Tim Fernholz

Oakland

Senior Space Reporter at Payload

Here so I won't get fined. ROCKET BILLIONAIRES: https://t.co/YVizgUxKkg | +1 347 778 1414 | https://t.co/n39sdC98Ne

Featured in: Favicon

qz.com

forbes.com Favicon

medium.com Favicon

msn.com

yahoo.com (+3) Favicon

huffpost.com Favicon

gizmodo.com Favicon

theatlantic.com Favicon

fastcompany.com Favicon

weforum.org + 48 more

Articles

Planet Hits Free Cash Milestone

3 weeks ago | payloadspace.com | Tim Fernholz

Planet Labs ($PL), the San Francisco EO company, reported positive free cash flow—$8M—for the first time as a public company in its first quarter earnings release yesterday. Sure, it’s just one quarter, and Planet isn’t expecting to sustain free cash flow for another year or two, but we hear there’s demand for good news these days. Planet saw revenue grow 10% year over year, and reported good progress building a fleet of Pelican satellites for its partnership with Japan’s Sky Perfect JSAT.
BAE Snags $1.2B Missile Warning Contract

3 weeks ago | payloadspace.com | Tim Fernholz

BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems will build 10 missile warning satellites for Space Force’s Epoch 2 constellation, with a focus on using infrared sensors to track threats, including ICBMs and hypersonic vehicles. BAE declined to comment on the fixed-price contract, which sets a delivery date after September 2028. Stay resilient: This is the latest award in the Space Force’s $6B Resilient Missile Warning Tracking (MWT) network in MEO, developed by a combined team including MDA and SDA.
Trump Ditches Isaacman Amid Record NASA Cuts

3 weeks ago | payloadspace.com | Tim Fernholz

President Donald Trump abandoned Jared Isaacman, his nominee for NASA administrator. Trump did so a day after proposing record cuts to the agency that could leave it with budget levels last seen before US astronauts first reached space, after adjusting for inflation. The chaotic weekend began with the Friday release of the full President’s Budget Request, without the typical briefing for journalists by agency leaders.
SpaceX and Lockheed Team Up To Accelerate GPS Launch

4 weeks ago | payloadspace.com | Tim Fernholz

If the weather cooperates, SpaceX will launch a Lockheed Martin-built GPS-III satellite for the Space Force tomorrow in a demonstration of how quickly the three organizations can put a new bird in orbit. Speed racer: While a typical satellite might take 18 to 24 months from contract award to launch, this one aims to get to orbit in under four months. The military notified Lockheed on Feb.
Turn Up the Sustain: The Gateway’s Demise

1 month ago | payloadspace.com | Tim Fernholz

Few NASA projects have received as much high-profile criticism as the plan to put a space station called Gateway in orbit around the Moon. Space notables—moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, former NASA administrator Michael Griffin, Mars advocate Robert Zubrin, and planetary scientist Clive Neal—have all opined that the project is a waste of time, the wrong architecture, or a distraction from real priorities.
Rocket Lab Snags IR Sensor-Maker In $275M Deal

1 month ago | payloadspace.com | Tim Fernholz

Rocket Lab ($RKLB) announced its purchase of Geost, an AZ-based company that builds electro-optical and IR sensor payloads for satellites. Rocket Lab will pay private equity firm ATL Partners $275M for Geost, divided between $125M in cash and $150M in Rocket Lab stock. It may pay up to $50M more based on the business’ earnings.
Spire Emerges Anew After Nine Months Of Uncertainty

1 month ago | payloadspace.com | Tim Fernholz

Publicly traded EO company Spire ($SPIR) has gone through the wringer—but CEO Theresa Condor says the company has reached the point of a “new unveiling.”“That was a nine-month period of two very disruptive, externally driven things—that were not so much about pure business execution—that really were a major distraction,” Condor told Payload in an exclusive interview.
Payload Talks NASA Budget With Rep. George Whitesides

1 month ago | payloadspace.com | Tim Fernholz

Amid the White House’s chaotic push to reorient space policy around the private sector, Rep. George Whitesides (D-CA) is at the center of the conversation. The former CEO of Virgin Galactic and NASA chief of staff is starting his first term in the House with prominent positions in civil and national security space policymaking. He is serving as vice-ranking member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee and a member of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee.
PiLogic Raises $4M Seed Round For Faster Inference

1 month ago | payloadspace.com | Tim Fernholz

Pushing computer reasoning into space isn’t easy—AI needs powerful processors and lots of training data, and it still isn’t reliable enough for mission-critical operations. PiLogic, a California startup, is offering another answer: Novel computational techniques that allow reasoning software to be efficient and accurate enough for orbital deployment. The company’s first products will be software models for tracking space debris and diagnosing satellite malfunctions.
Quantum Space Hunts Golden Dome With MDA Vet

1 month ago | payloadspace.com | Tim Fernholz

Growing industry interest in the Golden Dome missile defense system is only outstripped by the uncertainty about what that program will actually entail. To help cut through the clutter, Quantum Space has hired former MDA executive Richard Matlock to lead its defense business. Missile Zelig: Matlock’s four-decade career has taken him from the Air Force to the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (better known as the Reagan administration’s “Star Wars” program).