Hello and welcome back to TechCrunch Space. Today, SpaceX is embarking on yet another exciting launch, Transporter-10 rideshare mission. This mission is always a thrill to follow as it carries numerous payloads, including those from various startups. Among the satellites on board are those from Apex Space, Unseen Labs, Care Weather, True Anomaly, and more. The company has set its sights on a successful launch – God speed!
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This week, we shine a spotlight on Intuitive Machines’ first lunar lander mission. While this mission will be remembered for many accomplishments, there is one aspect of Odysseus’ architecture that often goes unnoticed but deserves recognition – its propulsion system.
According to an internal congressional memo obtained by TechCrunch, there are doubts regarding Rocket Lab’s claim that its Neutron rocket will be ready for launch in time to meet a crucial contract deadline set by the Space Force. The memo states, “In light of public reporting and media pressure, Rocket Lab has escalated their campaign to misrepresent their launch readiness in an effort to gain a competitive advantage over incumbents and other new entrants by securing a slot in NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 by 2024. However, information available to staff confirms that Neutron has no credible path to launch by December 15, 2024.”
This week, SpaceDotBiz correspondent Ian Vorbach interviewed Payam Banazadeh, an aerospace engineer who founded Capella Space in 2016 and served as CEO until last October. The two delve into topics such as entrepreneurship, growing a venture-backed startup, and the remote sensing industry.
This week in space history, on March 6, 2009, the Kepler space telescope was launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Its mission? To discover Earth-sized planets orbiting sun-like stars. Kepler was remarkably successful in this task, revolutionizing our understanding of the vastness of our universe and the abundance of exoplanets within it.
