Aria Alamalhodaei, Author at TechCrunch

Max Q: SpaceX’s mega-rocket for the moon and Mars goes farther than ever before

Aria Alamalhodaei — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 23:00:38 +0000

In this issue: More on Starship's second launch, news from Blackshark.ai and more

5 investors have high hopes for defense tech amid growing venture interest

Aria Alamalhodaei — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 20:30:05 +0000

It is likely not an overstatement to say that the relationship between U.S. defense and Silicon Valley is undergoing its most profound transformation since the 1950s.

SpaceX launches Starship for the second time, going farther than ever before

Aria Alamalhodaei — Sat, 18 Nov 2023 13:12:48 +0000

SpaceX flew Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, for the second time today – and even though both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage had to be blown up in mid-air, it was still a huge success for the company best known for taking a rapidly iterative approach to hardware development.

How to watch SpaceX launch Starship for a second time live

Aria Alamalhodaei — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 15:18:12 +0000

In less than 24 hours, SpaceX will attempt to launch Starship to space for the second time. The official launch window opens at 7:00 AM CST on Saturday and lasts for just 20 minutes — and no, that’s not a typo. SpaceX will start its live webcast tomorrow around 35 minutes prior to liftoff and […]

Musk: SpaceX now aiming for Saturday for Starship’s second flight test

Aria Alamalhodaei — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 20:31:48 +0000

SpaceX has officially pushed back the second orbital flight test of Starship by one day, to Saturday, CEO Elon Musk confirmed on X. Rumors about the push-back started to swirl after onsite news organizations, like NASASpaceFlight, observed a massive crawler crane headed to the launch site. That machine is used to stack (and destack) Starship, […]

Despite setbacks, ispace to launch second moon mission in Q4 2024

Aria Alamalhodaei — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 20:14:30 +0000

Japanese lunar technology company ispace will make its second attempt at putting a lander on the moon in the fourth quarter of 2024, just about two years after it launched its first failed mission, executives said Thursday. ispace launched its first lunar lander mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in December 2022. The lander, called […]

Go for launch: SpaceX receives regulatory green light for second Starship flight

Aria Alamalhodaei — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 21:22:46 +0000

Regulators have given SpaceX the green light to launch its super massive Starship rocket for a second time, just a few days shy of seven months after the first orbital flight test that ended in a spectacular mid-air explosion. SpaceX — which has been on standby for this final launch approval — will attempt the […]

SPAC delays $350M merger with stratospheric balloon startup World View – again

Aria Alamalhodaei — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 13:40:36 +0000

The special purpose acquisition company poised to take stratospheric balloon startup World View public is now under official deadline as shareholders voted to again push back the date by which it must complete the deal. World View, which was founded a decade ago, was originally focused on using a fleet of stratospheric balloons to provide […]

Morpheus Space developed a space mission design platform so intuitive even I could use it

Aria Alamalhodaei — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 00:15:39 +0000

In-space propulsion developer Morpheus Space unveiled its first software product today, a mission simulation and design platform called Journey. The product has been under development for almost two years, Morpheus’ product manager Jim Gianakopoulos said in a recent interview (and a recent product walk-through). It was borne out of the typical thruster sales process: customers […]

Joby, Volocopter fly electric air taxis over New York City

Aria Alamalhodaei — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 18:58:03 +0000

Joby Aviation and Volocopter gave the public a vivid glimpse of what the future of aviation might look like this weekend, with both companies performing brief demonstration flights of their electric aircraft in New York City. The demonstration flights were conducted during a press conference on Sunday, during which New York City Mayor Eric Adams […]

Launch contracts are “basically worthless” until a rocket is proven and flying, Rocket Lab CEO says

Aria Alamalhodaei — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 22:33:31 +0000

Rocket Lab is waiting until Neutron is more technically mature before signing launch contracts with customers, CEO Peter Beck told investors on Wednesday. The statements provided an inside look on how the space company is thinking about bringing the Neutron next-gen launch vehicle to market – and the lessons learned from selling its first rocket, […]

European Space Agency signs agreement with Starlab developers to secure ongoing access to low Earth orbit

Aria Alamalhodaei — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 20:43:23 +0000

The European Space Agency has signed a new agreement with the developers of the Starlab commercial space station, with the aim of establishing a “sustained access to space for Europe,” the groups said in a statement. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) between ESA, Voyager Space and Airbus Defense and Space will initially focus on how […]

Astra founders propose purchasing outstanding stock to take space company private

Aria Alamalhodaei — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 13:54:42 +0000

Astra founders Chris Kemp and Adam London have proposed taking the company private, with the two saying they would acquire all the outstanding stock themselves, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday. Kemp, who is chairman and CEO, and London, chief technology officer, offered to purchase the outstanding stock at […]

Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle ‘fully’ booked next year, will resume flight as early as November-end

Aria Alamalhodaei — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 23:25:29 +0000

Rocket Lab is best known for the Electron launch vehicle, but the company’s earnings results continue to show that it is much more than a rocket company. The company reported $68 million in revenue for the third quarter, with $46.3 million of that figure coming from its space systems division. (That’s a 17% revenue increase […]

Virgin Galactic cuts staff by 18% to support production of next-gen spaceships

Aria Alamalhodaei — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 13:17:22 +0000

Virgin Galactic is cutting costs and reducing staff by 18% as it looks to scale production of its next-gen line of suborbital spaceplanes. In a memo to staff sent Tuesday, Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said that uncertainty in capital markets and geopolitical unrest have made “near-term access to capital much less favorable.” That’s not […]

Astra secures new debt agreement with assets as collateral

Aria Alamalhodaei — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 20:13:33 +0000

Astra has been thrown a critical lifeline in the form of new debt financing, which provides the company with a little more time to find funding to stave off catastrophe. The company said on Monday that it had closed $13.4 million in initial debt financing with JMCM Holdings LLC and Sherpa Venture Funds II, connected […]

Sift raises $7.5M to build a telemetry stack for the ‘digital backbone to the physical world’

Aria Alamalhodaei — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 14:00:56 +0000

Excellent hardware requires an excellent software stack. Few parts of that stack more clearly illustrate this point than telemetry, which essentially refers to the collection of real-time, critical data on machine performance. A weak telemetry system can spell catastrophe for hardware projects, so many companies rely on expensive, complicated solutions, like knitting together multiple open-source […]

Max Q: Will Starlink IPO?

Aria Alamalhodaei — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 23:00:13 +0000

In this issue: Breakeven cashflow for Starlink, news from Kuva Space and more

Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander represents a big bet on a future lunar economy

Aria Alamalhodaei — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 14:53:22 +0000

Travel just north of Austin, Texas, and you might find yourself in startling proximity to a lunar lander. That’s Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander, a 6.6-foot-tall spacecraft that the company aims to fly next year in an inaugural mission for NASA. The spacecraft is large and boxy, with an 11.5-foot diameter and a 150-kilogram payload […]

Musk: SpaceX’s Starlink ‘has achieved breakeven cash flow’

Aria Alamalhodaei — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 19:30:11 +0000

SpaceX’s Starlink has “achieved breakeven cash flow,” CEO Elon Musk said Thursday, a milestone achievement for the rocket company’s four-year-old satellite internet business unit. He announced the news in a post on X, the social media platform that he also owns. He added that Starlink “is also now a majority of all active satellites and […]