Payload 🚀

The Space & Defense Update is LIVE from the @NYSE

@itsmoislam and @JackKuhr are joined today by:

– @Gedmark, CEO of @Astranis
– @ConnorLoveCA, General Partner at @a16z
– @daynagrayson, Co-Founder of @constructcap
– @e_h_obrien, Managing Editor of @tectonicdefense

We're digging into:

– Astranis' $468M credit facility from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, and how it ramps domestic satellite production and launches.

– a16z's American Dynamism push, and where the firm sees the biggest opportunities in defense, manufacturing, and the industrial base.

– Why Construct Capital is investing in foundational industries, and what it takes to rebuild them.

– Lessons from a week in Kyiv, and what Ukraine's front lines are teaching defense tech.

Comment if you love space and defense (help us share the show!) 👇

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.@CesiumAstro plans to build a 737-sat constellation—called Synchronicity. Now, it has $730M in fresh cash to get to work.

Payload's @vicky_woodburn spoke with CesiumAstro CEO @Shey_Sabripour at UP.SUMMIT to hear about the company's plans for the new capital. Link below.

OPINION: Russia has what it needs to build a jammer, or a spoofer, that can degrade or falsify ICEYE’s SAR imagery of Ukraine, significantly weakening the country’s (and allies’) capability to perform intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance.

Russia will most likely use the data collected during this close proximity mission to build and field such a capability within the next 12 months.

Shield Space CTO Dan Molland authored Payload's latest opinion piece, arguing that Russia's maneuver against an ICEYE satellite last month was likely part of an effort to deny ICEYE's overhead advantage in the Ukraine war. Read the full Op-ed on Payload, link below.

Amid a growing launch crunch, @AST_SpaceMobile ($ASTS) is building its own ride to space.

Today, the company announced it is building Blacklift, a 20-ton rocket designed to launch its BlueBird D2D satcom constellation to LEO.

Blackliftis targeting a first flight in late 2028, and will be powered by @FireflySpace's Miranda and Vira engines.

Payload's editor @jacqfeldscher has the details. Link in the comments.

The European space ecosystem is making rapid progress in building and deploying bodyguard satellites to protect critical assets in orbit.

On Wednesday, Swiss propulsion startup PAVE Space announced its plans to launch a demo mission of its IBEX spacecraft—designed as a highly maneuverable platform to host commercial and defense payloads—as early as February 2028.

Other startups—@Astroscale_UK, OSMOS X, Shield Space, and @lodestarspace—are a also nearing big milestones in the coming years.

In today's edition of Payload Europe, @Douglas__Gorman explores the drive behind Europe's new-found urgency to field defensive and offensive capabilities in space. Link to the story in the comments.