Waiting game (8/16/23)

Good morning. We hope some of our readers have been able to catch the Perseid meteor shower. Though the peak has passed, the light show continues through Aug. 24.

Today’s newsletter:
🚀 SpaceX and the FAA
💲 Q2 financial results
💰 Integrate’s seed round
💸 The term sheet

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The Ball Is in the FAA’s Court

SpaceX has filed a final mishap investigation report to the FAA for its April 20 Starship integrated flight test, the FAA told Payload on Tuesday.

Submitting the report is an important regulatory step toward SpaceX launching Starship on its second orbital test flight, a milestone that will require sign-off from the FAA.

“When a final mishap report is approved, it will identify the corrective actions SpaceX must make. Separately, SpaceX must modify its license to incorporate those actions before receiving authorization to launch again,” the agency said in a statement.

The review of the report, including any decisions on changes SpaceX must make before the next Starship launch, is still ongoing.

Read the full story.

SPAC Q2 Financials Roll In

Astra ($ASTR): The company reported $36.7M of free cash flow burn in Q2, reducing the company’s cash in the bank to $26.3M.

Astra is rapidly restructuring its businesses as it enters the homestretch in its race against cash burn. The company slashed G&A expenses by 52% since Q1 and is shifting its focus and resources from launch to spacecraft engine manufacturing.

Astra is betting on these changes slowing its cash burn. The company is projecting $15M-$20M of cash on hand at the end of Q3.

Terran Orbital ($LLAP): The satellite bus manufacturer reported Q2 revenue of $32.2M, a 51% YoY increase. Net loss for the quarter was $28.1M.

The company is pumping out 20 satellites per month to support its $2.6B, 370+ sat backlog, which includes Rivada’s monster 300-bird contract.

The company is predicting $250M in 2023 annual revenue and more growth in 2024 as it works through its robust backlog. $LLAP traded up 10% on the day.

AST SpaceMobile ($ASTS): The direct-to-cell satellite company announced a $115M debt raise in its Q2 reporting, bringing total capital raised for the quarter to $179M. The company’s first five Block 1 BlueBird satellites are fully funded and scheduled to launch in Q1 2024.

Intuitive Machines ($LUNR): The company announced the five-day window to launch its IM-1 lunar landing mission will open Nov. 15. Intuitive Machines has finished its Nova-C lunar lander and plans to ship the spacecraft to the Cape by Sept. 15.

• Intuitive Machines ended Q2 with $39.1M cash on hand and $137.3M in backlog.

Momentus ($MNTS): The space tug company is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy with just $21.3M of cash left in the bank, representing ~one quarter of cash burn. The company has hired Deutsche Bank to navigate its options.

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A Trio of Integrate Space Announcements

Seattle-based Integrate Space has closed a $3.4M seed round that will help expand its team and grow its customer roster, the company announced yesterday.

The round for the program management software company was led by Hyperplane and included participation from Riot Ventures, Ravelin Capital, and John Capodilupo.

Integrate 101: Space industry veteran John Conafay, formerly of USAF, ABL, Spaceflight, and Astranis, and technical lead Paul Reesman started Integrate last year to digitize and simplify communication and collaboration in the space industry.

This funding round follows a $970,000 capital raise in June 2022, which helped the team get off the ground. Integrate employs eight full-timers and a handful of contractors, and its top priority now post-seed round is to scale up its team.

“We have new hires poised to match customer traction, but we're being very diligent in our team size in this new economy,” Conafay told Payload via email. “We just opened an office in Seattle and, additionally, will be expanding our reach into many more verticals.”

That’s not all, folks

Integrate also announced two business wins: a $1.25M USSF contract and a customer agreement with Firefly.

The USSF contract: The Integrate team has a long history of working with US government projects, and it’s planning to apply that experience on this contract. US Space Systems Command awarded the contract through its Mission Manifest Office.

“No one's really seen a software that allows you to manage complex programs in this way before,” Conafay said. “If it's built for everyone, it's definitely not built for you.”

The Firefly agreement: Integrate said that it has closed several customer agreements, including a partnership with Firefly to supply program management software. Firefly, the company noted, has been selected by US Space Systems Command for the VICTUS NOX responsive launch mission to demonstrate the ability to launch on very short notice when needed.

See You Tomorrow!

Join the Payload team with Bank of America, Deloitte, Flow Engineering, and Velo3D for our upcoming space industry happy hour. Scheduled from 5-8pm following Velo3D’s roadshow, this is an evening of networking you won’t want to miss!

In Other News

• Arianespace manifested another Vega launch for late this year.

• Roscosmos has officially delayed the deployment of the proposed Russian Orbital Station to 2028.

• NASA restated its determination to open commercial space stations before the ISS decommissions.

The View from Hawthorne

The international Crew-7, which includes space explorers from Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA, and NASA, posed in front of a Falcon 9 rocket on Monday.