Moonshot #9

Space Capital drops their Q2 report, Galactic 02 readies for August, LandSpace makes history, and you know what... we also love the nightlife, Rocket Lab

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. 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…

Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket shoots off from New Zealand’s Mahia peninsula. Credit: Rocket Lab

Space Capital — New York-based Space Capital produced a report on space investment in the second quarter, providing a beacon of hope for the industry. After a steady drop in investment over the course of the last year, there are new “signs of stabilization,” according to the report. Basically, the assessment looks at the market’s recent descent as a reset; if we’re at the bottom now, the only place to go is up. Maxar’s $4.1 billion take-private deal doesn’t hurt, either. 

LandSpace — A couple weeks ago, the Zhuque-2 carrier rocket made history as the first methane-liquid oxygen rocket to launch into orbit. After their first attempt failed back in December, Chinese company LandSpace successfully pulled off the launch from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Wednesday, July 12th. The success put LandSpace and China ahead of U.S. companies SpaceX, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, and ULA who were also attempting to launch the first methane-fueled carrier rocket. 

LandSpace launches the Zhuque-2 – the world’s first methane-fueled rocket – from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China.

Rocket Lab — While Rocket Lab may not have won the methane fuel race, they certainly made huge strides with their reusable Electron rocket last week. With Monday’s launch from New Zealand, Rocket Lab successfully deployed four NASA satellites, two Spire Global satellites, and one Canadian satellite. But this isn’t any old success story. Any kind of fool could see that the “Baby Come Back” mission was also a test of the reusability of the company’s Electron rocket. With its new water-hardened engine components to withstand the harsh realities of the ocean, the booster was recovered in “great condition.” The company plans to fly the next Electron – titled “We Love the Nightlife” – on July 28th. With these mission names, we have to wonder: what kind of cold brew are they drinking over there at the Rocket Lab offices? Probably Copper Moon Coffee…just a guess.

---

Speaking of Copper Moon Coffee…here’s an out-of-this-world recipe to brighten your week 🚀

1. First, rub some honey on the rim of your mug and coat it in graham cracker crumbs.

2. Add your hot coffee.

3. Then, mix the chocolate sauce and milk in a saucepan until it begins to bubble and is warm.

4. Froth the chocolate milk in a manner of your choosing.

5. Finally, add the frothy chocolate milk to your mug of hot coffee and dump a big dollop of marshmallow creme or a handful of mini marshmallows.

6. Drizzle a hefty helping of chocolate sauce and enjoy!

Discount code Celestial20 gets you 20% off everything on their site! Thanks Copper Moon Coffee for your sponsorship of Celestial Citizen.

---

Viasat — A broadband satellite failure could have a ripple effect beyond just the operating company itself. A ViaSat-3 Americas satellite experienced an issue deploying one of its reflectors last week, and should the issue continue, operator Viasat could be looking at a huge claim worth $420 million. Good for Viasat, but a hit like that could limit capacity for other customers looking to purchase insurance or make their own claims. Proceed with caution, satellites.

ULA — More details emerge around the Vulcan Centaur, ULA’s rocket destined for national security missions. The company has received a lot of attention for its recent test failures, but CEO Tory Bruno believes a snag like an engine fire “really isn’t news.” That said, the trades were eager to report the cause of ULA's March test mishap to be a hydrogen leak, which will be resolved by an additional layer of stainless steel, among other tweaks. These adjustments move the Vulcan Centaur’s first launch to the fourth quarter of this year, when ULA plans to fly Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander to orbit. After this contract and a subsequent mission with Sierra Space, the Vulcan Centaur would be certified for its National Security Space Launch contract in 2024.   

Virgin Galactic — After the recent success of Galactic 01, Virgin Galactic announced the passengers of Galactic 02 this week, which plans to take off in early August. The three explorers are Olympian Jon Goodwin — who bought his ticket in the early days of them becoming available — and mother-daughter Keisha Shahaff and Anastasia Mayers — who won their tickets via a nonprofit. The company touts milestones that Galactic 02 will achieve with this trio, such as “the first astronauts from the Caribbean,” “the first mother-daughter duo to go to space,” and “the first Olympian to go to space.” The flight will be live-streamed on Virgin Galactic’s website as early as August 10th.

SpaceX — After a one-day delay, SpaceX launched 15 Starlink satellites into orbit aboard a Falcon 9 on Thursday morning, celebrating its 48th orbital mission of the year. If you’re asking yourself how it's possible that Elon Musk is sending more satellites into space, just know this is only 4,450 of the 12,000 Starlink satellites SpaceX currently has approval for. In other good news for the company, SpaceX’s valuation jumped to $140 billion after a share sale last week. 

Merida Aerospace — Tampa-based startup Merida Aerospace is quite possibly on the ground floor of a growing trend — it’s a one stop shop, offering the industry comprehensive services from start to finish. These days, even beyond the space industry, people tend to gravitate towards having everything within one system, whether it be the Google or Microsoft suites or fulfilling every shopping need via Amazon. Perhaps Merida’s platform will be the Amazon of the space industry. Unless Blue Origin already has that trademarked.

A rendering of Project Kuiper's new 31,000-square-meter satellite-processing facility at Kennedy Space Center. Credit: Amazon

Project Kuiper — Speaking of Amazon, on July 21, the company announced plans to build a satellite processing facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Amazon intends “to start launching 3,200 commercial Project Kuiper broadband satellites next year.”