Jack Kuhr

2 months ago | payloadspace.com | Jack Kuhr

Despite turbulence in public markets, Q1 private space dealmaking was strong—particularly for the launch sector. Three US startups brought in more than $100M in Q1: Rocket startup Stoke’s $260M Series C, space-as-a-service operator Loft Orbital’s $170M Series C, and mega satellite manufacturer K2’s $110M Series B. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt also made a large investment to save Relativity, but the final dollar amount has yet to be disclosed.

2 months ago | payloadspace.com | Jack Kuhr

The US further tightened its hold on global launch in Q1, while Europe showed signs of shaking off the rocket rust with its first fully successful Ariane 6 launch and its first commercial orbital launch on the continent. There were 69 global launch attempts in the past three months, including two long-awaited maiden launches: Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, which nailed its first launch, and Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum rocket, which failed shortly after lifting off.

2 months ago | payloadspace.com | Jack Kuhr

Former Google chief Eric Schmidt took over as CEO of Relativity earlier this month after investing a billionaire’s bounty into the struggling rocket startup. Once valued at over $4B, Relativity hit a liquidity wall in November as mounting costs stemming from its big-bet pivot from its small launcher Terran 1 vehicle to its heavy-lift reusable Terran R drained company resources.

2 months ago | payloadspace.com | Argyris Kriezis |Jack Kuhr

Last week, SES announced an investment and strategic partnership with direct-to-device startup Lynk Global. The relationship will allow Lynk to leverage SES’s MEO relays for routing traffic from its LEO satellites, integrate with SES’s ground systems, and expand its manufacturing footprint into Europe. SES sees Lynk as an avenue to enter the direct-to-device gold rush. Lynk sees Europe as a way to gain access to a large market while mitigating some of the upfront capital costs.

2 months ago | payloadspace.com | Jack Kuhr

The Space Development Agency (SDA) announced last week it is pushing the launch of its Tranche 1 satellites until late summer due to system readiness and supply chain issues. Officials said they would then target a one-per-month launch cadence until the 158-bird T1 constellation is fully deployed in early 2027. Ups and downs: SDA deployed 27 Tranche 0 prototype sats in 2023. Tranche 1 launches were scheduled to begin in September 2024 but are now a year behind schedule.