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• Sandra Erwin
K2 Space has announced a $500 million funding round at a $6.8 billion valuation, more than doubling its valuation in seven months. The satellite manufacturer is preparing to transition from orbital demonstrations to larger commercial and military orders, supported by expanded engineering capacity including a new Seattle hub.
Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation
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K2 Space has announced a $500 million funding round at a $6.8 billion valuation, more than doubling its valuation in seven months. The satellite manufacturer is preparing to transition from orbital demonstrations to larger commercial and military orders, supported by expanded engineering capacity including a new Seattle hub.
Fortastra and Hadrian have signed a memorandum of understanding laying out a framework for technical collaboration to build advanced spacecraft aimed at urgent national security space missions, the companies announced. The agreement focuses on coordinating industrial and spacecraft-manufacturing expertise for faster program execution.
The FAA has proposed allowing the agency to waive requirements under 13 federal environmental and natural-resource laws when reviewing specific commercial space licenses and permits. The stated goal is to reduce regulatory friction and speed the approval timeline for commercial space launches.
The Exploration Company says it has selected Siemens Xcelerator software to speed development of its reusable Nyx cargo spacecraft. The company cites reduced design complexity and improved engineering collaboration across its development workflow as key reasons for the move.
In early hours of Aug. 5 UTC, a spent SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage—launched in Jan. 2025 and carrying two commercial lunar landers—will impact the Moon near Einstein Crater at about 8,700 km/h. Scientists plan crater-formation studies, while uncertainties remain about the observed outcomes and legal gaps governing lunar impacts.
High activity
ArianeGroup has completed a wet dress rehearsal of its Themis reusable booster demonstrator at Esrange Space Centre in Sweden. The milestone advances ground verification for the program’s reusable propulsion and launch-system integration, paving the way for subsequent test activity.
ispace and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) have signed a contract covering the launch and transportation of ispace’s Mission 3 ULTRA Lunar Lander using MHI’s H3 rocket. The agreement formalizes the commercial transport arrangement for the company’s next Moon mission.
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