Payload 🚀
@payloadspace
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Pinned Tweet
We are happy to announce that we have raised $650,000 in seed funding from
@winklevosscap
,
@aweissman
,
@sammcingvale
,
@litcapital
,
@juliadewahl
and a variety of investors.
Thread 👇
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289
SpaceX has filed a final mishap investigation report to the FAA for its April 20 Starship integrated flight test, the FAA told Payload on Tuesday.
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772
On the heels of a record-setting quarter,
@RocketLab
Lab announced Thursday that it had notched a major milestone in its quest for medium launch with a successful hotfire of its new Archimedes engine.
2
34
327
News: Lauren Lyons is no longer with Firefly. She joined the company in August as COO.
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Vast, a space habitation technology company, is planning to launch the world’s first commercial space station, Haven-1, into LEO by August 2025, the company announced Wednesday.
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165
In the heart of Texas ranch country, Firefly Aerospace is embracing the pioneering and do-it-all spirit of the frontier.
@Firefly_Space
2
9
130
Relativity is in the final innings of prep work for “Good Luck, Have Fun,” its first orbital flight attempt.
Payload sat down with
@relativityspace
boss
@thetimellis
to discuss the company’s recent announcements, Terran 1’s first flight, and more.
2
8
124
Firefly made history when it became one of only a handful of privately funded players to reach orbit a month ago.
Now, it is staffing up to scale production and ensure that October’s successful Alpha launch isn’t a one off.
1
15
122
The role of commercial satellite imagery in war is rapidly shifting.
@Satellogic
and
@AstraeaInc
partnered to supply the Ukrainian gov with satellite imagery through their new portal called Ukraine Observer.
2
23
118
When the
@SpaceX
Dragon returned to Earth from the ISS on April 30, it returned 4,100 lbs. of cargo, but its most exciting payload may have been a tiny blot of cells—the first living cardiac tissue to be bioprinted in space.
1
18
114
Last week,
@relativityspace
&
@GoToImpulse
announced a partnership to launch the first private Mars mission as early as 2024.
We caught up with CEO Tim Ellis to discuss the mission, scaling up production in Relativity’s new 1M sq ft facility, & Terran R.
0
18
78
Vast announced its intention to compete for NASA contracts to organize private astronaut missions to the ISS—a role that has been filled exclusively by Axiom Space since the flights commenced in 2022.
@vast
3
10
74
.
@astroscale_HQ
has moved a pair of debris-removal satellites back into position after pausing a demo of the technology last month, the startup posted on social media.
0
22
73
News;
@Astra
has received a delisting warning from the NASDAQ.
It has 180 days lift to its share price above $1 or it will be delisted.
5
15
73
Our co-founder
@itsmoislam
moderated a space panel today at Miami Tech Week with:
•
@zebulgar
, President and Co-Founder
@VardaSpace
•
@kevinweil
, President
@planet
•
@Gedmark
, CEO and Co-Founder
@Astranis
•
@2112Power
, CEO and Co-Founder at Hadrian
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72
Our goal is 4,000 Twitter followers by 12/31. If you work the space industry, you should give us a follow. If you already follow us, we’d appreciate a RT and like.
1
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66
Payload out here at Vandenberg SFB with
@Firefly_Space
’s Alpha Chief Engineer Jordi Garcia.
What. A. Cut.
2
7
68
News:
@spinlaunch
closes $71M Series B led by ATW Partners...round includes debt & equity.
wowzers
2
7
66
Launcher has relocated most of its Ukrainian-based staff to Sofia, Bulgaria, the Hawthorne, CA-based company just announced.
1
9
62
Dawn Aerospace’s rocket-powered Mk-II Aurora suborbital vehicle is expected to make its maiden flight in April after getting regulatory approval from New Zealand to fly last week.
0
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60
We are hosting our first ever webinar next week.
The topic? Intro to Space Marketing.
Come join marketing leaders from
@RedwireSpace
,
@SpireGlobal
and
@Firefly_Space
.
Register here:
1
10
57
We are hiring a full-time space reporter. Work with
@jacqfeldscher
,
@JackKuhr
,
@TimFernholz
,
@RachaelZisk
and
@itsmoislam
.
Job description below.
3
20
54
Exclusive: Starfish Space, the Seattle-based startup building vehicles to support a future on-orbit servicing economy, has snagged a $3M contract from National Security Innovation Capital, a technology development arm of the Defense Innovation Unit.
2
7
57
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket successfully lifted off from Mahia, New Zealand at 7:01pm ET Friday night, bringing five Kinéis IoT satellites to orbit. The mission was the second of five launches
@RocketLab
is expected to conduct for the French company.
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We're excited to announce our new Senior Space Reporter,
@TimFernholz
! Tim is joining us with over 15 years of journalism experience, and is the author of "Rocket Billionaires: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and the New Space Race." 🚀
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54
News:
@vardaspace
has signed a launch services agreement with
@SpaceX
to be part of a Falcon 9 rideshare mission scheduled for the first quarter of 2023.
This will be Varda’s first spacecraft to go to orbit.
1
4
52
On today’s episode of Pathfinder, we’re joined by Tim Ellis, the CEO and cofounder of
@relativityspace
.
Made possible by
@SpiderOak_MS
.
We discuss everything from rocket-making stacks to drinking Coronas on Mars to Fight Club to navigating market turbulence.
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49
@celestial_britt
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We hadn’t seen your podcast. We grabbed it from Unsplash for free because we thought it was a great photo. We wouldn’t want it to be so similar. It’s already removed & we’ll be getting a new design for ours. We’re sorry for the troubles.
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Payload IRL. All five of us meeting in person for the first time!
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3
49
News: Wendy Shimata has joined
@VardaSpace
as Director of Autonomous Systems.
Previously, she spent 7 years at
@SpaceX
where she was senior manager at spacecraft software.
3
1
47
Science fiction is becoming reality as NASA’s Artemis program aims to return humanity to the Moon with goals that extend far beyond just “flags and footprints".
@LMSpace
has developed a plan for how this future will play out; a vision for a water-based, nuclear-enabled lunar
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44
ITS CALLED PAYLOAD SPACE. ITS THE BEST WAY TO FOLLOW THE SPACE INDUSTRY. YOU NEED TO SIGN UP USING THE LINK BELOW.
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Koichi Wakata made his name during five trips to orbit representing the Japanese government. Now, he’s using that fame to help usher in a new era as Japan seeks to become one of the world’s major private space markets.
Read more from
@TimFernholz
's series on The State of the
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11
43
Last week,
@CountdownVC
announced that it had closed a $15M Fund II.
Payload caught up with founder Jai Malik on moving to Miami, his hard tech investment thesis, Countdown’s selectivity and screening criteria, & geopolitical flux
2
4
42
Today, Hawthorne-based
@launcher
announced the appointment of Tim Berry as head of manufacturing.
Berry spent over eight years across town at SpaceX, most recently serving as manager of additive manufacturing.
1
6
41
Ursa Major has struck a deal to supply Vector Launch with “several” propulsion systems, the company tells Payload. Ursa’s Hadley engines will power the main stage of the Vector-R launch vehicle in future demo missions for national security customers.
1
5
40
Defense tech firm
@anduriltech
announced Friday that it is expanding its AI-powered tech into space, including working on national security missions from space domain awareness to command and control.
2
8
42
Aethero, a San Francisco space computing start-up founded by Edward Ge and Amit Pinnamaneni, revealed its business model after raising $1.7M in seed funding last year.
1
8
41
Celebrating
@RocketLab
's 50th launch of Electron. Our reporter Tim Fernholz sat down with Peter Beck to discuss how they achieved this milestone, and have seemingly come out on top on years of competing to be the "next SpaceX"
1
5
41
On Days
#2
and
#4
of IAC in Paris, German launch startup
@rfa_space
(RFA) signed a pair of launch contracts with
@SpaceflightInc
and Indian space situational awareness (SSA) startup
@Digantarahq
.
0
4
38
Engineers have zero margin for error when making rockets & satellites.
Sadly, space newsletter editors have higher propensity for error. Ryan apologizes for sending today's newsletter with the subject line "TK."
It was supposed to be "On fleet," but he didn't save the update.
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Canada is opening the doors to commercial launch. Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced that within the next three years, the country will set up the regulatory framework and licensing processes necessary to greenlight domestic launches.
5
9
39
ispace US unveiled a new headquarters on Thursday that will serve as the homebase for its mission to establish long-term lunar infrastructure and the birthplace of the company’s newest lander.
@ispace_inc
0
5
39
Payload is getting bigger! Today, we’re thrilled to welcome our sixth full-time member onto the Payload rocket ship.
@jacqklimas
joins us as a senior policy reporter.
2
5
39
Astrobotic is looking to expand into the national security sector and pitching DoD on how some of its Moon landing tech could be used by troops here on Earth.
@astrobotic
1
4
38
.
@SpaceX
is one step closer to getting approval for increased Starship launches and landings at its Starbase launch facility in Boca Chica, TX, according to the FAA’s Draft Tiered Environmental Assessment.
3
6
39
Astroscale has hunted down its targeted space debris and is now within paparazzi distance.
@astroscale_HQ
1
9
36
News:
@Albedo
raises $48M Series A, co-led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Shield Capital
2
7
37
TRL11, a startup aiming to bring advanced video production and monitoring capabilities to the space domain, has raised a $3M pre-seed to scale up its team and production.
0
8
35
After insisting that the reusable Neutron would be “on the pad” by year-end,
@RocketLab
conceded during its first quarter earnings release that the next generation vehicle won’t launch until mid-2025.
4
9
36
⚡ INTRODUCING IGNITION ⚡
The team behind Payload is thrilled to announce our latest project:
@ignitionnuclear
, a new sister publication covering the nuclear energy industry.
2
6
34
Texas and federal officials have both reportedly found that SpaceX violated environmental regulations discharging wastewater at its Starbase facility.
6
8
34
Exclusive: It’s a bird, it’s a plane…it’s a falling re-entry capsule!
@VardaSpace
has successfully demonstrated the descent and landing capability of the re-entry capsule for its first microgravity factory test mission.
1
6
35
With just seven months to launch, the LA-based asteroid mining company
@astroforge
decided to toss out its mission 2 vehicle, named Odin, and build a new bus in house mostly from scratch, the company revealed Tuesday.
2
6
33
2/ We are also happy to announce we have hired
@Ryandoofy
as our founding managing editor to lead our editorial efforts.
2
1
34
Hello Space friends! We are at 3,999 followers.
Can you help us get to 4,000 followers?
If you enjoy space, we promise you’ll enjoy following our account.
0
6
33
News: Payload Space, a digital media company covering the space industry, has raised $650,000 in seed funding from Winklevoss Capital and other investors.
1
4
32
3D metal printing is getting a makeover.
@rosotics
, a Mesa, AZ-based startup designing a more efficient, large-scale 3D printer optimized for the needs of the aerospace industry, announced this morning the closing of a $750,000 pre-seed round.
0
11
32
“As the Payload space newsletter points out, OneWeb — a Starlink competitor — recently had to cancel a Russia-based launch of its satellites due to the fallout from global sanctions.”
In 2001,
@elonmusk
tried (and failed) to buy 3 missiles from Russia for $21m. As we know, he made his own rockets w/ SpaceX.
And in the past week, it’s become clear how strategically valuable the tech (launch,Starlink) is for the world.
I wrote more here:
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726
1
2
31
Exclusive: SkyFi, a startup developing a satellite imagery app, has raised a $7.15M round with participation from J2 Ventures, Moving Capital,
@CapitalFactory
, and
@bp22
.
5
13
32
Otter Pup is back, baby.
1
3
32
The FCC adopted a new rule on Thursday that will ensure commercial launchers have access to the spectrum they need to communicate with the rocket during and after liftoff.
1
7
29
News:
@buildingMadrid
has been promoted to Director of Strategic Relationships
@StarfishSpace
.
5
2
31
Apex recently announced itself to the world with a $7.5M seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz.
The startup seeks to manufacture 100-kg class satellite buses that can support ~100 kg of payload.
We recently caught up with Apex’s
@IanCinnamon
.
1
4
31
-
@lizvstein
, partner
@PrimeMoversLab
-
@ImJasonDunn
, CEO
@outpostspace
-
@asherkraut
, investor
@starburst_vc
-
@WesternJ_
, CEO
@Space_Forge
- Noor Ward, CIM
@ISS_CASIS
-
@Hi_Twyman
, CEO
@space_tango
-
@spacecasetayl0r
, investor/author @ Case Closed
2
8
31
Outer Space + Twitter Spaces go together like PB&J, so we're pumped to host our first Space this week on the bird app! Details⬇️
🏭Topic: In-space Manufacturing
🗓️Date: Wednesday, June 29
⌚Time: 5 PM Eastern
Payload's Mo Islam will moderate this jam-packed Space, featuring..
2
14
31
News: “In response to EU sanctions against our enterprises, Roskosmos is suspending cooperation with European partners in organizing space launches from the Kourou cosmodrome and withdrawing its technical personnel, including the consolidated launch crew, from French Guiana.”
1
9
31
Today’s episode takes us to the burbs of Seattle, where one startup aims to build an entirely new type of rocket.
Our guest,
@AndyLapsa
, is the CEO and cofounder of
@stoke_space
.
Brought to you by
@SpacedVentures
.
1
6
30
Japanese lunar firm
@ispace_inc
will launch its Hakuto-R lander to the Moon on a SpaceX Falcon 9 no earlier than December, CEO Takeshi Hakamada said yesterday.
2
7
30
Two startups are working together to build the world’s first commercial space-based solar power (SBSP) station which will capture the Sun’s energy in orbit and wirelessly transmit it to Earth for continuous use.
3
5
30
News: NASA has awarded three additional missions to
@SpaceX
for crew transportation services to the International Space Station as part of its Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract.
The contract is valued at ~$3.5B.
0
2
28
Yesterday,
@RadianSpace
announced a $27.5MM seed round led by Fine Structure Ventures.
Payload has the details.
0
3
28
Kiwi startup
@DawnAerospace
announced this week that it’s raised $20M from a group of New Zealand investors to accelerate satellite thruster and spaceplane development.
0
5
30
Rocket Lab is planning the first of two Electron flights to launch a pair of NASA weather satellites, in the latest use of NASA’s venture-class launch missions.
@RocketLab
0
4
29
Deloitte released its SpaceTech report this morning, which reviews the most active and quickly-growing segments within the space industry.
2
9
27
Payload is excited to announce the launch of Polaris, a weekly space policy newsletter. We’ll be covering the highs, lows, and everything in between.
Sign up here:
1
7
29
There were 2,877 spacecraft deployed in 2023, an increase of 14.6% over the year before, bringing us to 9,241 active satellites in orbit— plus 3,356 derelict vehicles clogging the spacelanes and putting missions at risk.
0
12
29
Redwire unveiled its third new spacecraft designed for Very Low Earth Orbit this week, dubbed Phantom.
@RedwireSpace
0
4
29
0
4
29
Satellogic is launching a new Space Systems product, the publicly traded satellite operator ($SATL) announced last week.
1
7
29
Sierra Space turned on its Dream Chaser spaceplane for the first time Wednesday, checking off a major milestone before its first flight to the ISS, which is expected at the end of the year.
0
5
28
Axiom Space raised a $350M Series C round to support growth, the company announced yesterday. The round takes Axiom’s total funding to more than $505M, the company said in a statement, establishing it as the second most well-capitalized space startup after SpaceX.
2
7
26
AST SpaceMobile clinched a deal with AT&T to provide satellite-to-cell connectivity through 2030, the two companies announced Wednesday.
@AST_SpaceMobile
0
4
28