NASA has selected three additional companies to provide launch services for future agency missions through its VADR (Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) contract.

The companies awarded are:

• Arrow Science and Technology LLC of Webster, Texas
• Impulse Space Inc. of Redondo Beach, California
• Momentus Space LLC of San Jose, California

The VADR contract is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity instrument with an ordering period through Feb. 3, 2027 and a maximum total value of $300 million across all VADR contracts. NASA selected the new launch providers in accordance with VADR’s on-ramp provision, allowing the agency to add new capabilities not available or identified at the time of the initial award. NASA will issue firm-fixed-price task orders for launch services as needed for future agency and agency-sponsored missions.

The VADR contract builds on NASA’s previous procurement efforts, such as the VCLS (Venture Class Launch Services) and VCLS Demo 2, providing a broad range of Federal Aviation Administration-licensed commercial launch services capable of delivering Class D, CubeSats, and higher risk-tolerant payloads to a variety of orbits. By using a lower level of mission assurance and commercial best practices for launching rockets, these highly flexible contracts help broaden access to space through lower launch costs and serve as an ideal platform for contributing to NASA’s science research and technology development.

NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, manages the VADR contracts. The program also works with private industry, spacecraft projects, and international partners to launch science payloads ranging from small satellites with colleges and universities to NASA’s highest priority missions.

Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Inc. (a Terran Orbital Corporation) (NYSE: LLAP) has been selected by the Space Development Agency (SDA) to produce 10 satellites for the Tranche 2 Transport Layer (T2TL) Gamma contract.

Terran Orbital will undertake the comprehensive design, construction, integration, testing, and delivery of 10 T2TL Gamma satellites based on its Ambassador platform. This will also include the integration of the associated ground control system and the execution of Launch and Early Operations (LEOPs).

These satellites will be equipped with payloads specifically designed to enhance future kill chain capabilities through the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). The PWSA envisions a constellation of hundreds of satellites in low-Earth orbit, featuring advanced satellite communications, data transport, missile warning, and missile-tracking functionalities.

Gamma will maintain several core characteristics shared with other T2TL variants, including Beta. In addition to Gamma, and as previously announced, Terran Orbital is collaborating with Lockheed Martin to produce 36 space vehicles for T2TL Beta and 18 for the T2 Tracking Layer. The Company has already successfully delivered 10 buses for the Tranche 0 Transport Layer and is now manufacturing 42 buses for the Tranche 1 Transport Layer (T1TL), with launches planned for late 2024 and 2025.

“We are honored to have been chosen for this program. Our ongoing collaboration with the SDA across multiple Tranche iterations has been immensely rewarding, and we deeply value their continued trust in our capabilities,” said Marc Bell, Chairman, Co-Founder, and Chief Executive Officer at Terran Orbital.

Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Terran Orbital [NYSE: LLAP], a provider of satellite-based solutions that primarily supporting the aerospace and defense industries.

Terran Orbital brings a high throughput, robotic manufacturing capacity and high-performing modular space vehicle designs. Combined with Lockheed Martin’s record of performance and innovation, this transaction will usher in an even broader range of capabilities and value for customers. Lockheed Martin uses Terran Orbital’s satellites for its work, most notably with the Space Development Agency‘s Transport and Tracking Layer programs, and in several of its self-funded technology demonstrations.

The transaction stands to pave a path for further advancement, as Lockheed Martin continues to invest in technology, people, and capacity to support future customer needs.

The enterprise value of the transaction is approximately $450 million. Lockheed Martin will acquire Terran Orbital for $0.25 in cash for each outstanding share of common stock and retire its existing debt. This transaction also provides for Lockheed Martin and other current Terran Orbital creditors establishing a new, $30 million working capital facility that has been put in place as of signing.  

The transaction is expected to close in fourth quarter of 2024 and is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including regulatory and Terran Orbital stockholder approvals. Upon closing, Terran Orbital will remain a commercial merchant supplier to industry.

Terran Orbital has a track record of supporting more than 80 missions over the past decade for government and commercial customers with complex mission requirements, from low earth orbit to the Moon and beyond. As of today, Lockheed Martin is Terran Orbital’s largest customer. This longstanding working relationship between the companies underpins a strong cultural alignment and ability to recognize synergies between the two businesses.

Terran Orbital joined the Lockheed Martin Ventures (LM Ventures) portfolio – a fund that makes investments in technology innovations to drive growth in existing, adjacent and new segments for the company – with an initial investment in 2017. LM Ventures has since made two additional investments in Terran Orbital in 2020 and 2022. This marks the first LM Ventures company that Lockheed Martin has sought to acquire since founding the fund in 2007.

“We’ve worked with Terran Orbital for more than seven years on a variety of successful missions,” said Robert Lightfoot, president, Lockheed Martin Space. “Their capabilities, talent and business momentum align with Lockheed Martin Space’s strategic plans – and we’re looking forward to welcoming them to our team. Our customers require advanced technology and even faster product development, and that’s what we can achieve together.”

“This transaction combines our strengths and expertise,” said Marc Bell, chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Terran Orbital. “This move will open new opportunities for growth and innovation, and we couldn’t be more excited about the future. Access to Lockheed Martin’s incredible engineers and world class facilities will only accelerate our business plan to provide low-cost, high-value solutions to our ever-growing customer base.“

Redwire Corporation (NYSE: RDW) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Hera Systems, Inc., a spacecraft developer focused on specialized missions for national security space customers.

With the addition of Hera Systems’ cutting-edge platform, Redwire expects to strengthen its spacecraft portfolio and be well-equipped to support specialized National Security Space missions in GEO.

Founded in 2013, Hera Systems is a privately held company headquartered in San Jose, California, that focuses on developing a new class of high-performance spacecraft to support the evolving requirements for national security missions operating in contested space. Hera Systems’ advanced platform incorporates cyber-secure communications, resilient power systems, highly accurate pointing, extensive maneuverability and massive on-board computing power supporting mission- and payload-specific machine learning. In 2022, Hera Systems was contracted by Orion Space Solutions to develop three satellites for U.S. Space Force’s Tetra-5 mission—an on-orbit servicing demonstration in GEO.

Redwire has significantly increased its national security space business, recently announcing it was awarded a prime contract to develop and demonstrate a Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) spacecraft for DARPA’s Otter program. Redwire continues to support the warfighter as an antenna supplier for the Space Development Agency’s Transport Layer program dating back to Tranche 0 in 2020.

Hera Systems has experienced profitable topline growth, and for the year ended December 31, 2023, Hera recorded $15 million of revenue. Redwire will finance this acquisition with balance sheet liquidity and expects Hera Systems to add meaningfully to future growth and profitability. As part of this acquisition, which is expected to close in the third quarter, Redwire is adjusting its full-year 2024 guidance from $300 million in revenue to $310 million in revenue.

“Hera Systems’ platform is highly complementary with Redwire’s suite of national security space solutions,” said Peter Cannito, Chairman and CEO of Redwire. “Similar to our focus on VLEO platforms, we see increasing opportunities to unlock and deliver new solutions in MEO, GEO and other domains to support the warfighter and address critical needs in National Security Space. This transaction fits squarely within our growth strategy by adding significant capabilities to move up the value chain in select areas of emerging hybrid architectures.”

GH Partners LLC is serving as financial advisor and Hogan Lovells is serving as legal advisor to Redwire.

The UK Space Agency has awarded Orbit Fab a £1.3 million Major Project grant under their National Space Innovation Program — this grant will fund the design of a high-pressure variant of the RAFTI (Rapidly Attachable Fuel Transfer Interface) refueling port, set to be available in 2025. 

This new variant will enable refueling with pressurized fuels, such as Xenon, promoting more sustainable space operations and thereby reducing the need for single-use satellites.

In addition to the UK Space Agency funding announcement, Orbit Fab has secured additional contracts — including £165,000 — with the European Space Agency (ESA) via City University London, and a £500,000 contract as the prime for the phase 1 design of a mission to refuel a future UK Active Debris Removal spacecraft. 

The “UKRefuel” mission, in collaboration with industry partners ClearSpace and Astroscale aims to launch a satellite refueling service to LEO by 2027. These initiatives, following Orbit Fab’s signing of the ESA Zero Debris Charter, underscore the company’s dedication to sustainable space practice and responsible refueling. 

Additionally, the UK Space Agency is announcing two other projects as part of their National Space Innovation Program, which Orbit Fab is supporting. Orbit Fab is collaborating with Magdrive on a replaceable solid-fuel cartridge for Magdrive’s propulsion system, and with Lunasa on sensors for safe rendezvous and proximity operations in orbit.

Following a year of extraordinary growth, Orbit Fab has tripled the size of its UK workforce to 15 and will be opening a new office in Harwell, Oxfordshire. This expansion will continue to support the development and operation of orbital refueling services, essential for national security, telecommunications, earth observation, and scientific missions in space.

Daniel Faber, CEO and Co-Founder of Orbit Fab, said, “Expanding our UK office and embarking on these new projects is a significant milestone for Orbit Fab. With the support of the UK Space Agency and our partners, we are enhancing the UK’s space capabilities and setting new standards for sustainable space operations. The projects led by our UK team will enable us to refuel more satellites and customers than ever before. Our UK and US offices are working together to pave the way for a future where orbital refueling is standard practice, driving a bustling in-space economy ensuring a more sustainable space environment.”  

Dr. Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency, said, “The National Space Innovation Program will help kickstart growth, create high-quality jobs, protect our planet and preserve the space environment for future generations. New projects, like this one led by Orbit Fab, go to the heart of what we want to achieve as a national space agency that supports cutting-edge innovation, spreads opportunity across the UK and delivers the benefits of space back to citizens on Earth.”

Leonardo is also involved in the talks thanks to the Space Alliance‘s joint ventures with Thales. Founded in 2005, this strategic partnership includes two joint ventures: satellite producer Thales Alenia Space (Thales 67 percent, Leonardo 33 percent) and satellite services provider Telespazio (Leonardo 67 percent, Thales 33 percent) .

The combined entity would be similar to MBDA, a successful cross-border European missile consortium, and aim to enhance Europe’s strategic independence in space. However, significant hurdles, including regulatory approval and overcoming political tensions, lie ahead.

This potential partnership comes as both companies grapple with financial challenges in their space divisions. Declining demand for large satellites — such as Thales‘ Spacebus series and Airbus‘ Eurostar bus — and the rise of smaller, cheaper alternatives, like Space X‘s Starlink, have impacted their bottom lines. A merger could help them address these issues and better compete in the evolving space market.

Although GEO (Geosynchronous Orbit) satellites will continue to have their place, the smaller LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellites have grown heavily in popularity thanks to SpaceX and other LEO operators.

by Richard Pettibone and Carter Palmer

Redwire Corporation (NYSE: RDW) has signed a strategic cooperation agreement (SCA) with Phase Four to build and deliver advanced thruster technology designed for reliable, high-volume production to meet the surge in demand across national security space programs — the SCA provides a framework that allows for joint development of this advanced thruster.

Redwire and Phase Four will design and develop a reliable and efficient Hall Effect Thruster (HET), called the Valkyrie Thruster, based on an existing design. The highly flexible and streamlined design will yield a shorter production schedule enabling reliable, high-volume production.

Redwire and Phase Four will leverage their expertise to manufacture the power processing unit hardware, thruster, propellant management software, and software control, which both companies will integrate into flight panels.

Redwire will leverage its business operations at scale, marketing resources, and extensive heritage as a trusted space systems supplier to bring this in-space propulsion system to market. The Valkyrie thrusters are anticipated to go into full rate production in 2025.

“Redwire offers a range of solutions designed to support high-volume small satellite manufacturing, and through this partnership, we are focused on delivering an optimal in-space propulsion technology that can specifically address the challenges in the propulsion supply chain,” said Redwire’s President of Space Systems Adam Biskner. “This reliable, mass producible design will offer a scalable in-space propulsion solution within DoD’s small satellite supply chain and will serve many other national security space applications.”

“The partnership between Phase Four and Redwire provides both civilian and military space operators another stable and reliable domestic source of electric propulsion systems,” said Steve Kiser, Phase Four CEO. “Phase Four’s market differentiating capabilities and history of propulsion innovation, coupled with Redwire’s mission and engineering expertise, will meaningfully expand the types and volume of Hall Effect Thrusters to an industry that is increasingly challenged to deliver enough propulsion supply. We look forward to exploring all the opportunities this partnership presents.”

AAC Clyde Space (“AAC Clyde Space”) has entered into a share sale and purchase agreement, whereby AAC Clyde Space acquires 100 percent of the outstanding shares in Spacemetric AB (“Spacemetric”) for a consideration amounting to approximately 16 million Swedish Krona (MSEK 16) and possible earn-outs based on certain milestones of up to a total of approximately MSEK 9 (the “Transaction”). Closing of the Transaction is subject to inter alia approval under the Swedish Protective Security Act.

The Transaction expands AAC Clyde Space’s range of services within Space Data as a Service (SDaaS) and Missions, bringing in-house key capabilities for EO image processing for analytics and AI and will be a part of the xSPANCION enabled Cyclops constellation at AAC Clyde Space.

Spacemetric is a leading provider of geospatial data management systems for satellite and airborne imaging and video sensors, transforming raw data into imagery products ready for analytics and AI. For the financial year 2023, Spacemetric’s turnover was approximately MSEK 14.3 and had a positive net result amounting to approximately KSEK 817, and is well positioned for further growth.

The total consideration amounts to a maximum of approximately MSEK 25, out of which approximately MSEK 16 shall be paid in connection with closing of the Transaction, which in turn shall divided into approximately MSEK 8 in cash consideration and approximately MSEK 8 in shares in AAC Clyde Space.

The earn-out shall amount to approximately MSEK 9 and shall be paid based on the achievement of certain earn-out milestones. The earn-out shall be divided between approximately MSEK 4 in cash consideration and approximately MSEK 5 in warrants which entitles to subscribe for shares in AAC Clyde Space, provided that the earn-out milestones are achieved.

The purchase price is subject to a post-closing adjustment, pursuant to which the cash consideration shall be adjusted. Such adjustment shall be based on the difference between the normalized working capital and the final net working capital.

The consideration shares shall be subject to lock-up undertakings for a period ranging from 360-810 days following the first day of trading of the shares and the earn-out shares, which can be subscribed for by exercising the warrants, shall be subject to lock-up undertakings for a period of 360 days following the first day of trading of such shares.

Luis Gomes, AAC Clyde Space CEO, said, “The acquisition of Spacemetric is an exciting milestone and a key step in the growth of AAC Clyde Space’s SDaaS business. It will bring to the group an advanced capability to process and catalogue Earth Observation data, making it ready for analytics algorithms and AI information extraction. As our xSPANCION enabled Cyclops constellation becomes a reality, generating vast amounts of data every day, Spacemetric’s capabilities will allow us to deliver better data and more valuable analytics products to our customers, faster. Furthermore, Spacemetric’s software solutions, which can run stand alone, in the cloud or on board satellites, offer an unparalleled flexibility to our Earth Observation Mission customers, who can now get a full solution for their earth imaging data needs when procuring data or a satellite from AAC Clyde Space. We are very pleased to welcome the Spacemetric team and we look forward to our joint work to expand our market.”

Synspective Inc. successfully raised 7 billion yen in a Series C funding round — this latest funding was led by Japan Growth Capital Investment Corporation, managed by Nomura SPARX Investment, Inc., and Investment Limited Partnerships operated by JAFCO Group Co., Ltd. and Investment Limited Partnerships operated by Mizuho Capital Co., Ltd., among others. The total funding for third-party allotment has been 28.1 billion yen and 8.3 billion yen for loan contracts.

Synspective develops and operates high-frequency, high-resolution SAR satellites to provide data analytics and solution services. On March 13, 2024, the company launched the fourth SAR satellite, StriX-3, which successfully reached its target orbit. The firm intends to establish a constellation of 30 SAR satellites by the late 2020s, enabling Synspective to observe changes anywhere on Earth.

Synspective will use the new capital to develop, manufacture, launch, and operate our SAR satellites, prepare mass production facilities, develop satellite data solutions, and expand globally, driving further business growth.

Dr. Motoyuki Arai, Synspective founder and CEO, said, “With further support from our investors, Synspective will expand its business using SAR satellites and analytics, which have proven reliable. This financing will accelerate our global business expansion, which we aim to fully realize by the end of this year with the start of mass production at our plant and the enhancement of our satellite constellation. We sincerely appreciate the trust our investors have placed in us. We will continue to work with a sense of mission to make human economic activities sustainable with solutions that respect the global environment and resources.”

Simera Sense is strengthening the firm’s global presence by opening an office in Toulouse, France. This move is a testament to its growth strategy, bolstered by the 13.5 euros million funding secured in an investment round earlier this year.

The company already has 19 optical payloads in space and another 43 delivered and ready for launch to customers worldwide. Many of these clients are European-based, including Loft Orbital, Prométhée Earth Intelligence, AAC Clyde Space, Open Cosmos, OHB Systems AG, and many others. This rapid growth and demand for Simera Sense’s optical payloads necessitate expanding its development and production capacity.

Toulouse, strategically selected for its position within the aerospace ecosystem, will be the home of the new facility. This facility, an R&D engineering and production hub, will service the existing client pool in France as well as the rest of Europe and will also contribute to developing High- to Very High-resolution optical payloads for Earth Observation (EO).

“Simera Sense is recruiting for several positions at its Toulouse office, including senior and junior roles. Join us to be part of a dynamic team in the NewSpace ecosystem.” said Kammy Brun, Managing Director of Simera Sense, France. “We look forward to building a solid team with expertise and experience in optics, thermal systems engineering, embedded software engineering and AIT (Assembly, Integration and Testing). Our core team will comprise 4 to 6 members by Q4 this year, and we have multiple job openings, including senior project manager, senior systems engineers, public relations& bid managers, and several PhD vacancies. The team is expected to double in size by 2025 and triple by the following year.”

Charlotte Voisin, Business Development Manager for Aeronautics & Space at Invest in Toulouse, said, “We are delighted that Simera Sense is opening a subsidiary in Toulouse, the European Capital of Space. Since 2019, I have supported the Simera team by facilitating connections with our ecosystem, potential customers, and key institutions. This nearly five-year effort has been fruitful, as Simera Sense has successfully developed commercial products and grown from a start-up to a scale-up with the opening of their French subsidiary. This new R&D and engineering centre will serve both European and global customers, thanks to the collaborative efforts of Aerospace Valley, ADOCC, Business France, and Toulouse’s economic development agency.“

Founded in 2018, Simera Sense is a leading provider of end-to-end earth observation camera solutions for the global small satellite market. Its high-resolution, ‘off-the-shelf’ cameras are used by diverse clients across a wide range of industries. Our core team’s passion for space and satellite engineering fuels our mission, along with a firm belief in the transformative power of small, cost-effective satellites. We have meticulously engineered a suite of cameras that are not only optimally sized but also configurable for diverse missions. These cameras comply with the leading standardised satellite bus interfaces and data formats.