A Couple Really Good Space Companies
Simulated moonwalks, new Artemis launch window, and Curiosity gets salty
Hello Continuum readers and Celestial Citizens,
It would be easy to look at the macro environment and current investing climate for space and start to feel a bit doom and gloom. Many in the industry were just starting to feel the feverish optimism of what seemed like a flowing tap of capital, and gaining confidence that their dreams of a spacefaring future were not far off. And now, we find ourselves in the midst of a slowdown and hearing phrases like “time to hunker down for the winter” paired with the slightly nervous founder reply of “we’re fine, totally fine right now…plenty of runway.” But never fear, Jared Isaacman believes there are at least “a couple really good space companies” out there - ouch.
While it’s always healthy to tighten belts (whatever that means) and create some tension for innovation to occur - I also think I speak for many when I say that the space industry is more than a couple of companies. Let’s not be too quick to leap back into the SpaceX will save us mindset.
Okay, I know what you are thinking - get back to the lighthearted space content. So here are a few things that can’t help but make you smile going into the weekend:
Tom Cruise is feeling the need, the need for microgravity…and looking to become the first civilian to complete a spacewalk outside the ISS. And a good source hinted that Doug Lyman’s space movie might just happen…dare to dream. Although personally, I’m hoping for a plot twist that involves fake Tom Cruise emerging as the real hero of the film.
Look at the unbridled joy of these NASA astronauts doing a simulated moonwalk across the San Francisco Volcanic Field as they prepare for the Artemis III mission.
Space Force general performs “Kokomo” and receives a standing ovation…just kidding! - but honestly who would be surprised? IYKYK.
Alright that’s enough from me - let’s see what happened in space over the last two weeks…
Finding Life with Laughing Gas
Written by: Jackie Appel
The search for life somewhere else in the universe doesn’t follow any sort of linear progression. And how could we expect it to, especially considering we don’t even know how life got started on our own world? Life is complicated, and spotting it from far away is even more so.
This means that scientists need to double, triple, and quadruple confirm that whatever sign of life they think they saw wasn’t a fluke and couldn’t have happened by non-biological means. To this end, researchers have compiled a list of signs of life that they can check any potential host planet against. You have the basic ones like water vapor and oxygen, and the more obscure ones like the phosphine that made everyone scramble to look at Venus last year.
Top Headlines
Save the Date(s) – Another newsletter, another new date for the Artemis launch! This time it’s scheduled for Monday, November 14, so plenty of time to prep for a trip to see what will certainly be a spectacular night launch (if it happens). Additionally, the Polaris Dawn mission from Jared Isaacman and operated by SpaceX plans to launch early next year, and no later than March. It’s certainly an exciting time to be a space fan, whether you’ve been following along since Apollo or just joined the party. A whole new generation will grow up alongside the Artemis missions, making it high-time that Space Center Houston undergoes a redesign and expansion.
No Planet B – Advancements in space are advancements for Earth. Examining satellite imagery from the last twenty years, scientists have noted that “ship tracks,” polluted marine clouds that follow said ships, fell significantly in number after a new fuel regulation went into effect in 2020. COVID-19 likely played a part in this reduction as well. Also, can we beam solar energy to Earth? With a solar farm large enough, ESA hopes to revisit the dream of space-based solar power and clean energy provided on a massive scale.
Game Over, Asteroids – NASA has confirmed that DART has successfully altered Dimorphos’ orbit – its original 11 hour and 55 minute orbit around Didymos has been reduced by roughly 32 minutes. NASA stated that the focus now is on “measuring the efficiency of momentum transfer” from the DART collision, as well as continuing to analyze the ejecta – “the many tons of asteroidal rock displaced and launched into space by the impact.” The more we can understand about the effects of the DART mission the better, especially when “potentially hazardous” asteroids behave unpredictably.
BOAT – On October 9, one of the biggest and brightest gamma ray bursts (GRB) reached Earth and was seen by multiple space and ground telescopes and has been dubbed RB 221009A. But we’re partial to Jillian Rastinejad, a doctoral student at Northwestern University in Illinois, and her team’s name for it – BOAT – Brightest of All Time.
Salt of the Earth (or Mars) – More clues to how Mars became the desolate landscape it is today may be coming soon. Curiosity has arrived at “the salty region” of Mount Sharp. Driving through, scientists have noted past signs of water and several alty minerals. It also collected a sample from a rock dubbed “Canaima” as the mission’s 36th drill sample.
James A. McDivitt – This week, former Gemini IV commander James A. McDivitt passed away. He was the commander of the Apollo 9 flight, which saw him and a crew of two others testing a prototype of the lunar module that would eventually bring Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the Moon. And in 1969, he became the manager for the Apollo spacecraft program - a position he held for Apollo missions 12-16. We’re grateful for his contributions to space exploration and distinguished service to NASA.
Crew 4 Flown Home – Crew 4 (Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, Jessica Watkins and ESA’s Samantha Cristoforetti) returned to Earth last Friday after nearly 6 months in space. This was also the first mission for SpaceX’s newest Dragon crew capsule. Sarah Walker, SpaceX’s director of Dragon mission management stated that the capsule “performed beautifully the whole time, and especially… on the day of its return."
The JWST Download
The Pillars of Creation never looked better
Getting studious with supernovae
It looks like we have an answer for those rings around WR140.
Organic molecules near black holes?
And just how do the colors in JWST photos look so good? The “aesthetics of space photography,” explained.
A Global Space
UK – UK Science Minister Nusrat Ghani unveiled a £15 million fund for UK space businesses that are developing satellite communications technology. Its focus will be on companies that are creating “new satellite constellations, ground systems, or delivering new services to customers.” And it seems like an exciting time to be in the space industry in their corner of the world – with a Virgin Orbit launch out of Cornwall Spaceport scheduled for later this year and Scotland’s Skyrora testing its rockets - big things coming down the pike.
Around the Spaceports in 80 Days – Check out this super handy global spaceports map that shows just how much the space launch industry has grown from its not-so-distant past of depending mostly on Cape Canaveral and Baikonur for access to the cosmos.
ESA – Next year, ESA’s Ariane 6, its “next generation space launcher” plans to launch sometime in Q4 of 2023. And in an effort to find a replacement for the Soyuz rockets due to the severing of ties with Roscosmos, ESA’s Euclid telescope may launch on a Falcon 9 rocket next year. Speaking to Reuters, Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General, stated, “This was a wake up call, that we have been too dependent on Russia.”
Ukraine – When Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year, Elon Musk donated Starlink’s services to the country in support…however, as the fighting has continued on, it seems Musk is eager for someone to pick up the bill. Stating that they have lost $80 million, Musk wrote a letter last month to the Pentagon asking if they would cover Starlink’s cost. On Saturday, Musk tweeted that he will continue funding Starlink’s presence in Ukraine after receiving backlash on Twitter for suggesting he pull what has become a vital service for the country. While reports suggest the Pentagon may fund it after all, Musk has stated they have withdrawn their request for the US to do so. Apparently the EU didn’t want to be left out, and is now discussing if it will fund Starlink. We’ll see how this situation develops over the coming days.
UAE – Will the UAE be the bridge between Chinese and US space efforts? Axios breaks down the bullet points of the UAE’s upcoming plans in space and their international partners.
China – The National Space Science Center in Beijing is expected to meet soon to consider a series of mission proposals to fund. Among those missions on the table are reportedly a Ceres Orbiter and a telescope to hunt for dark matter. While future missions may still be in discussion, check out some photos from aboard China’s new space station, as well as this read from The Global Times about China’s commercial rocket developer.
India – Senior Reporter at Vice Pallavi Pundir wrote a great piece about India’s rapidly growing private space programme. Ernst & Young predicts India’s space economy will be worth $13 billion in 2025. With several of the companies profiled focused on “[bridging] the gap between space technology and addressing problems unique to the Indian subcontinent,” it will be very interesting to see what the country achieves in the coming years.
MOONSHOT
If we’re going to get to space, we’re going to need a lot of help. In our Moonshot section, we’ll share highlights from some of the commercial companies that are taking us there:
Will Starlink spin off as its own public company by 2025? Some analysts seem to think so.
Investment in space seems to be slowing down as fears of a broader recession loom, but that doesn’t mean they stopped. In Q3, $3.4 billion worth of them in fact, although this is still a sizeable decrease from 2021 levels.
Startup heatshield manufacturer Canopy has raised their first round of funding, as well as a Space Act Agreement with NASA.
Humans are returning to the Moon… as crystals? Space Crystals LLC plans to “crystallize client DNA in space and put those stable crystals on the surface of the moon via lunar landers.” To break it down a step further - two crystals will form with the client’s DNA in space and be brought back down to Earth. One will remain with the client, while the other will be sent to the Moon, along with 1gb of the client’s data. The company has already booked payload space for its first lander mission in 2023. This whole process costs $150,000 - not too shabby to “preserve one's existence in the universe.”
Astra has certainly seen better days…on Friday October 7, Astra closed at $0.59 per share, prompting NASDAQ to issue a deficiency notice. The company has until April 4 2023 to “regain compliance with the minimum bid price.”
York Space has been awarded a $200 million contract from the Space Development Agency. Per Space News, they will be building and operating “12 satellites with experimental military communications payloads.”
ArsTechnica profiles Stoke Space - the rapid, reusable rocket company that in the words of co-founder Andy Lapsa, “took a leap of faith and jumped off a cliff.” What lies ahead for this company and their space ambitions…senior space editor, Eric Berger, dives in.
Space Reads!
Can’t get enough stellar content? Here are some pieces of space-adjacent news we’ve been reading:
Last newsletter, we may have joked about art in space, but a satellite crashing into an asteroid can’t compare to the art pieces Ashley Zelinskie is making. Inspired by the marvels of our universe, especially the first images from JWST, check out the New York Times profile on Zelinskie and her “Unfolding the Universe” exhibit which closes this Sunday in Manhattan. And if photography’s more your thing, learn how photographers capture the Northern Lights at the South Pole.
Curious about where the global space economy stands? Check out the World Economic Forum’s write up, breaking down the current state of industry for the more financially minded of us, and how it may benefit Earth, as a whole.
It came from outer space… the glitch in your phone that is. The BBC details how subatomic particles from solar flares could be the reason why our phone and computers glitch up… and why it might only get worse, the smaller our tech gets.
Can you believe that I made it through this entire newsletter without a Liz Truss joke? Well, not so fast…
How many Liz Truss PM terms does it take to get to Mars assuming you launch when Mars is 44 degrees ahead of Earth in its orbit?
First person to comment below with the correct answer wins a Celestial Citizen t-shirt!
A big thank you to Jackie Appel for her piece on laughing gas as a possible indicator of extraterrestrial life and also Evan Yee for writing this edition with me. We hope you enjoyed reading Continuum this week and will share it with your friends.
Until next time…
Keep it celestial people,
Britt
CEO of Celestial Citizen & Creator of Continuum