Field of View (FOV) - May 2024 (2024)

Approach Venture was formed to enable founding teams building the future of frontier technology to achieve their full potential. Today, Approach supports frontier technology companies ranging from stealth to publicly-traded, strategics with technology scouting and venture capitalists looking to participate in their growth potential.

Please join us in welcoming Colin Johnson to Approach Venture!

Connect with Approach to discuss how our team might be able to support your Company’s growth.

Samara Aerospace is Reimagining Satellite Design.

Co-founded by former Blue Canyon Spacecraft and Planet GNC engineers, Samara Aerospace is changing the way satellites are built with their radically efficient Hummingbird satellite bus. Enabled by the Company’s patented Multifunctional Structures for Attitude Control (MSAC) technology, Hummingbird is slimmer, lighter, easier to produce, and easier to launch, while providing next-level agility and stability.

This means faster and cheaper deployment of constellations, better imagery, and faster data. Unlike traditional control systems, MSAC can be effectively scaled to ultra-large spacecraft without taking a hit to agility.

Connect with Samara directly, here.

Emerging Trends

As access to space increases and launch costs decrease, space companies are entering the market with missions and product roadmaps catered towards their visions of the ideal buildout of in-space infrastructure. Below contains this month’s emerging trends to keep an eye on as the space economy evolves.

How Low Can You Go.

Thousands of functional satellites, pieces of space debris and rocket bodies produced by space-faring companies and countries comprise the assets operating in low Earth orbit (LEO) today. When satellites reach end of life (most commonly resulting from no propellant left in their propellant tank to fuel the propulsion system), they ideally de-orbit to Earth’s atmosphere to burn up and avoid leaving space debris in LEO; this isn’t always the case as companies like LeoLabs and Privateer prove in their open access, space tracking platforms.

DARPA is the DoD’s marker mover in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) and has been for quite some time although VLEO is resurfacing in headlines again. The organization has interest in advancing capabilities to develop air-breathing spacecraft and propulsion systems able to operate on air in order to unlock sustained national security missions at altitudes as low as 90 km. As one could imagine, being closer to Earth and below a contested and congested LEO environment has many advantages for dual-use applications like communication, observation and more. While optical resolution scales inversely with distance, the signal quality improvement for active EO payloads scales even more favorably, resulting in improvements by as much as an order of magnitude.

Satellite broadband communication services can also be tremendously improved from VLEO, as the closer vantage will enable robust direct-to-cell communication (October 2023 FOV Emerging Trend). One specific challenge to economical flight in VLEO is overcoming atmospheric drag without quickly depleted propellant supplies. Air-breathing Electric Propulsion (ABEP) provides a solution by ingesting the air and utilizing it as propellant in a plasma thruster. This allows a satellite to maintain VLEO without ever running out of propellant. Outside of publicly traded organizations like Redwire (NYSE: RDW), Approach has recently recognized an uptick in early-stage companies building VLEO-focused spacecraft and subsystems.

Growing Hypersonic Supply Chains.

As hypersonic technologies remain at the forefront of Joint Service R&D and acquisition priorities, the defense industrial base is shifting technology products to serve the growing demand for hypersonic systems. Companies that traditionally produce advanced materials, propulsion, aerostructures, avionics, or computational modelling capabilities are shifting their product suites to specifically accommodate hypersonic systems. While many hypersonic platforms remain years from routine operations and flight, a resilient supply base is needed to support the design, analysis, manufacturing, test, and production of these defense critical systems.

Connect with Approach to discuss Emerging Trends resulting from our industry insights.

Stealth Spotlight 🔦

Stealth Company plans to revolutionize the field of Earth observation by delivering the highest commercially available spatial resolution at 10 cm. By launching a constellation of satellites in very low Earth orbit (VLEO), twice as close to Earth as current Earth observation satellites, Stealth Company plans to significantly reduce the optical sensor mass and cost, making ultra-high resolution satellite imagery feasible for commercial use. Stealth Company’s vision is to make ultra-high resolution satellite imagery accessible and affordable to everyone, driving innovation and informed decision-making across various sectors.

Space Sector Select Contracts Update

Brought to you by one of the space industry’s leading investment banking teams located in New York City, Deutsche Bank.

Regulatory Rundown

Our rapid-growth space economy is gaining more visibility across the globe. Regulatory Rundown covers select space policies, evolving legislation updates, licensing requirements and top stories involving regulatory bodies.

On May 2nd, the FCC’s Space Bureau published a public notice seeking comments to refresh the record on proposed rules related to orbital debris mitigation, which were last updated in 2020. On May 29th, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel proposed the addition of a specific, quantitative metric that would require spacecraft operators applying for an FCC license to assess and limit the probability of debris-generating accidental explosions during and after mission operations to be less than 1 in 1,000 (.001%) for each satellite.

On May 17th, President Biden signed the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 into law, which included Rep. Mike Collins’ (R-GA) amendment to H.R. 3935 which ensures that a process exists for high-speed aircraft manufacturers and operators to engage in flight testing. In addition to collaborative studies on high-speed aircraft operations between the FAA, NASA and the Secretary of Defense, this provision could lead to the establishment of high-speed testing corridors within the national airspace system. We covered several advanced high-speed (defined in the new law as operating at speeds in excess of Mach 1, which includes both supersonic and hypersonic technologies) intra-atmospheric flight development programs in our April 2024 FOV newsletter, including Georgia-headquartered Hermeus.

On May 22nd, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) voted to approve its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY2025, clearing the way for the bill to receive a full vote on the House floor. Among hundreds of amendments included in the proposed $850 billion funding package, the bill seeks to establish the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve (CASR), which would allow the DoD to enter into agreements with private sector companies so that commercial space hardware and services could be utilized for military training operations as well as real world operations. CASR is a core tenet of the Space Force’s Commercial Space Strategy, which was released in April 2024. The Senate has scheduled markup hearings for its version of the NDAA to begin on June 12th.

This month’s Field of View is presented by Argo Space.

Argo Space Corp is building the next step for in-space transportation, making it easier and more affordable than ever to reach beyond-LEO destinations.

Argo is developing reusable spacecraft that carry customer payloads to GEO and cislunar space all the way from LEO. Argo’s refuellable spacecraft provides affordable, high-deltaV logistics and maneuver using water as propellant. Argo will harvest water from the Lunar surface to use as propellant, creating a true commercial use case for the Moon.

Connect with Argo for additional information on space transportation, Lunar water, or joining their growing engineering team in Hermosa Beach, CA! Learn more at www.argospace.com or by emailing the Company’s COO: [emailprotected].

Force Multiplier

A commonly referenced term within the DoD, a force multiplier is a tool, strategy or person that, when added to or employed by a team, significantly increases mission success and team potential. Each month, you’ll find select force multipliers enabling space companies to level up as they look to scale.

Founded in 2020, TrustPoint is on a mission to provide resilient GPS for the automated and augmented world. TrustPoint is developing a fully commercial next-generation Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to provide significant performance, security and reliability improvements for GPS users. In addition to other impressive space portfolio companies he supports and guides, Chuck Beames has identified TrustPoint’s leadership team and PNT use cases / applications as his next project.

A STRATFI (strategic funding increase) is an incredibly powerful contract which combines government funding and venture capital investment - facelifting a Company’s active backlog and private investment, overnight.

Headquartered in Kent, Washington, Starfish Space has secured $37.5mm in DoD funding (awarded by SSC/AATS) to develop, launch and operate their Otter satellite servicing vehicle in GEO by 2026. The Company received a $30mm match from venture capitalists bringing their STRATFI total to $67.5mm. Colonel Bulson, SSC/AATS Deputy Director of Operations, Servicing and Maneuver, explained Starfish’s spacecraft will demonstrate augmented maneuver options for satellites.

Widely-known and respected for inventing the Apple computer and Co-Founding Apple, Steve Wozniak’s space startup which was founded in 2021, announced a $56.5mm funding round with uses of funds including an acquisition of Orbital Insight. Post acquisition, the teams will work to integrate Orbital Insight's TerraScope analytics platform with Privateer's Wayfinder data engine.

Outside of combining two companies focused on tracking objects in different domains (Privateer for space and Orbital Insight on Earth) to form an end-to-end solution for customers, what we’re interested to see is if / how Tier I investors like Lux Capital and Sequoia from Orbital Insight’s Cap Table continue to support the combined entity.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) Announces T2TL-Beta Subcontractors.

As part of Rocket Lab’s $515mm contract award in support of Space Development Agency’s Tranche 2 Transport Layer (T2TL) Beta program, the team announced subcontractor down-selection of CesiumAstro, Mynaric, SEAKR Engineering, Collins Aerospace, Redwire Space (NYSE: RDW) and Parsons Corporation.

As part of T2TL Beta, Rocket Lab will design, develop, manufacture, test and operate 18 satellites for communications and missile tracking. The constellation will feature multi-beam Ka-band comms, optimal comms terminals and advanced software-defined radios. This mission is projected to launch mid-2027.

Andreas Winther Rousing recently departed Outpost as Director of Spacecraft where he focused on re-usable satellites to serve as VP of Technology with Lunasonde, focused on autonomous mineral detection. Prior to joining Outpost, Andreas served as Mission Program Manager at Hedron. Lunasonde’s roadmap is split into five phases spanning from on Earth and LEO testing (Phase 0) through mining in space (Phase IV).

Seraphim Space Selects Start-ups for Mission 13 Accelerator Program

Tracked Opportunities

Approach Venture is tracking many active federal solicitations for funding space and defense capabilities. Below is an illustrative list of opportunities on our radar that you should also be tracking.

To identify and receive proposal support for opportunities tied to advancing your respective roadmap, Connect with Approach.

Founder Tip

Attractive business development pipelines expedite early-stage investor due diligence.

Potential investors need to see strong business development traction before entrusting you with their capital to build out a team / product to penetrate an existing market. For early-stage companies looking to prove product-market fit and commercial / government interest in their respective roadmap and products (helping point to revenue generation and related timing), the best way to communicate this is by effectively documenting your customer discussions, outreach and formalizing their interest where possible (i.e. letters of support, letters of intent, collaborative agreements, etc.). Relatedly, if a VC recognizes an ongoing dialogue with an existing portfolio company of theirs, this could assist in framing potential synergies, help with technical DD and also alleviate any competition concerns.

Did You Know?

The industry’s most used liquid propellant, hydrazine, is not produced at all in the United States and is sourced from a combination of South Korea, Germany and France?