Space
The latest news and updates on space, including launches and funding rounds about satellite communications systems like Starlink and Kuiper, and of course the latest research taking place on the ISS, the Moon, Mars and beyond.
U.K.-based Seraphim Space is spinning up its 13th accelerator program, with nine participating companies working on a range of tech from propulsion to in-space manufacturing and space situational awareness. The…
TechCrunch Disrupt has always been the ultimate convergence point for all things startup and tech. In the bustling world of innovation, it serves as the “big top” tent, where entrepreneurs,…
Intuitive Machines made history when it became the first private company to land a spacecraft on the moon, so it makes sense to adapt that tech for Mars.
Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket will take a crew to suborbital space for the first time in nearly two years later this month, the company announced on Tuesday. The NS-25…
If you’re looking for a Starliner mission recap, you’ll have to wait a little longer, because the mission has officially been delayed.
Xona Space Systems closes $19M Series A to build out ultra-accurate GPS alternative
For decades, the Global Positioning System (GPS) has maintained a de facto monopoly on positioning, navigation and timing, because it’s cheap and already integrated into billions of devices around the…
Starfish Space and D-Orbit complete orbital rendezvous, bringing Otter Pup mission to a close
Starfish Space’s ambitious first mission to demonstrate on-orbit rendezvous and docking tech has officially come to a close, with the startup managing to complete some of the objectives thanks to…
Update: The Starliner mission will not move forward until no earlier than May 17, NASA announced. The long delay is to ensure launch provider United Launch Alliance can roll the…
Hello and welcome back to TechCrunch Space. Let’s jump in! Want to reach out with a tip? Email Aria at aria.techcrunch@gmail.com or send me a message on Signal at 512-937-3988.…
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is making strides in astronomy with its 122-megapixel primarily infrared photos taken 1.5 million kilometers away from Earth. Impressive stuff. The space agency’s newest sky-peeper…
NASA is expanding its Wallops Island facility to support three times as many launches
NASA is kicking off a formal environmental assessment of its facilities on Wallops Island, Virginia, to increase the number of authorized rocket launches at the site by almost 200%, according…
Hubble Network makes Bluetooth connection with a satellite for the first time
Hubble Network has become the first company in history to establish a Bluetooth connection directly to a satellite — a critical technology validation for the company, potentially opening the door…
Danti’s natural language search engine for Earth data soars with $5M in new funding
Danti, an artificial intelligence company building a superpower search engine for Earth data, has brought on prominent defensive tech investor Shield Capital as it looks to scale its technology for…
NASA orders studies from private space companies on Mars mission support roles
Mars exploration has always been the exclusive purview of national space agencies, but NASA is trying to change that, awarding a dozen research tasks to private companies as a prelude…
Portal Space Systems unveils Supernova, an ultra-mobile spacecraft
The era of stationary spacecraft may soon be over. Portal Space Systems, a company headed by propulsion expert Jeff Thornburg, is looking to help usher in a new renaissance in…
Welcome back to TechCrunch Space. Let’s jump in!
Defense startup True Anomaly lays off around 25%, cancels summer internship
Space and defense startup True Anomaly has laid off around 25% of its workforce and cancelled its summer internship program, TechCrunch has learned.
Boeing’s Starliner set to fly astronauts for the first time on May 6
This will mark Starliner’s second flight to the ISS: The first, an uncrewed mission called Orbital Flight Test-2, took place in May 2022.
Gravitics to develop ‘tactically responsive’ orbital platforms for the Space Force
The contract is part of a larger push from the Force to procure space capabilities from private industry on timelines that have been previously unheard of.
Hello and welcome back to TechCrunch Space. Don’t worry – we’ll be diving into the Mars Sample Return news shortly.
Seraphim Space launches second VC fund with 9 investments already under its belt
Following its first close with limited partners, including Eutelsat, the early-stage fund will build a global portfolio of 30 startups that will be backed at the seed and Series A…
CesiumAstro claims former exec spilled trade secrets to upstart competitor AnySignal
CesiumAstro alleges in a newly filed lawsuit that a former executive disclosed trade secrets and confidential information about sensitive tech, investors and customers to a competing startup. Austin-based Cesium develops…
TechCrunch Minute: NASA needs your help to bring rocks back from Mars
NASA’s decision to scrap its $11 billion, 15-year mission to Mars to bring back samples could create a startup feeding frenzy, TechCrunch reports. Describing its plans as too slow, and…
Orbex’s new funding may accelerate its Prime microlauncher into orbit
U.K.-based small launch developer Orbex got another boost from the Scottish National Investment Bank and other investors as it gears up for its first orbital launch, though that mission still…
Dark is building a rocket-powered boxing glove to push debris out of orbit
Paris-based Dark is taking on the dual problems of debris and conflict in orbit with their mobile platform designed to launch, attach to, and ultimately de-orbit uncooperative objects in space.…
Inversion Space will test its space-based delivery tech in October
Inversion Space is aptly named. The three-year-old startup’s primary concern is not getting things to space, but bringing them back — transforming the ultimate high ground into “a transportation layer…
Former top SpaceX exec Tom Ochinero sets up new VC firm, filings reveal
Former senior SpaceX executive Tom Ochinero is teaming up with SpaceX alum-turned-VC Achal Upadhyaya and one of Sequoia’s top finance leaders, Spencer Hemphill, on a new venture called Interlagos Capital,…
Space startups are licking their lips after NASA converts $11B Mars mission into a free-for-all
Considering how heavily both primes and space startups have been investing in interplanetary capability, this announcement arguably amounts to a historic windfall.
TechCrunch Space: True Anomaly and Rocket Lab will make big moves on orbit (literally)
Hello and welcome back to TechCrunch Space. I hope everyone had a great time at Space Symposium! Hopefully I’ll see you there next year.
Space Force tees up new ‘responsive space’ mission from Rocket Lab and True Anomaly
Each company will design and build a satellite capable of rendezvousing with other spacecraft in orbit at close proximity, as well as command and control centers for the mission.
