Intelligence Feed

GeekWire reports Portal Space Systems' $50M Series A from Geodesic Capital and Mach33. CEO Jeff Thornburg describes the company's solar thermal HEX thruster as delivering performance comparable to nuclear without the reactor. Starburst-1 manifested on SpaceX Transporter-18 (Q4 2026). Key investor thesis from Mach33: a world of 1.2 million planned orbital assets needs propulsion architecture that delivers speed and endurance, and Portal fills a structural gap.

TechCrunch profiles Jeff Thornburg's path from SpaceX Raptor to Portal. Solar thermal propulsion was validated by NASA in the late 1990s but never commercialized due to lack of demand. Now orbital maneuvering is a national security imperative — Space Force Gen. Guetlein publicly cited China demonstrating "dogfighting" satellites. Portal also has a pathway to nuclear thermal propulsion: its HEX Thruster architecture needs only a reactor swap. Prior $45M government strategic investment confirms DoD sees the mission.

Space Systems Command awarded an IDIQ for space-based space domain awareness on April 7, 2026. The 14-company pool spans traditional primes (Lockheed, Northrop, L3Harris, BAE Systems) and commercial-native companies (Anduril, True Anomaly, Turion Space, Quantum Space, Astranis, Intuitive Machines, Redwire). 32 companies competed. Task order details not disclosed. Work completion targeted April 2036.

Three ATLAS-1 laser terminals from Astrolight were launched on SpaceX Transporter-16, marking a historic milestone for Lithuanian space technology.

Orion completed its 5-minute, 55-second translunar injection burn on April 2, setting the crew on a free-return trajectory that will take them 252,021 miles from Earth — breaking the Apollo 13 distance record.

Bloomberg reports SpaceX boosted its IPO target above $2T by April 2 after investor testing-the-waters feedback. Senior bankers are hosting meetings ahead of the formal roadshow. The post-xAI merger entity now spans rockets, Starlink (6M+ subscribers), and AI infrastructure. Valuation implies an 87x revenue multiple compared to $15-16B annual revenue.

Rocket Lab's Mynaric acquisition cleared the last hurdle after German regulators rejected a competing "national solution" narrative pushed by Rheinmetall. CEO Peter Beck cited expanded ability to serve German and European space programs and emphasized the deal will make optical terminals available at commercial scale.

NASA's Artemis II crew of four launched April 1 aboard the SLS rocket from Kennedy Space Center for a 10-day free-return trajectory around the Moon — the first crewed deep space flight since Apollo 17 in December 1972.

Official NASA launch-day coverage of Artemis II, including confirmation of SLS core stage separation, solar array deployment, and perigee raise burn, as the mission transitions to upper-stage operations.

A deep look at SpaceX's IPO economics: Starlink ended 2025 with 9.2 million subscribers and crossed 10 million in February 2026, with revenue projected to reach $24 billion by year-end. The xAI merger adds AI-infrastructure upside. Up to 30% of shares may go to retail investors.

CNBC confirmed SpaceX's confidential SEC filing, noting the company is telling prospective IPO investors to expect testing-the-waters executive briefings this month, ahead of a formal S-1 prospectus expected in April or May.

SpaceX submitted draft IPO registration to the SEC on April 1, 2026, targeting a June listing at a $1.75 trillion valuation with up to $75 billion to be raised — which would be the largest public offering in history, dwarfing Saudi Aramco's 2019 debut.

GalaxySpace filed for A-share IPO tutoring on March 31, joining LandSpace, Spacety, MinoSpace, and CAS Space in pursuing public listings. The wave will create the first public valuation benchmarks for Chinese commercial space.

Booster B1067, in service since June 2021, flew its 34th mission on Starlink 10-44 from Cape Canaveral on March 30, deploying 29 satellites and recovering on droneship Just Read the Instructions — setting a new orbital rocket reuse record.

Full Transporter-16 manifest breakdown from NASASpaceFlight: Exolaunch (57 payloads), SEOPS (19), Alba Orbital (5 PocketQubes), ICEYE (6 SAR sats for POLSARIS), Muon Space (3 Vindlér RF monitoring), EnduroSat (Femto-1 propulsion demo), and Aethero Space's on-orbit AI compute demo Phobos.

SpaceX's first dedicated rideshare of 2026 pushed the program's cumulative total past 1,600 satellites deployed. Exolaunch led with 57 payloads; customers included ICEYE, HawkEye 360, Spire, and Bellatrix Aerospace.

The Indian startup’s electric propulsion technology targets the booming smallsat and OTV market.

Funds will accelerate production and delivery of propulsion systems amid rising demand for constellation station-keeping and mobility services.

Starcloud’s $170M round values the orbital compute pioneer at $1.1B as the company prepares to launch its first in-space data center prototypes.

Starcloud closed a $170M round to deploy orbital data centers, solving terrestrial power and latency constraints for next-gen AI workloads.

Xona Space Systems has raised $170M in Series C as demand grows for jam-resistant navigation in the autonomous and AI era.

Bellatrix closed $20M pre-Series B led by Cactus Partners to scale manufacturing of electric propulsion for smallsats and orbital transfer vehicles.

Manifest Space selected The Radiation Team to support development of its optical beacon for the Blackwing Space mission. Hardware on track for early summer 2026 delivery and Q4 2026 flight.

Starcloud announced $170M in new funding, reaching unicorn status. The capital will deploy the first orbital data center prototypes with integrated power and laser comms.

Xona closed $170M to accelerate Pulsar deployment, positioning the company as a leader in resilient space-based PNT.

Xona Space Systems closed a $170M Series C to scale its Pulsar LEO constellation for resilient, centimeter-accurate navigation. The round was led by Mohari Ventures Natural Capital.

The Artemis II crew — Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen — arrived at Kennedy Space Center on March 27, 2026, with launch window opening April 1 at 6:24 PM EDT. The crew entered standard pre-launch quarantine protocol. All four will travel farther from Earth than any humans since Apollo 17 in December 1972.

Market analysis of AST SpaceMobile's March 26 surge. Three catalysts: BlueBird 7 encapsulated for launch, $30M US government tactical demonstration contract, SpaceX IPO tailwind. Company confirmed on-track for intermittent nationwide D2D by Q1 end. 25 Block 2 satellites needed for continuous coverage; BlueBirds 8-25 in assembly at Midland. AT&T and Verizon beta service targeted H1 2026. Company has $1B+ in contracted revenue commitments from 50+ MNOs.

Arinna’s TMD-based panels promise higher efficiency and durability, addressing a key bottleneck for proliferating LEO constellations and in-orbit compute.

On March 26, 2026, SpaceX launches the Starlink 17‑17 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base, lofting a new batch of Starlink broadband satellites to expand coverage and test incremental hardware upgrades.

A 2026 space‑events calendar highlights NASA’s April 1–7 window for Artemis II, the first crewed SLS‑Orion mission to perform a lunar flyby.

Xona announced the closing of its $170M Series C led by Mohari Ventures Natural Capital. Capital will accelerate Pulsar constellation deployment and manufacturing scale-up.

Deep dive into the contractor network behind Artemis II: Lockheed Martin leading Orion production, Boeing building the SLS core stage, Northrop Grumman contributing solid rocket boosters and the launch abort system, Airbus manufacturing the European Service Module, and Aerojet Rocketdyne providing the RS-25 engines and reaction control systems.

Isar's second Spectrum rocket reached T-3 seconds before an authorized vessel range violation delayed the countdown, causing propellant temperatures to rise out of margin. No new launch date announced. The vehicle carries five cubesats and a Dcubed experiment.

The joint NASA-ISRO NISAR mission, launched July 2025, continues delivering powerful dual-frequency SAR data for Earth observation.

Arinna, founded by Stanford PhDs Koosha Nazif and Alex Shearer, raised $4M seed led by Spacecadet Ventures to develop ultrathin TMD solar panels for spacecraft — 32% more efficient, lighter, and longer-lasting.

Manifest Space has entered a commercial relationship with Blackwing Space to deploy an optical beacon payload on the “Baby Bird” demonstration mission (Q4 2026). The payload will demonstrate persistent spacecraft identity and space traffic coordination capabilities.

NASA has decided to cancel or significantly de-scope the Lunar Gateway orbital station in favor of accelerating a sustained human presence on the lunar surface. The shift prioritizes surface infrastructure and Artemis base camp development over a long-duration orbiting outpost.

RUAG International completes divestitures of non-space businesses and focuses fully on space through Beyond Gravity, reporting strategic milestones despite one-off financial impacts.

CMA Technology partners with Rivada Space Networks to deliver ultra-secure, gateway-less LEO connectivity via the Outernet constellation.

Firefly Aerospace and Intuitive Machines express readiness for NASA’s proposed monthly lunar lander cadence starting in 2027 under CLPS 2.0.

Space Compass and SWISSto12 executed a contract for the first commercial GEO optical data relay satellite using the HummingSat platform.

Live updates for SpaceX Starlink Group 10-62 launch Sunday March 22, 14:43 UTC from Cape.

Local port authority notes Falcon 9 Starlink 10-62 targeting Sunday from Cape Canaveral.

In March 2026, NASA launches twin spacecraft to probe Mars’ atmospheric history, employing high‑performance MEMS accelerometers to maintain stability during launch and early flight.

Roscosmos Progress MS-33 with 2.5t cargo preps for March 22 Soyuz-2.1a launch; pad works complete.

Second test flight ended early after in-flight warning; safe landing advances Quesst quiet boom validation.

EnduroSat and MetaSensing team up to offer fully integrated SAR constellation-as-a-service using PhoeniX and StarSAR-X payloads on FRAME satellites.

Kayhan Space launched Satcat Terminal, a Bloomberg Terminal-style platform with AI chat for orbital intelligence, targeting investors and insurers.

Experts including NASA and Lockheed Martin leaders discussed the March 20 second X-59 flight results, glitch response, and expanded 2026 testing roadmap post-envelope expansion.

SLS/Orion stack reaches LC-39B March 20 post-VAB rollout delay; fueling tests ahead of April NET.

Live coverage of March 20 Falcon 9/Starlink from SLC-4E, 21:51 UTC liftoff.

TechCrunch profile of GRAVITAS ahead of launch. K2 building 85% of components in-house because "the supply chain to build such a satellite doesn't exist." CEO Kunjur: "The future is higher power." $15M price point vs. equivalently capable traditional satellites. 20kW matches ViaSat-3's output — on a Falcon 9 rideshare payload. 12 customer payloads including DoD. Three success tiers: power on, fly payloads, orbit-raise to MEO. K2 already has 100kW Starship-class "Giga" design taped out on factory floor.

Satellogic's 2025 results: sold NewSat-34 to HEO (Australia), signed $18M contract with CEiiA Portugal for two NewSat Mark V satellites (delivery Q2–Q3 2026), launched Aleph Observer, introduced Merlin (30cm class, daily full-planet remap, on-orbit AI), signed a seven-figure deal with India's Suhora for high-revisit monitoring.

Booster B1077-27 completed its 27th flight and landed on the droneship. Starlink Group 10-33 added another 29 V2 Mini satellites to the megaconstellation.

The 4-mile journey from VAB to LC-39B began late March 19 after minor wind delays. This is the final major pre-launch ground operation before the April crewed lunar flyby window opens.

Jessica Meir and Chris Williams spent 6.5 hours outside the station preparing the 2A power channel for new IROSA solar arrays. All objectives met; Spacewalk 95 follows soon.