Top Reads
VC/PE

Sierra Space Closes $550M Series C

LuminArx Capital led the round, which valued the company at $8B.

LaunchTechnology

What to Expect from Starship V3

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced the first launch of Starship V3 was “about 4 weeks” away.

EOMilitary

Planet Labs Extends Middle East Space Imagery Restrictions

Planet Labs just proved that dual use doesn’t necessarily mean equal priority.

TechnologyVC/PE

Advanced Navigation Raises $110M Series C

Not many space companies want to reduce the world’s reliance on satellite infrastructure, but that’s the pitch that landed Australia-based Advanced Navigation a $110M Series C.

StartupsTechnologyVC/PE

Mantis Space Emerges from Stealth with $10M Seed

Mantis Space is aiming to bring power into the light—and now it has the money to do so. 

EuropeVC/PE

AIRMO Raises €5M For Methane Monitoring Sats

European space startup AIRMO closed a €5M ($5.8M) seed round to launch its first greenhouse-gas-monitoring satellite no earlier than next year, and to expand its drone and airplane monitoring into the Middle East market.

StartupsTechnologyVC/PE

Lux Aeterna Closes $10M Seed to Build Reusable Sats

Everybody loves a reusable rocket—so why has the rest of space hardware remained stubbornly single-use?

EuropeStartups

Inside Austria’s Small But Mighty Space Ecosystem

Austria’s space industry is in the midst of a renaissance, with bigger funding deals and more startup activity.

EuropeLaunch

HyImpulse Signs Launch Agreement with SaxaVord

The second suborbital flight of HyImpulse’s SR75 is expected to lift off from SaxaVord no earlier than Q3 2026.

BusinessEuropeInternational

NanoAvionics Lands Korean National Security Deal

For NanoAvionics, the deal represents the latest win in a strategy of global expansion— which has found an eager and willing partner in the South Korean space industry.

EuropeMilitary

Leonardo’s Missile-Defense Demo in Ukraine Aims To Be a Blueprint for Other Nations

Leonardo is positioning itself to become a mass distributor of space-enabled missile defense shields.

Latest Stories
BusinessTechnology

Nvidia Unveils New Hardware to Unlock Orbital Data Centers

Orbital data centers may be just over the horizon, but we’re starting to get a better picture of what they’ll look like when they arrive.

CivilLunar

Isaacman Plans Monthly Uncrewed Lunar Landings In 2027

“We are going to plus up for Moon base construction in a huge way,” said during an interview with Spaceflight Now that was released late Friday night. 

Military

A Recap of Payload’s Space Stage

Two days. Nine panels. Two dozen speakers—and that’s just the space content.

International

Who’s Working With China on Space?

“Africans don’t choose sides, at least for now…so these countries are typically not locked into one provider,” said Mustapha Iderawumi, a senior analyst at Space in Africa—a Lagos, Nigeria-based market research firm.

BusinessEOEurope

ICEYE Smashes Its Own Revenue Projections 

ICEYE’s results reveal a massively successful year for a business in the right place at the right time.

EuropeMilitaryPolicy

Q&A With Laurent Jaffart, ESA’s Director of Resilience, Navigation and Connectivity

Jaffart is leading the charge to build up ESA’s defensive posture. Payload chatted with him to hear his plans for the new role.

EquitiesLaunch

Firefly’s Alpha Rocket Reaches Orbit

Firefly Aerospace’s ($FLY) Alpha rocket flew the first leg of a redemption arc Wednesday night.

Pro

The Investment Theses Behind Vast and Sierra’s $500M+ Mega Rounds

One day, two $500M+ raises.
The post The Investment Theses Behind Vast and Sierra’s $500M+ Mega Rounds appeared first on Payload Pro.

Business

Anduril To Acquire ExoAnalytic

Anduril Industries announced this morning that it will acquire ExoAnalytic Solutions—a move that will double the neo prime’s space headcount. 

EquitiesLunar

Voyager Invests in Max Space, Projects 2026 Revenue Surge

Last month, Max Space and Voyager announced they would collaborate on the design of an expandable lunar habitat.

BusinessEuropeLunar

Astrobotic Wins Lunar Wheel Contract For Italian Habitat

The Pittsburgh, PA-based space firm won a contract of undisclosed value from Thales Alenia Space to contribute the wheels for Italy’s Multi-Purpose Habitation. 

InternationalLaunch

Space One Rocket Fails Third Consecutive Flight

Japan’s dream of setting up reliable commercial access to orbit suffered a major setback this week.