Challenges | Solicitations | Resources
Submit groundbreaking concepts to detect, characterize, track, or remediate small debris in low-earth orbit for safer, more sustainable space operations. Prize: $20,000. Closes: November 15, 2023.
Student teams from accredited and Space Grant Consortium affiliated US-based colleges and universities are welcome to participate, supporting NASA’s efforts to rapidly mature innovative and high-impact capabilities and technologies for future missions. Entry Deadline: February 1, 2024.
Arizona State University’s CubeSounder payload integration at the World View facility for an October 2021 high-altitude balloon flight supported by NASA’s Flight Opportunities program. Credit: Arizona State University
For NASA's third TechLeap Prize, join NASA’s Flight Opportunities program to create a seamlessly adaptable payload interface system for diverse technology payloads and various host commercial flight vehicles. Entry Deadline: February 1, 2024.
Share best practices for supporting underrepresented and diverse space technology innovators, researchers, technologists and entrepreneurs. Win $25,000 for the most effective strategies and approaches. Register by February 8, 2024.
Register to submit your novel solution to NASA’s spacecraft ullage venting challenges in microgravity for extended space travel. Chosen concept designs will win a share of the $80,000 prize. Deadline: February 22, 2024.
Accelerate your space career with email alerts for key space industry insights and over 4000 space company jobs.
Space Talent is a resource for careers at the intersection of space and tech. They match employers with top talent while providing insights and resources to grow your career.
NASA's Software Catalog offers hundreds of software programs, free to use in a wide variety of technical applications. Releases include a wing-design algorithm and an AR/VR toolkit for spacecraft design and mission telemetry.
Resources for sending your technology demonstration or science experiment to the space station, including In Space Production Applications (InSPA) awards to help companies toward development of sustainable demand for services and products in low Earth orbit.
Upcoming Events
Insights and discussions on key military issues. Get access to senior officials from a variety of nations, with representatives from India, South Africa, Portugal and Peru added in 2023. Tickets £1198-2898. London, UK. November 6-9, 2023.
Join the first biannual COSMIC general membership meeting to encourage widespread adoption of in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM) capabilities as an integrated segment of space enterprise architecture. The kickoff will feature NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, and U.S. Space Force Major General John M. Olson. $150-$10. Online and University of Maryland. November 7-8, 2023.
NASA invites presentations on approaches to moving fast and promoting agility in mission assurance. Participants must register by November 1, 2023. Goddard Space Flight Center, MD. November 8-9, 2023.
A showcase of the latest technologies, networking opportunities, and topical debates around new technologies. Free. Bremen, Germany. November 14-16, 2023.
The annual workshop, organized by the Satellite Industry Association (SIA) in partnership with U.S. Space Command, brings together leaders from various DoD agencies to discuss policy and operational issues related to commercial and military satellite communications. Arlington, Virginia. December 12-14, 2023.
Commercial space entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors will convene at Space for Inspiration 2024 to learn about discoveries and groundbreaking ventures in the LEO and lunar economies. January 18-19, 2024.
SSSIF 2024 is an international workshop for small satellite designers, technicians, developers, and launchers. Pricing TBD. Málaga (Spain). February 20-22, 2024.
Add your event or campaign. Contact us for details.
Space Ecosystem | Startups | Deals
Image Credit: Qosmosys
Singapore-based lunar mining startup Qosmosys closed a $100 million seed round from undisclosed investors to develop lunar lander technology for its ZeusX spacecraft. Qosmosys anticipates an IPO by 2028.
AI-enabled robotic metalworking startup Machina Labs raised a $32 million Series B round co-led by Nvidia’s NVentures and Innovation Endeavors. The Los Angeles-based company is broadening its focus to help satellite manufacturers and hypersonic vehicle manufacturers rapidly iterate designs.
With increased demand for smaller launch vehicles versus ride-share missions, Indian startup Agnikul raised $26.7 million in a Series B round to begin launches with its small-lift rocket and 3-D printed engine. Investors include Celesta Capital, Rocketship.vc and Artha Select Fund.
Virginia-based satellite operator HawkEye 360 secured $10 million in a Series D-1 extension round under an agreement to develop government and commercial remote-sensing solutions. Investors include Lockheed Martin Ventures and company insiders.
Urban Sky microballoon. Credit: Urban Sky
Denver-based high-resolution imaging startup Urban Sky raised $9.75 million in a Series A round led by New Legacy Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, and Lavrock Ventures, to expand its “microballoon” infrared imagery services.
Los Angeles-based K2 Space announced an additional $7 million in funding from investors including Alpine Space Ventures and new defense contracts to design low cost massive satellite buses that will leverage next-generation launch vehicles such as SpaceX’s Starship. It plans to launch its first satellite in 2025.
Californian multi-purpose space radio startup AnySignal raised $5 million in funding for lower-cost and performance-optimized kits to compete with incumbent radio providers such as L3Harris Technologies.
Satellite Innovation conference investors are saying they are going to focus on satellite subsystem and component providers in 2024. Governments are also spending billions of dollars on satellite network equipment to upgrade their space-based capabilities.
Startups in Seraphim Space’s latest accelerator cohort specialize in healthcare, propulsion, and tackling climate change, including US-based SkyFi and FreeFall Aerospace.
Space Exploration | Development
United Launch Alliance plans its Vulcan rocket’s inaugural launch on Christmas Eve. ULA also announced plans to ramp up launches from 2024-2025 for Amazon’s Kuiper satellites alongside its government-heavy backlog for Vulcan.
CEO Tory Bruno of Colorado-based United Launch Alliance hinted that the company is for sale and primed for a buyer. Boeing and Lockheed Martin each hold a 50% stake, the result of a 2006 joint venture.
Varda Space Industries continues to coordinate with US regulators to get reentry approval under the Part 450 framework for reentry. Its next spacecraft will land in Australia’s Koonibba Test Range in 2024.
Concept for the Berkeley Space Center at NASA Research Park. Credit: Berkeley Space Center
University of California and NASA Ames unveil plans for $2 billion Berkeley Space Center | SpaceNews
The Berkeley Space Center campus is to be located on 18-acres in Mountain View to promote collaboration among government, industry, and academic tenants. Construction of office and research buildings could begin in three years.
Asteroids may be safer to mine than the Earth’s crust, and have critical metals needed for clean energy technologies. Companies like AstroForge, Trans Astronautica, and Karman+ are preparing to test space mining technologies.
Astronomy | Astrophysics | Astrobiology | Cosmology
Researchers at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) report new "frequency-dependent squeezing" technology, allowing them to measure 60% more black hole and neutron star collisions.