Welcome to Biz Briefs! In this edition, Axiom Space raised $350 million, the Space Development Agency (SDA) awarded $1.5 billion in contracts to Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, Sidus Space and SCOUT Space made acquisitions, Redwire and Sierra Space partnered on biotech manufacturing, and much more.

Capella‘s third-generation synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites offer highest quality imagery, best resolution, and fastest order-to-delivery speeds

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 10, 2022 (Capella Space PR) –– Capella Space, a leading Earth observation company, today unveiled several new capabilities planned for its next generation satellites, further expanding the company’s cutting-edge, premium data offerings. This new generation of Capella satellites, referred to as “Acadia” technology, will expand the existing Capella constellation to provide highest quality imagery, best ground-range resolution, and the fastest order-to-delivery speeds available from any commercial SAR provider.

FRL/RIE and Space Force Delta 2 will work with SCOUT to advance SDA metric observation tasking and catalog augmentation using space-based sensing

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 22, 2022 (SCOUT Space PR) — SCOUT Space Inc., a spaceflight hardware, software, and data provider developing solutions for improved safety and transparency in space today announced they have been granted a Phase II SBIR contract through AFWERX, the Technology Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the innovation arm of the Department Air Force. SCOUT will work with AFRL/RIE (Intelligence Systems Division) and the Space Operations Command (SpOC) Delta 2 to advance classical space domain awareness (SDA) metric observation tasking and catalog augmentation using space-based sensing.

Constellation will accelerate national defense capabilities against hypersonic and advanced missile threats

REDONDO BEACH, Calif., July 18, 2022 (Northrop Grumman PR) – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has won a competition to build and deploy a proliferated low-Earth orbit constellation of 14 satellites with infrared sensors for the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Tranche 1 Tracking Layer (T1TRK).T1TRK will detect, identify and track hypersonic weapons and other advanced missiles from their earliest stages of launch through interception.

REDONDO BEACH, Calif., July 5, 2022 (Northrop Grumman PR) – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) today announced the selection of Airbus U.S. Space & Defense Inc. as the commercial provider of satellite platforms for its proliferated-LEO constellation. Under the terms of the contract, Airbus U.S. will supply 42 satellite “bus” platforms, as well as support vehicle assembly, integration and testing.

Northrop Grumman teamed with Mynaric and Innoflight to bring the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) vision of a secure, proliferated low-Earth orbit (LEO) mesh communication network closer to reality

REDONDO BEACH, Calif. (Northrop Grumman PR) – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) today announced the successful ground demonstration of a secure networked laser communications system for proliferated-LEO constellations supporting the U.S. military.

Contract will see MDA design and build antennas and control electronics for 42 low Earth orbit satellites

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 it has been awarded a contract from Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) as part of the Space Development Agency (SDA) Tranche 1 Transport Layer (T1TL) program. 

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

LONG BEACH, Calif. — The question of how to strengthen the U.S. space industry’s weakened supply chain, which has been battered over the past two years by the global COVID-19 pandemic, was the subject of a panel discussion at the Space Tech Expo last week. The answers boiled down to the Pentagon adopting an agile approach to developing and acquiring technology, and reversing a decades-old trend by industry of outsourcing manufacturing abroad.

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.

FAIRFAX, Va. and MCLEAN, Va. (iridium Communications Inc. PR) — General Dynamics Mission Systems (NYSE: GD), and Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM) announced today that they have been awarded a contract by the Space Development Agency in the amount of $324,516,613, including a base amount of $162,954,122 and  $161,562,491 in options, to establish the ground Operations and Integration (O&I) segment for Tranche 1 of the National Defense Space Architecture (NDSA). Together, General Dynamics Mission Systems and Iridium will build ground entry points and operations centers for the NDSA as well as provide network operations and systems integration services for the SDA’s next tranche of proliferated low-earth orbit satellites.