hello. Welcome back to TechCrunch Space. This is critical This is the TechCrunch Space newsletter you will receive in 2024. Happy holidays to all my readers and I’ll see you next year.
There is a lot to look forward to next year. I expect to see much more progress from SpaceX on Starship, big changes for NASA under the leadership of new administrator Jared Isaacman, the debut of Rocket Lab’s Neutron, and big missions for Impulse Space, Varda, and dozens of other startups. I look forward to it. It will be interesting to see if the rumors that Boeing is selling its space business are true. It would truly mean a new world order.
On the venture financing side, I expect to see more recovery from the lows in 2023, and if Elon Musk’s Government Efficiency Unit does even a fraction of what it proposes, it could significantly ease the regulatory and bureaucratic environment in which infrastructure exists. – Heavy industries such as space are operated. Downstream effects can be seen very quickly.
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Speaking of regulations, it was nice to get an update from Blue Origin on the first New Glenn release last week. The company essentially said that regulatory approval for hot-fire testing and launch of the rocket was the only piece of the puzzle that could fall into place.
With less than two weeks left in the year, it’s absolutely possible that New Glenn will launch in 2024, but a lot will depend on how hot fire testing goes. The processing time will be tight…
There has been a decline in late-stage deals in the space sector this year, so it was interesting to see the announcement that Fleet Space Technologies had signed a $100 million Series D contract. A startup based in Adelaide, Australia, has developed a technology stack to make this possible. Mineral exploration in space and the identification of important mineral deposits will be key for a future that depends heavily on it (e.g. identifying lithium for batteries).
This week in space history
Okay, we had Thanksgiving in space a few editions ago. So we think it’s only right to take a look at how astronauts celebrate Christmas in space. For the 18th consecutive year, the astronaut fleet celebrated the holiday at a station filled with mini Christmas trees, Santa hats, stockings and other decorations.
Click this link to see a really cool collection of photos taken by NASA over the years.
