Funding Friday and Starlink’s fantastic future.

[MUSIC] >> Bit of a spoiler alert for later in the show, but Starlink says it has hit 4 million subscriptions. That is a respectable number to be sure. Those subscription numbers, by the way, aligned with analyst predictions from earlier this year, that Starlink will surpass $6 billion in revenue this year, matching or beating predictions. Something to think about on that one, $6 billion in revenue would easily make Starlink one of the biggest space companies on its own, if it weren't already part of SpaceX. Today is September 27th, 2024, I'm Maria Varmausis, and this is T-minus. [MUSIC] Deorbit completes their series C round. Agile space locks in new funding too. Starlink subscriptions continue to balloon. It is Friday, so that means after the news briefing is our weekly NSF Space Traffic report. NSF's Elysia Siegel will review what launched this past week, and what launches we can expect as we look ahead to next week. Happy Friday, everybody. Let's round off the week with today's Intel for you. We start with some funding news as Deorbit announces that they've completed a 150 million euro or about $166 million US dollars series C round, one of the largest space investments in the past year. These funds will expand the company's space logistic services, including in-orbit servicing, space-dry removal, and satellite lifespan extension. This round was led by Japan's Marubeni Corporation and supported by notable investors including CDP Venture Capital and the European Innovation Council Fund. Deorbit aims to accelerate innovations like AI applications for disaster response and create a circular space economy by recycling space debris. It's funding Friday apparently, and next up from Agile Space Industries, Agile says they've secured additional funding, led by Lockheed Martin Ventures, to accelerate the development of its own mobile payload processing center. The funding will also help Agile expand its product portfolio, production, and infrastructure. Agile's chemical propulsion systems support civil, commercial, and national security space sectors, and the company has seen rapid growth in both bookings and revenue. Notable new investors include veteran Ventures Capital and Boka Capital, and this investment underscores Agile's role in advancing space propulsion solutions. From funding to growth now, I mentioned it at the top of the show, not a big surprise to hear that Starlink is continuing to grow by leaps and bounds and has hit a new milestone. SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell mentioned it earlier this week, and SpaceX itself also shared on X, that Starlink has now officially reached four million worldwide subscribers. And some part of that subscription number likely comes from Air France, which just announced that it will gradually roll out free ultra high-speed Wi-Fi with Starlink across its entire fleet starting next year, replacing its current paid connectivity options. The service will offer a ground-like internet experience, allowing passengers to stream, game and browse on multiple devices during flights. And expanding on news from earlier this week that South Korea and the United States are increasing their collaborations in space, NASA and South Korea's space agency CASA announced that they are collaborating on a mission to Sun Earth Lagrange Point 4, which is a gravitationally stable region of deep space that remains unexplored. In a quick refresher on Sun Earth Lagrange Points, several scientific observatories, including the Webb Space Telescope, are at L2, which is sort of behind the Earth if you're facing the sun. L4 and its twin L5 are very crudely explained off to the sides of Earth. And specifically by studying L4, this point could enhance our understanding of space radiation. And the mission aims to set up a solar wind observation station and improve space communications. The agreement between NASA and CASA is part of a broader cooperation between the two organizations, which also include lunar exploration projects and scientific research initiatives. Maya Space, which is a French reusable rocket developer, has been selected by CNES to take over the former Soyuz launch pad in Kourou, French Guyana. And this follows the cessation of Soyuz operations after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. And the move will enable Maya Space to focus on launching reusable rockets from this site, enhancing Europe's access to space. There's an exclusive report on Space News that says researchers from Purdue University have raised concerns about the growing amount of space debris in cis-lunar space, and that's the region between the Earth and the Moon, which is becoming increasingly crowded with space hardware. As lunar exploration and related activities intensify, experts emphasize the need for better debris tracking and mitigation strategies. And they warn that fragmentation events could pose serious risks to future missions, with debris potentially impacting both the Earth-Moon system and satellites in geostationary orbit. These researchers at Purdue call for improved modeling of space object behavior in the cis-lunar environment, considering the complex gravitational influences from celestial bodies like the Sun and Jupiter. Current space domain awareness is not equipped to handle this growing threat, and the team advocates for proactive debris analysis to prevent catastrophic events before they occur. As if Earth's orbits weren't already debris-strewn enough. And Hurricane Helene is still causing problems in the Southern United States, but it did go easy on the East coast of Florida, so things are moving ahead for tomorrow's scheduled SpaceX Crew 9 mission, which will launch a new crew to the International Space Station no earlier than 1.17 p.m. Eastern time tomorrow afternoon. And our own T-minus producer, Alice Kruth, is on site and will be covering the events and sharing more about her experience at the launch with you all in our show next week. The Crew 9 launch activities today and over the weekend include pre-launch briefings, live launch docking and post-arrival events. The Crew 9 mission is part of NASA's ongoing partnership with SpaceX, transporting astronauts to and from the ISS under the Commercial Crew Program. The launch is scheduled from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, in case you need a reminding of that one. Godspeed to Crew 9 tomorrow, and we're sending our best wishes from all of us at T-minus and the N2K CyberWire Home Base out to Alice in the Field at the launch. Have a blast, Alice. And that's it for our Intel briefing for you this Friday. As always, you can read more in our show notes or at space.n2k.com. AT-minus Crew, tune in tomorrow for T-minus Deep Space, which is our show for extended interviews, special editions and deep dives with some of the most influential professionals in the space industry. And tomorrow we have Jason Robertson talking in depth about virtual twins for space applications and cost reduction. Check it out while you're enjoying the last hurrah of September, setting an early morning alarm to catch a view of a comet, or recovering from watching what I'm sure will be an epic Crew 9 launch. [Music] As we do every Friday, joining us today is Elysia Siegel from nasaspaceflight.com with the NSF Space Traffic Report. We'll get a look back at the launches that were and a look ahead at the launches that are upcoming. Over to you, Elysia. I'm Elysia Siegel for NSF, and this is your weekly Space Traffic Report for T-minus Space. Starting off on September 20th, we had the launch of a Changjiang 2D from China. On board were six satellites for the Zhilan-1 wideband constellation, which is a constellation of commercial Earth observation satellites. These latest satellites can image an area 150 km wide at a resolution of half a meter per pixel. The satellites were launched into a sun-synchronous orbit from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, with liftoff occurring at 411 UTC. Just a few hours later, another mission was launched from China. This time, a Kuai-Zhe-1A lifted off from the Shichang Satellite Launch Center. The payload on this mission were four satellites for the Tianxi Internet of Things Communication Constellation. The other satellites in this constellation have hitched a ride to low Earth orbit on many different rockets, and the last few of which were flown last year on Galactic Energy Series 1. That same day, we also had a Starlink mission from Vandenberg. On September 20th at 1350 UTC, Falcon 9 took to the Californian skies with 20 satellites in its faring. Seven of these were regular V2 mini satellites, and the other 13 had direct-to-cell capabilities. The booster flying this mission was B1075, and it completed its 13th flight by successfully landing on SpaceX's drone ship, of course I still love you. And if you've set your clock to universal time, there was one more launch that very same day. The fourth mission on September 20th took off from New Zealand at 2301 UTC. On this flight, Electron lifted five satellites into low Earth orbit for the French company Canace. This mission was called Canace Killed the Radio Star with a T at the end of radio, because these satellites are part of an Internet of Things, or IOT constellation. This was the second launch for Canace, with three more to come as the constellation is planned to have a total of 25 satellites. This flight lifted off from Pad 1 at Rocket Labs Launch Complex in New Zealand, but it didn't actually launch on its first attempt. If you remember, this launch was originally scheduled to take off a few days earlier, but that attempt was aborted shortly after engine ignition. The cause was an issue with the ground support equipment, which is interesting because the launch pad hadn't been used since July of 2022, but whatever caused the abort, it didn't stop Electron on the second attempt. This week, we also had the return of Soyuz MS-25. The capsule undocked from the International Space Station's Prussia module on September 23rd at 836 Universal Time. Returning from space were Roscosmos-Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chubh, as well as NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell-Dyson. Kononenko not only commanded the capsule upon its return, but he had also been the station commander since April. Before his departure from the ISS, he handed over command to NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, who became in charge of the station for the second time. A few hours after undocking, the Soyuz landed on the steps of Kazakhstan at 1159 UTC. And shortly after landing, Dyson was even given roses by her former commander, cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky. In March, he had commanded the MS-25 spacecraft on the way up to the station with Dyson on board, alongside Belarusian cosmonaut Marina Veselovskaya. But Novitsky and Veselovskaya returned on Soyuz MS-24 a few weeks later. This vehicle swap also meant that Kononenko and Chubh, who had launched on MS-24, would now stay on the station for over a year, and this allowed Kononenko to claim the title of "Most Days in Space Ever." And he absolutely shattered that record, by the way. Back in February, he broke the previous record of 878 days and has now logged an impressive 1110 days in space throughout his career. We also had the fourth flight of the Zhelong-3 rocket this week. Lift off the curtain on September 24th from the Dongfeng-Hong Tianjiang barge a few kilometers off the coast of China. The rocket brought eight satellites into a sun-synchronous orbit, and among the passengers were a weather satellite and Earth observation satellites from different manufacturers. Later that day, another Chinese rocket performed its fourth mission. At 2333 UTC on September 24th, Allegiant One lifted off from the Zhouchuan Satellite Launch Center. The rocket carried remote sensing satellites and weather satellites, delivering a total of five payloads into a sun-synchronous orbit. And on September 25th, Falcon 9 launched another Starlink mission from Vandenberg. This time, 13 direct-to-south satellites and seven regular Starlink V-2 mini-satellites were added to the constellation. With these, SpaceX has now sent a total of 7,062 satellites into orbit, of which 636 have re-entered, and 6,138 have reached their operational orbit. The booster for this mission was B-1081, which flew for the 10th time. It successfully landed on the deck of SpaceX's drone ship, of course I still love you, marking the 10th successful landing since the landing failure back in August. Next, an H-2A launched from the Tanigashima Space Center in Japan. Lift-off occurred on September 26th at 524 Universal Time. The rocket deployed a radar reconnaissance satellite into low Earth orbit that will be used for both national defense and civil natural disaster monitoring. Notably, this was the penultimate H-2A to fly. The rocket is now superseded by the new H-3 rocket, which has already flown a few times. The core stage for the 50th and final H-2A flight rolled off the production line this week, and its flight is currently scheduled for around March of next year. And wrapping up this week, we should have had this week's fifth launch from China. Unfortunately, that launch was scheduled to lift off after this episode was recorded, so we'll cover it in detail in next week's Space Traffic Report. Going into next week, the launch of Crew 9 is scheduled to lift off on September 28th at 1717 UTC. You probably remember that this dragon won't fly with the originally planned crew of four, rather with only two passengers instead, Nick Hague and Alexander Gorbinov. The two extra seats will eventually be occupied upon Dragon's return by Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who both arrived at the International Space Station onboard Starliner. This launch was originally scheduled for this week, but it was postponed due to Hurricane Helene. As of recording, there is currently a 55% chance of favorable weather predicted for the September 28th attempt. Another Falcon 9 is expected to launch from Vandenberg on September 30th. This will be the 20th launch for one web. Coincidentally, it will also add 20 more internet satellites to the constellation. The 40-minute window opens at 649 Universal Time. And going into the month of October, we'll have a Starlink launch on October 2nd. The launch will be conducted from Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida. Lift off is scheduled to take place during a four-hour window opening at 850 UTC. And closing out the week on October 4th, we'll have the second launch of United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket. The main purpose for this flight is to certify the vehicle for National Security Space Launch Missions. The three-hour window for this launch opens at 10 o'clock Universal Time. I'm Alicia Segal for NSF, and that's your weekly Space Traffic Report. Now back to T-Minus Space. (upbeat music) - We'll be right back. - Welcome back. If you've ever seen a comet in the night sky, they really stand out as unusual. It's no wonder that until people understood what they were, that many folks thought their appearance in the night sky meant something was terribly wrong, a bad omen. Thankfully, we know better now and can just enjoy their appearance. And right now, Comet Tsuchin Shan Atlas is in Earth's proximity. And from now through the next few weeks, it'll be quite prominent in the night skies if you know where to look. Right now, Tsuchin Shan Atlas is approaching the sun and it's best seen in the pre-dawn skies, especially in the Southern Hemisphere, but it'll also be visible in the North, in the constellation Sextons in the East a few hours before dawn. And after October 10th, after the comet loops around the sun and starts getting closer to Earth, it'll be much easier for all of us to see. And it will appear close to the westerly horizon after sunset near Leo and Virgo if you know how to spot those constellations. It's gonna be hugging the horizon, so if you're like me and have a lot of trees or buildings around, might be tough luck. But best of luck to all you Comet hunters out there over the next few weeks. I hope you get to see this one. (upbeat music) And that's it for T-minus for September 27th, 2024, brought to you by N2K Cyberwire for additional resources from today's report. Check out our show notes at space.n2k.com. We'd love to know what you think of this podcast. Your feedback ensures we deliver the insights that keep you a step ahead in the rapidly changing space industry. If you like the show, please share a rating and review in your podcast app. Also, please fill out the survey in the show notes or send an email to space@n2k.com. We're privileged that N2K Cyberwire is part of the daily routine of the most influential leaders and operators in the public and private sector, from the Fortune 500 to many of the world's preeminent intelligence and law enforcement agencies. N2K makes it easy for companies to optimize your biggest investment, your people. We make you smarter about your teams while making your teams smarter. Learn how at N2K.com. This episode was produced by Alice Carruth. Our associate producer is Liz Stokes. We are mixed by Elliot Peltzman and Trey Hester with original music by Elliot Peltzman. Our executive producer is Jennifer Iben. Our executive editor is Brandon Karp. Simone Petrella is our president. Peter Kilby is our publisher. And I'm your host, Maria Varmazes. Thanks for listening. Have a wonderful weekend. (upbeat music) - T minus. - T minus. (thunder rumbling) [MUSIC]