Tag: commercial-space
-
Japanese heavy-hitters invest lightly in PD Aerospace’s space tourism effort
PD AeroSpace has teamed up with H.I.S. and ANA Holdings. (PD AeroSpace Ltd. / Koike Terumasa Design and Aerospace) PD Aerospace, a Japanese company that’s similar to Virgin Galactic in its commercial spaceflight aspirations, has picked up two high-profile investors: ANA Holdings and the H.I.S. travel agency. In a joint statement issued Thursday, the three Japanese…
-
Aerospace startups use Starburst’s shark tank in Seattle to keep their dreams afloat
Seattle-based MatterFab is working on a 3-D printer that looks like a walk-in freezer but can use laser microwelding to make metal components out of powder. (Credit: MatterFab) Some aerospace ventures came to Starburst Accelerator’s shark tank in Seattle today to find investors. Others were looking for customers. But unlike the TV version of “Shark…
-
Starburst Venture raises $200 million for aerospace startups (and heads for Seattle)
Starburst Ventures aims to back startups that can follow in SpaceX’s footsteps. (SpaceX Photo) On the eve of its first event in Seattle, Starburst Accelerator says it has set up a $200 million venture fund to invest in aviation and aerospace startups over the next three years. Starburst Venture, formed in collaboration with Singapore-based Leonie…
-
Billionaire Jeff Bezos gets all geeky over Blue Origin’s robotic rocket drilling machine
Blue Origin’s EDM drilling machine works on a nozzle for the BE-4 rocket engine, currently under development at the company’s production facility in Kent, Wash. “Only 1,000 holes to go,” Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos writes. (Blue Origin Photo) Building a rocket ship may sound romantic, but there are a lot of nitty-gritty details behind…
-
SpaceX files FCC application for internet access network with 4,425 satellites
SpaceX celebrated the announcement of a Seattle-area satellite operation by lighting up its logo at Fisher Pavilion at Seattle Center. (GeekWire photo) SpaceX has laid out further details about a 4,425-satellite communications network that’s expected to provide global broadband internet access, with its Seattle-area office playing a key role in its development. The plan is…
-
Planetary Resources strikes $28 million pact with Luxembourg for asteroid mining
An artist’s conception shows the Arkyd 6 space telescope in orbit. (Credit: Planetary Resources) Planetary Resources says it has finalized a $28 million (€25 million) agreement with Luxembourg to ramp up its asteroid mining campaign. The deal calls for the tiny European nation’s government and one of its top banking institutions, the Société Nationale de Crédit…
-
Winds get too wild to let Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo Unity plane go gliding
An aerial view shows the SpaceShipTwo rocket plane known as VSS Unity and its White Knight Two mothership from the rear. (Credit: Virgin Galactic) Virgin Galactic had to scale back what it hoped would be its first free-flying test of VSS Unity, its second SpaceShipTwo rocket plane, due to unacceptably high crosswinds. Instead of releasing…
-
SpaceX hopes procedure fix can allow Falcon 9 launches to resume
File photo of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rolling out to its launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: SpaceX Investigators probing the Sept. 1 explosion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on its launch pad in Florida believe a high-pressure gas tank inside the launcher’s upper stage most likely burst due to…
-
Where does Jeff Bezos foresee putting space colonists? Inside O’Neill cylinders
This artist’s conception from the 1970s shows the interior of an O’Neill cylinder. (Credit: NASA) SpaceX’s Elon Musk wants to settle humans on Mars. Others talk about a Moon Village. But Seattle billionaire Jeff Bezos has a different kind of off-Earth home in mind when he talks about having millions of people living and working in…
-
Gradatim Ferociter! Jeff Bezos explains Blue Origin’s motto, logo … and the boots
Blue Origin’s coat of arms is packed with symbolism. (Credit: Blue Origin) You can’t buy stuff from billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture on Amazon just yet, but just wait: Sixteen years after its founding, Blue Origin offers enough symbols, mottos and mascots to keep the folks who make caps, shirts, coffee mugs – and yes, even cowboy…