Space SPAC Index – Terran Orbital Stock Double Downgraded

Welcome to S-SPACⁱ. In this edition, Terran Orbital’s stock is double downgraded, Virgin Galactic plans to issue more stock to key personnel, BlackSky will monitor U.S. coal power plant inventory, Intuitive Machines moves its landing site to the lunar south pole, Rocket Lab wins a launch contract, Planet Labs partnered to monitor biodiversity, Momentus will deliver a Lunasonde satellite to orbit, and Satixfy appointed an interim CEO.

Terran Orbital stock double downgraded

Bank of America analyst Ronald Epstein has double downgraded Terran Orbital (NYSE: LLAP) from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating. That means the stock fell below outperform and hold, and rests just above sell. Epstein put a price target on the stock of $1.35. The stock closed on Saturday at $1.17.

Seeking Alpha reported that Epstein sees significant risk associated with Terran Orbital’s ramp-up on its $2.4 billion contract with Rivada Space Networks and a lack of revenue diversity. Terran Orbital is building 300 communications satellites for Rivada.

“In our view, Rivada is still a largely unknown customer and we remain concerned around the durability of its growth,” Epstein wrote. “Additionally, while management appears confident in the company’s ability to raise capital, we remain skeptical around the market’s appetite. With that said, the company may be able to attract strategic investment.”

Virgin Galactic to award new shares to key personnel

With commercial flights set to begin in late June, Virgin Galactic plans to award 8.2 million shares of stock to key employees under its 2019 Incentive Award Plan, according to a May 12 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“The [Incentive Award] Plan’s purpose is to enhance the Company’s ability to attract, retain and motivate persons who make (or are expected to make) important contributions to the Company by providing these individuals with equity ownership opportunities and/or equity-linked compensatory opportunities,” the company said in a filing.

BlackSky to monitor US coal power plant inventory

SynMax has selected BlackSky Technology (NYSE: BKSY) to monitor coal stockpiles at more than 100 US power plants.

“SynMax selected BlackSky’s advanced burst imagery capability, which focuses on a single target and generates five shots over a 15-second period,” SynMax said in a press release. “This allows multiple view angles and unprecedented accuracy of resulting analytics, as well as motion tracking of objects at the target location. Burst imagery, along with all BlackSky offerings, can uniquely be captured from early in the day to late in the evening. SynMax will use BlackSky’s time-diverse imagery to generate 3-D volumetric products.”

Space SPAC Index
May 31, 2023

Intuitive Machines moves landing site to South Pole

Intuitive Machines (Nasdaq: LUNR) and NASA have agreed to move the landing site for the company’s first lunar landing mission to the Moon’s South Pole as a step in managing risks for future human landings later in the decade under the Artemis program.

“The decision to move from the original landing site in Oceanus Procellarum was based on a need to learn more about terrain and communications near the lunar South Pole, which is expected to be one of the best locations for a sustained human presence on the Moon,” reads a NASA press release. “Landing near Malapert A also will help mission planners understand how to communicate and send data back to Earth from a location that is low on the lunar horizon. The landing date is expected in the third quarter of 2023.”

The IM-1 mission will carry payloads from NASA and private organizations to the moon. The space agency is funding the mission under its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.

Rocket Lab to launch Telesat satellite

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) announced it will launch the LEO 3 communications satellite for global satellite operator Telesat on an Electron mission. The satellite has been built and manifested to Electron by mission management provider and satellite developer Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) of Toronto.

The LEO 3 demonstration satellite will provide continuity for customer and ecosystem vendor testing campaigns following the decommissioning of Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite. The spacecraft will operate as part of Telesat’s Lightspeed constellation.

The launch is scheduled for liftoff from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand no earlier than the third quarter of 2023.

Momentus to deliver Lunasonde satellite to orbit

Momentus (Nasdaq: MNTS) has signed an agreement with Lunasonde to deliver the Picacho CubeSat into orbit. Picacho will demonstrate technology designed to identify sub-surface water and minerals. Picacho will fly on the Vigoride-7 orbital transfer vehicle targeted to launch on the SpaceX Transporter-9 rideshare mission in October 2023.

“We are excited to partner with Momentus on this mission,” said Lunasonde Founder and CEO Jeremiah Pate. “The responsive and versatile nature of the Vigoride platform has been a fantastic opportunity for our Picacho technology demonstrator, which will pave the way for Lunasonde’s groundbreaking insights into the Earth’s subsurface environment.”

Planet Labs partners with ERM to measure biodiversity

Planet Labs (NYSE: PL) has partnered with global sustainability consulting firm ERM to further the measurement of biodiversity using satellite imagery.

“By linking satellite imagery and insights, the partnership between ERM and Planet accelerates data-driven decision-making to inform corporate sustainability strategies, management systems, and disclosure,” reads an ERM press release. “Planet and ERM’s joint capabilities can be applied to a multitude of projects including methane emissions monitoring, Nature-Based Solutions planning, climate risk analysis, and impact assessment for capital projects.”

Current and future use cases include methane emissions monitoring, natural climate/nature-based solutions, biodiversity, and nature assessments, sustainable capital project development, and compliance tracking for new construction.

Satixfy appoints acting CEO

SatixFy Communications (NYSE AMERICAN: SATX) has appointed Nir Barkan as acting CEO effective on June 1. He will replace current CEO Ido Gur, who has decided to step down.

Nir Barkan previously served as Satixfy’s Chief Commercial Officer from 2014 until 2018. He served as co-founder, group CTO, general manager, and as director of Curvalux, a company focused on sustainable fixed wireless broadband technology from 2018-2023 before rejoining Satixfy.

Mr. Barkan holds an MBA in Strategy and Entrepreneurship and a B.Sci. in Electronics and Electricity from Tel-Aviv University.