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Planet Labs: On course to EBITDA-positive by end-2024 despite slow commercial growth; government still the priority
LA PLATA, Maryland — Satellite geospatial imagery provider Planet Labs PBC reported an 11% growth in revenue for the three months ending Oct. 31 as continued strong sales to civil government and defense and intelligence agencies more than offset weakness in the commercial market. Planet said it had $315 million of cash as of Oct.…
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French space agency, on behalf of French military, contracts demonstration of Hemeria’s maneuverable stratospheric balloon
LA PLATA, Maryland — The French space agency, CNES, signed a contract with stratospheric scientific balloon manufacturer Hemeria to demonstrate Hemeria’s BalMan, a balloon designed to operate for long periods, and to maneuver at altitude, carrying Earth observation and other payloads for civil and military use. The contract, valued at “several million euros” and signed…
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Series D round gives space situational awareness startup NorthStar enough liquidity through launch of first 4 satellites
LA PLATA, Maryland — NorthStar Earth and Space Inc., a startup planning a constellation of satellites to perform in-orbit space situational awareness, raised 20 million Canadian dollars ($14.74 million) in Series D financing and said its first four satellites will likely launch in early 2024. With the Series D round, Canada-based NorthStar has now raised…
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UN agencies to WRC-23 telecom delegations: Please don’t reduce 10-GHz spectrum allocation for radar satellites
LA PLATA, Maryland — Two United Nations agencies appealed to international telecommunications regulators to block attempts by terrestrial mobile interests to get access to spectrum used by high-resolution radar satellites to assess climate change. The Office of Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) are among the 200-plus agencies and companies attending…
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Geospatial imagery use cases are multiplying faster than the market is growing. How to explain that?
LA PLATA, Maryland — The geospatial imagery market is still struggling to break through to the wider corporate and government market that has long been predicted for it, even if it now appears closer than ever. Use cases are multiplying. High-resolution optical and radar, multispectral and hyperspectral satellites in orbit are multiplying. And yet…. RRE…
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EU Commission, preparing law on space safety/sustainability, seeks to reassure private sector on scope and cost
LA PLATA, Maryland — The European Commission’s new Space Law, expected to be published in early 2024, will establish rules on space debris prevention and mitigation, including collision avoidance, may well end up imposing costs on industry, a Commission official said. But the costs pale compared to the consequences of doing nothing, which in the…
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EU, UK finalize Britain’s return to Copernicus, Horizon Europe programs starting Jan. 1
LA PLATA, Maryland — Britain and the European Union have finalized their agreement from September that will bring UK funding back into the EU’s Horizon Europe research effort and the Copernicus network of environment-monitoring satellites. Both programs have been doing without UK participation since Brexit was formalized. Under the agreement, tentatively reached in September and…
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Intelsat: $2.1B in 2023 revenue, forecasting ~5%/year growth though 2026, MEO constellation looks unlikely
McLEAN, Virginia — Satellite fleet operator Intelsat expects to report a slight increase in revenue for 2023 compared to 2022 and then to post about 5% average annual growth through 2026 as its mobility business, led by commercial aviation, grows at double-digit rates. But the bigger news for Intelsat’s 2023 results is the reduction in…
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For Ariane 6, the first light at the end of a long tunnel: Inaugural flight set for June-July
. LA PLATA, Maryland — After more than two years of repeated disappointments — with delay after delay and cost increases with them — managers of Europe’s Ariane 6 heavy-lift launcher on Nov. 30 held their first briefing where optimism, not embarrassment, was center stage. Following a Nov. 23 test firing of the Ariane 6…
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Europe’s showcase New Space launch startup, Isar Aerospace, changes legal status. Is an IPO on the way?
PARIS — German small-launcher startup Isar Aerospace, a showcase example of a successful startup raising funds from public and private sources, is converting its regulatory status from a GmbH to an SE, which is often prelude to an initial stock offering. Munich-based Isar has raised $330 million from several funding rounds, including a specular Series…
