Moonshot #5

Ax-2 on its way back to Earth, Virgin Galactic's successful test flight, GITAI raises $29M, and floating launch pads just in time for summer vacation

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…

Japanese company GITAI conducts a test of its lunar rover and robotic arm out in the Mojave Desert. Credit: GITAI

SpaceX – Former NASA human spaceflight official Kathy Lueders joined the team at SpaceX last week. At Musk’s company, Lueders will focus mainly on the Starship operation, which tracks given that the Starship is contracted to work with NASA’s Artemis program in the coming years. While we wonder what price tag yanked Lueders out of her one-month retirement, SpaceX makes other bold moves by stepping up to the plate in a Starship lawsuit. Not necessarily a fight they needed to fight – the target of the lawsuit being the FAA – SpaceX filed to become co-defendant in a case driven by conservation groups after April’s Starship launch wreaked so much environmental havoc. Of course, it’s easy to see the motive here – and no, it’s not just to help out a pal – a negative outcome in court could have a serious impact on the Starship budget and schedule. We suppose it goes without saying that they’ve got some real stainless steel skin in the game. Last but not least, the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft has departed the ISS this morning and is now in route to return the Axiom-2 crew back to Earth later today.

Virgin Galactic – Branson-led Virgin Galactic conducted a crewed test flight on Thursday ahead of the company’s first commercial flight scheduled for next month. This was big for Virgin, as their last crewed flight was nearly two years ago. Since then, the space tourism company has been burned by regulatory delays and technical issues; but following Thursday’s flight, the team exudes nothing but confidence for their June flight.

Virgin Orbit – In with the new and out with the old, as they say. It’s the end of an era, and by that we mean the bankrupt Virgin Orbit has finally sold. Who cares if it was for less than the Stranger Things budget? Sometimes you just have to sell the car for parts and call it a day. Rocketlab, Stratolaunch and Launcher – a subsidiary of Vast – came out with the pieces. 

GITAI – Japanese robotics company GITAI just announced a $29 million (or 4 billion yen) fundraising victory to further develop its robotic arm, a lunar rover, and its efforts to expand into the U.S. The Inchworm – recently tested out in Mojave Desert of California – can conduct tasks required for living on the moon, such as “excavation, solar panel and antenna installation, welding, towing an inflatable module, and changing one of the rover’s tires.”

An Evolution Space sounding rocket launches from The Spaceport Company’s floating launch platform in the Gulf of Mexico on May 22 in a test demonstration. Credit: Evolution Space

The Spaceport Company – With the support of Mojave-based Evolution Space, Virginia’s The Spaceport Company conducted a “proof of concept” test of an offshore, floating launch pad in the Gulf of Mexico. Unlike someone we know, The Spaceport Company secured approval from the FAA after an environmental impact test determined the demonstration to be safe. The exciting thing about these floating launch pads is that they don’t require land-based infrastructure, meaning they can be dragged out to any ocean destination and their extendable legs will anchor them to the sea floor. In this way, The Spaceport Company’s tech could really revolutionize launch capabilities globally.