Company
Texas-based space company that builds the Alpha orbital rocket, the Blue Ghost lunar lander, and the Elytra orbital transfer vehicle.
Point72 Ventures and Spark Capital led a $1 billion Series E at roughly $10 billion. The money funds two clean-sheet rockets in parallel: Pathfinder in 2027 and the 14-engine Block 2 in 2029.
Reality
University of Tasmania researchers bounced a NASA signal off a spent upper stage almost 400,000 kilometres out and found it slightly off where models placed it, which is the working argument for radar in cislunar space.
Reality
Eight months after a failed engine reignition destroyed its first attempt, LandSpace landed Zhuque-3's stainless-steel first stage in Gansu. The fix cycle is the story, not the milestone.
Perspective Coverage
3 publishersReality
Firefly will fly Zeno Power's americium-241 heater unit to the Moon no earlier than 2028. The hard part of surface operations is shifting from arriving to staying warm.
Reality
The Defense Innovation Unit and Space Development Agency are funding a preliminary design only. Passing that review buys Firefly the right to compete for the flight, not the flight.
Reality