Axelspace Holdings Corporation has completed its Series D funding round, raising approximately USD 44.0 million (JPY 6.24 billion). The round sees the allocation of new shares to SMBC-GB Growth I Investment Limited Partnership, several other venture capitals, and corporate investors. Furthermore, it brings the cumulative amount of equity financing to approximately JPY 14.3 billion.

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. has successfully launched its 42nd Electron rocket and deployed a satellite for Japan-based Earth imaging company the Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (iQPS). The mission was Rocket Lab’s 10th Electron launch for the year, surpassing the Company’s previous annual record of nine launches in 2022. As a result of the launch, Electron retains the title of the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually for the fifth year in a row.

The Peregrine Lunar Lander is set to land on Christmas eve. It intends to touch down on a region of ancient lunar lava flows, Sinus Viscositatis, the Bay of Stickiness. This will be the first mission to launch under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. It will lift off on the first flight of the United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket.

The Ariane 6 Launcher Task Force held an eagerly expected media briefing on 30 November 2023. It provided credible reassurances and a reasonably optimistic way forward for the beleaguered program. The Task Force is crucial in guiding Ariane 6 toward the intended summer 2024 maiden launch. A replay is available here  and a brief ESA update here. This briefing was as much interesting for what was clearly indicated, as it was for what remained unsaid. Let’s review the facts.

Two major space events took place in South-Korea in November 2023: Space Forum Korea, hosted by the South-Korean government, in close cooperation with the US and major ASEAN economies. And an International Workshop on Space Resources with Perspectives of Emerging Space Programs, hosted by the Secure World Foundation, an American NGO. Then, on the first day of December 2023, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the country’s first spy satellite into orbit, from California’s Vandenberg Space Force base, just one month after North Korea had launched its own. Let’s review these events in context, and draw some observations on the global standing of South-Korea as an Emerging Space Country.

LiveEO has announced the successful first closing of its next financing round, securing $10 million to enable its headstart in the deforestation compliance market. This achievement reflects the confidence of the Company's existing investors, despite challenging market conditions, and the commitment of its new partner, the greentech VC Greencode Ventures, to its shared vision of a sustainable future.

by Christophe Bosquillon   At most conferences, there’s always the excuse of a plane to catch if you want to skip that last lunch keynote address. In the case of the latest von Braun Space Symposium thou, it would have been ill-advised. Mike Griffin delivered a compelling call to arms …

The Maine Space Conference took place in-person and online on November 5-7, 2023, in Portland, Maine. This event marked a significant milestone for the state (a video summary can be watched here). Maine is a state on the US northeastern coast that shares borders with Canada: quite convenient to reach polar orbits. While contemporary Maine might not strike you as a “space state” like of Florida, Texas, or Colorado, it turns out the countrie's industrial and technological base is positioned to be a growing contributor to the US and global space economy

“Strategic Autonomy“is a bit like “Diversity”: you can keep repeating all day that mantra for space access, but that alone doesn’t make it happen. How much of a game changer  was the early November 2023 European Space Summit in Séville?

The 2023 edition of the legendary von Braun Space Exploration Symposium took place on October 25-27 2023 in the regular location, Huntsville, Alabama (recordings of sessions are available here). Its focus however was interestingly unusual: “Advancing Space: from LEO to Lunar and Beyond” featured a diverse program covering commercial, policy, and strategic communication concerns.