Payload

Officials from the Chinese National Space Agency confirmed this week that its Chang’e 7 spacecraft is expected to launch in August—putting it on track to beat US lunar water ice exploration missions by a significant margin. https://lnkd.in/dq76x3T8

It’s earnings season for Q3. This week, a pair of primes—Lockheed Martin ($LMT) and Northrop Grumman ($NOC)—and satcom operator Iridium ($IRDM) reported their revenues for the third quarter. We’ve got the roundup of all the space-related tidbits inside. https://lnkd.in/dD43B2Cm

It took them a few years, but Airbus, Thales, and Leonardo have finally come to an agreement to merge their space businesses into one. This week, the three European space primes signed an MoU to combine their space divisions in an effort to better compete against the global market (namely, SpaceX). https://lnkd.in/eJiPVR3V

European Space Agency - ESA’s Space Environment Health Index currently sits at a 4. For reference, 1 is the threshold for long term orbital sustainability. The high grade suggests, at the current rate, that space will become increasingly costly over time and eventually, that entire orbits may become inaccessible to space operators. https://lnkd.in/eGUF9-jz

In the world of optical communications, cloudy days are bad for business. Nyxara, a new startup from Palo Alto, wants to solve this issue by creating a space-based internet service built on laser communications hardware capable of transmitting through cloud cover. https://lnkd.in/guRe2xPn

Lynk Global, a satellite operator with a constellation of D2D and IoT-enabled satellites, plans to merge with telecom firm Omnispace to expand their business across both commercial and government lines. https://lnkd.in/gEbivaET

Maryland spacecraft manufacturer Quantum Space announced its plans to launch its Ranger Prime vehicle to orbit in June. The spacecraft aims to demonstrate the company’s ability to meet the needs of future missions for the US Golden Dome architecture. https://lnkd.in/ecw54AMZ

Vantor—the artist formerly known as Maxar Intelligence—is expanding its relationship with the DoD through another in-space awareness contract. https://lnkd.in/et7YyAFN

Apex - Spacecraft Manufacturing announced today that it plans to launch a commercially-developed space-based interceptor demo dubbed Project Shadow. The mission, which is attempting to prove out tech for the government using private capital, is expected to launch in June. https://lnkd.in/efbMtqwz

T-Minus 2 WEEKS until the Payload Space Investor Summit in Los Angeles at The West Hollywood EDITION on November 5th and 6th! Excited to announce our Fireside Chat with the one and only Adam Spice, CFO of Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB). Limited passes remain! Apply here: https://lnkd.in/e8fxtdZy