The Pulse
Space Insider
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Happy Friday, Space Enthusiasts!
From the launch of new academic programs and accelerators to successful funding rounds and mergers - the commercial side of the space industry continues to progress. Read on for this week's exciting roundup of space news.
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Oleg Kononenko has set a new world record for the most cumulative time spent in space. The Russian cosmonaut has spent over 878 days and 12 hours in space, making five journeys to the International Space Station since 2008. Kononenko’s current trip, which began on September 15, 2023, is expected to make him the first person to accumulate 1,000 days in space.
LeoLabs?has been selected to participate in the?U.S. Space Systems Command’s?Space Domain Awareness (SDA) Tools Applications and Processing (TAP) Lab Apollo Accelerator. The company will leverage its extensive catalogue of commercial assets in low Earth orbit to showcase AI-powered solutions for Combat ID and Space Battle Management. Throughout the three-month TAP Lab cycle, LeoLabs will actively test and refine its AI-powered solutions for SDA by responding to various threat warnings and assessment scenarios.
BAE Systems and University of Portsmouth Launch UK’s First Space Engineering Degree Apprenticeship
BAE Systems?and the?University of Portsmouth?have collaborated to launch a degree apprenticeship program in space engineering. The engineering degree program will include immersive learning experiences in space science and mission design at BAE Systems’ Alton and Guildford facilities. Applications close on February 28, 2024.
Lynk Global?has confirmed that it will go public via a merger with?Slam Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) led by former professional baseball player Alex Rodriguez. The merger could catapult Lynk Global to a $913.5 million post-money valuation. The influx of capital will enable the company to ramp up production to 12 satellites per month, with the goal of a constellation of 74 satellites that will be operational by late 2025, yielding an estimated $175 million in monthly revenue.
Synthetaic?has raised $15 Million in its Series B funding round. The successful round was led by prominent investors?Lupa Systems?and?TitletownTech, and joined by?IBM Ventures?and?Booz Allen Hamilton. Synthetaic’s analytics tool, RAIC, is unique for its ability to rapidly identify images or items within images.
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Rocket Lab has closed a private offering of convertible senior notes, securing $355 million in principal. Initially pegged at $300 million, the offering saw an increase fueled by robust demand, including the full exercise of a $55 million option available to initial purchasers. Factoring in capped call transactions, the effective conversion price for the notes is $8.04 per share.
Ball Aerospace has delivered the MethaneSAT satellite to Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Scheduled for launch next month, MethaneSAT aims to revolutionize our understanding of global methane emissions. MethaneSAT will offer a unique combination of large-scale tracking and pinpointing emissions sources, providing regional-scale coverage with high-resolution sensors capable of identifying emissions from individual facilities.
SmartSat has announced it will invest $2.3 million in a research project to develop Australia’s In-Orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) capacities. At the heart of the initiative lies a strategic endeavour to integrate autonomous robotic systems seamlessly into real-time, close proximity operations. Central to the research endeavour is the construction and demonstration of an end-to-end software stack, encompassing four advanced autonomy technologies within a unified code repository.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) India Private Limited has unveiled the AWS Space Accelerator: India. The 14-week accelerator program targets both early-stage and mature startups based in India and will provide?up to US$100,000 in AWS credits, along with guidance from experts at ISRO, IN-SPACe, and AWS, as well as support from T-Hub and Minfy. The application deadline is March 17th, 2024.
Voyager Space has finalized a Memorandum of Understanding and a teaming agreement with Palantir USG, Inc. to bolster national security capabilities within the commercial space domain. The partnership will primarily focus on leveraging cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies. Potential applications include space domain awareness (SDA), data fusion, and processing at the edge to facilitate autonomous decisions and secure collaboration with Allies.
NASA’s?Deep Space Station 13 has demonstrated its ability to receive both radio frequency and optical signals simultaneously from deep space. The antenna successfully tracked and decoded the downlink laser from NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) technology demonstration aboard the Psyche spacecraft. The successful tracking of DSOC’s downlink laser, even from distances as far as 20 million miles away, highlights the efficacy of optical communication, boasting speeds up to 40 times faster than traditional radio frequency transmissions.
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