Successful Launch of BlackSky’s Newest Satellite Advances the Company’s Dawn-to-Dusk Global Monitoring and High-Revisit Capabilities

HERNDON, Va. (BlackSky PR) — BlackSky, a leading provider of real-time geospatial intelligence and global monitoring services, today announced that its latest Gen-2 satellite, BlackSky 7, delivered first insights within 24 hours of launch. Within that time frame, the BlackSky operations team conducted satellite checkout and the satellite collected its first images. At the same time, those images were downlinked, processed and analyzed using BlackSky’s Spectra AI suite of AI/ML algorithms to detect objects of interest and establish the first insight milestone. This latest satellite was launched at 22:30 UTC, March 22, 2021 on the Rocket Lab “They Go Up So Fast” mission.

• OneWeb confirms successful launch and contact with all 36 satellites
• The latest deployment brings the in-orbit constellation to 146 satellites
• On track to cover 50 degrees Latitude and above by end of year; three more launches to go

LONDON, 25 March 2021 (OneWeb PR) — OneWeb, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications company, has confirmed the successful launch of all 36 satellites by Arianespace from the Vostochny Cosmodrome. This launch, its second under new ownership, brings its total in-orbit constellation to 146 satellites. These will form part of OneWeb’s 648 LEO satellite fleet that will deliver high-speed, low-latency global connectivity.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., March 25, 2021 (ABL Space Systems PR)– ABL Space Systems has closed a Series B investment round of $170 million at a valuation of $1.3 billion. The round was led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. Participation in the round included existing ABL investors and new investments by Fidelity Management & Research LLC and an unnamed third global investment management firm.

Company’s real-time geospatial solutions to average one-hour dawn-to-dusk imaging revisit rates and 90-minute delivery times

HERNDON, Va.–(BlackSky PR)–BlackSky, a leading provider of real-time geospatial intelligence and global monitoring services that recently announced a planned business combination with Osprey Technology Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: SFTW), today reported it has secured five Rocket Lab missions to deploy nine satellites between March and the end of 2021. The first of these launches took place on March 22, 2021. The company is accelerating the deployment of its constellation of Gen-2, high-revisit, high-resolution imaging satellites and expects to deliver capabilities in 2021 that were originally planned for delivery in 2022.

Extended testing in Inuvik, Canada shows Kymeta u8 approaching speeds 10X faster than previous generations in extreme weather conditions and temperatures

Redmond, Wash. and Toronto, Ontario, March 23^rd, 2021 (Kymeta/Kepler Communications PR) — Kymeta (www.kymetacorp.com), the communications company making mobile global, and Kepler Communications (www.kepler.space) announced today the successful demonstration of the Kymeta u8 Terminal with LEO satellite acquisition, tracking and throughput measurements, during extreme cold weather temperatures. The collaboration with Kepler supports Kymeta’s goal to develop solutions that are future proof with a clear LEO upgrade path and compatible with growing mega constellations. 

• Redwire is a pure play space infrastructure company providing critical technology and services to fast-growing national security, civil, and commercial markets
• Global space economy growing rapidly, projected to exceed $2 trillion in 2040
• Business combination values Redwire at a pro forma enterprise value of $615 million; transaction expected to deliver approximately $170 million cash to the Redwire balance sheet (assuming no redemptions)
• Includes a fully committed and oversubscribed $100 million common stock PIPE with participation by Senvest Management, LLC and Crescent Park Management, L.P.
• Proven management team and 50+ years of space heritage and deep customer relationships in space and aerospace
• Undisputed leader in rapidly expanding 3D printing/manufacturing and robotic assembly in space, which is critical to the future of space infrastructure solutions
• Strong financial foundation with current revenue, EBITDA, and free cash flow
• Projected 2021 revenue of $163 million and forecasted 72% 2021E – 2025E revenue CAGR, with positive and growing Adj. EBITDA and cash flow driven by an over $23 billion pipeline of identifiable contracts
• Current Redwire stockholders, Genesis Park stockholders and PIPE investors will hold shares in the combined company to be listed on the NYSE

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. and HOUSTON, March 25, 2021 (Redwire PR) — Redwire (or “the Company”), a leader in mission-critical space solutions and high reliability components for the next generation space economy, and Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: GNPK) (“Genesis Park”), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, announced today that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement that will result in Redwire becoming a publicly traded company. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2021, and at that time, Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. will change its name to Redwire and the company will trade on the NYSE.

CHRISTCHURCH, NZ, 23 March 2021 (Dawn Aerospace PR) – Dawn Aerospace has announced another of the company’s CubeSat propulsion units, designed to manoeuvre small satellites in space, has been successfully launched.

The CubeSat propulsion unit flew on Hiber Three, an Internet-of-Things (IoT) satellite created by European company Hiber. The satellite was launched on 22 March from Baikonur on a Rosocosmos Soyuz-2 rocket.

SWINDON, UK (UK Space Agency PR) — Five new projects have been awarded a share of over £1 million [$1.38 million] of government funding to work with international partners on innovative space technology.

Projects to remotely probe ice on Mars to help explorers find life below the surface, a system to warn of impacts of flood risks to infrastructure based on research in India and a scheme to design UK imaging technology for a space telescope are among the new international initiatives to receive backing from the UK Space Agency’s National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP).

The funding will see UK companies and organisations working with partners such as NASA, and space agencies from Canada, Japan and Italy. NSIP is the first fund dedicated to supporting the UK space sector’s innovation through collaborations with international partners designed to contribute to UK science, security and prosperity.

• In a joint project with NASA, DLR successfully tested masts for deployable satellite structures in the aircraft hangar in Braunschweig.
• The long-term goal of the cooperation is to test the developed expandable structures in space.
• The first results will be presented at the 16th ECSSMET from March 23-25, 2021.

BRAUNSCHWEIG, Germany (DLR PR) — It took a large hangar to unfold the four ultra-lightweight booms, each made of carbon fibre-reinforced composites and 13.5 metres long, arranged in a cross shape. Researchers from the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) tested the booms twice in the aircraft hangar at the DLR site in Braunschweig. In cooperation with the US space agency NASA, the aim is to develop deployable satellite structures that will make low-cost, small satellites more powerful in the future with deployable, miniaturised structures for power supply, communications and propulsion.

Video Caption: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris placed a special phone call to Shannon Walker and Kate Rubins aboard the International Space Station to find out what it’s like to do science in space. During the month of March, NASA celebrates and pays tribute to the many women who have played an essential role in shaping the history of the agency. Learn more about Shannon Walker by visiting: https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biogr…​ Learn […]

• Arianespace and EUMETSAT signed an update of their Launch Services Agreement for two Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) satellites.
• The sounder satellite MTG-S1 and the imager satellite MTG-I2 will be launched with Ariane 6, the next generation of Ariane family of launchers.
• Arianespace will also place into orbit the MTG-I1 satellite with an Ariane 5 launcher by the end of 2022. The launch orderbook includes two more state-of-the-art meteorological polar satellites as well as one additional launch, still in option.

EVRY-COURCOURONNES, France, March 23, 2021 (Arianespace PR) — Today, at the occasion of the World Meteorological Day, EUMETSAT and Arianespace signed an update of their Launch Services Agreement for two Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) satellites. Through this updated agreement, Arianespace is confirmed by EUMETSAT to launch the sounder satellite MTG-S1 and the imager satellite MTG-I2 with Ariane 6, the next generation of Ariane family of launchers.

PARIS (ESA PR) — As part of its Boost! programme, ESA has signed two new contracts which support UK-based Orbex and Skyrora in their separate proposals for new commercial launch services for small satellites. These services are set to start in the UK from 2022.

ESA has awarded €7.45 million [£6.42 million/$8.11 million] of co-funding to Orbex and its partners, and €3 million [£2.59 million/$3.55 million] to Skyrora.