This Week In Space Industry (27/04/2024)

Greetings Detectives

Welcome to Rocket Roundup, Your favorite space newsletter! Let's embark on this cosmic journey together! In This Issue:

• Voyager 1 Speaks Again

• Japan to create a 1-trillion-yen fund

• Seraphim Launches New $100M Space Venture Fund

Voyager 1 Speaks Again After Five Months of Silence

NASA has successfully reestablished contact with Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of silence due to a faulty computer chip. Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California worked around the issue, and the spacecraft is now sending back good engineering updates. However, the team is still working on restoring transmission of science data. Voyager 1, launched in 1977 to study Jupiter and Saturn, has been exploring interstellar space since 2012. Its twin, Voyager 2, is also functioning well, located 12.6 billion miles away from Earth. (Read More)

Japan to create a 1-trillion-yen fund to bolster space business

Japan is launching a 1-trillion-yen fund ($6.47 billion) managed by JAXA over 10 years to boost its space industry. The fund aims to support technological innovation in areas like satellite communication networks and lunar fuel-cell systems. The government has allocated an initial 300 billion yen in funding for fiscal 2023. The goal is to expand Japan's space business from 4 trillion yen in 2020 to 8 trillion yen by the early 2030s, with targets including increasing rocket launches and private-sector involvement in missions beyond the moon and Mars. JAXA will closely monitor progress and select partners capable of meeting these goals. (Read More)

Seraphim Launches New $100M Space Venture Fund

Seraphim Space, a UK-based venture firm, is launching a new $100M fund, Seraphim Space Ventures II, with backing from investors like Eutelsat, NEC, and SKY Perfect JSAT. The fund will support early-stage space companies, focusing on areas like AI applied to space data, communications networks, microgravity applications, and edge computing in space. Seraphim's first fund, raised in 2016, invested in over 100 space companies including ICEYE and HawkEye 360. The firm has already invested in nine companies for its new fund, aiming to support startups in reaching the launch pad and achieving escape velocity. This announcement coincides with a16z's $600M American Dynamism fund, which also plans to invest in space-focused companies. (Read More)

BlueHalo wins $24 million Air Force contract

BlueHalo, a defense contractor, has secured a $24.4 million contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to support the Satellite Assessment Center. Based in Arlington, Virginia, BlueHalo specializes in space, directed energy, and autonomous systems technologies. The five-year contract, awarded by AFRL's Directed Energy Directorate, will involve accelerating the advancement of directed energy modeling, simulation, and analysis to safeguard strategic U.S. space interests.

The Satellite Assessment Center, located at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, evaluates the vulnerabilities of space vehicles to lasers and laser radiation, conducts tests on spacecraft components and materials, and develops tools for simulating sensor networks tracking objects in space. The contract includes tasks such as predictive analysis, satellite modeling, resiliency research, and testing environments for assessing directed energy effects on space systems. (Read More)

ispace Plots Lunar Data Business, Borrows $45M for Lander Missions

ispace has unveiled plans for a lunar satellite communications system and secured a $45 million loan to fund three upcoming lander missions. The company's US subsidiary, part of a consortium led by Draper, won a $73 million NASA contract to land scientific payloads on the far side of the Moon in 2026. ispace aims to provide connectivity to future lunar missions after completing this mission.

They plan to launch their second lander later this year, equipped with a micro rover to collect regolith samples for ESA. The loan comes after ispace raised $53.5 million in equity funding. CEO Takeshi Hakamada emphasized the importance of a diverse funding base, including contract revenue and grants. Additionally, details emerged regarding NASA's agreement with the Japanese government to put JAXA astronauts on the Moon in 2031. (Read More)

L3Harris won a $187M space domain awareness contract from USSF.

The U.S. Space Force has awarded L3Harris a contract option worth up to $187 million for option year five of the Maintenance Of Space Situational Awareness Integrated Capabilities (MOSSAIC) program. MOSSAIC is crucial for detecting, tracking, and identifying deep space objects to provide space surveillance information for military, civil, and commercial users. L3Harris, which won the program in February 2020, will continue to maintain and upgrade radar and optical sensors, as well as command and control systems.

The overall MOSSAIC program is estimated to have a contract value of up to $1.2 billion over 10 years. Ed Zoiss, president of Space & Airborne Systems for L3Harris, emphasized the critical role of the program in providing domain awareness for warfighters and highlighted the company's commitment to ensuring safety, security, and sustainability across the entire space domain. (Read More)

MDA Space Receives Contract Extension Towards the ISS

MDA Space has secured a $250 million contract extension from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to support robotics operations on the International Space Station (ISS) until 2030. This includes fulfilling robotics flight controller duties. Since 2001, MDA Space has been instrumental in providing operational readiness for the ISS's Mobile Servicing System. CEO Mike Greenley highlighted the company's role as a global leader in space robotics operations. Additionally, MDA Space unveiled MDA SKYMAKER™, a new suite of space robotics technology, at the Space Symposium conference. (Read More)

• China said it remains on track for a 2030 crewed lunar landing.

• Dhruva Space raises $9 million in latest funding round

• True Anomaly is laying off 25% of its workforce

• SpaceX completed it's 300th Falcon landing.

• China will soon choose its fourth class of astronauts.

• SpaceX’s injury rates hit 5.9 injuries per 100 workers, higher than the space industry average of 0.8.

DISCLAIMER: (Rocket Roundup is an independent publication and is not affiliated with any government agency or space organization)