Lifting Off

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THU, AUG 03, 2023

Michael Sheetz | Space Reporter
@thesheetztweetz

OVERVIEW: Lifting Off

An Electron rocket launches. Credit: Rocket Lab

At the beginning of this year, I included a breakout space stock as one of the three things I'm watching for in 2023. Just past the halfway point we have three strong contenders for that title, led by Rocket Lab and followed by Redwire and Mynaric, with the top five rounded out by Telesat and BlackSky.

Rocket Lab is up 85% so far this year, closing back in on its $10 a share starting point two years ago, while Redwire is close behind, up 78%.

A stock chart shows Rocket Lab shares up 85% so far this year, Redwire up 78%, Mynaric up 30%, Telesat up 21% and BlackSky up 19%.

Four years ago, the "UFO" ETF from ProcureAM came to market as a new indexed way to trade the space industry. But it's had mixed results since then – some years positive and others negative – with last year representing a 28% haircut, thanks to most space stocks selling off amid the SPAC bubble burst and climbing interest rates.

So far this year UFO is flat, helped in part by two of our top five performers. Rocket Lab is the index's No. 1 holding, with $3.2 million worth of shares making up 6.5% of the fund's weight. BlackSky is its 26th-largest holding, at 1.4%.

"Rocket Lab's performance and pure-play focus on space is why it's risen to such a large weight within the fund," Andrew Chanin, CEO of ProcureAM, told me.

The remaining three of those top five gainers year to date – Redwire, Mynaric and Telesat – are absent from the fund, as the stocks don't meet the index's liquidity rules which call for both $1 million worth of daily shares trading and a market cap of $100 million. Stocks get added and removed when the index reconstitutes twice a year, with those names not qualifying at the last reconstitution in June.

Chanin noted that with many of these space stocks having debuted at $10 a share they're largely still trying to get back to where they started. Rocket Lab has a healthy lead but we'll see who ends up on top come the end of the year – with the market watching closely for continued execution.

WHAT'S UP

Planet lays off 117 employees: The satellite-imagery and data-analysis company restructured, with CEO Will Marshall noting that its expansion since going public in December 2021 "increased cost and complexity, which slowed us down in some regards." – CNBC
SpaceX alleges Amazon's Kuiper is trying to 'circumvent deployment requirements' set by the Federal Communications Commission: The owner of Starlink said Amazon is attempting to modify its Kuiper constellation plans "to sneak its two initial prototype satellites into its commercial constellation," with Amazon fast approaching the FCC deadline to deploy about 1,600 satellites in orbit by July 2026. – FCC
Steve Wozniak's startup Privateer expands into satellite 'ride shares,' with a plan to build a digital marketplace with an application called "Wayfinder" to give more commercial customers access to satellite data. – Bloomberg
British intelligence investigated a potential Chinese takeover attempt of OneWeb when the company had financial difficulties in 2020. According to a partially redacted U.K. government report, three British agencies – Government's Investment Security Group, MI5 and MI6 – submitted "extensive evidence" about OneWeb before it was bought by the government and Indian telecom giant Bharti. – The Telegraph
Seattle startup gravityLab aims to create artificial gravity with spinning spacecraft in orbit: Co-founder and CEO Grant Bonin explained that gravityLab wants to create "programmable gravity" by using a motorized boom and counterweight, to better understand different levels of gravity in space. – TechCrunch
SpaceX's Falcon Heavy launches the monster JUPITER 3 satellite for EchoStar's Hughes, which was built by Maxar. JUPITER 3 is expected to more than double the capacity of Hughes' existing JUPITER fleet and bring service to North and South America. – Hughes / Maxar
SpaceX's Falcon 9 launches Intelsat's Galaxy 37 communications satellite, which was built by Maxar. The launch was SpaceX's 53rd so far this year. – Intelsat / Maxar
Northrop Grumman launches final Antares 230+ rocket, flying cargo with Cygnus to the ISS for NASA. The Antares 230+ line of rockets, built with Russian and Ukrainian parts, will be succeeded by the coming Antares 330, with U.S.-made parts from Firefly. – Northrop Grumman / NASA
Argentina becomes 28th country to sign Artemis Accords, with NASA chief Bill Nelson on hand in Buenos Aires to welcome the South American nation. – NASA
Space Command HQ to stay in Colorado, with President Joe Biden deciding against moving the facility to Alabama. – AP
FCC introducing new rules for rocket launches, with the regulator allocating expanding the spectrum available for use to give companies greater access. – FCC
Impulse adds second and third low Earth orbit missions, known as LEO Express-2 and LEO Express-3, and expected to fly in June and October of 2024, respectively, on SpaceX Transporter launches. – Impulse
Momentus confirms deployment of Vigoride-6 payloads, with the mission having launched in April on SpaceX's Transporter-7 mission. – Momentus

INDUSTRY MANEUVERS

Voyager creates joint venture with Airbus for Starlab, deepening the companies' partnership in creating the commercial space station. The companies say the joint venture extends far beyond the initial partnership and comes after completing a Systems Requirements Review (SRR). – Voyager
New York startup iRocket signs Air Force Research Laboratory agreement, which the company says is worth a little under $18 million, as it works to begin testing its propulsion technologies at Edwards Air Force Base. – iRocket

MARKET MOVERS

Globalstar sees 'significant improvement in profitability' in Q2, with the satellite communications company reporting revenue increasing 50% year-over-year to $18.3 million, with $9,000 in net income, or 0 cents a share, representing an increase from a $26.7 million loss in the same period a year prior. – Globalstar
Virgin Galactic's high cash burn continues in Q2, although the company banked its first revenue from a commercial flight. It reported a net loss of $134.4 million, or 46 cents a share, and $1.9 million of revenue during the quarter. – CNBC

BOLDLY GOING

Tina Ghataore leaves Mynaric, formerly Chief Commercial Officer and U.S. subsidiary President: After three years with the company, she said she made the decision to depart "with a heavy heart." – Ghataore
Drew Feustel retires from NASA after 23 years with the agency. Feustel flew on three missions, including on the Space Shuttle and to the ISS, and completed nine spacewalks during his astronaut career. – NASA
Shawn Hendricks named as Orbit Fab's first Chief Operating Officer, with the Colorado startup saying Hendricks will oversee the production and testing of its RAFTI spacecraft refueling port. Hendricks was previously Senior Vice President of Operations for Terran Orbital. – Orbit Fab
G. Allen Flynt joins Redwire as Senior Vice President of Space Platforms and Robotics, coming to the space infrastructure company from Collins Aerospace, where he led its civil space and sea systems business. – Redwire
Dan Gallton joins Aegis Aerospace as Vice President for Strategic Market Development, coming to the Houston-based space services company after a 25-year career in the Air Force and Space Force. – Aegis

ON THE HORIZON

Aug. 6: Rocket Lab's Electron launches Capella's Acadia satellites from New Zealand.
Aug. 6: SpaceX's Falcon 9 launches Starlink satellites from Florida.
Aug. 7: EchoStar reports Q2 results before market open.
Aug. 7: NASA and Boeing press conference on Starliner's progress toward the delayed crew test flight.
Aug. 7: Redwire reports Q2 results after market close.
Aug. 8: NASA holding Artemis II press conference with Administrator Bill Nelson and the crew for a mission update.
Aug. 8: Rocket Lab reports Q2 results after market close.
Aug. 9: BlackSky reports Q2 results before market open.
Aug. 9: Spire reports Q2 results after market close.
Aug. 9: Viasat reports Q1'24 results after market close.
Aug. 9: SpaceX's Falcon 9 launches Starlink satellites from Vandenberg.
Aug. 10: Virgin Galactic's "Galactic 02" mission launches from New Mexico.