Commercial Space

The commercial space market, also known as the private space industry or NewSpace, is experiencing strong growth. This burgeoning sector encompasses activities such as satellite manufacturing, space tourism, rocket launches, satellite services and space exploration initiatives driven by private companies. Players like SpaceX and Blue Origin on the launch side, or Planet and Maxar with their in-orbit satellite constellations are revolutionizing the industry, making space more accessible and cost-effective. The demand for satellite internet, Earth observation, and space-based services has fueled investments and technological advancements. With the rise of reusable rockets, commercial crew missions, and ambitious plans for space mining and Mars colonization, the commercial space market is poised for exponential growth, promising exciting developments and opportunities into the future. 

News & Analysis

May 26, 2023
Ispace believes that its Series 1 lunar lander crashed into the Moon because of an error in the spacecraft’s altitude measurement software.
May 26, 2023
The final two members of a novel cubesat quartet were launched into orbit to track developing storms on a near-hourly basis. 
May 25, 2023
Fleet Space Technologies has raised an about $33 million round of Series C funding to further finance its satellite connected geological survey business.
May 25, 2023
ULA canceled the planned May 25 static hot fire of its first Vulcan-Centaur rocket to review an issue with the booster engine ignition system.
May 25, 2023
After a nearly two-year hiatus, Virgin Galactic returned its SpaceShipTwo passenger vehicle into suborbital space on May 25.
May 26, 2023
Ispace believes that its Series 1 lunar lander crashed into the Moon because of an error in the spacecraft’s altitude measurement software.
May 26, 2023
The final two members of a novel cubesat quartet were launched into orbit to track developing storms on a near-hourly basis. 
May 25, 2023
Fleet Space Technologies has raised an about $33 million round of Series C funding to further finance its satellite connected geological survey business.
May 25, 2023
ULA canceled the planned May 25 static hot fire of its first Vulcan-Centaur rocket to review an issue with the booster engine ignition system.
May 25, 2023
After a nearly two-year hiatus, Virgin Galactic returned its SpaceShipTwo passenger vehicle into suborbital space on May 25.
May 24, 2023
Tokyo-based Gitai, a startup developing several space robots, has raised about ¥4 billion ($29 million) in funding as part of a Series B extension round.
May 24, 2023
Virgin Orbit will close after its assets were bought by four bankruptcy bidders including Rocket Lab and Stratolaunch.
May 23, 2023
NASA’s LROC has captured what appears to be images of debris scattered on the Moon at the planned landing site of ispace’s lunar lander, which crashed in April.