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The view from the upper stage of Firefly's Alpha rocket after deploying the Victus Nox satellite in orbit on Sept. 14, 2023. CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. But a few space insiders knew what was up: Firefly's Alpha rocket, carrying the Space Force's ambitious Victus Nox mission with a satellite built by Millennium. The trio of space organizations was targeting a seemingly absurd 24-hour launch timeline per the Space Force's rapid response goals. First, this was the third Alpha rocket that Firefly's launched.
Persons: CNBC's Michael Sheetz, Firefly's, Bill Weber, Vandenberg, Weber, , MLV, we'll Organizations: Alpha, CNBC's, Millennium, Safari, Space, Firefly, Northrop Grumman, Northrop Locations: Texas
The Austin-based rocket builder and in-space services company is close to announcing the closure of an oversubscribed capital raise, its CEO Bill Weber told CNBC's Manifest Space. Firefly can currently launch its medium-launch rocket, Alpha, every two months. "Alpha has a demand signature for the next three to four years, which is more than good enough for what we want to do with it," Weber told CNBC. Weber told CNBC the company is also in talks with the intelligence community about classified payloads. The macro environment, which has largely stunned public space companies, will help to decide timing.
Persons: Firefly's, Bill Weber, CNBC's, Weber, Morgan Brennan, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman Organizations: Firefly's Alpha, Vandenberg Space Force Base, Alpha, Firefly Aerospace, CNBC, Spaceflight Inc, Virgin Orbit, U.S . Space Force, Systems, NASA, Lockheed, Antares Locations: Austin, Austin , Texas, North Carolina, Ukraine, Russian
The Alpha rocket for the Space Force's Victus Nox mission stands on the launchpad at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The mission for the military's Los Angeles-based Space Safari team calls for flying a Millennium Space Systems-built satellite on Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket — on remarkably short notice. The Alpha rocket for the Space Force's Victus Nox mission stands on the launchpad at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Space Force selected Firefly and Millennium for the Victus Nox contract in October, setting off a chain of events starting with the build phase. Firefly's opportunitywatch nowFirefly originally planned to fly a NASA mission on its third Alpha rocket launch, after the company reached space with its second launch in October.
Venture investment in space startups has dropped 50% year-over-year in 2022 to $21.9 billion, according to VC firm Space Capital. Astra Space (ASTR.O), which ditched its small Rocket 3.3 for a planned, larger Rocket 4 in the next few years, has struggled to bring its stock price above $1, facing delisting threats from Nasdaq. Despite the startups' struggles, launch demand has soared after sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine cut off access to Russian rockets. Recent failures with Europe's Arianespace's Vega-C rocket have added to demand in the U.S., outstripping the number of available rockets. Private plans to deploy mega-constellations, vast swarms of satellites in low-Earth orbit, have also given launch startups hope for future demand.
The space company was valued at more than $1 billion when private equity firm AE Industrial Partners became its controlling shareholder in March. A FireFly spokesperson declined to comment when asked about the fundraising, as did a spokesperson for AE Industrial Partners. It is among a handful of U.S. space companies vying to launch small satellites into space. SpaceX's bigger Falcon 9 rocket costs $62 million and Rocket Lab's smaller Electron rocket costs $7 million. Venture capital investments in space companies fell 44% from a year earlier, according to a quarterly report from VC firm Space Capital.
Investing in Space: Rockets are only the beginning
  + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com   time to read: +3 min
CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. But the CEOs of these companies will tell you that tapping into the global launch market isn't enough. "The big space companies of the future are not just a launch company on its own or a spacecraft manufacturer on its own. Breaking into the launch market may seem hard (and expensive) enough on its own. Virgin Orbit is similarly developing a satellite business, which CEO Dan Hart told CNBC he hopes can "unlock" space-based services.
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