British spaceports face competition from bases in Europe’s frozen north

While much attention has been focused on Virgin Orbit’s plan to launch from Spaceport Cornwall in England and the creation of launch facilities in Scotland, the development of new orbital spaceports in Scandinavia has largely flown under the radar. But, now one of those Nordic bases is ready for its closeup.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California, to provide launch services for the Sentinel-6B mission. Sentinel-6B will continue the long-term global sea level data record begun in 1992 by Topex/Poseidon followed by Jason 1, 2, 3, and Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich. The mission is a partnership between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, ESA (European Space Agency), and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites.

Virgin Orbit has received launch and range licenses from the UK government that will allow it to conduct its first satellite launch from Spaceport Cornwall at Cornwall Newquay Airport in January.

The failure of a Vega-C booster with two Earth observation satellites aboard on Tuesday ended a frustrating year for Europe that saw six joint launches with Russia canceled, a six-year delay in the ExoMars rover mission, and the maiden launch of Ariane 6 postponed until late next year.

The Virgin Group has put another $20 million into Virgin Orbit (NAS: VORB) less than seven weeks after pumping $25 million into the struggling launch provider. The latest infusion came through the sale of a senior secured convertible note to Virgin Investments Ltd.

Welcome to this week’s edition of S-SPACⁱ.

Today, we have the latest news about Arqit Quantum, Astra Space, AST SpaceMobile, Momentus, Satellogic and Planet Labs.

• Asset Monitoring Revenue Grew at a 35% CAGR Year-to-Date through October with Constellation-as-a-Service (CaaS) Business Gaining Momentum Following a Multi-Million-Dollar Agreement Awarded from the Republic of Albania
• Fully Funded, Debt-free 2023 Business Plan with Expectation of Reaching Adjusted EBITDA Breakeven in 2024
• $124 million in Cash at 1H 2022; Expected to be $78 – $82 million at End of 2022
• Established New ‘Space Systems’ Business Line to Sell Satellites Directly to Select Customers, with Unmatched Build-to-Launch Cycles of Less than 8 months
• Largest High Resolution Commercial Capture Capability (6.2MM sq km daily) in the World; Expanded Fleet to 26 Satellites in 2022
• Full Financial Results for 1H 2022 to be Issued Prior to Year End

NEW YORK (Satellogic PR) — Satellogic Inc. (NASDAQ: SATL), a leader in sub-meter resolution Earth Observation (“EO”) data collection, today provided a business update.

Arqit Quatum (NAS: ARQQ) announced it was abandoning plans to launch quantum encryption satellites because they are no longer necessary while reporting that the company received $20 million in revenue and other operating income for fiscal year 2022.

“As we separately announced today, innovation in the delivery of replicated randomness to data centres globally has eliminated the need for satellite distribution within our tech stack. This development is not only expected to have a positive impact on Arqit’s future financial results, it allowed us to reconsider our role in building satellites for third parties, particularly government and military customers,” said Arqit Founder, Chairman and CEO David Williams.

Rocket Lab (NAS: RKLB) has postponed its first Electron launch from U.S. soil and lowered its revenue guidance for the fourth quarter.

No longer able to export rocket engines to the United States, Roscomos is looking to India as a new market. RBC reports that the state corporation is exploring the possibility of supplying 10 RD-191 rocket engines manufactured by NPO Energomash to India over a five-year period beginning in 2024.