We welcome you back to Max Q. I hope everyone had a fantastic Fourth of July!
In this edition:
Astra’s corporate reorganization
More news from Pulsar Fusion
According to documents viewed by TechCrunch and a person with knowledge of the matter, Astra is creating a wholly-owned subsidiary for its spacecraft propulsion business, a corporate restructuring that will provide greater hiring and financing flexibility.
This story is intriguing to me for two reasons. First, and less essential (at least to me), is that the subsidiary will be governed by different export regulations, allowing Astra to hire personnel from outside the United States much more easily than they could under a single launch and spacecraft engine entity.
The second, and more significant, reason for establishing a subsidiary is that it enables a variety of financial options.
This is intriguing because many have questioned how Astra will continue to finance its launch business, given that it expects to end the second quarter with roughly $30–$33 million in the bank and a quarterly cash loss of the same amount.
I won’t speculate excessively, but this undoubtedly affords greater flexibility in a variety of dimensions.
Additional news from TC and beyond
Benchmark Space Systems, a developer of in-space propulsion products based in Vermont, has raised $33.2 million in order to scale up production.
Blue Origin is in the preliminary phases of exploring a launch site outside the United States in preparation for its international expansion.
India will launch its latest moon lander mission, Chandrayaan-3, on July 14, 2019, the country’s space agency has announced. The mission is a follow-up nearly four years after the failure of its previous incarnation.
Using propulsion systems propelled by nuclear fusion, Pulsar Fusion hopes to make interstellar travel a reality.
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