin and Boeing for the opportunit
Max Q: All eyes on Astra
Hi folks, welcome back to Max Q. This week we have news on rockets both small (Astra’s Rocket 3.3) and very, very large (NASA’s Space Launch System). Plus further fallout from Russia’
Astra reaches orbit in first mission for new customer Spaceflight Inc.
Space startup-turned-public-company Astra reached orbit for a second time, in its debut mission for new customer Spaceflight Inc. It’s a big win for the launch company. Astra reached orbit for the f