A 360° view on tech world
NASA has announced Space Act agreements with seven private space companies in the hopes of spurring tech developments the government may invest in down the line, from space stations to human transport and robotics. While no money is changing hands, these partnerships are official collaborations, with NASA providing expertise and resources to aid and guide […]
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After years of tests, space tourism line Virgin Galactic is finally beginning commercial spaceflight services at the end of the month, the company announced today. After these initial flights, they will move to monthly ones and start working through the ticket-holder backlog. Galactic 01 will, barring any delay, launch some time between June 27-30. This […]
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Robotics investments were trending in the right direction prior to 2020, but the pandemic dramatically increased investor interest as more firms pushed to automate work. Manufacturing has been automated for decades, and the pandemic also dramatically increased both labor shortages and the deployment of warehouse/logistics robotics. As labor shortages continue, investors see enormous growth potential […]
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Space is a tough place for electronic circuits since radiation causes short circuits that result in mission failure, said Hwai Lin Khor, vice president of Zero-Error Systems. Many companies currently build satellite electronics systems with commercial-off-the-shelves (COTS) semiconductor devices to meet the lower cost requirement. But, according to Khor, the COTS chip devices can’t meet the radiation […]
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In this issue: Firefly’s making moves with summer launches and a new acquisition; Layoffs at Ursa Major; News from NASA and more.
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Firefly Aerospace has acquired launch and in-space transportation service provider Spaceflight Inc., in a bid to expand its on-orbit capabilities for customers. Firefly did not disclose the terms of the deal but a company spokesperson confirmed that the transaction has closed. The spokesperson added that the entire Spaceflight team, including CEO Tiphane Louradour, will be […]
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Once again, your intrepid robotics reporter finds himself in the warm embrace of the Bay. To paraphrase Mark Twain, the warmest I was ever embraced was early summer in Santa Clara. I’m writing this from a juice place in Palo Alto (living the dream), having finished a pair of back-to-back meetings nearby. This week’s big […]
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At least five people have been laid off from rocket engine startup Ursa Major, with one person citing budgetary constraints as the reason for being let go, according to posts on LinkedIn. Ursa Major did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s inquiry into the layoffs, or the number of people affected. According to LinkedIn, 292 people […]
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Hundreds of small aerospace businesses will receive grant funding from NASA to accelerate their technologies, as part of a wider government program to seed cutting-edge American enterprises. A total of 249 small businesses and 39 research institutions received Phase I grants under the space agency’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer […]
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Nuview, a startup that wants to map the entire landmass of Earth on an annual basis using space-based light detection and ranging (lidar) technology, has raised $15 million so far, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. That capital includes a $3 million seed round and an in-progress Series A, of which $12 million has closed so far, […]
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