Spire
Can you still spell space without SPAC?
The SPAC boom has reshaped the space startup sector. Until recently, there was plenty of capital flowing into startups but few exits. SPACs offer, in some sense, the best of both options: an influx of capital associated with going public, but without the overhead of a traditional IPO.
SpaceX launches record-setting cluster of smallsats
A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched 143 small satellites for a wide range of customers Jan. 24 on the company's first dedicated rideshare mission, a service that poses a competitive threat to emerging small launch vehicles.
India back in action with launch of Earth observation satellite, nine rideshare small sats
The Indian Space Research Organisation successfully carried out its first launch since the COVID-19 outbreak Saturday sending the EOS-1 Earth observation satellite and nine smaller payloads into orbit.
Spire adding cross links to cubesat constellation
Spire Global will launch its first cubesats with cross links over the next few months, beginning a refresh that will eventually replace its full constellation.
Arianespace launches Vega on return-to-flight mission with 53 smallsats
European launch provider Arianespace conducted a successful return-to-flight mission of Vega, its light-lift rocket, on Sept. 2, completing the vehicle’s first launch in 14 months.
NASA to buy more commercial Earth observation data
NASA will seek continued access to Earth observation data gathered by commercial satellite constellations after a pilot program proved the value of those observations.
Spire opens Washington office to court government customers
Spire Global has opened its sixth office, setting up a team of 10 employees in the nation’s capital as it seeks to gain more U.S. government business.
Spire raises $40 million for analytics products and Asia-Pacific market
Spire, which operates a constellation of satellites that provide weather, tracking and other data, has raised a new round of more than $40 million to fund work on data products and expansion into the Asia-Pacific market.
Spire, Kleos Space partner on maritime tools • Brazilian court blocks SGDC-2 acquisition • Gilat revenues down but profits up
Spire and signal-mapping company Kleos Space have teamed up to develop maritime safety tools focused on detecting “dark vessels” from space.
Spire to host payloads for defense contractor
Spire Global announced March 11 that it has signed a deal to host reconnaissance payloads from a defense contractor on its cubesat constellation.
Spire seeks to expand business with Pentagon
Spire Global, the company that operates a constellation of cubesats that collects a variety of radiofrequency data, is hiring a former Marine to help the company grow its business in the national security sector.
Op-Ed | The space industry’s game-changing role in next-generation aircraft tracking and surveillance
“Traditional” ADS-B transmits to ground-based communication systems and lacks coverage over oceans and remote areas. This is where the space industry is stepping up to play a game-changing role in the next generation of aviation.
PSLV launch a boost for smallsat IoT, remote-sensing constellations
A total of 30 small satellites flew as secondary payloads with the Indian Space Research Organisation’s HysIS hyperspectral imaging satellite when it launched Nov. 29 from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on the Indian island of Sriharikota at 11:28 p.m. Eastern.
Commercial EO innovation challenges snail-pace government timescales
Leaps in capabilities of commercial constellations of small Earth-observation satellites and the decreasing cost of their services were at the center of a debate about the future of publicly funded Earth-observation missions after Spire CEO Peter Platzer introduced the company’s ambition to become “the Amazon” of space.
Price swings expected during launch industry shakeout
The next two to three years will be a time of adjustment in the space launch industry, according to panelists at Satellite Innovation 2018 here.
