October Fundraising Round-Up
October 1 – In-space transportation services start-up Impulse Space, Inc. (Impulse Space) raised $150m in a Series B funding round led by Founders Fund, with participation from Lux Capital Management, LLC, DCVC Management Co., LLC and others. Impulse Space plans to use the new funding for production of its Helios and Mira spacecraft.
October 3 – Satellite terminal manufacturer ALL.SPACE Networks Limited raised $44m in a funding round led by BOKA Group, with participation from existing investors AE Industrial Partners, LP, Seraphim Space Manager LLP, Promus Holdings, LLC, and others. The company plans to use the new funding for the commercial launch of its first satellite terminal.
October 15 – Germany-based remote sensing start-up OroraTech GmbH (OroraTech) raised €25m in a Series B funding round led by Korys Investments NV, the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund and existing investor Bayern Kapital GmbH. Ororatech plans to use the funding to expand into new markets and advance development of its artificial intelligence capabilities and remote sensing satellite constellation.
October 16 – Canadian hyperspectral data start-up Wyvern Inc. raised $6m in a funding round led by early-stage venture capital firm Squadra Ventures, with participation from Uncork Capital, Inc., Y Combinator, LLC and others.
October Mergers & Acquisitions
October 1 – Emirati space technology company Space42 PLC, which was established through the merger of Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PJSC and Bayanat GIQ PJSC, debuted on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.
October 21 – ETL Systems Ltd. (ETL) announced plans to acquire fellow satellite amplifier supplier SpacePath Communications Ltd. ETL aims to leverage the acquisition to access markets for high-value millimeter wave products.
October 30 – – Lockheed Martin Corporation completed its acquisition of Terran Orbital Corporation in a $450m deal.
SpaceRISE to Build & Operate IRIS2 Constellation
On October 31, the SpaceRISE consortium, which includes members Eutelsat Group, HISPASAT Group and SES S.A., announced that it was selected by the European Commission to build and operate the IRIS2 multi-orbit communications satellite constellation for the European Union.
October Launch Missions Performed
October 4 – United Launch Alliance, LLC performed the second test flight of its Vulcan launch vehicle and reported that it completed the flight despite experiencing a failure of a solid rocket booster nozzle on the vehicle.
October 7 – Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) successfully launched the Hera planetary defense mission for the European Space Agency using a Falcon 9 launch vehicle and then recovered the vehicle's first stage.
October 10 – The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation successfully launched a geostationary communications satellite, the third in a series of satellites developed by the China Academy of Space Technology, on a Long March 3B launch vehicle.
October 13 – SpaceX performed the fifth flight test of the Starship launch vehicle, successfully demonstrating the return capabilities of the Super Heavy booster and upper stage and catching the Super Heavy booster mid-air at the launch tower.
October 14 – SpaceX successfully launched the Europa Clipper mission for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration using a Falcon Heavy launch vehicle, expending all three of the launch vehicle's first-stage boosters.
October 15, 15, 18, 23, 26, 30, 30 – SpaceX successfully launched batches of 20, 23, 20, 23, 22, 20 and 23 Starlink satellites, respectively, including a total of 39 direct-to-device satellites, each time using a Falcon 9 launch vehicle and recovering the vehicle's first stage.
October 19 – SpaceX successfully launched the OneWeb Launch 20 mission for Eutelsat OneWeb, a member of the Eutelsat Group (Eutelsat), delivering 20 spare OneWeb communications satellites to low Earth orbit using a Falcon 9 launch vehicle and subsequently recovering the vehicle's first stage. Eutelsat anticipates commencing global services using the OneWeb constellation in 2025.
October Launch Services Orders
October 10 – The UAE Space Agency selected Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. to launch the MBR Explorer spacecraft to the asteroid belt on an H3 launch vehicle in 2028.
October 17 – True Anomaly, Inc. announced a multi-launch agreement with Firefly Aerospace, Inc. for three launches using the Alpha launch vehicle, beginning in 2025.
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