Payload

A new startup, Rollup, is emerging from stealth today with $5.6M in funding and a plan to streamline the development of complex hardware. https://lnkd.in/g7dYtVbM

Six passengers reached the edge of space onboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard capsule yesterday, marking the first time the only reusable suborbital vehicle has carried humans since 2022. https://lnkd.in/gC-xjyDY

Attempts to plan a privately-backed mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope appear to have led to an impasse between NASA, SpaceX, and Jared Isaacman, the billionaire who proposed the idea. https://lnkd.in/gyFagMpi

AST SpaceMobile clinched a deal with AT&T to provide satellite-to-cell connectivity through 2030, the two companies announced Wednesday. https://lnkd.in/gHZP89mw

London-based SatVu is preparing to launch two temperature-taking satellites next year after losing its pathfinder mission in December. https://lnkd.in/g6xE4wq2

A Defense Department pilot program hired private satellite operators last month to provide intelligence directly to battlefield commanders—and became the newest flashpoint in an argument between the defense and intelligence communities over who should fill the military’s commercial space imagery demands. https://lnkd.in/gGUjwiCM

Last November, Payload hosted its inaugural Space Investor Summit in Los Angeles, marking the industry’s first true institutional investor event. Our first year brought together a room full of space executives and institutional investors representing over $2T of capital. This year…we’re doing it again. Join us for our second annual Investor Summit on Nov. 13 to understand why space is this decade's greatest technological contest and investment opportunity. Tickets are limited. Don’t miss the opportunity to lock in the early bird rate! Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gRGfesrK

We are excited to announce the second annual Payload Space Investor Summit to be held in Los Angeles, CA on Nov 13, 2024! Last year, space execs, government officials, and investors representing over $2 trillion in investable assets gathered to discuss market trends, industry challenges, and explore tangible investment opportunities. This year, we expect to quadruple the AUM represented, including some of the largest and most influential investors in the world across venture capital, growth capital, private equity, and sovereign wealth. Apply here: https://lnkd.in/eVWD9qpy

Redwire Space unveiled its third new spacecraft designed for Very Low Earth Orbit this week, dubbed Phantom. https://lnkd.in/dcmKem36

The geomagnetic storm that painted skies purple and green across vast swaths of the Northern Hemisphere over the weekend also created a dangerous environment for satellites in Earth’s orbit. https://lnkd.in/dihDHYqM