Terran Orbital, a leading manufacturer of small satellites, is going public in a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Tailwind Two Acquisition Corp. The deal has a post-transaction enterprise value of $1.58 billion and will furnish the company with around $470 million. Of those funds, $345 million will come from Tailwind Two’s contribution, plus […]
Gitai successfully demos autonomous robot inside the International Space Station
Tokyo space startup Gitai Japan successfully conducted a technology demonstration of its autonomous robotic arm inside the International Space Station last week, a key milestone as the company prepares to provide robotics as a service in space. The S1 robotic arm performed two tasks: operating cables and switches, and assembling structures and panels. These tasks […]
Self-driving company Cruise on track for early commercial operations in 2022
General Motors CEO Mary Barra is “pretty confident” that the driver will be out of Cruise vehicles by 2022, as the company looks to enter early commercial operations for autonomous robotaxi and delivery services. Her comments reiterate a timeline outlined earlier this month by Cruise CEO Dan Ammann at the automaker’s investor day. The guidance […]
Max Q: Nanoracks, Voyager and Lockheed Martin plan commercial space station
Hello and welcome back to Max Q. The era of commercial space stations is here. Read on for news from Nanoracks, Voyager and Lockheed Martin on their plans to launch a space station in 2027, plus news on SpaceX’s Starship. Tips, opinions, criticism, thoughts? Email me at aria.techcrunch@gmail.com or find me on Twitter at @breadfrom. […]
Promus Ventures closes €120 million ($139 million) space fund amid investment boom
Chicago-based Promus Ventures has closed a €120 million ($139 million) space fund, dubbed Orbital Ventures, focused on early-stage space companies. The new fund, which will be based in Luxembourg, grew out of a mix of public and private investment. The European Investment Fund, the financing arm of the European Union’s European Investment Bank Group, committed […]
Blue Origin, Boeing and others join Sierra Space to build commercial space station
The orbital real estate rush is just getting started as Sierra Space released more details on its plans to launch a private space station, with news that Blue Origin and Boeing would be joining the team to send the spacecraft to orbit in the second half of the decade. The planned station, called “Orbital Reef,” […]
Voyager, Nanoracks and Lockheed’s ‘Starlab’ is the latest sign that the low Earth orbit economy is coming
The era of private space stations is officially here as Nanoracks, Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin announce plans to launch a commercial station in 2027, but it’s just the next logical step for developing the new space economy, the companies say. “One of our key theses for the industry is that the last 10 years […]
Tesla will only use iron-based batteries for standard model EVs
Tesla said Wednesday it will use iron-based batteries for its standard Model 3 and Model Y models across global markets. The update, provided in the company’s third-quarter earnings report, confirmed hints that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been dropping for months about the cheaper battery chemistry’s growing role in the company’s product line-up. Lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) […]
Buttigieg defends safety agency appointment after Musk claims ‘bias’
Elon Musk voiced concerns on Twitter over the recent appointment of Missy Cummings to a key advisory role at the country’s top traffic authority, but U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg suggested the Tesla CEO speak to him directly about any concerns instead. “He’s welcome to call me if he’s concerned,” Buttigieg told reporters at an […]
SoftBank-backed Flock Freight is the freight industry’s newest unicorn
The global shipping and freight industry has never been more in the spotlight, as the pandemic and other disruptions have led to enormous supply chain bottlenecks. While trucking logistics company Flock Freight can’t solve the global supply chain crisis, it could help get goods to their destinations faster and with less waste. Less than a […]