June's Space Dirt 🚀 (mid-month)

I hope you’re enjoying the bi-monthly Space Dirt format. My goal was to make each issue easier to read (or skim) while not omitting any of the terrific hard tech content I come across every day.

Enjoy!

REAL ESTATE HIGHLIGHTS

Droneforge leased 2,596 SF at 227 California St, El Segundo, CA. (source: Me!)

Odys Aviation announced the expansion of its Long Beach Airport campus with the addition of a new hangar. (source: LinkedIn)

Lumafield leased space at 204 W Grand Ave, El Segundo, CA. (source: Me!)

Pyka is moving into a 110,000 SF production facility at 950 W Tower Ave, Alameda, CA. (source: LinkedIn)

Unusual Machines leased 17,000 SF at 4215-4225 SW 34th Street, Orlando, FL. (source: Trade & Industry Development)

Firehawk Aerospace announced that it’s investing $22 million to build a large-scale production facility in Oklahoma, which they expect to produce a million pounds of propellant a year. Edwards said that they expect to break ground on the 320-acre Oklahoma facility this year and that it should be able to produce 1,000 pounds of propellant by the end of 2026. Firehawk will continue producing out of its Dallas, TX headquarters and testing at two sites in West Texas. They are also expanding their Midland, TX, test site by 18 acres. (source: Tectonic)

Nooks opened a Colorado Springs facility that addresses both a local and nationwide challenge: limited access to secure environments that support national priorities. Through a subscription-based model, Nooks enables a network of secure, accredited workspaces. The model supports flexible mission needs, from part-time usage engagements to dedicated enterprise deployments. (source: Nooks)

STEALTH NO MORE

Vital Lyfe emerged from stealth via a LinkedIn post with a mission to tackle one of the world’s greatest challenges: access to clean water. Jon Criss is a Co-founder and CEO, and Andrew Harner is a Co-founder and COO.

Netic’s CEO, Melisa Tokmak, announced their emergence from stealth on the TBPN show (above). “We are coming out of stealth, with $20 million raised from Founders Fund, Greylock, Mike Volpi, among other amazing investors and visionary founders." Netic calls itself “The AI revenue engine for essential service industries that keep America running.”

Standard Nuclear, a reactor-agnostic producer of TRISO nuclear fuel, announced its launch from stealth with $42 million in total funding led by Decisive Point with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Washington Harbour Partners, Welara, Fundomo, and Crucible Capital. Standard Nuclear owns and operates a set of fully equipped commercial-scale facilities totaling 19,000 SF that sit on its 36.8-acre campus located at the former K-25 Nuclear site in Oak Ridge, TN. The Company operates its fully permitted radiological facilities to manufacture and supply TRISO fuel forms with varying specifications for its multiple commercial and government customers. Kurt Terrani is the CEO. (source: BusinessWire)

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REAL ESTATE CORNER

NOTABLE FUNDINGS

Founders Fund has led another enormous round for defense tech startup Anduril with a $1 billion investment as part of a new $2.5 billion raise, the largest check the firm has ever written. Existing investors also piled in, an Anduril spokesperson told TechCrunch. Anduril has now doubled its valuation to $30.5 billion with this Series G raise. The spokesperson says the round was over 8x times oversubscribed, meaning many more investors wanted to buy than the amount of stock Anduril was selling. (source: TechCrunch)

Voyager Technologies debuted on the New York Stock Exchange on June 11, raising nearly $383 million in an upsized IPO that investors hope will spur more space-focused companies to go public. The six-year-old provider of mission-critical space and defense technology solutions sold 12.35 million shares at $31 each, pricing above the $26–$29 range it marketed last week. The Denver-based company had initially planned to offer 11 million shares. Underwriters also have a 30-day option to purchase up to 1.85 million additional shares of the company’s Class A common stock, up from 1.65 million, trading under the ticker symbol VOYG. (source: SpaceNews)

Impulse Space raised a staggering $300 million in a Series C funding round led by Linse Capital. The cash haul ranks as one of the largest venture rounds in the history of the space industry and brings Impulse’s total capital raised to $525 million. Established in 2021 by SpaceX founding member Tom Mueller, the architect behind SpaceX’s Merlin engine family, Impulse quickly went to market with its Mira maneuverable space vehicle for payload hosting and deployment. The company racked up 30 contracts worth nearly $200 million. It is currently developing its Helios high-energy kick stage payload delivery system for MEO, GEO, and beyond, with a goal to launch in 2026. Impulse is also developing a customizable GEO Rideshare Program, set to debut in 2027. (source: Via Satellite)

Joby Aviation announced the successful closing of the first $250 million tranche of a previously announced strategic investment from Toyota Motor Corporation. The funding marks a significant milestone in strengthening the long-term collaboration between the two companies and supports their shared vision for the future of air mobility. The investment is aimed at supporting certification and commercial production of Joby’s electric air taxi. This investment also puts the two companies a step closer to a strategic manufacturing alliance. (source: Joby Aviation)

Northrop Grumman is investing $50 million into Firefly Aerospace to further the development of a medium-lift launch vehicle with a new name. The companies announced that Northrop would invest $50 million in Firefly, joining a $175 million Series D round that Firefly announced in November. That round valued Firefly at more than $2 billion. The investment will go towards the development of a launch vehicle formerly known as MLV and now known as Eclipse. The medium-class launch vehicle is designed to place up to 16,300 kilograms into low Earth orbit. (source: SpaceNews)

Speedata, a Tel Aviv-based startup developing an analytics processing unit (APU) designed to accelerate big data analytic and AI workloads, has raised a $44 million Series B funding round, bringing its total capital raised to $114 million. The Series B round was led by its existing investors, including Walden Catalyst Ventures, 83North, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Pitango First, and Viola Ventures, as well as strategic investors, including Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of Intel and managing partner at Walden Catalyst Ventures, and Eyal Waldman, co-founder and former CEO of Mellanox Technologies. (source: TechCrunch)

Quantum Space has raised $40 million to advance the development of its Ranger spacecraft with a new focus on national security applications. The company, based in Rockville, Maryland, announced that it closed a $40 million extension of a $17 million Series A round. Prime Movers Lab, Sporos Capital, 1802 Ventures, AnD Ventures, and others participated in the round. (source: SpaceNews)

Heron Power has closed a $38 million Series A led by Capricorn Investment Group, with participation from Breakthrough Energy, Energy Impact Partners, Gigascale Capital, Powerhouse, Valor Equity Partners, JB Straubel, and Zach Kirkhorn. Heron Power’s first product, the Heron Link, replaces legacy transformers and power converters by directly connecting these rapidly growing energy technologies to medium voltage transmission. (source: LinkedIn)

Classified workspaces company, Nooks, announced the closing of its $25 million Series A funding round. This investment brings together an extraordinary team of partners, including Zigg Capital, Upper90, SAIC, and Lockheed Martin, to propel Nooks into its next phase of growth and innovation. Building on Nooks’ success in key initial markets – Arlington, VA, Colorado Springs, CO, and El Segundo, CA – these partners are helping position Nooks as the go-to provider for flexible and scalable solutions for classified infrastructure needs. (source: Nooks)

San Francisco startup Aethero raised $8.4 million in seed funding to support the development of high-powered computing in space, including two orbital demonstrations. Kindred Ventures partner Steve Jang led the round, which included participation from Neo, Giant Step Capital, O’Shaughnessy Ventures, and Alumni Ventures. The now-closed round includes $1.7 million in pre-seed funding from 2024. (source: Payload)

AGREEMENTS, PARTNERSHIPS, & CONTRACTS

The U.S. Space Force awarded BAE Systems a $1.2 billion contract for 10 missile-tracking satellites for a constellation in medium Earth orbit. The contract was awarded to BAE Systems Space and Mission Systems through a firm fixed price Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement, the Space Systems Command said in a news release. The program is known as Resilient Missile Warning Tracking Epoch 2, which marks the second phase of the Space Force’s program to develop a missile-tracking network in medium Earth orbit (MEO). The constellation is intended to help defend against evolving missile threats, particularly hypersonic weapons that have become a key focus for U.S. defense planners. (source: Space News)

The U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command’s (SSC) Mission Manifest Office (MMO) has awarded a $25 million contract to Integrate, a Seattle-based company building multiplayer project management software for government and industry teams collaborating on complex, multi-organization programs. The award marks a significant shift in how the Department approaches program execution and reflects a growing movement inside SSC to operationalize modern acquisition principles and restore trust in the tools and processes that underpin national security efforts. (source: Integrate)

Firehawk Aerospace announced that they’ve secured a $4.9 million contract with the U.S. Air Force to help accelerate the development of next-gen hybrid rocket engines for strategic and tactical missiles. Firehawk CEO Will Edwards told Tectonic that the company will work with AFRL to test their 3D-printed propellant and hybrid rocket motor, ultimately building towards a 10,000-pound thrust motor. (source: Tectonic)

Argo Space announced it was selected for a Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) opportunity by SpaceWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Space Force, in the amount of $1.9 million focused on Argo’s novel in-space transportation and mobility vehicle to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF). The initiative is open to small businesses with Phase II contracts awarded within the past two years, allowing them to apply for funding through an annual notice of opportunity. (source: Argo Space)

Array Labs announced a $1.25 million U.S. Air Force contract to advance its 3D radar imaging capabilities. Supported by this contract, Array Labs is developing a novel algorithm that extracts 3D depth information from radar signals typically discarded as noise. (source: LinkedIn)

Reflect Orbital was selected for a $1.25 million SBIR Phase II Contract by AFWERX to advance satellite-based sunlight redirection technology. (source: X)

WHAT I’M CONSUMING (AND ENJOYING!) 

📺 CX2’s Nathan Mintz was on the Drone Wars podcast (below) and also wrote an in-depth article on Russia’s Pearl Harbor, the recent massive Ukrainian drone sneak attack behind Russian lines.

💥 Due to decades of global outsourcing, U.S. defense manufacturing capability is now a shadow of its post-Cold War capacity. Here’s what Shands Pickett of Booz Allen thinks the U.S. should do about it.

🚄 One startup is bringing the luxury train back, and with significantly lower carbon dioxide impact than flying. Check out what Dreamstar is doing.

🧪 Jake Adler and the founding team at Pilgrim argue that America’s challenges in modern warfare aren’t rooted in a lack of scientific breakthroughs, but in a systemic failure to swiftly deploy life-saving technologies. They propose bridging this gap as the key to winning future conflicts.

⛏ Ryan McEntush and Erin Price-Wright of Andreessen Horowitz give us a thorough deep dive into mining and critical minerals.

🏜 Yeri Lopez of J2 Ventures gives us his take on why New Mexico is the place to build.

🚀 Andy Lapsa makes his case for why he built the reusable rocket company, Stoke, and the solution his company provides.

HOW I CAN HELP YOU

Some people only know me as “that Space Dirt newsletter guy.” Although I love that moniker, here are 3* ways I can help with your hard tech real estate when the time is right.

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 hard tech real estate market. I can help. And I come with strong references.

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.)

*Not an exhaustive list 💪

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] 
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