Tag: Low Earth Orbit
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Impulse Space Raises $500 Million to Expand In-Space Transportation Business
Impulse Space has raised $500 million in a Series D funding round, bringing the company’s total funding to more than $1 billion since its founding five years ago. The California-based company said the new capital will support hiring, expand vehicle development programs and help meet growing demand for in-space transportation services. Growing Demand for Space…
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Vast Expands Into Satellite Bus Market With High-Power Spacecraft Platform
Vast said it will enter the satellite bus market with a new high-power spacecraft platform aimed at commercial, Earth observation and national security missions. The company announced plans to offer a 15-kilowatt-class satellite bus designed for high-volume and lower-cost deployment across a range of orbital applications. Vast also said customers will have the option to…
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STMicroelectronics Targets $3 Billion in Space Revenue on Growing LEO Demand
STMicroelectronics expects to generate more than $3 billion in revenue from its space-related business over the next three years, driven by growing demand in low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite programs and continued collaboration with SpaceX. Speaking during a virtual presentation, Remi El-Ouazzane, president of Microcontrollers, Digital ICs and RF Products at STMicroelectronics, said the company’s LEO-related…
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Mantis Space Raises $10 Million to Develop Satellite Solar Power Beaming Technology
U.S. startup Mantis Space has raised $10 million in seed funding to develop technology designed to transmit solar power between satellites in orbit using laser beams. The financing round was led by Rule 1 Ventures with additional participation from Montauk Capital, an incubator backing the company. Mantis Space said the funds will be used to…
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ESA Seeks Proposals for Studies on European-Led Modular Space Station in Low Earth Orbit
The European Space Agency (ESA) has issued a call for tenders to conduct studies exploring the feasibility of a European-led, modular space station in low Earth orbit as the International Space Station approaches retirement. NASA announced in January 2022 that the ISS is expected to be decommissioned and deorbited in the first quarter of 2031…
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Rocket Lab Launches Confidential Satellite on Electron Rocket From New Zealand
Rocket Lab launched a satellite for an undisclosed commercial customer on March 5, sending the payload into low Earth orbit aboard its Electron rocket from the company’s launch site in New Zealand. The 18-meter-tall Electron rocket lifted off at 6:53 p.m. EST (2353 GMT), or 12:53 p.m. local time on March 6, beginning a mission…
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Axiom Space Secures $350 Million to Advance Commercial Space Station and Lunar Spacesuits
Axiom Space said on Thursday it had raised $350 million in new financing to support construction of a commercial space station intended to succeed the International Space Station (ISS) and to advance development of next-generation spacesuits for future U.S. lunar missions. The funding round was co-led by Type One Ventures and the Qatar Investment Authority,…
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UK Space Agency Awards Contracts to Advance In-Orbit Manufacturing
The UK Space Agency (UKSA) has awarded contracts worth more than $1.1 million to three British companies to develop technologies for manufacturing products in microgravity, the agency said. The funding aims to accelerate research into producing advanced materials and medicines in space, where conditions such as microgravity and vacuum can yield higher-quality results than on…
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Exploration Company Tests Nyx Capsule Splashdown Ahead of ISS Cargo Plans
European space logistics startup The Exploration Company has completed a controlled splashdown test of a scaled prototype of its Nyx reusable spacecraft, marking a key step toward its planned cargo missions to low Earth orbit. Founded in 2021, the company is developing Nyx as a reusable capsule designed initially to transport cargo to and from…
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Texas A&M To Deploy TAMU-SPIRIT Research Platform On International Space Station
Texas A&M University said it has developed an orbital research platform, TAMU-SPIRIT, that will be deployed aboard the International Space Station, giving its researchers priority access to conduct experiments in low-Earth orbit. The platform has been developed in partnership with Aegis Aerospace and will be mounted on the ISS’s Express Logistics Carrier 3. The facility…