Space SPAC Index – Terran Orbital Receives Milestone Payment for Rivada Constellation

Welcome to S-SPACⁱ. In this edition, Terran Orbital received a milestone payment for the Rivada satellite constellation, Intuitive Machines’ joint venture won a major contract, and AST SpaceMobile made an historic phone call. Plus, news about BlackSky and Rocket Lab.

Terran Orbital Gets Milestone Payment

Terran Orbital (NYS: LLAP) announced on Thursday that it received a milestone payment for the $2.4 billion, 300-satellite constellation it is building for Rivada Space Networks. Terran Orbital, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, also announced completion of the screening of industrial partners and trade studies that will support the acquisition process and system engineering.

Deployment of Rivada’s data network constellation will begin with a demonstrator mission at the end of 2024 that will consist of four satellites across two orbital planes. The spacecraft will feature laser communication terminals.

Space SPAC Index
April 27, 2023

Intuitive Machines JV Wins Contract

A joint venture of Intuitive Machines (NAS: LUNR) and KBR named Space & Technology Solutions, a.k.a., Space Networks Solutions, has won a cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract to support work related to the Joint Polar Satellite System, NASA’s exploration and in-space services. The contract has a maximum value of $719 million.

AST SpaceMobile Makes Satellite Call

AST SpaceMobile, (NAS: ASTS) has announced the first-ever, two-way voice calls made directly from a standard cell phone through an orbiting satellite. The calls were made from the Midland, Texas area to Rakuten in Japan via the company’s BlueWalker 3 (BW3) satellite using a Samsung Galaxy S22 smart phone and AT&T spectrum.

“The initial test calls have validated the AST SpaceMobile patented system and architecture, and were completed using unmodified smartphones,” the company said in a press release. “The calls demonstrated the power of AST SpaceMobile’s BW3 satellite, the largest-ever commercial communications array deployed in low Earth orbit and is an important step to providing space-based 2G, 3G, 4G LTE and 5G cellular broadband globally. Engineers from Vodafone, Rakuten and AT&T participated in the preparation and testing of the first voice calls with BW3.”

AST SpaceMobile is planning to launch 243 satellites to provide communications services through unmodified cell phones.

BlackSky Reseller Inks Contracts

BlackSky Technology (NYS: BKSY) reseller Telespazio Ibérica will deliver Spain’s first-ever high-cadence, low-latency rapid emergency imagery service to the Government of Aragon and the Geographic Institute of Aragon (IGEAR). The autonomous community of Aragon will use the imagery service to streamline responses to various crisis situations including fires, floods and other natural disasters.

Rocket Lab to Reuse Engine

Rocket Lab (NAS: RKLB) will use a previously flown Rutherford engine on an upcoming Electron launch during the third quarter of this year. It will mark the first time the company is reusing an engine from a recovered first stage. The 3D printed engine flew on the “There and Back Again” in May 2022. The engine has undergone rigorous qualification and acceptance testing to certify it for re-flight.

Rocket Lab will launch two Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) satellites for NASA on April 30. The launch window is from 9:00-11:00 p.m. EDT (01:00–03:00 UTC on May 1).