Space
This week, Max Q again puts the focus on the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and the resulting halo effects that’s having on the international space industry. Neither private…
Slingshot Aerospace raises $25M to help satellite operators navigate space traffic
It’s getting a little crowded in low Earth orbit. Between the proliferation of small-scale satellites, massive constellations à la SpaceX’s Starlink and an ever-growing collection of space junk, launching and…
SpaceX launches 48 more Starlink satellites on an ‘American broomstick’
It’s up, up and away for another SpaceX Starlink mission. At 5:45 this morning PST, a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral in…
SpaceX is aiming to launch more rockets in 2022 than it has in any year past, and with today’s successful Starlink launch, it’s well on its way to reaching that…
NASA extends SpaceX’s Commercial Crew contract by three missions for $900 million
NASA announced today that it has officially awarded SpaceX the Crew-7, Crew-8 and Crew-9 missions to the International Space Station, bringing SpaceX’s total Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract to…
This week, the biggest story in the space industry is understandably the biggest story in world events overall: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Of course, the most immediate and devastating impact…
Watch Rocket Lab launch a StriX satellite from its new launch pad in New Zealand live
Update: Successful launch and payload deployment per Rocket Lab. For its first launch of 2022, Rocket Lab is sending to orbit a StriX satellite for Japanese company Synspective via an…
Virgin Galactic will sell you a $450K ticket to space starting February 16
If you want to go to space and you have $450,000, you can get a ticket starting tomorrow. Virgin Galactic is selling reservations for a spot on its suborbital spaceplane,…
When SpaceX’s first paying space customer flew on a Crew Dragon with a handpicked crew of three last year, it had all the markings of a one-and-done stunt kind of…
Astra launched its first rocket from Florida’s “Space Coast” today, with a liftoff from Space Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It was the startup’s second attempt…
80% of Starlink satellites launched by SpaceX on February 3 won’t reach their intended orbit. SpaceX has revealed that a geomagnetic storm had a severe impact on the satellites.
Your friendly neighborhood Max Q welcomes you to the week of February 7! This past week saw some strong signs that the big boom in commercial space for the foreseeable…
ICEYE’s new $136M in funding points to a white-hot space-based remote-sensing market
Synthetic aperture radar imaging startup ICEYE has raised $136 million in a new Series D funding round, bringing its total raised to date to $304 million and making it one…
Welcome back to Max Q, our weekly newsletter about space and the business thereof. NFTs were bound to intersect with space in a number of ways, and the way they…
Featured Article
Lamborghini’s NFT scheme includes real-world space treasures
Lamborghini is dipping its supercar toe into the non-fungible token pool. But unlike the primate-based computer-designed Twitter avatars that have come to represent the NFT community, the automaker is bridging the physical and digital world for its crypto offering. Well, off-world to be exact. The automaker — in partnership with NFT PRO and RM Sotheby’s…
FTC sues to block Lockheed Martin’s $4.4B deal to buy Aerojet Rocketdyne
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed suit to block the pending deal defense and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin has on the table to acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne. The proposed…
Welcome back to Max Q, our weekly newsletter about space and the business thereof. This week, plans for a private sports and entertainment complex in orbit materialize. Don’t forget to…
A Canadian startup working at the cutting edge of satellite imaging has raised $4.5 million across a combination of a $2.25 million seed round, and $2.25 million from a combined…
How Rocket Lab questions the fundamentals of building both rockets and launch companies
“You’ve got to help create this environment that ultimately you want to participate and thrive in.”
Max Q: SpaceX launches two Falcon 9s in one day for the first time
Hi, and welcome to Max Q, it’s your former newsletter writer now returned while Aria is out. We just wrapped our TC Sessions: Space 2021 event, but as is often…
TechCrunch+ roundup: Travel bans and H-1Bs, Reddit’s IPO plans, early-stage space chat
I’ll be off on Tuesday, December 21, but we’ll return with a very comprehensive newsletter on Friday, December 24. Thanks very much for reading, and have a great week!
DCVC Partner and space explorer Chris Boshuizen is coming to TC Sessions: Space 2021
For now, we can still say that the number of people who’ve been to space is vanishingly small. But with the new pace at which Blue Origin is sending private…
Astra will launch a rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida for the first time in January
Astra is set to expand its launch footprint, after exclusively flying its first few rockets from Kodiak, Alaska. The startup will fly a mission from Cape Canaveral in Florida for…
Blue Origin’s Ariane Cornell is coming to TC Sessions: Space 2021
It’s hardly an exaggeration to say that Blue Origin had a banner year in 2021 — the company flew people to space for the first time using its reusable New…
NASA details intent to replace the International Space Station with a commercial space station by 2030
NASA’s auditing body, the Office of Audits, has produced a report detailing the agency’s commitment to replacing the International Space Station (ISS) with one or more commercial space stations once…
Hear how growth investors spot space companies ready to blast off at TC Sessions: Space 2021
The space economy is booming and for the first time ever, there’s a fair amount of exit event activity. That should have later stage investors who focus on the area…
Astroscale raises $109M for its on-orbit services technology
Japanese space startup Astroscale has raised $109 million in a new Series F round of financing, bringing the company’s total funding raised to date to $300 million. The company specializes…
Astra, Rocket Lab and Redwire will talk SPACs and going public at TC Sessions: Space 2021
Commercial space companies are increasingly seeking out paths to the public markets, and mergers with special purpose acquisition corporations (SPACs) are a popular mechanism for doing so. This year at…
Blue Origin sets six-person tourist trip to space for Michael Strahan, Laura Shepard Churchley and first parent-child duo
Blue Origin has announced its next human spaceflight: a six-person launch set for December 9. This is the first time that Blue Origin is flying a full complement of six…
Astra successfully reaches orbit for the first time with latest rocket launch
There’s another launch company newly able to count itself among the small (but growing) group that has reached orbit: Astra. The Alameda-based rocket startup notched that achievement late Friday night,…