This Week In Space Industry(13/1/2024)

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Welcome to Rocket Roundup, Your favorite space newsletter! This week's in-depth exploration takes us into the dynamic realm of space startups. Our spotlight feature zeroes in on Pixxel – Democratizing space data through Earth observation, Read it here.

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Let's embark on this cosmic journey together! In This Issue:

• Peregrine lander suffers anomaly after launch

• NASA delays Artemis 2 and 3 missions

• D-Orbit Raises €100 Million in Series C Funding

Peregrine lander suffers anomaly after launch

Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander, launched on January 8, encountered a significant fuel leak shortly after liftoff, raising concerns about its ability to achieve a planned soft landing on the Moon on February 23. The leak forced engineers to improvise and stabilize the spacecraft, ruling out the lunar landing but leading to an unexpected turn of events. Peregrine, despite the fuel leak, has defied initial estimates, remaining operational in orbit with an extended estimated operational time of 52 hours.

This comes after two earlier failures in Astrobotic's attempts to land payloads on the Moon, highlighting the challenging nature of lunar missions. Despite the setbacks, the mission has successfully received critical data from numerous payloads, representing a notable achievement for the Astrobotic team and contributing partners. (Read More)

NASA delays Artemis 2 and 3 missions

NASA has announced a delay in the Artemis 2 and 3 missions, pushing back the first crewed landing on the moon by nearly a year. Artemis 2, the mission that will send astronauts around the moon, is now scheduled for no earlier than September 2025, and Artemis 3, the first crewed landing, is postponed to no earlier than September 2026.

The delays are attributed to technical issues affecting the safety of the astronauts, including unexpected erosion of material on the Orion capsule's heat shield during reentry on Artemis 1, circuit failures in the life support system, and concerns about the launch abort system for Orion. (Read More)

ESA 2024 Budget Rises 10% to €7.8B

The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced a 10% increase in its budget for 2024, reaching €7.8 billion ($8.5 billion). The largest funding allocations are for Earth observation (30.5%), navigation (13.5%), and space transportation (13.3%).

The 2024 budget is funded by ESA member states (64.5%), the EU (23.4%), third-party agreement income (10.5%), and Eumetsat (1.5%). Germany is the top contributor with €1.17 billion ($1.3 billion), followed by France, Italy, and the UK. The budget includes plans to launch five imaging satellites, including two Copernicus Earth observation satellites. ESA expressed confidence in the 2024 launches of Ariane 6 and Vega-C. (Read More)

NASA awards another $100 million for private space stations

NASA has increased funding for Blue Origin and Voyager Space as part of its Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations (CLD) program. Blue Origin received an additional $42 million, bringing its total to $172 million, while Voyager Space received an additional $57.5 million, bringing its total to $217.5 million.

The funding will be used for various development milestones and technical advancements for the development of low Earth orbit destinations. The CLD program aims to develop commercial space stations to replace the International Space Station (ISS), which is set for retirement in 2030. (Read More)

D-Orbit Raises €100 Million in Series C Funding

D-Orbit, a space logistics company, has successfully closed the first round of its Series C funding, raising about €100 million. Marubeni Corporation led the funding round, cementing a long-term commercial collaboration between the two companies. This investment marks one of the largest ever for a European space technology company.

The funds will be used to expand D-Orbit's space logistics services, including in-orbit satellite servicing and space cloud computing. The company aims to create the infrastructure for the future in-orbit economy, enabling the sustainable transportation of goods, information, and people in space. (Read More)

ABL Space Secures $40.6M Funding

ABL Space Systems, a private aerospace company, is seeking to raise up to $100 million in new funding, according to a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing, submitted on December 29, reveals that ABL Space Systems has recently closed over $40 million. This funding effort comes after the company experienced a setback in its rocket development.

ABL Space Systems made its first launch attempt around a year ago, which ended in failure when the rocket crashed back to Earth around 10 seconds after liftoff. The company has been working on upgrades to both the rocket and ground systems for its next launch attempt, but no timeline has been provided. (Read More)

PierSight Raises $6M Seed

PierSight, a startup focused on ocean surveillance through satellite technology, has secured $6 million in a seed funding round co-led by Alpha Wave Global and Elevation Capital, with participation from Techstars. The funds will be used for hardware procurement, testing, satellite design, and team expansion.

PierSight aims to provide persistent and dynamic maritime surveillance using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and automatic identification system (AIS) integrated satellite technology. The company plans to launch a demo satellite and its first operational satellite while doubling its team size. The technology offers a 30-minute interval monitoring capability for various maritime industries. (Read More)

Sateliot Raises €6M Funding

Sateliot, a company working on launching the first constellation of low-earth orbit nanosatellites providing 5G coverage for IoT, has secured €6 million in funding from Banco Santander. This funding will accelerate the development of Sateliot's technology and the deployment of its satellite constellation. In addition to Banco Santander's funding, Sateliot recently received a participatory loan of €2.5 million from Avança and €5 million from a convertible note.

These investments strengthen Sateliot's financial position as it gears up for a full commercial launch in 2024, with plans to deploy four new satellites in the coming year. The company is also preparing for a Series B funding round to support the next phase of its satellite constellation, which aims to deploy 250 nanosatellites under the 5G standard. Sateliot has secured agreements with global telecommunications operators and has a binding orders backlog of over €150 million. (Read More)

• Space company Momentus, once valued at more than $1 billion, is running dangerously low on money

• Oxford Space Systems Raises £3M Seed

• Space Development Agency confirms Rocket Lab will produce 18 satellites for U.S. military network

• SpaceX and T-Mobile send first texts via Starlink satellites

• China launches four meteorological satellites

• Space Force inks deal with Microsoft for mixed reality training

• China satellite launch causes pre-election political storm in Taiwan

• SpaceX targets February for third Starship test flight

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