Welcome to Biz Briefs! In this edition, Stoke Space announced a $100 million investment, Northrop Grumman ditched plans to develop a private space station, Booz Allen Hamilton and Astroscale won big contracts, China selected companies for commercial cargo, spaceflight operators got a regulatory reprieve, Axiom Space teamed with Prada to develop lunar suits, and much more.

Also news about Airbus, Synspective, Insight Terra and Xplore

Embedded Ventures $100 Million Fund

Los Angeles-based Embedded Ventures has launched a $100 million fund to provide venture capital to commercial and national security companies, with a particular focus on the space sector.

Organizations explore potential collaboration on educational programs and future Canadian opportunities on the Starlab commercial space station

DENVER, Dec. 19, 2022 (Voyager Space PR) — Voyager Space, a global leader in space exploration, and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly explore how the CSA and the Canadian space sector could play a role in the planning and development of Starlab, Voyager’s planned commercial space station, and the George Washington Carver Science Park, Starlab’s on-orbit laboratory. This non-binding MOU also enables the two organizations to explore potential educational and commercial space research initiatives that could be conducted by Canadian and international astronauts on both the International Space Station and Starlab.

DENVER (Voyager Space Holdings PR) — Nanoracks, powered by Voyager Space, today announced its second Bishop Airlock mission with GITAI, a Japanese space robotics startup. The project, marking the two companies’ second collaboration, will involve demonstrating “S2,” GITAI’s 1.5 meter-class dexterous robotic system, on the Bishop Airlock – the first permanent, commercial platform added to the International Space Station.

HOUSTON, February 22, 2022 (Nanoracks PR) — The past several months have been very busy here at Nanoracks, and we have continued our momentum into 2022 with another cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Northrop Grumman’s 17th (NG-17) commercial resupply mission carried five Nanoracks customer payloads on board the Cygnus spacecraft. These experiments will help improve environmental research on Earth and demonstrate technology necessary for future in-space economies. Additionally, this mission includes the first two “space trash bags” which will be used to collect waste from inside the ISS and deploy it into a reentry burn orbit on behalf of NASA.

NASA has released the selection statement that lays out the space agency’s reasoning for awarding Nanoracks, Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman a total of $415.6 million to develop plans for private space stations under the Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) program. The facilities are designed to maintain a permanent U.S. presence in Earth orbit when the International Space Station (ISS) is retired in 2030.

In this story, we’ll look at the Nanoracks’ Starlab station. The project summary is drawn from publicly available information. Excerpts from the selection statement follow. Long paragraphs in the latter have been broken up to improve readability. Acronyms have been spelled out for the sake of clarity.

COLUMBIA, Md. (USRA PR) — Universities Space Research Association (USRA) has been selected by Nanoracks and Voyager Space –along with ZIN Technologies, The Ohio State University, and the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation–to join the founding leadership team in charge of supporting the development of the Starlab George Washington Carver (GWC) Science Park. The GWC Science Park will leverage a successful terrestrial business model where scientists and industry members share findings, collaborate, and use new technologies to advance both scientific and commercial endeavors.

Starlab to anchor NASA’s Commercial Low-Earth Orbit Destinations project as the space economy continues to grow

DENVER, December 2, 2021 (Nanoracks PR) — Nanoracks, in collaboration with Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT], has been awarded a $160 million contract by NASA to design its Starlab commercial space station as part of the agency’s Commercial Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) Development program. Starlab will enable NASA’s initiative to stimulate the commercial space economy and provide science and crew capabilities prior to the retirement of the International Space Station (ISS).

WASHINGTON, DC, November 11, 2021 (Nanoracks PR) — Nanoracks, a Voyager Space Company, today announced the appointment of Dr. Amela Wilson as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Former CEO and Co-Founder Jeffrey Manber will join Voyager Space as President of International and Space Stations and will remain Chairman of the Board at Nanoracks.

DENVER, Oct. 21, 2021 (Nanoracks PR) – Nanoracks, in collaboration with Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT], has formed a team to develop the first-ever free flying commercial space station. The space station, known as Starlab, will be a continuously crewed commercial platform, dedicated to conducting critical research, fostering industrial activity, and ensuring continued U.S. presence and leadership in low-Earth orbit. Starlab is expected to achieve initial operational capability by 2027.