Space Business Review a Monthly Round-Up of Space Industry Developments for the Information of Our Clients and Friends

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Space Business Review a Monthly Round-Up of Space Industry Developments for the Information of Our Clients and Friends Space Business Review A monthly round-up of space industry developments for the information of our clients and friends. June 2018 INTELSAT CONCURRENT OFFERINGS SPACEX LAUNCHES SES-12 SATELLITE On June 11, Intelsat S.A. (Intelsat) announced On June 4, Space Exploration Technologies that it priced an offering of 13,477,089 common Corp. (SpaceX) successfully launched the all- CONTACTS: shares at $14.84 per common share, subject to an electric SES-12 satellite for SES S.A. on a flight- option for the issuance of an additional 2,021,563 proven Falcon 9 launch vehicle. Manufactured Dara A. Panahy common shares, and an offering of $350m by Airbus Defence and Space and equipped 202-835-7521 [email protected] aggregate principal amount of 4.5% convertible with six wide beams and 72 high-throughput senior notes due 2025, subject to an option for user spot beams, SES-12 will join the SES-8 Bijan Ganji the purchase of an additional $52.5m aggregate satellite at the 95°E orbital position to provide 202-835-7543 principal amount of notes. Intelsat stated that it video, fixed data, mobility and government [email protected] plans to loan and/or contribute all or some of the communications services to customers net proceeds from both offerings to Intelsat throughout the Middle East and Asia-Pacific Envision Holdings LLC, a new wholly-owned region. SpaceX did not attempt to recover the To learn about Milbank’s subsidiary of Intelsat (Luxembourg) S.A., which first stage of the Falcon 9 following launch. In an Space Business Practice, or will become the direct parent company of unrelated development, on June 21, SpaceX view previous issues of the Intelsat Connect Finance S.A. and will announced that it was awarded a $130m firm- Space Business Review, guarantee the new notes, and to use such net fixed-price contract from the U.S. Department please visit www.milbank.com. proceeds to purchase Intelsat (Luxembourg) of Defense to perform the Air Force Space S.A.’s 7.75% senior notes due 2021. Command-52 (AFSPC-52) mission using a The information contained Falcon Heavy launch vehicle in 2020. The herein is provided for INMARSAT ATTRACTS SUITORS award, which follows a competitive bidding informational purposes only On June 8, Inmarsat plc (Inmarsat) announced process in which SpaceX prevailed over United and should not be construed that it received and rejected an unsolicited Launch Alliance, marks the first time that the as legal advice on any subject takeover offer from EchoStar Corporation on Falcon Heavy has scored a competitive victory of matter. Recipients of this the basis that it significantly undervalued the a military launch services contract. publication should not take or company. The offer amount was not disclosed. refrain from taking any action On June 26, a day after confirming rumors that it VIASAT LEASES HYLAS 4 CAPACITY based upon content included herein. If you do not wish to was contemplating its own offer for Inmarsat, On June 25, ViaSat Inc. announced that it receive this newsletter, please Eutelsat Communications S.A. announced that leased, for two years, one of the four steerable send an e-mail to it does not intend to make an acquisition offer. beams on HYLAS 4, Avanti Communications Group plc’s newest satellite, for $10m. ViaSat [email protected] JUNE LAUNCH SERVICES ORDERS with the word “unsubscribe” in Inc. plans to use the capacity to support June 4 – Surrey Satellite Technology Limited the subject line. international government applications across the (SSTL) contracted with small launch vehicle Americas, the Atlantic Ocean and the Middle © 2018 - Milbank, Tweed, developer Firefly Aerospace, Inc. (Firefly) for up East. Separately, on June 12, ViaSat Inc. Hadley & McCloy LLP. to six launch services from 2020 to 2022 on the announced that it acquired Horsebridge Alpha launch vehicle. The first mission currently Defence and Security Ltd., a UK-based military expected to be performed is the launch of the communications company. Financial details of Carbonite-4 satellite, which is scheduled for the transaction were not disclosed. early 2020. June 11 –Spaceflight Industries Inc. AIRBUS AND PLANET TEAM UP (Spaceflight) announced it procured three launch On June 25, Airbus Defence and Space and services from Rocket Lab USA, Inc. on the Planet Labs, Inc. announced that they entered Electron launch vehicle. The first mission will into a framework agreement in order to facilitate launch a microsatellite for Spaceflight subsidiary access to each other’s data and to explore BlackSky Global LLC and several other payloads opportunities for joint cooperation in new and in late 2018; the second mission will launch a existing markets, including toward the co- group of commercial and government satellites development of new geospatial solutions. in early 2019; and the third mission will launch FORECAST OF LAUNCH SECTOR GROWTH an Earth observation satellite for Canon According to a new report published by Global Electronics Inc. in early 2019. Market Insights, the global commercial satellite June 25 – Spaceflight announced that it signed launch services market is poised to grow more a Memorandum of Understanding with Virgin than 16% – to $7b – by 2024 as a result of the Orbit for a mission to Low Earth Orbit in 2019 increasing use of data-based communication on the LauncherOne launch vehicle. services and navigation and tracking systems. Milbank.com .
Recommended publications
  • Space Coast Is Getting Busy: 6 New Rockets Coming to Cape Canaveral, KSC
    4/16/2019 Space Coast is getting busy: 6 new rockets coming to Cape Canaveral, KSC Space Coast is getting busy: 6 new rockets coming to Cape Canaveral, Kennedy Space Center Emre Kelly, Florida Today Published 4:04 p.m. ET April 11, 2019 | Updated 7:53 a.m. ET April 12, 2019 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – If schedules hold, the Space Coast will live up to its name over the next two years as a half-dozen new rockets target launches from sites peppered across the Eastern Range. Company, government and military officials here at the 35th Space Symposium, an annual space conference, have reaffirmed their plans to launch rockets ranging from more traditional heavy-lift behemoths to smaller vehicles that take advantage of new manufacturing technologies. Even if some of these schedules slip, at least one thing is apparent to several spaceflight experts here: The Eastern Range is seeing an unprecedented growth in commercial space companies and efforts. Space Launch System: 2020 NASA's Space Launch System rocket launches from Kennedy Space Center's pad 39B in this rendering by the agency. (Photo: NASA) NASA's long-awaited SLS, a multibillion-dollar rocket announced in 2011, is slated to become the most powerful launch vehicle in history if it can meet a stringent late 2020 deadline. The 322-foot-tall rocket is expected to launch on its first flight – Exploration Mission 1 – from Kennedy Space Center with an uncrewed Orion capsule for a mission around the moon, which fits in with the agency's wider goal of putting humans on the surface by 2024.
    [Show full text]
  • ESPI Insights Space Sector Watch
    ESPI Insights Space Sector Watch Issue 16 May 2021 THIS MONTH IN THE SPACE SECTOR… MARS LANDING CEMENTS CHINA’S POSITION AS MAJOR SPACE POWER ................................................................ 1 POLICY & PROGRAMMES .................................................................................................................................... 2 ESA awards €150 million in contracts to continue development of Prometheus and Phoebus .......... 2 European Commission targets second study for its space-based secure connectivity project .......... 2 South Korea joins Artemis accords and strengthens partnership with the U.S. ..................................... 2 May marks busy month in UK space sector................................................................................................... 3 NASA temporarily suspends SpaceX’s HLS contract following protests on the award ........................ 3 Spain eyes creation of a National Space Agency .......................................................................................... 3 Space Force awards $228 million GPS contract extension to Raytheon Intelligence and Space ...... 4 China officially establishes company to develop and operate broadband mega constellation ........... 4 Lithuania signs Association Agreement with ESA ........................................................................................ 4 CNES and Bundeswehr University Munich (UniBw) launch SpaceFounders accelerator ..................... 4 The Brazilian Space Agency selects Virgin Orbit
    [Show full text]
  • LPIB Issue 164 (April 2021)
    THE CHICXULUB IMPACT CRATER: Producing a Cradle of Life in the Midst of a Global Calamity Featured Story | From the Desk of Lori Glaze | Meeting Highlights | News from Space | Spotlight on Education In Memoriam | Milestones | New and Noteworthy | Calendar LUNAR AND PLANETARY INFORMATION BULLETIN April 2021 Issue 164 FEATURED STORY THE CHICXULUB IMPACT CRATER: Producing a Cradle of Life in the Midst of a Global Calamity DAVID A. KRING, LUNAR AND PLANETARY INSTITUTE Expedition 364 mission patch Introduction when the International Ocean Discov- an area that had been a stable sediment ery Program (IODP) and International catchment for over 100 million years? Strategically located scientific drilling Continental Scientific Drilling Program Clues began to emerge when the core can be used to tap the Earth for evi- (ICDP) initiated a new campaign with was analyzed. Logging revealed chem- dence of evolutionary upheavals that the call sign Expedition 364. Drilling ical and petrological variations on the transformed the planet. A good example from a marine platform a few meters granitic theme, plus felsite and dolerite is the Yucatán-6 borehole in Mexico above the sea surface, the new borehole intrusions, in a granitoid rock sequence that recovered rock samples from 1.2 reached a depth of 1335 meters be- that represented continental crust that and 1.3 kilometers beneath Earth’s neath the sea floor (mbsf). The borehole had been assembled through a series of surface. I used those samples 30 years penetrated seafloor sediments that bury tectonic events over more than a billion ago to show that a buried, geophysical- the crater, finally reaching impactites at years.
    [Show full text]
  • Explore Space Using Swarms of Tiny Satellites
    COMMENT CYBERSECURITY The evidence SCI-FI What did Isaac Asimov NATURAL HISTORY The sisters FUNDING Rewarding that ‘weaponized rumours’ and L. Ron Hubbard have in who made exquisite swagger squeezes out hacked 2016 US election p.188 common? p.189 etchings of snails p.190 humility p.192 ESA/NASA-A. GERST ESA/NASA-A. Three miniature satellites — CubeSats — launching into orbit from the International Space Station in August 2018. Explore space using swarms of tiny satellites Sand-grain-sized computers, self-healing materials and constellations of craft would reboot our reach, explain Igor Levchenko, Michael Keidar and colleagues. he first trillionaire will be made back less than 1 gram of asteroid grains in bucks. Space hardware has not kept pace in space,” US Republican Senator 2010. The price tag for the whole mission with technology development and needs to Ted Cruz told scientists and entre­ was $250 million. be modernized. Satellites are still too bulky preneurs“ T in May at a Washington DC sum­ Still, space is big business. Globally, and expensive. Most perform only a limited mit on sending humans to Mars. He could be companies invested about $262 billion in set of predefined tasks. And, despite the skill right, but only if we rethink space technology. 2016, mostly on using satellites for tele­ and materials that went into them, they fail The cost of launching a satellite is communications, navigation and remote within decades — much more quickly than comparable with the value of its weight in sensing1 (see ‘Lift­off’). Governments, a Swiss watch. gold. It takes thousands of dollars to send too, spend billions — about $84 billion At this rate, humans will never venture far one kilogram into low Earth orbit, often ten worldwide in 2016.
    [Show full text]
  • SPACE RACE: Commercialising the Path
    SPACE RACE: Commercialising the Path Point-of-View July 2021 Contents From race of superpowers Roads to success to race of billionaires in exploring space What is shaping the space Who are in the space exploration industry of today? race of today? Future of in-space economy Introduction to What benefits will a space journey space exploration bring Executive summary for the economy? 2 Introduction to a space journey Journey into space started 50 years ago with nations’ race making first steps using moderate technology at hand… Key elements of space journey 50 years ago Nations’ Space race Single use rockets & costly shuttles First milestones achieved: 1st man in space Industry drivers: 1st step on the Moon ideology & national pride 1st space station 3 Source: BDO Centers analysis Introduction to a space journey …and continues with visionary leaders driving space into the era of affordable travel and game-changing projects Key elements of space journey now Billionaires’ Space race Ambitious projects Reusable, cheap, are about to come true: and big rockets moon base, people on Mars & beyond, space tourism Industry drivers: commercialisation & business leaders’ aspiration 4 Source: BDO Centers analysis Introduction to a space journey Active exploration and rapid growth of the global space industry enable multilateral perspectives in the future Key space players Prospective in-space industries Elon Musk Jeff Bezos Enable the Build the low-cost road to colonisation of Mars space to enable near-Earth Space Space logistics Space hospitality Space
    [Show full text]
  • Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact For
    Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for Issuing Firefly Aerospace a Launch License for the Alpha Launch Vehicle at Space Launch Complex 2 West, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Vandenberg, California May 2020 This Page Intentionally Left Blank Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for Issuing Firefly Aerospace a Launch License for the Alpha Launch Vehicle at Space Launch Complex 2 West, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Vandenberg, California AGENCIES: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), lead federal agency; National Aeronautics and Space Administration, cooperating agency. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: The FAA is evaluating Firefly Aerospace's (Firefly's) proposal t o launch Alpha launch vehicles (Alpha) from Space Launch Complex 2 West (SLC-2W) and make facility modifications to associated support facilities at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Vandenberg, California. To operate Alpha at SLC-2W, Firefly must obtain a launch license from the FAA. Issuing a license is considered a major federal action su bject to environmental review under NEPA. Under the Proposed Action, the FAA would issue a launch license to Firefly that would allow Firefly to operate Alpha from SLC-2W. Firefly is proposing to conduct 11 launches per year (each preceded by a static fire engine test) over the next five years (2020-2024). The Environmental Assessment evaluates the potential environmentail impacts from the Proposed Action and No Action Alternative on air quality; biological resources; climate; coastal resources; Department ofTransportation Act, Section 4(f); hazardous materials, solid waste, and pollution prevention; noise and noise-compatible land use; socioeconomics, environmentail justice, and children's environmental health and safety risks; and water resomces.
    [Show full text]
  • Blue Ghost Lunar Lander
    BLUE GHOST LUNAR LANDER Condensed Payload User's Guide CONDENSED FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION Cover image: Artist's rendering of Blue Ghost operating the NASA-sponsored 19D Payloads in Mare Crisium on Firefly’s 2023 mission. Firefly Aerospace Inc Page i Making Space for Everyone Here at Firefly, we dedicate ourselves to providing an unrivaled customer experience, while concur- rently providing economical and convenient access to space for small Payloads. Whether your Payload's destination is Low Earth Orbit or the surface of the Moon, this access is achieved through the de- sign, manufacture, and operation of reliable vehicles, with a \simple/soonest" approach to technology selection, thus increasing accessibility, and lowering the cost barrier to space. Striving to maintain transparency in a rapidly evolving launch and in-space services market, Firefly employs a customer-responsive method to mission management and mission assurance. This means that as a commercial customer, you will receive candid insight into key technical and schedule statuses. As a government customer, you have the option of more extensive insight into the engineering rigor that Firefly not only institutes within our designs, but also with the quality systems imposed on each vehicle as well. As a customer, you will be provided a dedicated Mission Manager, who's number one priority is en- suring excellent customer service and support throughout your mission's campaign. Our team possesses exemplary industry heritage and expertise, having several decades of experience in both government and commercial launch and spacecraft programs. At Firefly, we recognize the importance our vehicles play in satisfying your mission objectives.
    [Show full text]
  • Rebuilding America's Military
    SPECIAL REPORT NO. 245 | APRIL 27, 2021 Rebuilding America’s Military: The United States Space Force John Venable Rebuilding America’s Military: The United States Space Force John Venable SPECIAL REPORT No. 245 | APRIL 27, 2021 CENTER FOR NATIONAL DEFENSE II REBUILDING AMERICA’S MILITARY: THE UNITED STATES SPACE FORCE About the Author John Venable is Senior Research Fellow for Defense Policy in the Center for National Defense, of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, at The Heritage Foundation. The Rebuilding America’s Military Project This Special Report is the sixth in a series from the Rebuilding America’s Military Project of The Heritage Foundation’s Center for National Defense, which addresses the U.S. military’s efforts to prepare for future challenges and rebuild a military depleted after years of conflict in the Middle East and ill-advised reductions in both funding and end strength. The first paper in this series (Dakota L. Wood, “Rebuilding America’s Military: Thinking About the Future,” Heritage Foundation Special Report No. 203, July 24, 2018) provides a framework for understanding how we should think about the future and principles for future planning. The second (Dakota L. Wood, “Rebuilding America’s Military: The United States Marine Corps,” Heritage Foundation Special Report No. 211, March 21, 2019) discusses the current status of the U.S. Marine Corps and provides prescriptions for returning the Corps to its focus as a powerful and val- ue-added element of U.S. naval power. The third (Thomas W. Spoehr, “Rebuilding America’s Military: The United States Army,” Heritage Foundation Special Report No.
    [Show full text]
  • America's Commercial, Exploratory, and Defense Space Programs
    ISSUE BRIEF No. 6010 | OCTOBER 20, 2020 CENTER FOR NATIONAL DEFENSE America’s Commercial, Exploratory, and Defense Space Programs Have Thrived Since 2017—But Regaining Space Leadership Is a Long-Term Endeavor John Venable ver the past four years, the United States KEY TAKEAWAYS made great strides toward regaining the The Trump Administration has taken O global lead in space. The National Aero- several bold steps to put the U.S. on nautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been the threshold of regaining the upper given new strategic guidance for human exploration hand over all other nations in the of space and the funding required to make it happen. domain of space. In 2020, the commercial sector will all but double the number of spacecraft launches from U.S. soil in China and Russia believe that their a single year, bringing on-demand, low-cost space routine access to space, and its denial to access closer to reality. others, during war are critical components The Department of Defense has been re-organized of their national and military strategies. to add a new service and a new combatant command whose collective focus is warfighting in space. Those Congress should fully fund NASA and the gains should be celebrated, as they have put the new Space Force, and continue to stream- United States on a trajectory to accelerate past all line requirements for companies looking other nations in this critical domain. During the next to compete in space. four years, America must use its current momentum to ensure that the most noble ends of security in, This paper, in its entirety, can be found at http://report.heritage.org/ib6010 The Heritage Foundation | 214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE | Washington, DC 20002 | (202) 546-4400 | heritage.org Nothing written here is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Heritage Foundation or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before Congress.
    [Show full text]
  • NASA's Planetary Science Portfolio (IG-20-023)
    NASA Office of Inspector General National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Audits NASA’S PLANETARY SCIENCE PORTFOLIO September 16, 2020 Report No. IG-20-023 Office of Inspector General To report, fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement, contact the NASA OIG Hotline at 800-424-9183 or 800-535-8134 (TDD) or visit https://oig.nasa.gov/hotline.html. You can also write to NASA Inspector General, P.O. Box 23089, L’Enfant Plaza Station, Washington, D.C. 20026. The identity of each writer and caller can be kept confidential, upon request, to the extent permitted by law. To suggest ideas or request future audits, contact the Assistant Inspector General for Audits at https://oig.nasa.gov/aboutAll.html. RESULTS IN BRIEF NASA’s Planetary Science Portfolio NASA Office of Inspector General Office of Audits September 16, 2020 IG-20-023 (A-19-013-00) WHY WE PERFORMED THIS AUDIT NASA’s Planetary Science Division (PSD) is responsible for a portfolio of spacecraft, including orbiters, landers, rovers, and probes, that seek to advance our understanding of the solar system by exploring the Earth’s Moon, other planets and their moons, asteroids and comets, and the icy bodies beyond Pluto. Currently, the planetary science portfolio consists of 30 space flight missions in various stages of operation. PSD missions fall under three categories: Discovery (small-class missions with development costs capped at $500 million); New Frontiers (medium-class missions with estimated development costs under $1 billion); and Flagship (large-class missions costing several billion dollars). With a proposed budget averaging $2.8 billion annually for the next 5 years, PSD is forecasted to maintain the largest budget of the six divisions within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate while supporting a wide range of exploration and research activities recommended by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies) or mandated by Congress.
    [Show full text]
  • Meeting Minutes
    NASA ADVISORY COUNCIL PLANETARY SCIENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE March 1-2, 2021 Virtual Meeting Washington, DC MEETING REPORT _____________________________________________________________ Amy Mainzer, Chair ____________________________________________________________ Stephen Rinehart, Executive Secretary Table of Contents Opening and Announcements, Introductions 3 PSD Status Report 3 ESSIO Update 6 Astrobiology Update 7 Planetary Defense Coordination Office 8 Mars Exploration Program/Mars Sample Return 9 Decadal Survey Update 12 Research and Analysis Program Update 15 Inclusion Diversity Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Update 17 General Discussion 19 Analysis Group Updates MExAG 21 VEXAG 21 LEAG 21 SBAG 22 MEPAG 22 OPAG 23 MAPSIT 24 ExMAG 24 ExoPAG 24 General Discussion 25 Findings Discussion 26 Appendix A- Attendees Appendix B- Membership roster Appendix C- Agenda Appendix D- Presentations Prepared by Joan M. Zimmermann Zantech, Inc. 2 March 1, 2021 Opening and Announcements, Introductions The Executive Secretary of the Planetary Science Advisory Committee (PAC), Dr. Stephen Rinehart, opened the meeting, welcomed members of the committee, took roll, and introduced PAC Chair, Dr. Amy Mainzer. PSD Status Report Dr. Lori Glaze, Director of the Planetary Science Division (PSD), presented a status of the division, first remarking on the COVID “anniversary”—it has been one year since NASA initiated work in a virtual environment. Dr. Glaze noted that challenges associated with COVID limitations persist, especially in terms of impact to early career (EC) scientists (networking opportunities missed, potential impact of reduced levels of productivity). She noted that the impact is not uniform, and that it would behoove the community to watch where the challenges occur and react accordingly. Dr. Glaze encouraged EC scientists to reach out, contact their mentors, and try to identify gaps in order to address them.
    [Show full text]
  • Espinsights the Global Space Activity Monitor
    ESPInsights The Global Space Activity Monitor Issue 5 January-March 2020 CONTENTS FOCUS ..................................................................................................................... 1 The COVID-19 pandemic crisis: the point of view of space ...................................................... 1 SPACE POLICY AND PROGRAMMES .................................................................................... 3 EUROPE ................................................................................................................. 3 Lift-off for ESA Sun-exploring spacecraft ....................................................................... 3 ESA priorities for 2020 ............................................................................................. 3 ExoMars 2022 ........................................................................................................ 3 Airbus’ Bartolomeo Platform headed toward the ISS .......................................................... 3 A European Coordination Committee for the Lunar Gateway ................................................ 4 ESA awards contract to drill and analyse lunar subsoil ........................................................ 4 EU Commission invests in space .................................................................................. 4 Galileo’s Return Link Service is operational .................................................................... 4 Quality control contract on Earth Observation data ..........................................................
    [Show full text]