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☆ A new Blue Origin: CEO Dave Limp is bringing urgency and ‘decisiveness’ to Jeff Bezos’ space company
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-05 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp, left, and founder Jeff Bezos look up at a New Glenn rocket on at the company's LC-36 facility in Florida. Blue OriginDave Limp had only one question for Jeff Bezos when he interviewed last year to become CEO of Blue Origin, the billionaire's space venture. "Jeff felt that [Blue Origin] needed manufacturing expertise; it needed decisiveness; it need a little bit of energy," Limp said. CEO Dave Limp, third from the left, with Blue Origin employees at the company's New Glenn facility in Florida. In the mission's place, Blue Origin will fly a demonstration of its spacecraft Blue Ring on the first New Glenn launch.

Persons: Dave Limp, Jeff Bezos, Jeff, Limp, Bezos, It's, I'm, New Glenn, Allen Parker, Jennifer Pena, Leanos, Ian Richardson, Tim Collins, it's, Origin's, ULA, Paul Hennessy, Glenn, We've, Starliner, Shepard, Blue, let's Organizations: Glenn, Florida ., Amazon, CNBC, Blue, SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, Lab, Firefly Aerospace, Company, NASA, Amazon Devices, Flexport, Vulcan, Cape Canaveral Space Force, Anadolu, Getty, New Glenn, Falcon, Shepard, National Security, Washington , D.C Locations: Florida, New, Mars, Seattle, Kent , Washington, Texas , Florida, Alabama, ULA, West Texas, Cape Canaveral , Florida, Glenn, Washington ,, Huntsville , Alabama, Cape Canaveral , Texas

☆ Investing in Space: How bankers read a potential sale of rocket builder ULA
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. It's been widely reported over the last year that ULA parent companies Boeing and Lockheed Martin are considering offloading the rocket business. That's despite the successful debut of ULA's Vulcan rocket in early January, which I assumed would galvanize a sale. In the meantime, I've been curious to understand how ULA's sale is likely to play out. Boeing and Lockheed Martin are, and have been, looking to sell the rocket business for some time.

Persons: CNBC's Michael Sheetz, It's, Lockheed Martin, ULA, Tory Bruno, Jeff Bezos, hasn't, I've, it's Organizations: Boeing, Lockheed, Origin, Textron, SpaceX, U.S ., Glenn, Vulcan Locations: ULA

☆ U.S. lunar company's inaugural mission falls short of moon landing after spacecraft malfunction
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-09 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander is seen during preparations for launch near NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic's inaugural lunar mission suffered a malfunction shortly after launch, and the company is calling off the landing attempt. It would have been the first U.S. moon landing in more than 50 years. The company suspects the malfunction was a failure within the spacecraft's propulsion system, causing a leak that is quickly draining the vehicle of fuel. However, after activating its propulsion system, Peregrine suffered an issue and began tumbling.

Persons: Astrobotic, Peregrine Organizations: NASA's Kennedy Space Center, NASA Locations: NASA's, Florida . Pittsburgh, U.S, Cape Canaveral , Florida

☆ Space Force awards $2.5 billion in rocket contracts to SpaceX and ULA for 21 launches
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launches on its mission with a classified payload for the U.S. Space Force at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Nov. 1, 2022. The U.S. Space Force assigned 21 rocket launches to SpaceX and United Launch Alliance, worth about $2.5 billion in total, the military branch told CNBC. Space Force expanded the NSSL Phase 2 program significantly since naming SpaceX and ULA as its two launch providers in 2020. Space Force had previously announced that of mission assignments, 60% would go to ULA and 40% to SpaceX. The final Phase 2 assignments come as Space Force prepares to ramp up the NSSL program even further with Phase 3.

Persons: Lockheed Martin, Doug Pentecost, ULA, Elon, Pentecost, SpaceX's, ULA's Vulcan Organizations: SpaceX, Heavy, U.S . Space Force, Space Systems Command, Boeing, Lockheed, Falcon, Force's, Systems Command, Tuesday, United Launch Alliance, CNBC, USSF, Space Force, CNBC PRO Locations: Cape Canaveral , Florida, ULA, U.S

☆ Bezos snubbed Musk's SpaceX for huge satellite launch contract, Amazon shareholder says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

An Amazon shareholder lawsuit says the company snubbed SpaceX for valuable satellite launch contracts because of Jeff Bezos' personal rivalry with Elon Musk , who has taunted his fellow billionaire's space ambitions for years. Last year, Amazon announced what it called the biggest rocket deal in the commercial space industry's history, signing launch contracts with United Launch Alliance (ULA), Arianespace, and Bezos' Blue Origin. Blue Origin has yet to provide a statement in response to CNBC's request for comment on the lawsuit. In January 2022, the suit says Bezos' team told the Amazon audit committee that two contracts had been fully negotiated with Blue Origin and ULA. "Bezos, it must be assumed, could not swallow his pride to seek his bitter rival's help to launch Amazon's satellites," the suit adds.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bezos, –, Andy Jassy, Eisenhofer, Origin's, ULA Organizations: SpaceX, Tesla, Origin, Cleveland Bakers, Teamsters Pension Fund, Amazon, Elon, United Launch, CNBC, CB, Blue, FCC, Foods Locations: Delaware, New York

☆ Investing in Space: Here are the rockets chasing to compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

SpaceXCNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. Overview: Chasing the FalconNo rocket has been better-described as a "workhorse" than SpaceX's Falcon 9. Aside from Blue Origin's New Glenn, the early theme is rockets that are close to the capability of Falcon 9 and less expensive. – CNBC, which the lawsuit says were used for NASA projects including the International Space Station and the Space Launch Systems rocket. – Firefly Aerospace: The rocket builder says the deal will bolster its launch, spacecraft, and lunar lander businesses.

Persons: CNBC's Michael Sheetz, Phil Smith, SpaceX's, Glenn, Smith, –, Smith doesn't, CNBC ULA, Tory Bruno, Jeff Bezos, ULA, – Read, Shepard, Bob Smith, Jim Free, Artemis, HawkEye, – Hydrosat, Leonardo DiCaprio, – Momentus, Westinghouse EchoStar's Hughes, – EchoStar, Iris Lan, Sumara Thompson, King, Lan, – NASA Celeste Ford, Ford, – SpiderOak Melissa Quinn, Quinn Organizations: SpaceX CNBC's, SpaceX, Falcon, Boeing, NASA, CNBC, CNBC Department of Defense, Ukraine, Starlink, Pentagon, –, Space Station, Systems, CNBC SpaceX, Cargo, International Space, FAA, Intelsat, Japan Airlines, Embraer, – Intelsat, Rocket, ONE, Washington, Spaceflight, Aerospace, Aerospace Spacecraft, York, MaC Venture Capital, Broom Ventures, Veto, TechCrunch Viasat, Air Force, Viasat, Westinghouse, U.S . Department of Justice, – NASA, Ford, Stellar Solutions Locations: Florida, China, Russia, Colorado, Ukrainian, Bellevue , Washington, Cortado, Cornwall

☆ Space Force is taking a 'mutual fund approach' to buying rocket launches
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Earlier this month the Space Force kicked off the process to buy five years worth of launches, under a lucrative program known as National Security Space Launch Phase 3. The U.S. military is preparing to buy another round of rocket launches from companies next year, and Space Force leadership says they're taking a new "mutual fund approach" to the acquisition strategy. But, with a number of companies bringing rockets to market, Space Force is splitting NSSL Phase 3 into two groups for about 70 launches. Space Force leadership named several companies that can now compete in the dual-track process, including Rocket Lab , Relativity and ABL Space. Separately, Space Force is closely watching the growing demand for commercial launches.

☆ Investing in Space: Looking up in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | 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. After ending on a bit of a downer ("A year to forget for space stocks"), I'm entering 2023 with what feels like contrarian optimism. The space industry is chock full of opportunities and milestones to look forward to over the next twelve months, as the market for 21st century space companies continues to evolve and mature. Here are the top three space business news items I'm watching for and, shocker, all three are about getting to orbit. Space companies that are beyond the development phase and are expanding could distinguish themselves with investors as a discounted opportunity in a shifting market.

☆ Amazon is switching the rockets used to launch the first 2 of more than 3,000 satellites, delaying lift-off until 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Stephen Jones | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon is switching the rockets used to carry the first of its two Project Kuiper satellites. Amazon originally scheduled the launch for late 2022 but said lift-off will now be in early 2023. A rival to SpaceX's Starlink, Project Kuiper is Amazon's project that involves building a network of more than 3,200 low-orbit satellites to provide a global broadband network. The two prototype satellites will be used to run tests, ahead of the first commercial launches of Amazon's production version of the satellites. ABL president, Dan Piemont, told CNBC on Wednesday, that the company finished work on a custom spacecraft for Project Kuiper earlier this year.

☆ Amazon shifts prototype internet satellites to ULA rocket for 2023 launch
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Amazon (AMZN.O) will launch its first two prototype satellites for a planned internet-from-space constellation in early 2023 using a new rocket from the Boeing-Lockheed (BA.N)(LMT.N) joint venture United Launch Alliance, the companies said Wednesday. Rocket development delays with launch startup ABL Space Systems, which was initially poised to launch the two Amazon satellites by late this year, prompted Amazon to hop aboard ULA's new Vulcan rocket instead as a secondary payload. Amazon has not said when it plans to launch those first operational satellites. ABL built a custom launch adapter and finished other custom work for the Kuiper satellites earlier this year, the company's president Dan Piemont told Reuters in an email. "That work is continuing for future Kuiper launches," he added.

☆ Amazon changes rockets for launch of prototype Kuiper internet satellites, pushing mission to 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

From left: Artist renderings of the launches of an RS1 rocket and a Vulcan rocket. Amazon is swapping rides for the first prototype satellites for its Project Kuiper internet network, the company announced on Wednesday, a move that delays launching the pair of spacecraft to early next year. Instead, the Amazon satellites will hitch a ride on the first launch of ULA's Vulcan, which is planned for the first quarter. Amazon isn't ditching ABL entirely, however, saying it plans to retain two launches with the rocket company for future missions. He also emphasized that ABL has a backlog of missions from customers including the U.S. Space Force and Lockheed Martin.

☆ Jeff Bezos' knowledge of rockets blew United Launch Alliance's chief away during their initial meeting, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-06-23 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Jeff Bezos astonished ULA boss Tory Bruno with his rocket knowledge, per The Washington Post. Bruno told The Post that Bezos was "the real deal" and wasn't faking it. Bezos' Blue Origin and Bruno's ULA agreed in 2014 to build rocket engines but delays have occurred. Bruno told the newspaper that he and Bezos "hit it off right away." Since the agreement in 2014, the relationship between Blue Origin and ULA has reportedly been rocky.

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