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On this difficulty:

• Layoffs come to Astra
• Information from NASA, Starlink and extra

Astra, a rocket startup that went public final 12 months, advised traders Tuesday it laid off 16% of its workforce as a part of a wider technique to extend shrinking monetary runway and reduce bills.

The corporate additionally stated it could scale back near-term investments in house providers to develop its core companies: particularly, launch and spacecraft engines. This latter phase particularly has turn into a rising income for Astra, with the corporate reporting it had 237 dedicated orders for its spacecraft engines to entities together with Maxar, OneWeb and Astroscale. That represents a rise of 130% from final quarter.

The layoffs shine an unflattering gentle on Astra’s fast progress: CEO Chris Kemp advised traders throughout a name Tuesday that the corporate tripled in measurement within the house of a 12 months, swelling to greater than 400 individuals. Provided that quantity, Astra decreased its headcount by a minimum of 64 individuals.

Picture Credit: Astra

Main house corporations, together with SpaceX and Relativity, are urging the U.S. Federal Communications Fee (FCC) to stay to its purview — spectrum utilization — because it appears to probably replace its guidelines for in-space servicing, meeting and manufacturing (ISAM) missions.

There may be loads that the FCC may — and may do — to assist ISAM missions that sit squarely inside its regulatory bounds, the businesses stated. SpaceX and others, in addition to startups like Orbit Fab, which desires to construct refueling depots in house, and Starfish House, which is creating a satellite tv for pc servicing car, submitted suggestions associated to spectrum and ISAM. The fee additionally heard from Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, United Launch Alliance and different house corporations and trade teams.

Right here’s SpaceX: “The Fee should deal with this probably essential however nonetheless nascent trade with care, exercising warning to not unintentionally stifle innovation by stepping outdoors the authority expressly delegated to it by Congress.”

Picture Credit: Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Photos/LightRocket through Getty Photos

Extra information from TC and past

• Apple invested $450 million in upgrades to Globalstar’s floor infrastructure and satellite tv for pc community to assist the rollout of Emergency SOS through satellite tv for pc for iPhone 14 customers. (Apple)
• China is reportedly scrapping plans to make the booster of the Lengthy March 9 heavy-lift rocket expendable in favor of a totally reusable booster. (SpaceNews)
• NASA didn’t transfer the House Launch System rocket again to the security of a hangar prematurely of Hurricane Nicole’s method, so the $4.1 billion rocket rode out the storm on the launch pad. As engineers proceed inspecting the rocket for harm, the company determined to maneuver the subsequent launch date to November 16. (NASA)
• Northrop Grumman‘s Antares rocket despatched a Cygnus spacecraft to the Worldwide House Station for cargo resupply, a profitable mission regardless of one of many capsule’s photo voltaic arrays not deploying correctly. (Northrop Grumman)
• Rocket Lab had tons of reports this week — along with releasing its quarterly monetary outcomes, the corporate additionally introduced it gained a $14 million contract to produce separation methods for U.S. House Pressure satellites. (Rocket Lab)
• Rocket Lab set a launch date for its first mission from U.S. soil: December 7. My private suggestion: come to the TC Periods: House occasion on the sixth, then take a direct flight to Virginia. Simply saying. (Rocket Lab)
• Seraphim introduced the latest cohort of house startups that can take part within the Seraphim House Accelerator and Technology House Accelerator. (Seraphim)
• SpaceX will impose slower speeds on Starlink customers that use massive quantities of energy throughout peak hours, in an effort to curb community congestion and enhance efficiency. (CNBC)
• Starfish House offered extra particulars about its in-space satellite tv for pc docking demonstration mission that can happen subsequent 12 months. (GeekWire)
• Virgin Orbit obtained a $25 million money injection from Richard Branson’s Virgin Group because the launcher firm’s money readily available continues to say no. (Virgin Orbit)
• Voyager House’s Nanoracks has a brand new CEO: NASA astronaut and former OneWeb Applied sciences president Tim Kopra. (Voyager)

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