NASA hits up 7 space companies to take on orbital squad goals

NASA hits up 7 space companies to take on orbital squad goals

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 […]

Read more
Virgin Galactic starts commercial spaceflights in two weeks

Virgin Galactic starts commercial spaceflights in two weeks

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 […]

Read more
Zero-Error Systems raises $7.5M for its radiation-hardened semiconductor integrated circuits

Zero-Error Systems raises $7.5M for its radiation-hardened semiconductor integrated circuits

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 […]

Read more
Firefly buys Spaceflight Inc. to boost on-orbit services

Firefly buys Spaceflight Inc. to boost on-orbit services

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 […]

Read more
Ursa Major lands order for 200 rocket engines from Phantom Space

Layoffs hit rocket engine maker Ursa Major

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 […]

Read more
NASA spends $45M to seed tech from hundreds of space businesses

NASA spends $45M to seed tech from hundreds of space businesses

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 […]

Read more
Nuview’s lidar satellites hit $15M in funding with Leonardo DiCaprio among investors

Nuview’s lidar satellites hit $15M in funding with Leonardo DiCaprio among investors

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, […]

Read more
Firefly targets August for NASA CubeSat launch

Firefly targets August for NASA CubeSat launch

Firefly Aerospace is now targeting August to launch a batch of CubeSats for NASA, rather than July, in what is shaping up to be a busy summer for the small launch company. Firefly disclosed the new launch window in recent filing with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. The company did not provide more details as […]

Read more