Weekly Recap #46 - Rocket Strikes the Moon

Main Topics Satellites * The USSF awarded Rocket Lab $397M to develop, launch, and operate a constellation of flat-stacked satellites under the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator program (SB-AMTI). [source] * Canada’s Defence Investment Agency has awarded Telesat a $2.3B CAD contract to expand the Lightspeed Constellation from 156 to 225 satellites with assets built by MDA as part of the Enhanced Satellite Communications Project - Polar (ESCP-P) program. [source] * Kreios announced the planned flight of their first VLEO satellite boasting the first air-breathing electric propulsion platform launched into orbit. [source] * Nornir Space announced their AI based satellite architecture platform. [source] Setbacks * EchoStar’s Hughes Network filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as $1.5B debt comes due. [source] * A SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage collided with the moon. [source] * Blue Origin traced their New Glenn explosion to a failed oxygen valve. [source] * Apex’s Nova 1 Satellite failed to communicate on orbit. [source] Emerging Sectors * The FCC awarded Xona Space Systems spectrum approval for 258 LEO Position, Navigation, and Timing satellites. [source] * Neuraspace raised $18M for Space Situational Awareness and Space Traffic Management. [source] * Redwire signed with SpaceX’s Starfall to fly 32 drug labs to eclipse the ISS program in a single flight. [source] Business Moves * Capella, Umbra, and ICEYE won NRO radar data contracts [source] * Seraphim invested £21M into Pixxel and Zeno Power. [source] Tech Advances * SpaceX announced the intent to acquire 130,000 acres of marshland in Louisiana to build a new launch site. [source] Get full access to Space Times at spacetimespod.substack.com/subscribe