Uncategorized
Quilty Analytics: Space Market Transactions Cool During 2022’s 1st Quarter
After a torrent of transaction activity during 2021, the first quarter of 2022 saw a downshift in announced deal volumes. In Q1 22, there were six space-related acquisitions and buyouts, 41 private equity and venture equity financings totaling approximately $1.5 billion in funds raised, and three public equity financings, inclusive of two pending de-SPACs, totaling…
Read MoreBlue Origin Enters the “Roaring Twenties” with First Space Tourist Launch of 2022
The six NS-20 crew members stand on the launch tower during their training. Credit: Blue Origin By Zoe Hobbs zhobbs@spacefoundation.org Dubbed the “Roaring Twenties” mission, Blue Origin completed its 20th successful launch of New Shepard on Thursday, flying six tourists on a brief trip to space after a two-day weather delay. The vehicle lifted off…
Read MoreProposed U.S. Budget Includes nearly $9 Billion Boost in Space Spending
By Tom Roeder troeder@SpaceFoundation.org Space programs would get an $8.9 billion boost under a budget proposal offered by the Biden Administration on Monday, with an extra $1.9 billion for NASA programs and a $7 billion increase for the Space Force, including a $4 billion hike in research and development. The plan covering the fiscal year…
Read MoreU.S. Joins Allies in Space Operations ‘Vision’
By Tom Roeder troeder@spacefoundation.org A shared space operations vision accord now binds the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia and New Zealand, the Pentagon announced Tuesday. The Combined Space Operations Vision 2031 accord commits the seven nations to a code of conduct in space, including a mission to “generate and improve cooperation, coordination,…
Read MoreState of Space 2022: Industry Enters ‘Era of Access and Opportunity’
By Tom Roeder troeder@spacefoundation.org The space industry has entered what Space Foundation CEO retired Navy Rear Adm. Tom Zelibor dubbed “the era of access and opportunity,” during an annual “State of Space” presentation this month on the foundation’s Symposium 365 online platform. Zelibor was joined by several industry leaders during the presentation, highlighting how satellites…
Read MoreOn-orbit Refueling, Servicing Extends Life for Old Satellites, Promises Longer Mission Capabilities with Network of Stations
Editor’s Note: This article is part of The Space Report 2021 Q4. To read additional articles about space station development, 2021 launch and payload analysis, space tourism, and other space industry analysis, purchase quarterly editions here. To learn more about subscribing to our digital site, with 15 years of content and data resources, subscribe here.…
Read MoreJapanese Billionaire Caps Record Space Tourism Year
By Tom Roeder troeder@SpaceFoundation.org The first self-funded space tourist to reach the International Space Station in more than a decade reached his destination aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule Wednesday. Japanese fashion mogul Yusaku Maezawa paid $88 million for the ride, the BBC reported, and was accompanied on the trip by documentary filmmaker Yozo Hirano. Their…
Read MoreHarris Leads Meeting of Newly Enlarged National Space Council, Demands Better Conduct from Space Nations
By Tom Roeder troeder@SpaceFoundation.org Vice President Kamala Harris opened the first meeting of the reconstructed National Space Council on Wednesday with calls to make climate data from satellites more available, grow the aerospace workforce by bolstering educational opportunities, and increase international cooperation with new treaties to govern conduct in orbit. Earlier Wednesday, President Joe Biden…
Read MoreSpaceX Crew-2 Mission Successfully Returns to Earth
By Zoe Hobbs zhobbs@SpaceFoundation.org NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 successfully returned to Earth on Nov. 9 at 03:33 UTC after undocking from the International Space Station (ISS) on Nov. 8 at 19:05 UTC. The return had been delayed a day due to bad weather but had a smooth landing despite one of four parachutes being slow to…
Read MoreNASA’s New Asteroid Spacecraft Lucy Races to Unexplored Trojan Asteroid Swarms
The NASA asteroid researching mission “Lucy” —selected by NASA in December 2016 — launched Oct. 16, 2021 at 5:34am ET from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The space probe is currently on a 12-year long mission and will be performing multiple gravity assisted boosts (see image) in the following years to gain enough momentum to follow its…
Read More