Rejected (8/11/22)

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In today's newsletter:🛰️ FCC & SpaceX🚀 Euro rideshare📝 Contract report 🕶️ Vibe check 

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FCC Nixes SpaceX Bid for $866M Broadband Subsidy

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has rejected SpaceX’s bid for $866M in subsidies to roll out Starlink in the rural US, according to a press release issued today.  

“Consumers deserve reliable and affordable high-speed broadband,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. “We must put scarce universal service dollars to their best possible use as we move into a digital future that demands ever more powerful and faster networks. We cannot afford to subsidize ventures that are not delivering the promised speeds or are not likely to meet program requirements.”

Ouchies. The would-be subsidies are part of a larger $20.4B pot aimed at reducing the digital divide. This program, formally known as the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), provides payouts to broadband providers (terrestrial- or satellite-based) to provide coverage in rural, underserved pockets of the US. 

• Rosenworcel notes that while Starlink “has real promise,” the satellite internet provider is “still developing technology for consumer broadband.” 

• In the decision, the FCC noted that despite SpaceX’s initial application to provide 100 download/20 upload Mbps service, Starlink’s upload speeds have been on the decline and are now "well below 20 Mbps."

• The decision also impacted another company, LTD Broadband, which was awarded $1.3B under Phase 1.  

The background: In December 2020, the FCC awarded SpaceX the $866M as part of the RDOF’s $9.2B Phase 1 auction for Starlink to provide internet service to some ~650,000 locations in 35 states. There are strings attached and performance criteria. In February, the FCC said it would double the number of audits and on-site verification visits it conducts in 2022, after claims of lax oversight and misallocated funds.

You win some, you lose some: SpaceX recently rolled out Starlink internet service for boats, planes, trucks, and RVs, which the FCC authorized in June. Overall, the company has launched 2,900+ Starlink satellites. It’s closing in on 500,000 subscribers (or may have already passed that). However, the company has received mixed reviews on service quality from consumers as Starlink onboards tens of thousands of new users monthly and its network gets more congested.  

Looking forward: SpaceX will likely bid in later RDOF auctions, but this rejection could mean that rural customers will have to wait even longer for subsidized broadband access.

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Spaceflight to Launch Space Tugs Aboard Vega C

Spaceflight Inc has partnered with Italian launch broker SAB Launch Services (SAB-LS) to fly its Sherpa space tugs aboard Arianespace-managed Avio-built Vega C rockets. We're going to need a diagram if this gets any more complicated.

SAB-LS, founded in 2018, offers launch services for micro- and nanosats aboard Vega C Small Satellites Mission Service (SSMS) missions. The agreement with Spaceflight further solidifies ties between the two companies. 

• “For us, Spaceflight is a strategic partner which helped to open up to the U.S. commercial and institutional market. Now we have a common strategy to provide more solutions to our customers," said SAB-LS CEO Marco Mariani.

• With this deal, Spaceflight has secured another launch vehicle to host its Sherpa space tugs, while also building a beachhead in the European market.

Europe’s first rideshare initiative

The SSMS offering was a product of the Light Satellite, Low-Cost Launch Opportunity Initiative adopted by ESA during the 2016 ministerial-level council meeting. The idea was to offer low-cost regular launch services for European institutional light satellites by fully exploiting the capacity aboard Ariane 6 and Vega C missions.

In order to facilitate the SSMS offering, a new dispenser was developed by ESA and Avio and manufactured by Czech space tech company SAB Aerospace, which is also a part of the SAB group. The dispenser is designed to be capable of multiple configurations hosting payloads ranging from 1 kg to 400 kg.

A demonstration mission for the new initiative aboard a Vega launch vehicle was initially expected to take place in the second half of 2018. However, technical issues, payload logistics challenges, a failure in 2019, and the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic in early 2020 delayed the mission until September 2020. 

A total of 53 individual payloads were launched aboard that initial demo mission. Spaceflight Inc was aboard the flight providing mission management and rideshare integration services for 28 customer payloads. That initial launch agreement was, however, signed with Arianespace in April 2018 before SAB-LS was founded.

To date, this initial demo flight has been the only SSMS mission to be launched.

What’s next? Although debuted aboard Vega, all future SSMS rideshare missions will be launched aboard Vega-C flights. The rocket made its long-awaited debut in June, carrying the LARES-2 satellite and six secondary payloads. The first SSMS flight aboard Vega-C is currently expected to blast off in early 2023. 

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In Other News

• 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️…in yesterday’s newsletter, Ryan referred to Capella Space’s next-gen SAR satellite as “Arcadia” when it is in fact named “Acadia.” As a child, Ryan went to Acadia National Park in Maine and would always refer to it as “Arcadia.” Old habits die hard. Apologies to A) Capella and B) the US National Park Service. 

• NASA has manufactured the first of its SunRISE radio smallsats for monitoring the space weather environment.

• Nanoavionics extended its satellite bus offerings. The two new buses, the MP42H and MP42D, can carry payloads up to 145kg.

• Redwire ($RDW) reported Q2 2022 before the market opened on Wednesday. The Jacksonville, FL-based space infrastructure company reported quarterly revenues of $36.7M (+14.2% YoY). (Via Payload)

• Maxar ($MAXR) released earnings this Tuesday, booking $438M in revenue this quarter, down 7.3% YoY. Earth Intelligence revenue increased slightly YoY, while Space Infrastructure fell ~10% YoY. (Via Payload)

• Via SmallSat: Kayhan Space launched the Pro tier of its Pathfinder space traffic management (STM) platform. AAC Clyde unveiled its new Epic-View EO satellite and Epic-Link comms satellite.

The Contract Report

• Virgin Orbit ($VORB) and Korean investment group J-Space inked a partnership deal to scout out launch sites in South Korea. They aim to develop a roadmap and potentially begin the first flights of LauncherOne from South Korea in as little as 12–18 months.

• D-Orbit and Astrocast signed a three-year, multi-mission deal. The Italian space tug company will deploy 20 satellites for Astrocast, a Swiss IoT nanosat operator. 

• DARPA selected Mynaric ($MYNA) for the next phase of the Space-BACN program. The company will develop a benchtop model of an optical comms terminal.

• Northrop Grumman ($NOC) partnered with Firefly to develop Antares 330, a fully American-made version of the Antares rocket.

• SpaceLink has entered into a CRADA with the US Army to explore new space communications pathway options.

• J-Space, a South Korean investment group, partnered with Virgin Orbit ($VORB) to bring sovereign launch capability to the country.

• Helios, an Israeli company designing technology for humans off Earth, joined forces with Florida-based cryogenic propellant company Eta Space to extract and store liquid oxygen on the Moon.

• Astroport was awarded a NASA Phase 1 STTR contract to design landing pads for the lunar surface.

Vibe Check 

Payload Insights 

Aerospace & defense stocks are back in the green, outperforming the S&P 500 and NASDAQ by 14% and 21% YTD, respectively. Space SPACs still trail at -36%, but are outperforming the broader SPAC market -59%.