Set the stage (4/13/23)

Good morning. ESA scrubbed this morning's launch of the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission because of unsafe lightning conditions. Looks like the interplanetary probe will have to wait at least one more day to begin its eight-year journey to the Jovian system.

In today's edition...📈 ispace's IPO Bonanza🔥 Agile qualifies a thruster📝 The contract report

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ispace’s IPO Bonanza and Lunar Landing Date

Shares of Japanese startup ispace closed at ¥1201 a pop on Thursday, up 373% on the day. The surge comes just one day after ispace made its Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market debut.

Ispace IPO: Shares were listed at ¥254 each during the IPO, originally valuing the company at ¥20B ($150M), according to Nikkei. So far, demand has far outweighed willing sellers, resulting in shares going untraded on Wednesday and soaring on Thursday.

Investing in space: Investors are optimistic that anticipated investment in the cislunar economy, particularly from the Japanese government, will result in significant demand for ispace’s robotics products.

• ispace’s IPO bonanza comes at a time when many publicly-traded space businesses have struggled to gain footing under the scrutiny of public investors.

• Notably, Virgin Orbit was forced to file for bankruptcy last week, while Astra, Spire, and Momentus all recently received stern Nasdaq delisting warnings.

A lunar landing date

On the same day, the startup also announced it would attempt its HAKUTO-R lunar landing on April 25. The lander is currently in orbit 100 km above the moon.

“The stage is set. I am looking forward to witnessing this historic day, marking the beginning of a new era of commercial lunar missions,” said ispace chief Takeshi Hakamada.

The journey thus far: In Dec 2022, the HAKUTO-R lander was launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The spacecraft arrived at lunar orbit on March 20 after taking the lengthier three-month route to conserve fuel.

• If the HAKUTO-R can nail a soft touchdown, ispace would become the first privately-funded enterprise to land on the Moon.

Everyone’s an influencer: ispace will live-stream the historic landing, giving us a chance to nerd out in real time.

Agile Qualifies a Thruster for Lunar Landings

Agile Space Industries, a Colorado-based in-space propulsion company, announced Wednesday that it has qualified its A110 bipropellant thruster for lunar landers.

Back in the game: The A110 is the first US-built thruster qualified for lunar landers since the Apollo program more than six decades ago, according to the company.

“These are challenges the US space industry has not faced in several generations, and it is thrilling to contribute to a sustainable return to the Moon,” Lars Osborne, chief engineer on the A110 project, said in a press release. “Qualifying this attitude control thruster is one small step in a larger effort, but one we are proud of.”

The A110: Agile’s newest thruster runs on a hydrazine/monomethylhydrazine blend that it says is optimized for high delta-V missions. The A110 is meant to shepherd lunar landers through the very delicate, precise touchdown on the surface.

Qualification testing involved putting a “flight-quality” prototype of the thruster through intense vibration, shock, and hot-fire testing. The company tested the engine in its own facilities, which replicate the vacuum and temperatures of the space environment.

Shoot for the Moon: Agile signed an agreement with Japanese company ispace last March to provide its A110 thrusters for use on their Mission 3 lunar lander, slated for launch in 2025. Agile also has agreements with Astrobotic and Masten Space Systems to supply thrusters for their planned landers.

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In Other News

• Relativity is pivoting away from the Terran 1 rocket to pursue the Terran R, a larger launcher that can deliver 23,500 kg to LEO.

• Boeing delivered a pair of O3b mPOWER satellites to SES.

• Peek inside NASA’s Mars simulation habitat, where volunteers will live in isolation in Texas to simulate the effect of long-duration spaceflight.

• China is aiming to use lunar soil to start building a moon base within five years.

• NASA’s spacesuits for Artemis come with a hefty price tag.

The View from Space

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