Moonshot #4

Virgin Galactic to conduct test flight, Lockheed reorganizes, and a Vast/SpaceX partnership gets announced

Hello Continuum readers and Celestial Citizens,

Welcome back to Moonshot where we will give a bi-weekly rundown of all the private sector space news. Also, if you haven’t already, consider becoming a paid subscriber ($6/month) so you can get past that pesky paywall and read the full Moonshot post!

And here is the commercial space beat…

A suborbital space plane developed and operated by Virgin Galactic. Credit: Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic – As buzz about “space tourism” circulates, generating grand ideas of exotic space hotels and celestial cocktail lounges, one company may be closer than others when it comes to offering available commercial flights. By the end of this month, Virgin Galactic will conduct a test flight – the first in almost two years. Not to be confused with Virgin Orbit, the other Branson-founded company focused on small satellite payloads that recently filed for bankruptcy, Virgin Galactic has its sights set on final frontier tourists, with their premiere commercial flight scheduled for June. The good(ish) news? You may not have to be a billionaire to ride one of Branson’s flights, but you do need $425,000 per ticket. After bleeding cash the last few years, the company will need to fly around 400 times per year with that seat price tag to start making a profit. 

Momentus – One company was really raising eyebrows – and orbits – this past week. Using distilled water as fuel, California startup Momentus has created a Microwave Electrothermal Thruster (MET) designed to help nudge, or tug satellites to their target orbits. The company’s non-toxic propellant creates a safer, not to mention more cost-effective option for orbit thrusting, which could grant the company a lot of customers moving forward. For one, it may help boost and hence extend the lifespan of NASA’s Hubble.

Lockheed Martin – One of the biggest contractors with the U.S. Department of Defense, Lockheed Martin announced a company reorganization last week. EVP of Lockheed Martin Space, Robert Lightfoot identifies three clear and consolidated sectors for the business: commercial civil space, national security space, and strategic/missile defense. The company believes this new structure will help them keep up with growing requirements and competition. 

Boeing & SES – An early June launch of two powerful satellites is looking like a “go” from American company Boeing and Luxembourg-based SES. After a successful test last week, Boeing prepares to send a pair of O3b mPower satellites to Florida so they can catch a ride on a Falcon 9 rocket to Medium Earth Orbit. These satellites will complete a six satellite constellation and allow SES to offer initial broadband services from MEO by the third quarter. Boeing will continue to construct these powerhouse satellites until they reach a contracted 11 total, which could increase service speeds to multiple gigabytes per second. 

One photon spacecraft built by Rocket Lab and Varda Space, the next steps towards an in-space pharmacy. Credit: Business Wire

Rocket Lab & Varda Space - After making headlines last week with the successful launch of NASA’s TROPICS cubesats, Rocket Lab keeps pace with the completion of a new “photon spacecraft,” a project for Varda Space Industries, a company focused on in-space pharmaceutical manufacturing. Rocket Lab’s technology will provide power, propulsion and control as well as communications for Varda’s capsule, designed to produce pharmaceuticals in microgravity, such as the antiretroviral Ritonavir, an active ingredient in Paxlovid (COVID medication) and an HIV treatment. 

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Continuum Podcast: Analyzing the SpaceX Starship Aftermath

ICYMI, we released another episode of Continuum podcast with special guest Ben Kellie, CEO of The Launch Company and creator of

The Next 30 Trips

. Co-hosting with our founder, Britt Duffy Adkins, is science communicator and creator of the YouTube Channel Space But Messier!, Tony DiBernardo.

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Black Sky – According to a recent heavily redacted request document, U.S. company BlackSky desperately seeks FCC approval allowing the team to continue operating their satellites below the authorized limit of LEO, which is 385 kilometers (or 239 miles) in the sky. It remains to be seen if the FCC will be sympathetic to the request – which references running out of propellant – and offer special permissions for the company to fly their satellites more than 40 kilometers below the federally established boundary.