Smashing Success
In just a month, Planetary Resources gathered over $1.5 million through crowdfunding, enabling the company to build an extra Arkyd space telescope that the public can use for personal space photography and educational programs. They have also been busy establishing a partnership with 3D Systems and announcing Peter Marquez as Vice President for Global Engagement. They were also having fun online answering questions on Reddit.com's Ask Me Anything (AMA). KickStarter, Press Releases and Reddit Post by Planetary Resources
Space Doves
Planet Labs (formerly known as Cosmogia) has announced that they are planning to launch a fleet of 28 microsatellites for Earth imaging and released images from their first two prototypes Dove-1 and 2. The satellite constellation will be placed in low earth orbit and return images with optical resolution of 3 to 5 meters. Currently, they have investments totaling over $13.1 million from various sources. Press Release by Planet Labs
Big Steps for Small Things
NanoRacks raised $2.6 million in its Series A financing and announced the formation of XO Markets Holding, which will be the holding company for NanoRacks. The group of investors includes venture capital fund E-Merge. This round of financing will be used to develop a new external International Space Station platform for testing and qualification services for space hardware. Press Release by NanoRacks
Blazing Through
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) began its latest phase of hybrid motor qualification testing for the Dream Chaser spacecraft. SNC is also the supplier of the hybrid rocket motors for the SpaceShipTwo, which recently completed a successful powered flight. The company completed the finance investment milestone for NASA's Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) agreement a month ahead of schedule and was awarded by NASA to build a berthing mechanism to connect the Bigelow module to the International Space Station. Press Releases by SNC and Article at Space News
Money and Priorities
Funding debates for space programs appear to be looming ahead on Capitol Hill. The House of Representatives plans to fund FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation at $14 million, which is significantly lower compared to the request and to last year's level, while the same appropriations bill in the Senate passed with $17 million. The draft bill for NASA's budget was discussed at the House subcommittee hearing, and several different objections were raised including the low funding level of $16.8 billion, cuts to Earth science, and changes to the Space Act Agreement. Articles at SpacePolicyOnline and Space News
600 and Counting
Virgin Galactic signed up its 600th customer and are steadily making progress for its commercial operation. They also appointed Doug Shane, who led a distinguished career at Scaled Composites, as the Executive Vice President and General Manager of The Spaceship Company. News by Virgin and Press Release by The Spaceship Company
Sapphire in the Sky
Copenhagen Suborbitals, a non-profit organization aimed at putting people into space, successfully tested its active guidance system using their Sapphire rocket. Although the vehicle could not be recovered due to a main parachute anomaly, the flight data was downlinked during the flight, and the rocket reached an altitude of 27,000 ft. Also from Europe, Swiss Space Systems (S3) signed memorandums of understanding with Thales Alenia and Elecnor Deimos, making progress towards its goal of launching small payloads into orbit. Article by Kristian von Bengtson and Press Releases by S3
Up and Up
UP Aerospace has successfully launched its suborbital rocket SpaceLoft 7 carrying seven payloads for the NASA's Flight Opportunities Program (FOP). The rocket also carried educational experiments funded by the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium, and it also launched Celestis Memorial Spaceflight Capsules, which contained cremated remains of individuals. UP is planning to launch SpaceLoft 8 in October. In related news, NASA selected 21 new space technology payloads to fly on commercial suborbital flights through the FOP. Update by UP Aerospace and Press Release by NASA
Now Printing
Made In Space has been developing a 3D printer to be used in space, and it recently passed a series of critical microgravity flight tests in order to go to ISS. It is scheduled to arrive at the space station in 2014. Update by Made In Space
Ka-ching
The state of Texas has been busy preparing the environment for space companies. In Midland where XCOR recently relocated its facilities, the city council bought 374 acres of land north of the Midland International Airport for nearly $4 million to help obtain spaceport designation. Texas added $15 million to its state budget which will go to SpaceX if they decide to locate its launch operations in the state. Articles on MyWestTexas.com and Rio Grande Guardian
Space Bucks
In order to enable purchases and payments across the universe, PayPal and the SETI Institute launched PayPal Galactic initiative. What will currency look like or even mean in space? What and which regulations will the banking system need to conform with? These are some of the questions that will need to be addressed before interplanetary commerce becomes a reality. Press Releases by SETI and PayPal Galactic
Cracking the Nut
SpaceX has formally signed the Cooperative Research Development Agreement with the U.S. Space and Missile Command (SMC), which covers the certification process of the Falcon 9. SpaceX also tested the first stage of the Falcon 9-Reusable prototype as part of their current effort to make the entire rocket system reusable. News by SMC and video by SpaceX
Hire Me!
In total, 14 new astronaut candidates were announced in June, and six of these were commercial astronaut candidates from Astronauts 4 Hire. The six were selected among 85 applicants from 13 countries, and their backgrounds include engineering, aviation, and medicine. Press Release by Astronauts4Hire
Give Me the Good Stuff
National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) announced a new funding opportunity for small US companies with biomedical products that hold promise for use in space. The new initiative targets companies that are in or have graduated business accelerators, and projects of up to $200,000 will be considered for funding. News Release by NSBRI
The Space Show
Rich Godwin, Tom Olson, Jeff Krukin, and Bob Zimmerman share their respective NewSpace initiatives with Dr. David Livingston on The Space Show.
NewSpace 2013 Conference
The commercial space industry's premier conference, NewSpace 2013, will be held in the high-tech hub of Silicon Valley on July 25-27. Hosted by the Space Frontier Foundation, NewSpace is a hotbed for networking and new ideas, bringing together NASA Directors, space entrepreneurs, investors, engineers, and policy leaders to offer insights, share stories, and unveil new technologies. This year's conference theme is "Preparing for Exponential Growth," so register today at newspace.spacefrontier.org and get your company on the inside track toward shaping the future of commercial space.
