Tim Fernholz

1 week 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.

1 week 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.

2 weeks 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.

2 weeks 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.

2 weeks 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).