In focus (8/7/23)

Good morning. Congrats to Varda for seemingly replicating the LK-99 room-temperature semiconductor breakthrough. From more efficient engines and computers to the possibilities of in-space manufacturing, we are eagerly watching what this revolutionary discovery could mean for the space industry.

In today's edition...
✈️ Exotrail US
📌 Umbra gets sharp
🗓️ The week ahead

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Exotrail Unveils US Subsidiaries

Exotrail, a French space mobility company, is stepping out in the US market with two new American subsidiaries, Exotrail US Inc. and Exotrail US Federal Inc., the company announced today.

Exotrail 101: From mission design to launch and deployment to in-orbit operations, Exotrail aims to do it all when it comes to space mobility.

The company offers four products:

• spacestudio, a mission design software-as-a-service

• spaceware, a group of electric propulsion systems for 5–1,000 kg satellites

• spacedrop, a launch and deployment service for small satellites

• spacetower, a software suite for operators to fly fleets of satellites

From its home base in France, the company has been clinching contracts around the world for its mobility tech and services, including with NASA, the Korean space agency, the French government, and a handful of commercial space companies. It recorded in “triple-digit” growth revenue last year, and says its commercial growth has remained steady.

Starting up in the US: Exotrail has been working towards opening a US branch since it closed a $58M Series B in February and brought on Tyler Browder to get it started. The new US subsidiary companies will be focused on expanding the companies’ relationships with the civil, defense, and commercial markets in the US.

To get the new branches started, Exotrail officially hired its first two US employees:

• Tyler Browder will be the CEO. Browder has spent ten years building software products for the space industry, and was most recently CEO and cofounder of space software company Kubos, which was acquired last year.

• Brian Holt will be director of US government business development and partnerships. Holt hails from a 20-year career in the Space Force and Air Force.

“We already have more than five customers in North America, with commercial partners ranging from traditional prime to new space operators like Astro Digital, Starfish Space, and NASA on the civil space side,” Browder said in a release. “Accelerating our growth in both institutional and commercial markets is instrumental to Exotrail’s future.”

Exotrail is just getting started with its push into the US ecosystem. The company is searching for a good spot to open up a spaceware factory and spacedrop integration facility. It’s also begun the process of integrating its other two cloud-based products into US cloud infrastructure.

Sponsored

The Secret Sauce to Satellite Manufacturing

Over the last five years, the demand for small satellite manufacturing has skyrocketed, fueled by their cost-effectiveness and versatility across a broad range of applications, including EO, defense, communications, and scientific research.

However, meeting demand in a timely and reliable manner is a challenge for the industry.

As a prime contractor operating within this burgeoning sector, Millennium Space Systems leverages decades of experience and a streamlined production system to help meet the ever-growing customer demand. The synergistic approach has enabled Millennium’s small satellite manufacturing to hit its stride, increasing its speed of production to a trajectory resembling Moore’s Millennium’s Law.

Millennium’s law: 

• 2011 Rapid Pathfinder: 24 months

• 2019 Tetra-1: 13 months

• 2023 Victus Nox: 8 months

Umbra Sets Record with a 16 cm Satellite Image

Commercial space imaging hit a new resolution high-water mark.

Satellite operator Umbra released a 16 cm/pixel Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image today, making it the highest-res commercial satellite image ever dropped, according to the company. The image is comparable to the resolution that was previously restricted to government use.

“This means that we are finally able to offer customers the highest resolution images that our satellites are capable of capturing, setting the stage for even further expansion of products to customers,” said Umbra president Gabe Dominocielo.

Evolving regulations: The US began permitting the sale of commercial satellite images only a few decades back, but still restricted super-high res imaging—like the 10-cm picture Trump tweeted in 2019—to government use only.

Over the last few years, NOAA has started loosening commercial imaging restrictions, allowing satellite operators to innovate and expand further into various end markets and use cases. Umbra was able to release today’s 16-cm image as a result of NOAA recently loosening its 25-cm restriction on the Santa Barbara-based company’s commercial imaging.

Umbra 101: Umbra operates six SAR satellites, serving the US government (50% of revenue), allied nations (25%), and commercial customers (25%). Unlike optical imaging, Umbra’s SAR radars are not dependent on light, allowing them to deliver high-resolution images around the clock and in all weather conditions. The company has contracts from the NRO, Air Force, and DARPA.

In Other News

• NASA selected the Crew-8 team for an ISS mission next year.

• SpaceX conducted a 2.74-second static fire test of Booster 9 on its water deluge system, with four Raptor engines shutting down prematurely.

• India’s Chandrayaan-3 lander entered lunar orbit.

• Capella’s satellites are reentering the atmosphere more quickly than expected.

• Australia’s space industry faces uncertainty amidst budget cuts.

• China is monitoring NASA’s potentially declining budget level.

The View from Space

The bejeweled galaxy, NGC 6652, as captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.