TORONTO, ONTARIO, June 9th, 2021 (Kepler Communications PR) — Space company Kepler Communications has raised an oversubscribed US$60M Series B to provide it with a capital injection for the continued scaling of its on-orbit satellite communications network.

This Series B fundraising round, was led by Tribe Capital, and includes participation from a host of new investors including Canaan Partners. Existing investors including IA Ventures, and Costanoa Ventures also participated signaling their strong conviction in the company’s progress and market opportunity. This brings the total funding raised to date by Kepler to over USD$90M.

Virgin Orbit has posted an update on its third launch attempt, now scheduled for the last week in June. Here are the most relevant parts. We recently completed final integration for all of the satellites flying onboard LauncherOne during this mission — a total of 7 spacecraft from the Department of Defense Space Test Program, SatRevolution, and the Royal Netherlands Air Force…. Reminder: We’re so excited to bring you live views from Mojave […]

BOULDER, Colo. (Techstars PR) — Techstars is delighted to announce the incoming class for our deep tech focused Techstars Space Accelerator, a mostly-virtual program run in partnership with Arrow Electronics, SAIC, Lockheed Martin, Israel Aerospace Industries – North America and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The program focuses on the next generation of dual-use frontier technologies, including this year’s class of 10 companies focused on solutions in quantum, in-orbit services, autonomy, hypersonics, photonics, communications and cyber-physical security.  

GREENBELT, Md. (NASA PR) — The Lunar IceCube CubeSat successfully passed essential environmental testing at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The spacecraft, pictured above, will fly aboard the upcoming Artemis I mission to the Moon as a secondary payload to investigate the amount and distribution of water ice on the Moon.

WALLOPS, Va. (NASA PR) — Get up early June 15, grab a cup of coffee and watch the rise of Northrop Grumman’s Minotaur 1 rocket as it’s launched into space from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

The rocket carrying three national security payloads for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), is scheduled for launch at 7 a.m. June 15, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s (MARS) Pad 0B on Wallops Island. The U.S. Space Force (USSF) Space and Missile Systems Center’s Launch Enterprise is providing the launch services for this mission.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Ted Cruz PR) – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation, along with Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), today introduced the bipartisan, bicameral American Space Commerce Act. At a time when the U.S. has steadily decreased its dependence on foreign rockets and launch infrastructure, the American Space Commerce Act would continue to bolster U.S. leadership in the space industry, enhance public-private partnerships with American companies, and further increase U.S. innovation. In addition, U.S. Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives. This bill was introduced previously in June 2020.

Upon introduction, Sen. Cruz said:

“America’s ingenuity and leadership in space is crucial, and our commercial partners are continually playing a huge role in expanding access to the final frontier. The American Space Commerce Act allows for full expensing of space launch property, creating a tax environment that empowers this next generation of space explorers rather than holding them back with bureaucratic barriers. I am proud to once again join this bicameral, bipartisan effort to ensure America maintains a competitive edge in space through partnerships that bolster space commerce and civil space exploration.”

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

For eight years, they thundered aloft in cramped Russian spacecraft from a former Soviet spaceport in Kazakhstan, battling bureaucracy and gravity to blaze a trail across the heavens and redefine what it meant to be a space traveler. No longer would access to orbit be limited to highly trained astronauts chosen on merit and working on behalf of their nations; instead, space would be open to any sufficiently healthy people with enough money and moxie to qualify.

KENT, Wash. (Blue Origin PR) — Blue Origin will broadcast the live auction for the very first seat on New Shepard on Saturday, June 12th, BlueOrigin.com. The webcast will begin at 12:45 p.m. EDT/16:45 UTC. After a month-long process with nearly 6,000 participants from 143 countries, the current high bid stands at $3.5 million.   Anyone interested in bidding in the live auction must register by June 10th. Registration details can be found at BlueOrigin.com.   The winning bidder will fly […]

LONG BEACH, Calif., June 8, 2021 (Relativity Space PR) – Relativity Space, has revealed today its plans for Terran R, its fully reusable, entirely 3D-printed launch vehicle. 

As a two-stage, 216-foot-tall rocket with a 16-foot diameter, and a 5-meter payload fairing, Terran R will be entirely reusable and capable of launching 20,000kg to low Earth orbit (LEO). Created in Relativity’s Factory of the Future, by the same printers as Terran 1, Terran R has unique aeronautical features and complex structures. The company’s proprietary 3D printing process utilizes software-driven manufacturing, exotic materials and unique design geometries that are not possible in traditional manufacturing, driving unprecedented innovation and disruption in the industry.  

LONG BEACH, Calif., June 8, 2021 (Relativity Space PR) – Relativity Space, the first company to 3D print an entire rocket and build the largest metal 3D printers in the world, today announced it closed a $650 million Series E equity funding round. The round was led by Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC with participation from investors including Baillie Gifford, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Centricus, Coatue, K5 Global, Soroban Capital, Tiger Global, Tribe Capital, XN, Brad Buss, Mark Cuban, Jared Leto, and Spencer Rascoff, among others. Following the announcement of its fully reusable, entirely 3D printed rocket, Terran R, the company’s latest round of funding enables the scaling of the Terran R program and long-term infrastructure development.  

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — Expedition 65 astronauts will conduct two spacewalks – one Wednesday, June 16, and the other Sunday, June 20 – to install new solar arrays to help power the International Space Station. NASA will discuss the upcoming spacewalks during a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT Monday, June 14. Live coverage of the news conference and spacewalks will air on NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app.

NASA flight engineer Shane Kimbrough and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet will conduct both spacewalks, which will be the 239th and 240th in support of station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

SEATTLE, June 7, 2021 (Spaceflight Inc. PR) — Spaceflight Inc., the leading global launch services provider, will debut newly developed technical innovations utilized for its next-generation Sherpa program, enabling small satellite transportation throughout cislunar space in a way that has never been accomplished before. Intentionally architected with modular plug-and-play subsystems, Spaceflight’s next-gen Sherpa orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) program offers customers flexibility and customization, including multiple types of propulsion for last-mile delivery, flight-proven avionics and separation sequencers, rich deployment telemetry and imaging systems, direct space-to-ground networks, and more. Based on a standardized 24” ESPA port, the Sherpa OTVs offer a reconfigurable 300 kilogram payload capacity and are sized to launch on most rockets.