Space Times

Space Times
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The space industry is as vast and evolving as the environment it occupies, and we are here to help you navigate it! Every week we talk about advances in space technology and business, and we want to share our opinions and insights with you. Paul Mayer and Harrison Lambert met a decade ago working as aerospace engineers at Maxar. Since then, Harrison has spent that time working on space systems for a variety of applications, and Paul has become a venture capitalist helping grow nascent space companies. Now we want to share the next decades with you, discussing all the exciting times in space! spacetimespod.substack.com

  1. 1d ago

    Weekly Recap #59 with Guest Grant Schmaedick

    Main Topics This week we’re excited to be joined by guest co-host Grant Schmaedick, and get his perspective from years of working in space at Loft, Lunar Outpost, and Lockheed! Communications * Viasat, SES, and Astranis awarded a combined $1.07B for NASA’s TDRS replacement program for $460.9M, $340.4M, and $264.3M respectively. [source] * CesiumAstro closed a $730M Series D led by Janus Henerson to value the company at $4.5B, this money will be used to deploy their Synchronicity communications constellation. [source] * AST SpaceMobile announced a plan to build their own rocket with Firefly’s Miranda and Vira engines in a deal worth up to $1.3B. [source] * SES successfully connected to meoSphere from Earth with optical communications onboard K2 Space’s Gravitas. [source] * Open Cosmos’ Ka-band license was updated to a limit of 52 instead of 192 as deployment lags behind initial timeline. [source] * Momentus manifested OQ Technologies on Vigoride 9 for testing of 5G communications payload. [source] Space Mobility * Tumbleweed raised a $7.7M Seed round led by Pact VC for their Oasis Beta reentry vehicle. [source] * Redwire won a $20M DARPA contract for a scaled-down flight of SabreSat VLEO spacecraft. [source] * Starfish Space’s Otter spacecraft suffered a communication loss, ending the $15M NASA satellite inspection mission. [source] * Stellar Alpina unveiled their rotating detonation rocket engine orbital transfer vehicle named Monarch, and lunar lander named Morpho. [source] Imaging * Hydrosat unveiled their Nyktos mid-wave infrared imager as part of the Osiris constellation. [source] * Simera Sense and Spacemanic announced a collaboration on dual use imaging satellites. [source] * Oman Lens signed an agreement for joint development of a 20 satellite AI powered imaging constellation from Chinese ODC company STAR.VISION. [source] * Skyfi integrated imaging data into an agent app on Robinhood for subscription based insights on public companies. [source] Business Moves * Lockheed Martin awarded a $95M GPS IIIF modification from USSF, increasing contract value to $4.73B [source] * LeoLabs provided a $150M loan from DoD to scale SDA radar stations. [source] * LUNR (TSX:FLY) listed on the Canadian stock exchange to fund development of orbital launch vehicles. [source] * Orca sold autonomy software to orbital data center company Orbital in a deal worth up to $20M. [source] Tech Advances * Airbus released their Detumbler product to passively detumble spacecraft at end of life. [source] * Orbital Matter and Endurosat partnered to construct 5KW solar arrays on-orbit. [source] Get full access to Space Times at spacetimespod.substack.com/subscribe

    Weekly Recap #59 with Guest Grant Schmaedick

  2. Nov 2

    Weekly Recap #58 + Auriga Space Interview

    Main Topics This week Space Times had the privelege of interviewing Winnie Lai, CEO of Auriga Space, on their electromagnetic space launch system. Subscribe to be notified when the full interview drops later this week! Novel Spacecraft * Cowboy Space revealed their Big Iron architecture for how they plan to launch 20,000 rockets with 1MW ODC second stages. [source] * Rendezvous Robotics raised a $20M seed round led by MaC Venture and Toyota Ventures to build tile style reconfigurable satellites. [source] * Vaxon won a DARPA contract to advance TRL of their VLEO technology. [source] Comms * Ukraine’s HIMERA started operating GomSpace’s OBRIA NANO satellite for sovereign communications. [source] * Boeing awarded up to $946M from SSC to sustain and modernize military satellite communications constellations. [source] * Northwood Space raised a $375M Series C led by a16z and DFJ Growth to accelerate ground station antenna production. [source] * Thales Alenia ordered 66 antennas from MDA for IRIS2 satellites valued at over $100M. [source] * The DOJ pushed to dismiss Ligado’s $50B lawsuit over government using L-band spectrum it had licensed for its communications network. [source] Space Dynamism * D-Orbit partnered with Eutelsat on a GEO servicing mission as part of the European RISE program. [source] * Astroscale awarded a $20M contract for RPO mission from UK MOD for Project LEDA. [source] * AFRL and SpaceWERX set a 2029 target date for the $30M cislunar space domain awareness mission. [source] Business Moves * Stoke Space loaned $150M from Pentagon to support expansion of infrastructure at Cape Canaveral. [source] Tech Advances * MP Space raised $16M Seed round led by Blackbird to scale manufacturing of satellite batteries. [source] Get full access to Space Times at spacetimespod.substack.com/subscribe

    Weekly Recap #58 + Auriga Space Interview

  3. Oct 26

    Weekly Recap #57 - Rocket Powered Doordash

    Main Topics Space Responsivity * Eradrive won a $13M US DoD APFIT contract to provide vision based autonomy nodes to the USSF [source] * Orbital Operations wins up to $35M from the US DoD for their Astraeus cryogenic maneuverable spacecraft, and closes $7M seed extension led by DTX Ventures. [source] * Infinite Orbits raised $58M from the European Innovation Council and booked 4 Impulse Space OTV flights for their Endurance GEO servicing satellites. [source] * Momentus awarded a NASA task order to formulate a mission for Fly Foundational Robotics resupply. [source] * Space Robot raised $15M to deploy a constellation of servicing satellites. [source] * Sinxbot raised tens of millions to develop robotic arms for satellite servicing. [source] New Capabilities * SpaceX’s Bandwagon 5 launched: * SES & Planet’s Pelican-12 tested data relays for NASA Communications Service project. [source] * Rocket Lab’s Maxwell satellite manufactured for Viasat to demonstrate NASA Communications Service project. [source] * Varda’s W-7 to manufacture cancer pharmaceuticals with improved solubility. [source] * SpaceX Starfall to test rapid delivery of military equipment for AFRL. [source] * First 6 Xona Pulsars for an alternative to GPS. [source] * Samara won a $1.3M NASA contract to demonstrate attitude control technology in a lab setting. [source] * Warpware closed a $1.2M pre-seed round to develop an AI engineering platform for space software. [source] * AstraQua was awarded a $1.27M Phase II contract from NASA for autonomous machine health intelligence. [source] * OHB awarded a feasibility study for ESA’s OASIS program to develop lunar infrastructure. [source] Defense * Space Force selected six companies for their SDA Commercial Reserve Fleet: Anduril, Intrack, Slingshot, LeoLabs, EOS, and Northstar. [source] * SSC launched ACES for commercial access to classified space programs. [source] * SDA released a Request for Information for Tranche 4 missile-tracking of PWSA. [source] Business Moves * Xona raised a $250M Series D led by Future Ventures, valuing them at $2.45B. [source] * Apex pursuing $500M Series F led by Washington Harbour Partners, for a $4B valuation. [source] * Telesat offered a $3.2B rescue package from lenders ahead of December default. [source] * FCC authorized Globalstar’s C-3 D2D constellation. [source] * Arqiva got a 3-year satellite service agreement with Kuwait’s Gulfsat. [source] Tech Advances * Marble Imaging and Reflex Aerospace selected Odysseus laser terminal for their first satellite mission. [source] Get full access to Space Times at spacetimespod.substack.com/subscribe

    Weekly Recap #57 - Rocket Powered Doordash

  4. Oct 19

    Weekly Recap #56 - Hunted by Russians

    Main Topics Comms * Golbriak raised a $4.5M seed round led by Join Capital and Phonton Ventures for production of laser communication terminals. [source] * Astrolight operationalized their space to ground laser communications between ATLAS-1 satellite and a station in Greece. [source] * Durri Space ordered 3 optical ground stations from Cailabs for installation in Oman. [source] * Viasat ordered Hydra MAX satellite communication terminals from ALL.SPACE for defense customers. [source] Defense * SES selected Lyntris to provide secure RF and pointing payload integration for PTS-G. [source] * Russian Kosmos 2612 performed a proximity operation to within 2.4 km of US owned ICEYE-X36. [source] * Starlink reduced operation in Ukraine. [source] Infrastructure * Clearspace won an $80M award from the UK Space Agency to deliver a satellite for Active Debris Removal mission. [source] * Momentus added Arcspace to its Vigoride 9 manifest to fly in-orbit autonomous welding technology. [source] * iSpace partnered with ALTEC to develop lunar rover technologies. [source] Business Moves * CSG bought a 9.5% stake in MDA, making it the largest shareholder. [source] * SpaceIQ Q3 2026 report dropped and claimed $92.5B invested in space year-to-date, with total for the year likely to exceed $100B. [source] Tech Advances * Trustpoint successfully demonstrated their ability to provide GNSS through interference under a US Navy contract. [source] Get full access to Space Times at spacetimespod.substack.com/subscribe

    Weekly Recap #56 - Hunted by Russians

  5. Oct 12

    Weekly Recap #55 - Seeing In The Dark

    Main Topics Defense * Voyager Technologies awarded a $22.4M Pentagon contract for satellite deployment prototypes. [source] * Los Angeles based startup Fortastra closed a $30m Series A round led by First In to scale maneuverable spacecraft for on-orbit security. [source] * US Army awarded $67M in Electromagnetic Warfare to hide forces from orbital surveillance through five Other Transaction Authority Agreements. [source] Sensing * Seattle based startup Kapta raised $24M in their Series A round led by Washington Harbour Partners. [source] * Bay Area SAR startup Array Labs won a $4.47M contract from US Army Devcom to develop distributed 3D Radar satellite technology. [source] * Hawkeye 360 released the results of their 2024 AFRL SBIR Phase II award to demo RF-sensing SDA satellites in a whitepaper. [source] Comms * SpaceX acquired nationwide low-band spectrum license in a deal for Starlink Mobile. [source] * The FCC announced plans to vote on a proposal to auction off 25 MHz of prime spectrum for D2D applications and to make an additional 482 MHz of spectrum available to supplemental coverage for D2D services in said spectrum range. [source] * AnySignal announced a new partnership with Andrenam to develop and bring to market underwater acoustic communications modems. [source] Business Moves * New York based commercial exchange infrastructure firm Nebex and Mexican Earth Observation company Thrusters Unlimited announce a partnership focused on providing sovereign space programs to Mexico and Latin America. [source] * Balerion Space Ventures closed the raise of an oversubscribed $200M Fund II. [source] * SpaceX seeking a $40B debt raise led by Apollo Global Management to finance the purchase of NVIDIA GPUs. [source] * Blue Origin claimed the $10B round of private funding will support an IPO ‘in the future’. [source] Tech Advances * NASA announced a partnership with Axiom Space to develop a ‘Sortie Suit’ on an accelerated timeline to deliver the variant of Axiom’s planned lunar surface suit sooner for NASA’s upcoming Artemis missions. [source] Get full access to Space Times at spacetimespod.substack.com/subscribe

    Weekly Recap #55 - Seeing In The Dark

  6. Oct 5

    Weekly Recap #54 - Harnessing the Sun

    Main Topics Launch * SpaceX’s Starship 14 deployed the first 26 operational Starlink V3 satellites to orbit. [source] * SpaceX’s Transporter 18 successfully deployed 130 payloads to orbit on the first stage booster’s 25th launch, including: [source] * Starcatcher’s first space-to-space power beaming satellite Protostar [source] * Cowboy Space’s space-to-earth power beaming satellite Reason-1 [source] * TWO Varda in-space manufacturing satellites [source] * Google’s first on-orbit TPU aboard Planet’s satellite [source] * Starfish’s first Otter RPO satellite [source] * Cesium Astro’s first Element-1 communication satellite [source] * Meridian Space’s first reflectenna customer link [source] * Deep Blue Aerospace raised $300M to further develop their Nebula-1 and Nebula-2 rockets. [source] * Z-trak raised an undisclosed amount of funding to facilitate a 2027 inaugural launch of their electric pump rocket. [source] * Hop Aerospace raised an $11M seed round led by Initialize Capital to further develop and advance rocket-based point-to-point delivery solutions. [source] * Meridian officially established themselves as a separate business entity from kinetic launch provider Spinlaunch. [source] * Portuguese startup Omnidea acquired former Scottish launch provider Orbex’s assets, announcing plans for their PrimeNEO rocket. [source] Infrastructure * Overview Energy awarded an OECIF contract to develop a homing beacon/targeting beacon solution for orbital solar power transmission to terrestrial targets. [source], * Momentus demonstrated an AI-enabled LiDAR and imaging suite during a successful RPO maneuver with NASA satellite. [source] * Lithuanian startup Blackswan raised a $2.9m seed round to advance their product lines’ commercialization and expand to the US markets. [source] * Italian startup NaviGate verified their 5cm accuracy GPS orbital determination software on-orbit. [source] * Foundational exited stealth with a £8.2M pre-seed raise for satellite laser ranging. [source] Compute * Virtus Solis signed a 100MW 20 year power purchase agreement, extendable to 250MWs of power purchase, with marine data center operator Brae Systems. [source] * Firefly announced plan to host Starcloud’s data center on their Elytra Moon mission.[source] * Satlyt raised an $8M Seed round to develop virtual orbital data centers. [source] * STAR.VISION announced a 1,080+ orbital compute constellation with ~$1.5B in credit backing. [source] Business Moves * Voyager Technologies closed $400M+ in convertible senior notes set to mature in October 2032 at a ~$40 price per share representing a ~30% premium on current share prices. [source] * Astro Digital announced the intent to go public through a SPAC merger at a $587M valuation, raising $180M in the process. [source] * Varda raised a $251M Series D, bringing total financing to date to $598M. [source] * Astranis secured a $468M credit facility from the US Export Import Bank. [source] * ICEYE announced plans to expand product offerings and build sovereign communications constellations with Nokia. [source] * Parsons wins $85M to build Space Command HQ. [source] * Charter Space raised $5M seed for space insurance. [source] Tech Advances * Viridian awarded a $225k NASA contract to develop VLEO control systems using aerosurfaces. [source] Get full access to Space Times at spacetimespod.substack.com/subscribe

    Weekly Recap #54 - Harnessing the Sun

  7. Sep 28

    Weekly Recap #53 - Nukes to Mars

    Main Topics Imaging * HEO raised a $25M Series B led by Beaten Zone Venture Partners to further develop their space-based space domain awareness technology. [source] * Impulse Space awarded a $28M contract from the USSF to fly a Mira spacecraft for GEO based space domain awareness. [source] * Momentus received a NASA task order contract in support of the FALCON mission to use LIDAR to study Earth’s atmosphere. [source] * TRL11 selected to supply the imaging system on NASA’s Space Reactor 1 flying to Mars in 2028. [source] * Hydrosat unveiled their next-generation Osiris constellation to provide higher resolution and coverage area in near infrared and long wave infrared. [source] Launch * Space Epoch raised a Series B extension, bringing the total capital raised to $343M USD to launch their reusable medium lift rocket. [source] * RSAT Space signed a Canadian launch distribution deal with INNOSPACE to manifest customers for their Hanbit Nano, Micro, and Mini launch vehicles.. [source] * Exolaunch contracted a dedicated SpaceX Starfall mission for in-space manufacturing under their 2029 Return to Earth Program. [source] Infrastructure * Katalyst won an OECIF award for their robotic spacecraft to assemble tiles on-orbit into a space based solar power satellite.. [source] * Vast announced their Lunar Programs Division, applying Haven flight heritage to power, communications, and habitats for Lunar programs. [source]. * Italy committed over $5B to the development of a lunar habitat for NASA’s Moon Base program. [source] * ClearSpace signed an ESA ARTES contract to advance their Phoenix GEO life-extension mission. [source] Business Moves * Hubble Network raised a $200m round Series C round of financing led by Smith Point Capital to expand the deployment of their bluetooth connectivity satellites. [source] * The Toronto Stock Exchange approved MDA for a share repurchase program totalling 5% of their public float. [source] * Redwire selected for Space Systems Command’s $980M NITE-STAR IDIQ to provide training solutions. [source] * ICEYE opened a new operational and laboratory facility in Warsaw, Poland. [source] Tech Advances * GHGSat announced their second generation methane imager, boasting twice the resolution and coverage over their first generation satellites. [source] Get full access to Space Times at spacetimespod.substack.com/subscribe

    Weekly Recap #53 - Nukes to Mars

  8. Sep 21

    Weekly Recap #52 + Exolaunch Interview

    Main Topics This week we had the privilege of speaking with Robert Sproles, CEO of Exolaunch, about their announcement of procuring two more launches as part of their expansion into managed rideshare services. If you need to get to space, be sure to check out Exolaunch! Space Access * Exolaunch purchased two more dedicated launches for their rideshare program including a Japanese launch aboard a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ H3. [source] * SEOPS signed a multiple launch service agreement with ISAR for five launches on Spectrum as part of their rideshare program between 2028 and 2030. [source] * Maverick Space Systems secured capacity for 10 Kepler sats as part of their rideshare program on Portal’s Motus Via Sol mission. [source] * Impulse Space announced a $308M Series D extension from existing investors to further their development of in-orbit transportation. [source] Proliferation * EnduroSat raised $205M in a round led by Riot Ventures and Atreides Management Funds to expand production capacity. [source] * Vantor selected both Endurosat and CACI to build their 40cm resolution, high-revisit Pulse satellite fleet. [source] * Elveo Mobile announced a partnership with Apex to scale manufacturing of their D2D satellite constellation. [source] * Amazon Leo ordered 6 additional launches of Ariane 64 for constellation deployment. [source] Defense * US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink confirmed the existence of an ‘on-orbit’ weapon at the Air, Space, and Cyber Conference. [source] * The Defense Innovation Unit and Space Systems Command awarded GHOST-R prototype contracts to Northrop and True Anomaly to deploy GEO recon capabilities. [source] * Sedaro awarded up to $45M to expand the USSF’s mission analysis software. [source] Business Moves * Open Cosmos raised $348M led by Lightrock, ETF Partners, Institut Catala de Finances, and Entrepreneurs First to expand manufacturing and government services in Europe. [source] * Thales won contract to build NigComSat-2a geocommunications satellite for Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited. [source] Tech Advances * Exotrail qualified a 1KW hall thruster with Safran. [source] * Space Cargo booked a Starfall mission with SpaceX for on-orbit manufacturing. [source] Get full access to Space Times at spacetimespod.substack.com/subscribe

    Weekly Recap #52 + Exolaunch Interview
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

The space industry is as vast and evolving as the environment it occupies, and we are here to help you navigate it! Every week we talk about advances in space technology and business, and we want to share our opinions and insights with you. Paul Mayer and Harrison Lambert met a decade ago working as aerospace engineers at Maxar. Since then, Harrison has spent that time working on space systems for a variety of applications, and Paul has become a venture capitalist helping grow nascent space companies. Now we want to share the next decades with you, discussing all the exciting times in space! spacetimespod.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Space Times
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    61
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Harrison Lambert
  • Show Website
    Space Times

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