Weekly Recap #42 + Peregrine Space Interview

Main Topics

Launch

* The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation successfully launched and landed the Long March 10b first stage rocket, demonstrating reusable rocket capabilities for the first time for China. [source]

* SpaceX’s Transporter 17 launched 81 payloads including Apex’s first Nova satellite, Planet’s Pelican-11 demo, multiple Posidonia satellites from Open Cosmos, two Firesats from Muon Space, and the first in-space nuclear Tritium battery for City Labs.[source]

* ISAR signed a $112.5M contract with Maritime Launch Services to develop a dedicated Spectrum launch site in Nova Scotia. [source]

* Venus Aerospace raised $91M led by Mercury Fund for their rotating detonation rocket engine. [source]

* NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 added both Relativity Space and Impulse Space. [source]

* Loft contracted French launch startup Maiaspace for multiple launches starting as early as 2028. [source]

Comms

* Es’hail signed contracts with Turksat and Thales Alenia for Es’hail-3 satellite manufacturing to build Qatar’s first software-defined GEO satellite based on Thales Space’s INSPIRE platform. [source]

* USSF awarded Pulse Space a $40M contract for laser-based space power technology that Pulse Space will develop and launch in conjunction with their SDA capabilities. [source]

* Ravee Optics raised a $6M seed round led by BIG Global Investment JSC for compact laser optical communications. [source]