Take root (7/7/23)

Good morning. Happy Friday! We’ve already received 50+ nominations for our Payload Pioneers. If you know a space innovator who will still be under 30 at the end of the year, don’t forget to nominate them to be considered for our list this fall. Nominations are open through the end of the month.

In today's edition...
🤠 Up-and-coming space states
🌕 India is Moon-ward bound next week
💫 Payload’s picks

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Seattle, Denver, Austin Vie to be “Silicon Valley of Space”

Nearly 20 regional space companies gathered at Blue Origin’s headquarters in Kent, WA, on Wednesday for the Washington State Space Summit, which was hosted by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and included remarks from NASA chief Bill Nelson.

The gathering is the latest flex by a US state seeking recognition as a space hub in a bid to attract talent, companies, and investment into its star entrepreneurial cities.

Houston, we have a problem: The meteoric rise of the commercial space industry has summoned clusters and corridors of cities across the nation, all vying for a greater share of the action.

Some of these geographies offer fertile ground for a new crop of space startups to take root, presenting a threat to traditional hubs like Los Angeles, CA; Huntsville, AL; and Cape Canaveral, FL. These new clusters could siphon away not only resources—but also influence.

The big three: Most notably, the Seattle, Austin, and Denver metro areas are jostling for the title of “the Silicon Valley of space” and sowing the seeds for America’s next space hubs.

These up-and-coming space cities have all the right ingredients for success: a diverse ecosystem of stakeholders, a solid space infrastructure, and a rapidly growing cluster of prominent startups lured in by active economic development committees.

+ Want more? We've prepared a full rundown of how each city is jockeying to be the new hotbed of the American space ecosystem, and whether this new breed of space clusters will unseat the “Space Coast” or “Space City” as America’s iconic space hubs.

Read the full story here.

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India’s Date with the Moon

India rolled its LVM3 rocket to the pad Thursday and announced its Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander mission will take flight July 14.

The launch sets the stage for lunar redemption. It will be the country’s second landing attempt after its Chandrayaan-2 vehicle crash-landed on the Moon’s surface nearly four years ago.

The mission: Chandrayaan-3 consists of a propulsion module, a lander module, and a 26 kg rover. After reaching lunar orbit, the spacecraft will jettison its propulsion module and attempt a mid-August 100-km descent to the Moon’s unforgiving surface.

Once on the Moon’s South Pole, the lander will release the rover, and the duo will commence numerous scientific experiments, which will include measuring:

• The environment’s thermal properties

• Plasma density on the surface

• Seismic activity around the landing site

• Lunar regolith composition

Blind corner: The lunar surface has been the site of three vehicle wrecks over the past five years, including India’s Chandrayaan-2, Israel’s Beresheet in 2019, and ispace’s Hakuto-R in April. If this upcoming mission is successful, India will become just the fourth nation to soft-land on the Moon, after the US, Soviet Union, and China.

India enters: The mission highlights India’s growing presence in the space industry. In addition to lunar exploration, ISRO has invested in a sustainable rocket program, a crew-rated spacecraft, and expanding international collaboration.

During President Modi’s recent visit to DC, he announced that India was signing on to the Artemis Accords and working with the White House on numerous human spaceflight and hardware initiatives.

In Other News

• ESA announced an independent commission to examine Vega-C’s second stage static fire failure.

• The Iris aviation system, which will leverage space assets to reduce flight delays, is nearly done with its certification process.

• Endeavour is getting a new vertical home at the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center in LA.

• Congress announced a hearing next week on US leadership in commercial space.

• China’s Landspace will conduct its second launch attempt with its methalox rocket on July 12.

The View from Space

Light, far-flung black holes and 11 ancient galaxies: it’s all in a day’s work for JWST.