July's Space Dirt 🚀

No summer lulls here. Lots of news and highlights and even a few real estate tips.

Let’s go!

REAL ESTATE HIGHLIGHTS

NuSpace leased 53,371 square feet at 4401 E Donald Douglas Dr, Long Beach, CA. (source: Me!)

Reflect Orbital leased 10,284 square feet at 12727 Van Ness Ave, Hawthorne, CA. (source: Me!)

SpaceX is doubling the size of its rocket recovery facility at Long Beach port, leasing more than 15 acres on Pier T, including office and manufacturing space. SpaceX is paying $285,000 per month to rent the Pier T property, according to a lease agreement the Long Beach Harbor Commission approved at its June 10 meeting. That’s more than double the $107,000 per month it was paying for the smaller 6-acre space. (source: Long Beach Post News)

ATTX leased office space at 1460 Overlook Dr, Lafayette, CO. (source: Me!)

Cosmic Aerospace leased 3,661 square feet at an engineering and manufacturing facility in Centennial, CO. (source: LinkedIn)

Morpheus Space, one of the leading providers of space mobility solutions, opened the first mass production facility for space systems in Dresden, Germany. The new "Reloaded" facility will initially manufacture 100 units of the GO-2 per year, Morpheus Space's second-generation electric propulsion system aimed at addressing the urgent demand for mobility by the rising number of satellite missions in our orbits. (source: SatNow)

Evolution Space announced the opening of its prototype integration facility at the Mojave Air & Spaceport in Mojave, CA. Evolution Space believes continuing to expand its California prototyping campus will keep its mass production facility in Mississippi busy producing the latest in solids innovation. (source: X)

REGENT Craft, the manufacturer of all-electric seagliders for sustainable maritime mobility, announced the opening of a new office in Washington, DC, to work closely with stakeholders across the US government. The office will support the seaglider certification journey and advance the company’s dual-use mission for commercial transportation and maritime defense solutions. (source: regentcraft.com)

REAL ESTATE HIGHLIGHTS ADJACENT

Introducing the often posted, rarely credited, latest edition of the SoCal Hard Tech Landscape Map.

I try, but I don’t know every company or every move, so if I missed something, feel free to reply to this email and let me know. I’ll adjust for our next edition in September, if not sooner.

In the meantime, download it, screenshot it, use it in presentations, send it to Vanity Fair 👀 , etc.

NOTABLE FUNDINGS

Berkeley, CA-based Solideon, a robotics-enabled manufacturing company in the aerospace and defense industries, has oversubscribed its pre-seed round. Within 18 months of being incorporated and graduating from Techstars Space, the company surpassed its initial $5,000,000 goal. Solideon's pre-seed round included notable defense-tech and dual-use investors. The round saw participation from investors including 8090 Industries, 1517 Fund, Stellar Ventures, Boost VC, 10X Founders, Pathbreaker Ventures, AIN Ventures, Tiny VC, MD One Ventures, Reinforced Ventures, Techstars Space, Capital Factory, Vibe Capital, Gaingels, and other strategic investors. The funds will be allocated to scaling production in Solideon's 20,000 square foot manufacturing facility, building additional manufacturing cells, and developing a forward-deployable robotic system. (Business Insider)

San Francisco, CA-based Capella Space Corp. was awarded a $14,993,358 firm-fixed-price contract to provide Synthetic Aperture RADAR satellite system capabilities and integrate them into the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Global Unification Environment. Work will be performed at Kirkland Air Force Base, New Mexico, and is expected to be completed by December 1, 2026. (source: G2Xchange)  

San Francisco, CA-based Astranis has fully funded its next-generation satellite program, called Omega, after closing its $200 million Series D round. The round was led by long-time Astranis investor Andreessen Horowitz’s Growth Fund, co-led by BAM Elevate, a growth-stage investor backed by investment firm Balyasny Asset Management, with participation from BlackRock, Fidelity, and Baillie Gifford. Astranis develops and operates small broadband communications satellites in geostationary orbit. (source: TechCrunch)

San Francisco, CA-based Armada has secured another $40 million from Microsoft’s venture fund, M12. Along with the funding, Armada’s products will become available in Microsoft Azure’s marketplace. (Fortune)

Austin, TX-based Saronic announced a $175 million Series B raise, placing the company’s valuation at $1 billion. The funding round was led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with participation from both new and existing investors, including 8VC, Caffeinated Capital, Elad Gil, and NightDragon, among others. (source: Medium)

Seattle, WA-based Gravitics, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a $125-million contract by Axiom Space to provide a pressurized spacecraft that will support Axiom Station operations. The Gravitics spacecraft will play a utility role and will be capable of providing various services while attached to the commercial space station. (source: Gravitics.com)

Albuquerque, NM-based X-Bow Systems, a space technology startup specializing in solid rocket motors and small launch vehicles, has secured $70 million in Series B funding to expand its production capabilities and complete a new manufacturing facility in Texas. The investment round was led by venture capital firm Razor’s Edge. Other participants include Lockheed Martin Ventures, Boeing Ventures, Crosslink Capital, and Balerion Space Ventures. (source: SpaceNews)

Jacksonville, FL-based Star Catcher Industries, the pioneer in space-based energy generation, announced the closing of its $12.25M seed round. Initialized Capital and B Capital co-led the round, with meaningful participation from Rogue VC. With this funding, the Star Catcher is positioned to help eliminate power constraints on space operations through the construction of its Star Catcher Network, the world’s first space-based energy grid. (source: VentureBeat)

AGREEMENTS, PARTNERSHIPS, & CONTRACTS

Shield AI, the defense technology company building the world’s best AI pilot, announced that the US Coast Guard has awarded the company a $198,106,876 indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity firm-fixed-price contract to provide Contractor Owned Contractor Operated (COCO) Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) services. This service will be implemented using the V-BAT unmanned aircraft system (UAS). (source: Shield AI) 

Aerodome and Flock Safety partner to expand Drone as First Responder technology for public safety. The Aerodome and Flock Safety partnership integrates Aerodome’s automated drone technology with FlockOS®, combining aerial intelligence with Flock Safety’s video, audio detection, and leading LPR network to provide unparalleled real-time situational awareness and rapid response capabilities for enhanced community safety. (source: Flock Safety)

REAL ESTATE CORNER

I thought my tweet below with tips on what to consider when leasing hard tech space could help a few people, so here it is. And a special thanks to Space Dirt reader Neil Mason, Head of Mechanical Engineering @ Antares, for some insider insight.

Also, I’m getting more active on X. Find me here. New followers are welcome!

WHAT I’M CONSUMING (AND ENJOYING!) 

📊 While the headline below is interesting, you can check out the employee flow for any of the companies listed (and read more interesting charts) by going to Live Data Technologies.

💵 Exciting TechCrunch article on Alpine Space Ventures (made up of mostly current and former SpaceX employees) closing the first fund to grow the space economy in both Europe and the US.

⛽️ Orbit Fab, a Colorado-based startup developing hardware for in-space satellite refueling, announced a successful test of its fueling nozzle, GRIP (Grapple, Reposition, and Interface Payload). This nozzle is intended to dock with satellites and transfer propellant.

⏫ The space economy has nearly doubled in size over the last decade. For a few more facts like that, check out this Payload article.

🌊 No one likes space trunk debris… SpaceX will move Dragon spacecraft splashdowns from off the coast of Florida to the West Coast starting in 2025. The company says this move is intended to reduce risks from reentering debris from the spacecraft’s trunk section.

If you’re not already a Space Dirt subscriber, what are you waiting for?!

Thanks for reading.

If you’d like your office and/or manufacturing space or business profiled - or even your city! - let me know. It’s always fun to explore and share the different components of the hard tech industry.

Erik Stiebel
Founder and Vice President
CA DRE License #02080746
424.241.4795 | [email protected] 
Follow me on 𝕏

P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you with your real estate.

1. A new home for your growing business. The good news - you’re growing! The bad news - you need to move and you don’t know the market. I can help.

2. Sublease your space. You’ve outgrown your space and need to move but don’t want to pay two rents? I got you.

3. Time to renew your lease? Want to make sure you’re getting a fair deal from your Landlord? In my experience, you can never be too certain. (BTW, I recommend starting the lease renewal process 12 months out at a minimum.)

4.  Bonus: Promote your business or product to over 1,000 subscribers by sponsoring this newsletter.