by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
When it came out of stealth mode in 2012, Planetary Resources promised to fuel the development of the solar system and mint the world’s first trillionaires by mining the riches of the asteroids.
Eight years later, Planetary Resources’ trillionaire-making intellectual property has been open sourced for anyone to use by ConsenSys, a block chain startup that purchased the company in October 2018.
(more…)
Formed in 2010 to mine asteroids so its founders could become the world’s first trillionaires, Planetary Resources has now pivoted to developing “TruSat, an open source, open-sensor system for creating a globally-accessible, independent record of satellite orbital positions.”
The company, now known as ConsenSys Space after it was acquired last year by a blockchain software technology startup, made the announcement on Tuesday at the International Astronautical Congress in Washington, DC.
A message from ConsenSys Space’s Chris Lewicki follows.
(more…)
Forbes takes a critical look at cryptocurrency/block chain guru Joe Lubin, whose ConsenSys company purchased asteroid mining company Planetary Resources. (Although given the headline, critical seems polite: Cryptopia In Crisis: Joe Lubin’s Ethereum Experiment Is A Mess. How Long Will He Prop It Up?)
So, how does asteroid mining fit into Lubin’s master plan?
Lubin insists ConsenSys is getting more selective in picking projects. But old habits die hard. In October it bought a nine-year-old asteroid-mining company called Planetary Resources. “We see it as a group of amazingly capable people who are interested in exploring how blockchain could ramify on space operations,” Lubin says abstrusely.
Ramify? Huh…
Luxembourg Economy Minister Etienne Schneider has disclosed to Parliament that the nation lost €12 million ($13.7 million) investing in the asteroid mining company Planetary Resources, the Luxembourg Times reports. In October, Luxembourg sold its stake in the company, which was acquired by the block chain management firm ConsenSYS. The SNCI set up the SAAM Luxembourg, a company created with €13.75 million [$15.7 million], of which €12 million [$13.7 million] was […]
The government of Luxembourg’s investment in asteroid miner turned block chainer Planetary Resources is over, the Luxembourg Times reports. The Luxembourg government sold its 10% stake in US space firm Planetary Resources ahead of its takeover by blockchain venture ConsenSys. ConsenSys announced on Wednesday it had acquired Planetary Resources through an asset-purchase transaction. The Luxembourg government first took a stake in the company in 2016, when the Economy Ministry signed […]
NEW YORK (ConsenSys PR) — Blockchain venture production studio ConsenSys, Inc. has acquired the pioneering space company Planetary Resources, Inc. through an asset-purchase transaction. Planetary Resources’ President & CEO Chris Lewicki and General Counsel Brian Israel have joined ConsenSys in connection with the acquisition.
(more…)
Well, this doesn’t sound good. In a fresh sign of the financial straits facing Planetary Resources, the asteroid mining company will be auctioning off hundreds of items from its headquarters in Redmond, Wash., ranging from industrial-strength CNC machine tools and 3-D printers to laptops and folding chairs. The online auction will be conducted by James G. Murphy & Co. from Aug. 21 to 28, with a preview scheduled on Aug. […]
Arkyd-6 spacecraft (Credit: Planetary Resources)
Mission Update from Planetary Resources
On January 12, 2018, we launched the Arkyd-6, a 6U CubeSat, a demonstration platform for technology intended to detect water resources in space. The launch on the Indian PSLV C40 was spectacular and within hours after our spacecraft reached its polar Earth orbit, the team began to regularly receive healthy telemetry from the spacecraft.
Planetary Resources came out of stealth mode six years ago this month. John Stewart had a good deal of fun with that one.
Arkyd-6 spacecraft (Credit: Planetary Resources)
Alan Boyle at GeekWire reports that asteroid mining company Planetary Resources has been forced to make some cutbacks.
A spokeswoman for Planetary Resources, Stacey Tearne, told GeekWire that financial challenges have forced the company to focus on leveraging the Arkyd-6 mission for near-term revenue — apparently by selling imagery and data.
“Planetary Resources missed a fundraising milestone,” Tearne explained in an email. “The company remains committed to utilizing the resources from space to further explore space, but is focusing on near-term revenue streams by maximizing the opportunity of having a spacecraft in orbit.”
Tearne said no further information was available, and did not address questions about employment cutbacks. However, reports from other sources in the space community suggest there have been notable job reductions. For what it’s worth, Planetary Resources had more than 70 employees at last report.
