Impulse control (6/16/23)

Good morning. Welcome aboard to the 351 readers who joined us since last week. We’re happy to have you.

Also, a reminder that we’ll be off on Monday for Juneteenth. We’ll see you back here on Tuesday.

In today's edition...
🤝 Vast and Impulse team up
💲 Space investment tracker
💫 Payload’s picks

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Vast 🤝 Impulse

Space habitat startup Vast tapped Impulse Space to develop the propulsion system for its Haven-1 LEO space station.

“Our qualified Saiph thruster is a perfect fit for Haven-1’s propulsion requirements. We look forward to collaborating with such a dedicated and like-minded team,” said Impulse chief Tom Mueller.

Orbital workshop: Vast intends to deploy Haven-1 to LEO by 2025, which would likely make it the first commercial space station. In May, the company unveiled its Haven-1 station, announcing that SpaceX would launch the spacecraft and provide taxi services to the future habitat. Crews will stay at the station for up to 30 days, carrying out scientific research and machining.

• “We want to support research. We also think of ourselves as an orbital machine shop, where people can build things in orbit,” Jed McCaleb told Payload last year.

The large commercial station will need to be equipped with an effective propulsion system to maintain a stable orbit, which is where Impulse comes in.

Firing in: Established in 2021 by SpaceX founding member Tom Mueller, Impulse is developing in-space propulsion capabilities to support a suite of transportation services. The company qualified its Saiph thruster in May and will be commissioned in space for the first time on an October mission.

“To support our goal to launch Haven-1 in just over two years and become the world’s first commercial space station, we decided to partner on multiple subsystems to increase the likelihood of meeting our timeline with full mission success,” McCaleb said.

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Euroconsult’s New Space Investment Tracker

Euroconsult, a strategy and market intelligence firm specializing in the space sector, has launched a new space investment tracker tool: its Financing & Transactions Database.

The subscription-based platform offers a detailed monthly dashboard, providing up-to-date financial insights on private space investment activities. These include publicly disclosed funding operations like equity investments, debt operations, IPOs, SPAC mergers, common stock sales, and government grants.

All in one place: The platform will be integrated into the firm’s existing Space Market Monitoring dashboard, which tracks data on the space industry, including satellite manufacturing, launch services, satellite communications, EO—and now investment activity.

Gabriel Deville, a space industry consultant at Euroconsult, told Payload that the product is unique. Unlike other tools, it displays “every single line with every single operation, such as the recipient, amount, and specific investors,” he said. “You’re not limited to consolidated results. You can actually get your hands into the data.”

The database currently covers over 2,000 financing operations and 120 transactions that Euroconsult has tracked since 2020. With advanced filtering capabilities, users can identify high-potential space start-ups, track competitor activity, define financial strategies, analyze technological segments and regions, and access detailed market intelligence on mergers and acquisitions, according to the company.

Signs of recovery: After a brief descent from the astronomical heights of 2021, investment into space technology and services may be on the rise again with financiers expressing optimism for a rebound in 2023. Deville said he anticipates, “a progressive recovery [in 2023], but likely not reaching the record levels of 2021.” He said his firm has already seen investment up about 30% in the first quarter compared to last year.

In Other News

• The FAA says the changes it made to keep flights on time despite the increasing launch cadence in Florida are working.

• Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield is working with King Charles III on a space sustainability plan set to be released this month.

• Curiosity sent a “postcard” of the Martian Marker Band Valley back to Earth.

• The launch window for Virgin Galactic's ($SPCE) first commercial tourism flight opens June 27 and ends June 30.

• Ariane 5’s final launch, which was scheduled for today, has been delayed indefinitely.

• NASA partnered with seven leading space companies to further advance human spaceflight and the LEO economy.

The View from Space

Even better than a corner office view, astronaut Woody Hoburg’s helmet cam caught a beautiful video of Earth and the ISS during Thursday morning’s spacewalk.