This week on The Space Show with Dr. David Livingston: Tuesday, May 31 — 7 PM PDT (9 PM CDT; 10 PM EDT): Guests: Dr. Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Bob returns with news, updates, and discussion heard nowhere else! Wednesday, June 1 — 1 PM PDT (3 PM CDT; 4PM EDT): Hotel Mars. See the Upcoming Show Menu at www.thespaceshow.com for details. Friday, June 3 — 9:30-11 AM PDT; 11:30 AM- 1 […]

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Momentus PR) — Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS) (“Momentus” or the “Company”), a U.S.  commercial space company that plans to offer transportation and other in-space infrastructure services, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022.

“We’re excited to have seen momentum building last quarter as we move toward the first launch of our Vigoride orbital transfer vehicle to low earth orbit,” said Momentus Chief Executive John Rood. “We recently shipped the Vigoride spacecraft to Cape Canaveral, Florida for integration onto a SpaceX rocket. Cape Canaveral has been the site of so many historic firsts in space, and we’re looking forward to a historic first for our company when we put the Vigoride spacecraft in orbit for the first time.”

Donors investing in advancing Astrodynamics Platform to Discover Asteroids

SAN FRANCISCO, May 27, 2022 (B612 Foundation PR) — The B612 Foundation announced today a new $1 million matching challenge grant from Tito’s Handmade Vodka and separate $1.3 million in gifts to advance their efforts to build the Asteroid Discovery Analysis and Mapping (ADAM) cloud-based astrodynamics platform. B612 Foundation, and its core program, the Asteroid Institute, is committed to expanding humanity’s knowledge of our solar system, including the discovery of asteroids and their orbits.

By Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

As NASA prepares to send astronauts back to the moon, the spaced agency is funding a series of research and development (R&D) projects focused on turning lunar regolith into landing pads, blast shields and other useful structures.

NASA recently selected four R&D projects for funding under its Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)  program. The projects, which partner small businesses with academia, will each receive up to $150,000 apiece for studies lasting 13 months.

• Strong business activity with backlog growing to $1.52 billion, up 122% YoY
• Steady revenue growth with revenues of $128.4 million, up 4% YoY
• Solid profitability with EBITDA of $35.6 million (27.7% margin) and adjusted EBITDA excluding non-recurring items of $27.7 million (21.6% margin)
• Key awards include Globalstar’s LEO constellation and Phase B of Canadarm3
• Subsequent to quarter-end, MDA announced the redemption of its $150 million second lien notes and refinancing of its revolving credit facility

BRAMPTON, ON (MDA PR) – MDA Ltd. (TSX: MDA), a leading provider of advanced technology and services to the rapidly expanding global space industry, today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 demonstrating strong order bookings, growing backlog and solid profitability.  

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

NASA is funding a pair of research and development (R&D) projects by Sachi Bioworks and Soterix Medical aimed at improving the health of astronauts flying to the International Space Station and on deep-space missions.

Each company received a Phase II award worth up to $750,000 under the space agency’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. NASA previously provided smaller Phase I awards for the companies to begin R&D work.

Sachi Bioworks, which is located in Boulder, Colo., is working on pharmaceutical counter measures to protect astronauts on deep space missions from the harmful effects of radiation, which include the suppression of the immune system.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Small satellite manufacturer Terran Orbital reported a first quarter net loss of $71.4 million on $13.1 million in revenues, but the company said it had a record backlog of $222 million at the end of March. The adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) loss was $14.7 million for the quarter.

“We had a record quarter of contract wins and grew our backlog to more than $220 million by quarter end. We are focused on delivering satellites and expanding our production capacity to satisfy our growing customer demand. Market demand signals for small satellites have been increasing rapidly in 2022 as evidenced by the growth in defense budgets. We continue to see tremendous demand for our satellite manufacturing business going into 2022 and have built our pipeline to over $12 billion of opportunities,” said CEO/Chairman Marc Bell.

VIENNA (United Nations Information Service) — The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) are opening up the Large Diameter Centrifuge (LDC) facility at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, to UN Member States. Under the joint HyperGES fellowship, student teams supported by scientists and researchers are invited to conduct experiments in controlled hypergravity conditions. Applications must be submitted by 18 November 2022.

The HyperGES programme is part of the “Access to Space for All” initiative enabling teams of students from all over the world, with particular attention to developing countries, to conduct experiments in controlled hypergravity conditions between 1g-20g with different experiment scenarios, duration, and equipment. 

PARIS (CNES PR) — On May 23, 2022, CNES “Launches the Future” with an ambitious student competition aimed at imagining, inventing, modeling and prototyping the space transport of tomorrow. Candidates will have until November 2, 2022 to submit their applications and try to win a unique experience with CNES. Through this competition, the CNES offers the opportunity to French higher education establishments to mobilize around an innovative technological project and to […]

SPRINGFIELD, Va. (NGA PR) – The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, in partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is offering its LandScan Global and LandScan High-Definition data sets free without restrictions to the public for the first time since their initial publication in 1999. 

The public availability of these foundational human geography population datasets will help institutions plan for and respond to emergencies, assess human health and security risks, conduct site suitability studies, and a range of other applications that depend on accurate population data. 

“Understanding the geographic distribution of populations is critically important, both in times of crisis and in the development of informed strategies for the future,” said Roger Marin, director of the office of geography at NGA.

By David Bullock
Staff Writer

What happens when you get a fashion icon and combine his passion for space? You get the year-old company SpaceOne Industries started by Nick Graham, former CEO of Joe Boxer and a designer to astronauts such as Buzz Aldrin.

“I’ve always collaborated a lot at NASA. I started SpaceOne and kind of put all these ideas under one roof,” said Nick Graham, CEO of SpaceOne. “I know a lot about how to make stuff and design stuff. The efficiencies of what we can do are technologically pretty good. We could source anything from around the world, The design and graphics are pretty much drawn by me. So, we’re lean and mean and efficient.“

• Funding for the German ESA Business Incubation Centers (BIC) has been secured for a further four years.
• Funding for the incubation program will be increased by almost 70 percent to a total of 11.6 million euros.
• By 2025, the program will have grown to 13 locations in seven federal states.

BERLIN, Germany (DLR PR) — The financial future of the German ESA Business Incubation Centers (BIC) is secured in the coming years: As part of the ESA Investor Forum, which took place from May 16 to 17, 2022 in Berlin, Luca del Monte, Head of Commercialization at the European Space Agency (ESA) and Dr. Walther Pelzer, Member of the DLR Executive Board and Head of the German Space Agency at DLR, the extension of the funding for a further four years was announced. The funding will also be increased by around 70 percent. The aim of the incubation centers is to support the commercial use of space technologies and satellite-based services in non-space markets (spin-off) and the use of new technologies in space (spin-in).