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Space Impulse
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Happy Friday, Space Enthusiasts!
This week, along with SpaceX's groundbreaking third test flight of the Starship, the space industry has seen a real focus on government developments to support national space interests and to nurture a thriving space economy. From programs recognizing diversity in space tech to ambitious industrial plans being unveiled, there is a lot to look forward to!
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The UK government has unveiled the Space Industrial Plan – a joint civil defence initiative to further develop government and commercial collaboration in the space sector. The plan outlines 5 key capability goals where “the UK seeks leadership across” including SDA, in-orbit servicing, space data for earth applications, PNT, and satellite comms tech. The plan also serves as a guiding framework for future spending decisions and resource and effort direction.
SpaceX launched the third test flight for their behemoth rocket, Starship from Boca Chica, Texas on Thursday morning. The test flight achieved two major milestones – successfully reaching orbit and reentering the Earth’s atmosphere soon after. After a clean separation of the first and second stages, the descent of the first stage encountered difficulties resulting in the loss of the spacecraft.
The U.S. Senate has passed a $467.5 billion FY2024 funding bill encompassing six of the twelve regular appropriation bills including Commerce-Justice-Science which covers NASA and NOAA. The remaining six bills including the Department of Defense will be decided on by March 22. NASA and NOAA face significant budget cuts while the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation will see an increase in funding.
South Korea has announced an ambitious plan to double its space industry budget by 2027 and join the global space race. The initiative aims to manufacture satellites and rockets and provide astronaut training. Specialized facilities are being developed across three key locations: Sacheon, Goheung, and Daejeon.
The Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund has invested $3.9M to move forward with the Aerospace Innovation Hub. The Hub will provide aerospace innovators and research with crucial resources, business support, and opportunities to validate their technologies in real-world settings. Over the next four years, the AIH is expected to support up to 180 companies through incubator programming and create 150 net new skilled jobs.
The Space Skills Alliance has launched the 2024 Space Census. A key focal point of the census is to address pertinent issues including diversity, pay equity, and career progression within the sector. This year’s survey includes new areas of inquiry including professional development and retention.
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Phantom Space Corp. has closed a bridge funding round to develop and manufacture satellites and launch vehicles. The exact value of this round remains undisclosed, but the company has secured approximately $37 million to date. One of Phantom’s flagship projects, Daytona, is a versatile launch vehicle tailored for payloads weighing up to 500 kilograms.
Simera Sense has secured €13.5 million in its first investment round led by NewSpace Capital and Knife Capital. The funding infusion will enable the company to enhance its product range, expand production capabilities, and accelerate the development of on-board processing technologies. The company will focus on on-board data processing capabilities embedded within the camera control electronics.
Lumen Orbit has announced the closure of a $2.4 million pre-seed investment round. The company aims to establish a network of orbital data centers for processing raw data collected by other satellites. The first demonstrator satellite is set to launch in May 2025 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Japan company, Space One‘s small Kairos rocket exploded?shortly after liftoff. The rocket was carrying an experimental government satellite designed to temporarily replace intelligence satellites in orbit. Despite the setback, Space One remains determined to establish itself in the competitive space industry by offering “space courier services” to both domestic and international clients.
Defense Unicorns has received a $15 million funding increase from the U.S. Space Force Strategic Funding Initiative (STRATFI) to update launch IT systems and software applications. Defense Unicorns’ open-source technologies offer a comprehensive Unicorn Delivery Service (UDS) solution, facilitating the accelerated delivery of software and AI capabilities to diverse environments.
Internlune has raised $15 million in a recent funding round, bringing the total amount raised by the company to $18 million. Interlune’s groundbreaking technology aims to sustainably extract Helium-3 and other valuable resources from the moon. Helium-3, a resource abundantly available on the Moon yet scarce on Earth holds promise for various sectors, including national security, quantum computing, medical imaging, and fusion energy.
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Unicorns and Space go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly