SPACE.HAUS — WEEKLY INTEL BRIEFING Tuesday, March 31, 2026 ============================================================ Sources scanned: 50 Companies with news: 38 Funding activity: $3.7B+ Top story: Artemis II Launch T-1 Day Canonical: https://space.haus/briefings/2026-03-31.html Interactive: https://space.haus/briefing/2026-03-31 FUNDING ROUNDS & INVESTMENT ACTIVITY ------------------------------------ Shield AI — San Diego, CA [FUNDING] • Mar 26 — $2B Series G raised at $12.7B valuation (up from $5.6B). Co-led by Advent International & JPMorganChase. Acquiring tactical simulation company Aechalon and closing $500M preferred equity deal with Blackstone. 80%+ revenue growth targeted to $540M in 2026. (https://spacenews.com/shield-ai-series-g-2b/) Vast Space, LLC — Long Beach, CA [FUNDING, OPS UPDATE] • Mar 5–6 — $500M raised, led by Balerion Space Ventures with Qatar sovereign wealth fund participation. Haven-1 primary structure completed Jan 10; targeting launch no earlier than May 2026. Won sixth NASA commercial ISS crew contract. (https://spacenews.com/vast-space-500m-funding/) Aetherflux, Inc. — San Carlos, CA [FUNDING] • Mar 27 — Raising $250–$350M Series B at $2B valuation. Index Ventures leading. Pivoting to orbital data centers / space computing. Opening Seattle satellite development hub. Also selected for NVIDIA Space Computing program. (https://techcrunch.com/aetherflux-series-b/) Northwood Space — Torrance, CA [FUNDING, CONTRACT] • Jan 27 — $100M Series B + $50M Space Force contract. Led by Washington Harbour Partners, co-led by a16z. 82 beams across 18 global ground sites targeted by year-end. (https://spacenews.com/northwood-space-100m/) Lux Aeterna Space — Denver, CO [FUNDING] • Mar 10 — $10M oversubscribed seed round closed. Led by Konvoy, with Decisive Point, Cubit Capital, Wave Function, Space Capital. Developing reusable satellite "Delphi" — sold out payload capacity for 2027 inaugural mission. (https://spacenews.com/lux-aeterna-seed-round/) Hubble Network — Seattle, WA [FUNDING, OPS UPDATE] • Mar 2026 — $70M Series B raised ($100M total). Demonstrated global Bluetooth-to-satellite at Embedded World 2026. Operating 7 satellites; scaling to 60-satellite constellation by 2028. (https://spacenews.com/hubble-network-series-b/) CONTRACTS, AWARDS & GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY --------------------------------------- Voyager Technologies — Denver, CO [CONTRACT] • Mar 30 — Awarded contract with Icarus Robotics for mission management of free-flying robotic platform "Joyride" aboard ISS. (https://spacenews.com/voyager-technologies-iss-contract/) • Mar 2026 — Awarded ELVIS 3 follow-on with NASA Launch Services Program through end of FY. • Feb 2026 — $24.5M NASA JSC Mission Management IDIQ (4-year) for ISS full-service mission management. AnySignal — El Segundo, CA [CONTRACT] • Mar 25 — Selected by the U.S. Space Force to field a Resilient, Agile, and Interference-Defiant Network for Secure Military Satellite Communications. (https://breakingdefense.com/anysignal-space-force/) Axient LLC — Huntsville, AL [CONTRACT] • Jun 2025 — Selected for $237M U.S. Space Force STEP 2.0 contract (10-year). Part of 12-awardee pool alongside York Space, Lockheed Martin, and others for space technology experiments. (https://spacenews.com/step-2-contract-awards/) Lunar Outpost — Arvada, CO [CONTRACT] • Mar 2026 — One of 3 finalists for NASA's Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) contract — $4.6B combined max value. NASA announcement expected in coming weeks. (https://spacenews.com/nasa-ltv-finalists/) MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS & PARTNERSHIPS ------------------------------------ ARKA Group → CACI — Danbury, CT [M&A] • Mar 9 — CACI International completed $2.6B all-cash acquisition of ARKA Group. ARKA's 1,100+ employees join CACI. ARKA provides EO/IR and hyperspectral imaging capabilities plus Agentic AI for national security geospatial intelligence. (https://spacenews.com/caci-arka-acquisition/) Lynk Global + Omnispace — Chantilly, VA [M&A] • Mar 2026 — Merger complete; new entity is Lynk Global Holdings, Inc. Combines Lynk's operational LEO platform + Omnispace's 60 MHz globally-coordinated S-band spectrum. Targeting 5,000-satellite deployment by 2030. (https://spacenews.com/lynk-omnispace-merger/) Intuitive Machines, LLC — Houston, TX [M&A, OPS UPDATE] • Q1 2026 — $800M acquisition of Lanteris Space Systems expected to close. Positions IM as next-gen commercial, civil & national security space prime. Building lunar communications network. (https://spacenews.com/intuitive-machines-lanteris/) York Space Systems — Denver, CO [M&A, CONTRACT] • Mar 12 — Acquired Orbion Space Technology, a flight-proven propulsion system manufacturer, to vertically integrate spacecraft supply chain. Also STEP 2.0 awardee (Space Force). (https://spacenews.com/york-space-orbion-acquisition/) LAUNCH ACTIVITY & MISSION MILESTONES ------------------------------------ Varda Space Industries — El Segundo, CA [LAUNCH] • Mar 30 — W-6 reentry vehicle launched aboard SpaceX Transporter-16. Sixth mission; first entirely Varda-made vehicle. Carries government payload. Targets Australia for reentry. (https://spacenews.com/varda-w6-launch/) K2 Space — Torrance, CA [LAUNCH] • Mar 30 — GRAVITAS — first Mega Class satellite — launched aboard Transporter-16. Tests 20kW Hall-effect thruster, large solar arrays, high-voltage power systems. (https://spacenews.com/k2-space-gravitas-launch/) Firefly Aerospace — Cedar Park, TX [LAUNCH] • Mar 11 — Alpha Flight 7 "Stairway to Seven" launched from Vandenberg SFB. Delivered Lockheed Martin demonstrator. Stage 2 engine relight validated. (https://spacenews.com/firefly-alpha-flight-7/) • Mar 19 — Q4 & FY2025 results: revenue up 163% YoY. 2026 revenue guidance: $420–450M. SpaceX Transporter-16 — Vandenberg SFB, CA [LAUNCH] • Mar 30 — Falcon 9 launched 119 payloads to SSO. Booster B1093 (12th flight) landed on OCISLY. Key payloads: K2 Space (GRAVITAS), Varda Space (W-6), plus payloads from 13 countries. (https://spacenews.com/spacex-transporter-16/) Orbit Fab Inc — Lafayette, CO [LAUNCH] • 2026 — First in-orbit refueling demonstration expected to launch this year. Partnering with Astroscale for GEO refueling system launching June 2026 — "fuel truck" will refuel a military satellite and orbital fuel depot in GEO. (https://spacenews.com/orbit-fab-refueling-demo/) INDUSTRY CONTEXT ---------------- NASA Artemis II — Kennedy Space Center, FL [LAUNCH] • Mar 30–31 — Countdown underway. Launch window: April 1 at 6:24 PM EDT. 80% favorable weather. 4-person crew: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen. 10-day lunar flyby mission. First crewed SLS/Orion flight. (https://spacenews.com/artemis-ii-countdown/) • Mar 2026 — NASA pivoting from Gateway to direct lunar surface outpost ("Moon Base") strategy announced mid-March. Accounts competing for LTV, CLPS, and CLD awards are in active procurement cycles. Axiom Space, Inc. — Houston, TX [CONTRACT, OPS UPDATE] • Mar 2026 — Secured new NASA ISS mission. Partnering with NVIDIA for orbital data center computing. Haven-2 proposal in active development for NASA CLD Phase 2 (selection mid-2026). (https://spacenews.com/axiom-space-nasa-mission/) ADDITIONAL UPDATES ------------------ True Anomaly — Colorado Springs, CO [OPS UPDATE] • 2026 — Expanding Jackal satellite operations to GEO and cislunar space in 2026. Plans to double workforce to 450 by year-end. Acquired 90K sq ft production space in Long Beach. (https://spacenews.com/true-anomaly-expansion/) Stoke Space Technology — Kent, WA [OPS UPDATE] • 2026 — Completing facilities at Cape Canaveral LC-14 for Nova rocket launch. Fully reusable rocket program advancing toward first launch. (https://spacenews.com/stoke-space-nova-rocket/) Impulse Space, Inc. — Redondo Beach, CA [OPS UPDATE] • 2026 — Helios kick stage on track to fly in 2026. Expanding Colorado engineering facility. Targeting MEO, GEO, and beyond delivery capability. (https://spacenews.com/impulse-space-helios/) Planet Labs PBC — San Francisco, CA [OPS UPDATE] • Mar 16 — Selected for NVIDIA Space Computing program — using NVIDIA accelerated computing for next-generation Earth observation missions. (https://spacenews.com/planet-nvidia-computing/) Muon Space — Mountain View, CA [LAUNCH, OPS UPDATE] • Q1 2026 — Three RF sensing satellites for Sierra Nevada Corp. launching Q1. Three wildfire monitoring satellites launching mid-year. 20 satellites manifested over 20 months. MuSat XL platform unveiled. (https://spacenews.com/muon-space-satellites/) Apex Technology (Apex Space) — Los Angeles, CA [OPS UPDATE, FUNDING] • 2025/2026 — $200M Series D closed. Planning space-based interceptor technology demonstration within the next year. Satellite bus production for national security customers accelerating. (https://spacenews.com/apex-series-d/) ============================================================ Generated by space.haus · AI-curated from 50+ industry sources. Verify before making business decisions.