Payload

As commercial and scientific traffic picks up in space from actors around the world, the US military space community has spent 2024 making sure they’re prepared to secure the flourishing domain. Here are some of the national security space highlights of the year:  https://lnkd.in/eMx6J--T

From rockets taking flight to alliances forming in orbit to Space Race 2.0 with all eyes on the Moon, it’s clear that the busy year in space extended well beyond America’s borders. https://lnkd.in/eJsmER-t

Synspective Inc., the Japanese builder and operator of SAR satellites, became a public company yesterday, with shares opening at $4.70 and closing at $4.11, for a market cap of ~$357.3M. The company raised more than $60M from the offering. https://lnkd.in/erQqH385

ICYMI: We recently partnered with Lockheed Martin on Pathfinder to produce a special 3-part series on the future of lunar infrastructure. Check out all the episodes below! Part 1: "A Future Lunar Infrastructure" featuring – Rob Chambers, Director of Strategy for Human Space Exploration, LMT – Alex MacDonald, Chief Economist, NASA  Apple: https://lnkd.in/e9XHcHJy Spotify: https://lnkd.in/egJCy2X5 Part 2: "Commodities & Technologies of a Lunar Architecture" featuring – Christie Iacomini, Senior Program Manager and Technical Manager, In-Space Infrastructure, LMT – Timothy Cichan, Lead Space Exploration Architect, LMT Apple: https://lnkd.in/eMay32pc Spotify: https://lnkd.in/er3C8zmT Part 3: "Nuclear Power and Propulsion for a Lunar Architecture" featuring – Kerry Timmons, Senior Manager of Business Development for Lunar Infrastructure, LMT – Joe Miller, President of Advanced Technologies, BWXT Apple: https://lnkd.in/e4XUStcj Spotify:https://lnkd.in/eNtR4QkY

NASA made progress on some big-ticket items this year that will help with its return to the Moon, but 2024 was also marked by some devastating losses for the space science community. Here are some of the space agency’s biggest milestones and most impactful decisions this year: https://lnkd.in/eEjrjdbJ

Axiom Space is reshuffling its space station module deployment plan at NASA’s request, installing a power module on the ISS in early 2027 instead of its habitat module. https://lnkd.in/eUwG5PrG

ESA and the European Commission signed contracts yesterday for Europe’s ambitious satcom constellation that’s intended to rival SpaceX’s Starlink. The €10.6B ($11.1M) constellation—the Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS2) system—is expected to include ~290 satellites in LEO and MEO. https://lnkd.in/evz6mk4q

The companies pursuing private spaceflight had another big year in 2024, and Payload is here to break down the biggest hits and misses, with a focus on advanced tech that did (or, yikes) didn’t work. Please chime in with your takes on what we missed and what to look out for in 2025. https://lnkd.in/eKSSsiMn

If NASA’s 2025 SBIR and STTR solicitation themes are any indication, the US return to the Moon will rely heavily on small business’ tech, ranging from solar arrays to rovers to space suits.  https://lnkd.in/eyhhhsRP

Space markets surged this year, fueled by robust VC investments in private markets and back-in-vogue space SPACs in the public markets. The good year for space investments is part of a broader bull market, where the prospects of a soft landing have sent speculative stocks soaring. Read the full year in review: https://lnkd.in/eGGNDb7g