Whoops a daisy (9/11/23)

Good morning. Readers, please wish a happy belated birthday to our star reporter, Rachael. We hope it was a great one!

Today’s newsletter:
⭐ Starship’s next steps
💰 Open Cosmos’ raise
🗓️ The week ahead

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.

FAA Completes Starship Mishap Report Review

The FAA has completed its review of SpaceX’s Starship mishap report—a key milestone for Starship to hit the skies again for the first time since its April 20 integrated flight test that ended with a bang (literally).

“The FAA has been provided with sufficient information and accepts the root causes and corrective actions described in the mishap report,” the FAA wrote in a letter to SpaceX.

The to-do list: The final investigation—which SpaceX led with FAA oversight—identified 63 corrective actions that the company would need to implement before launching again. The large ticket corrective action items include:

• Fuel leaks and fire mitigation improvements

• Launchpad redesign (i.e., water deluge system)

• Electric thrust vector control system

• Improving flight termination controls

SpaceX has been working on implementing the corrective actions since its first integrated flight test nearly five months ago. The company believes it has completed the improvements and is ready to go.

“Congrats to SpaceX for completing & documented [sic] the 57 items required by the FAA for Flight 2 of Starship! Worth noting that 6 of the 63 items refer to later flights,” Elon Musk wrote Sunday on X (formerly known as Twitter).

SpaceX has made 1,000+ changes to Starship and the launch system tower ahead of its second Starship flight.

Final boss: SpaceX still needs to apply for and receive a license modification from the FAA before getting the green light for the next Starship launch. SpaceX and the FAA have not provided a timeline, and the agency emphasized in a bolded statement, “The closure of the mishap investigation does not signal an immediate resumption of Starship launches at Boca Chica.”

Leaks and fires: In addition to the structural failure of the launch pad and a delay with the termination system, Starship also suffered significant fires in the engine section.

“During ascent, the vehicle sustained fires from leaking propellant in the aft end of the Super Heavy booster, which eventually severed connection with the vehicle’s primary flight computer,” SpaceX said in a statement on Friday.

The fire caused a loss of comms with the Starship engines, which ultimately led to a full loss of vehicle control. Many of the identified corrective measures addressed issues related to fuel leaks and the subsequent fire.

Starship stacked: Starship sits fully stacked on its orbital launch mount in Boca Chica, TX. The Super Heavy Booster completed a static fire on Aug. 25—which also successfully tested its new water deluge pad protection system. The launch vehicle will need to be de-stacked one more time to configure its flight termination system before launch.

Sponsored

Countering Growing Threats with Missile Warning and Tracking

With space emerging as a strategically important domain, the US is redoubling its efforts to establish a resilient missile detection and alert system to fortify the nation's defenses.

While the Pentagon has invested in space-based missile tracking technologies since the Cold War-era, the rise of novel and pressing threats has heightened the urgency.

Intercontinental missiles launched by adversaries can reach the US mainland in as little as half an hour, making them one of the greatest military threats America faces. Next-gen missile warning and tracking systems are critical to the safety of our nation and our allies.

Enter Millennium: Millennium, a small satellite constellation prime, built and launched the Wide Field of View (WFOV) satellite in July 2022 and is delivering the Missile Track Custody constellation for Space Systems Command.

Open Cosmos Raises $50M

Open Cosmos, a UK company that builds and supports satellites working on climate change and humanitarian initiatives, has raised a $50M Series B to support the company’s push into international markets.

The round was led by ETF Partners, Trill Impact, and A&G. It also included participation from Accenture Ventures, Banco Santander InnoEnergy Climate Tech Fund, Claret Capital Partners, Taavet Hinrikus, and Kheng Nam Lee. Open Cosmos has raised $57M to date across all its rounds of funding.

Open Cosmos 101: Open Cosmos wants to get its customers operating and collecting data from orbit without ever having to touch the satellite. Through its Open Orbit service for prices starting at £500,000 (~$626,000), the company will:

1. Design the satellite or constellation, including choosing the proper payloads

2. Manufacture and test the sat in-house

3. Manage insurance and compliance before launch

4. Procure launch services through its existing partnerships

5. Operate the satellite until end-of-life disposal

Open Cosmos has launched six missions to date and has three more planned in the near future. The data collected from many of these missions (including all the upcoming ones) supports the company’s OpenConstellation, a platform that allows users to share satellite data.

“Space data has always been an important means of understanding planet Earth, but in our view, it is only with its increasing affordability, the amplifying effects of climate change and the rapidly growing number of AI/ML solutions that extract insights from this data that the market is now ready to reach its full potential,” Toba Spiegel, an investment manager at Trill Impact, said in a statement.

Looking ahead: Open Cosmos employs a team of ~70 people across the UK, Portugal, and Spain. With this funding round, it’s hoping to continue expanding internationally, building teams in Latin America, the Middle East, and the Asia Pacific. The company will also continue to build out its analysis and data collection capabilities and begin developing larger satellites.

See You In October!

Join Payload and Linde at Lil' Simmzy's for an evening of networking on October 10th. Food and drinks will be provided. Don't miss this opportunity to connect with space industry professionals!

In Other News

• India and the US will cooperate on planetary defense, according to a joint statement following President Joe Biden’s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

• ULA launched a mission for the NRO aboard an Atlas V.

• Virgin Galactic flew its second private astronaut flight, but didn’t livestream the event or announce who was on board.

The View from Space

See ya, SILENTBARKER! ULA launched the NRO mission Sunday morning after a weather delay caused by Hurricane Idalia.