Sneak peek (6/8/23)

Good morning. We hope readers in Canada and the eastern US are staying safe from the wildfire smoke.

In today's edition...
🖋️ Legislative preview
🌎 Hydrosat acquires IrriWatch
📝 The contract report

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Miller, Carbajal Share an Early Look at Legislative Plans

Lawmakers previewed two legislative proposals in the works during a panel discussion at Payload’s Space Capitol event in DC on Tuesday night.

NDAA preview: Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA) will introduce an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act to help federal launch ranges keep up with the rapidly growing launch cadence in Florida and California.

The “Spaceports of the Future” amendment would make changes at Patrick Space Force Base and Vandenberg Space Force Base to make the facilities “basically function like airports so we could have more companies participate with launch,” Carbajal said. In addition, the amendment would require companies to pay a fee for the wear and tear on DoD launch infrastructure “to give the taxpayers assurance that this is a partnership,” he said.

The House Armed Services Committee announced this week that it will host its marathon markup of the bill on June 21. The Senate Armed Services Committee will begin its closed-door consideration of the legislation on the same day.

Talent acquisition: Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) is drafting a bill to implement a talent sharing program between the private sector and NASA, similar to an existing program used by the Defense Department. The personnel exchange program, Miller said, would help public and private entities get more familiar and more comfortable with each other.

“There are a lot of great minds within our country. And I believe that a lot of the great minds are in the private sector as well as the public sector,” he said. “It’s really meshing those together to create that team cohesion.”

Miller says he plans to introduce the bill “within a couple of months,” and hopes to have bipartisan support.

The last word: Both lawmakers offered some advice to new space players, including urging companies to contact their members of Congress for help navigating the procurement process and working with government agencies. And if you're struggling to get a response? “If they’re not taking your calls and working with you, fire their ass,” Carbajal said.

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Hydrosat acquires IrriWatch

Climate tech company Hydrosat announced this morning that it has completed the acquisition of IrriWatch, a Netherlands-based irrigation management software company. The deal has been in the works for over a year.

The acquirer: Hydrosat uses satellite thermal infrared imagery and data analytics to measure water scarcity and the effects of climate change. The company produces crop yield forecasts and improved irrigation tools to provide insights for commercial and government customers.

The company estimates that by using its thermal imagery to guide irrigation decisions, growers can increase crop yields by up to 50% while consuming 25% less water.

The acquiree: IrriWatch uses satellite data to assess crop conditions, such as leaf and soil temperatures, soil moisture levels, water use, and agricultural production. Its algorithms utilize this data to provide irrigation recommendations to increase production. The company’s products also measure leaf nitrogen content for fertilizer management, support carbon sequestration analysis, and offer hyper-local weather content.

What’s next? The acquisition takes another step toward Hydrosat's objective of combining data with solutions that help farmers pursue environmental sustainability goals in the face of climate change and drought, producing more food while conserving water. Integrating IrriWatch’s software with Hydrosat’s crop classification and yield forecasting will enable Hydrosat to offer solutions to the entire agriculture industry.

“IrriWatch cements Hydrosat's position as a solutions provider in agriculture and climate,” Hydrosat CEO Pieter Fossel told Payload via email. "Both companies share the same vision of powering the transition to sustainable agriculture using thermal data from space.”

How we got here: This acquisition follows Hydrosat’s $20M Series A in April. The company develops its products based on open source EO datasets, but is working to launch its own 16-satellite constellation to provide constant high-resolution thermal images. VanZyl-1 and VanZyl-2, the company’s first fully operational commercial satellite missions, are due to launch next year.

“Hydrosat will continue to develop our AI and thermal-based solutions for agriculture and climate,” Fossel said. “We expect most of this work to continue to be organic, building upon the world-leading satellite data processing and analytical capabilities within our company.”

Space Opportunities

Here are the top government opportunities for space companies this week, as compiled by our partner TZero.

🛰️ SDA has released an RFI for the Tranche 2 Demonstration and Experimentation System (T2DES). SDA seeks industry sources for innovative communications and other payloads which can be integrated on the planned 20+ T2DES satellites. Responses are due June 15th.

📡 DARPA/STO has an updated topic area focused on innovative new antenna technologies that lower SWAP and increase performance under the BRIDGES Research Solicitation. Responses are due June 9th.

🌊 DoD has released an RFI to identify technologies from industry, R&D organizations, and academia for inclusion in the invitation-only Technology Innovation Discovery Event (TIDE), scheduled for Aug. 30 in Chantilly, VA, which focuses on technologies and capabilities that might have an impact on future conflicts. Applications are due on June 16th.

Additional opportunities and details can be found in the TZero Space Tracker.

In Other News

• Wilson Aerospace is suing Boeing, claiming that the prime stole intellectual property to work on the ISS and SLS.

• ULA conducted a flight readiness firing of its Vulcan engine.

• CAS, a Chinese launch startup, completed the second orbital launch of its Lijian-1 solid rocket.

• Albedo, a VLEO imaging startup, opened a new Denver facility and launched its redesigned website.

• NASA officials are concerned Starship delays may delay push the Artemis III mission to 2026.

• The University of Alabama in Huntsville is NASA’s winner of the 2023 Student Launch challenge.

The View from Space

The GOES-16 satellite captured pictures of smoke smothering the northeast quadrant of the US on Wednesday.