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Kam Ghaffarian, co-founder and chairman of Axiom Space Inc., speaks during an interview at the company's headquarters in Houston, Texas, U.S., on Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. IBX's Kam Ghaffarian wants to go even further: the stars. Ghaffarian has been instrumental in ushering in the new space economy, having co-founded and invested in a cadre of commercial space ventures. Unlike other high-profile billionaires building commercial space companies, Ghaffarian made his fortune through the space industry, and rather than focusing on access to space, he's leveraging those falling costs to build out infrastructure and business activities in space. Ghaffarian believes the space economy will be worth trillions of dollars — and sooner than many realize.

Persons: Kam Ghaffarian, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Elon Musk, IBX's Kam Ghaffarian, CNBC's Morgan Brennan, Ghaffarian, Odysseus, he's, We've, Jeff, Bezos, we've, Morgan Brennan, it's Organizations: Space, International, Elon, Technologies, NASA, KBR, SpaceX Locations: Houston , Texas, U.S, Colorado Springs, Iran

Amid preparations for its spaceplane's maiden flight and an initial public offering as soon as next year, Sierra Space is expanding its satellite offerings. "We've actually been waiting for six months, so it's like, this [name], we really thought about it," Tom Vice, Sierra Space chief executive said in an interview for CNBC's "Manifest Space" podcast. Valued at $5.3 billion as of September, Sierra Space was spun out of defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation three years ago. Sierra Space touts a diverse space and defense tech portfolio spanning space transportation, space habitation, propulsion and satellites. It's perhaps best known for its NASA-contracted, reusable spaceplane Dream Chaser which will run cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station and eventually carry humans to and from orbit.

Persons: We've, Tom Vice, Eren, Jeff Bezos Organizations: Space, Sierra Space, Sierra Nevada Corporation, Fatih, NASA, International Space Station, Pentagon, U.S, FAA

That's what Spire Global is betting on in its recently announced partnership with AI darling Nvidia . Twelve-year old Spire Global is in the radio frequency sensing business, operating a satellite constellation that collects space-based radio frequency data that can be analyzed and sold as a service. Nonetheless, "at this point in time there is no immediate economic flow from Nvidia to Spire or vice versa," he noted. Spire Global, a small capitalization stock that went public through a SPAC merger in 2021, shot up roughly 40% in response. Spire Global forecasts achieving positive free cash flow this summer, or by the third quarter of 2024.

Persons: Peter Platzer, CNBC's Morgan Brennan, Morgan Brennan, Platzer, Jensen Huang Organizations: Spire Global, Nvidia, Nvidia's

☆ ULA targets Christmas Eve for inaugural Vulcan rocket launch, CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Simona Riccardi | In Sriccardi | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

United Launch Alliance plans to launch the inaugural flight of its Vulcan rocket on Christmas Eve, CEO Tory Bruno told CNBC's Morgan Brennan on Tuesday. The Vulcan rocket for the Cert-1 mission stands at SLC-41 during testing in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on May 12, 2023. ULA's path to the first Vulcan launch faced several delays earlier this year, including the explosion of an engine during testing by its supplier Blue Origin, previously reported by CNBC. Following the incident, Bruno told CNBC in a "Manifest Space" podcast interview that the company still planned to fly its heavy-lift rocket by late 2023. The company added a massive contract to launch Amazon's Kuiper satellites to its previously government-heavy backlog for Vulcan.

Persons: ULA, Lockheed Martin —, Bruno, Tory Bruno, CNBC's Morgan Brennan, Vulcan's, ramping, — CNBC's Morgan Brennan, Michael Sheetz Organizations: Boeing, Lockheed, CNBC Technology, Summit, United Launch Alliance, Vulcan, Cert, SLC, CNBC Locations: Cape Canaveral , Florida

U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall does not shy away from commenting on controversy — even as it relates to the world's richest person and a key Department of Defense contractor. The Air Force works with the company on a variety of missions, such as national security launches, but did not play a role in the use of Starlink in Ukraine when Musk made the decision last September. I think they were definitely donating their services essentially, so they had discretion," Kendall said in an interview with CNBC's Morgan Brennan from the Air Force Association's annual Air, Space & Cyber conference. The Pentagon now has a contract with SpaceX for Starlink services in Ukraine. We write agreements with those businesses, they get us what we need at a reasonable cost," said the Air Force secretary.

Persons: Frank Kendall, Kendall, Elon Musk, Sen, Elizabeth Warren, Musk, CNBC's Morgan Brennan, Morgan Brennan, Walter Isaacson's, Elon, — Organizations: Air Force, of Defense, SpaceX, The Air Force, Pentagon, SpaceX — Locations: Ukraine, Starlink

The Vulcan rocket for the Cert-1 mission stands at SLC-41 during testing in Cape Canaveral, Florida, May 12, 2023. United Launch Alliance still plans to fly its heavy-lift Vulcan rocket by late 2023 — despite suffering a mishap earlier this year after an engine exploded during testing. CNBC previously reported that one of Blue Origin's BE-4 engines, ordered for ULA's second Vulcan rocket launch, detonated last month. United Launch Alliance, the joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing , is one of two key launch partners for the satellite project, in addition to Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origin. Once United Launch Alliance successfully conducts its first two Vulcan missions, the U.S. Space Force will consider clearing the heavy rocket for national security launches.

Persons: —, Origin's, ULA, Tory Bruno, Bruno, Lockheed Martin, Jeff Bezos, Morgan Brennan, Vulcan Organizations: Cert, SLC, United Launch Alliance, CNBC, Vulcan, Kennedy Space Center, Lockheed, Boeing, U.S . Space Force, SpaceX, National Reconnaissance Organization, Space Force Locations: Cape Canaveral , Florida, U.S, ULA, China

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

"I decided where the business is, is in space," Mueller said in an interview with CNBC's "Manifest Space" podcast. Mueller started Impulse Space in 2021 and is building space tugs that can move with cargo to different orbits. So far, Impulse Space has raised $30 million in seed funding from investors such as Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and Lux Capital. But that pedigree doesn't mean Impulse is closed off to other startups in the space space – including rocket makers. Earlier this month Vast Space, which is building a commercial space habitat, selected Impulse to develop the Haven-1 Space Station's propulsion system.

Persons: Elon Musk, Tom Mueller, Mueller, Peter Thiel's, Mira, Morgan Brennan, Merlin, Musk Organizations: SpaceX, Fund, Lux Capital, Tesla, PayPal, TRW, CNBC Locations: Haven

Axiom Space recently completed its second human spaceflight mission traveling to and from the International Space Station via a SpaceX Dragon Capsule. CNBC's "Manifest Space" podcast sat down with the retired NASA astronaut to discuss her return to space, the commercialization of human spaceflight and her outlook on the private space economy. You're back at the space station, you're somebody who's commanded the space station, you've been there multiple times before. And a part of being a NASA astronaut, I had many experiences where we trade responsibilities in command. And although I was a farm kid and a farm girl, I didn't really know if that would ever be an option for me.

Persons: Peggy Whitson, She's, Whitson, Morgan Brennan, who's, you've, You've, who've, it's, followership, Neil Armstrong Organizations: NASA, Kennedy Space Center, International Space, SpaceX, Soyuz, Space Locations: Saudi Arabia, United States, Cape Canaveral , Florida, U.S

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