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El Segundo Based Phase Four Raises $26 Million
El Segundo-based aerospace startup
Phase Four Inc. has raised $26 million
in Series B funding to support develop-
ment and mass production of its propulsion
engines for satellites, the company an-
nounced June 11.
The round was led by New York-based venture capital firm New Science Ventures. Since the first satellites using Phase Four’s Maxwell engines launched in January, the company has gained commercial and government contracts, including a $750,000 contract with the U.S. Air Force.
Space News reported that the company plans to triple the production of its Max- well engines between now and the first half of 2022 using the funding. Phase Four chief executive Beau Jarvis said in a statement that the funding round will also accelerate development of other Maxwell engines, such as an iodine-fueled variant.
Founded in 2015, Phase Four uses “plasma thruster technology” to create lighter, more cost-effective satellite engines. The company said its engines bring a 75% reduction in lead time, or the time between when an order is placed and when the customer receives a product, according to the company’s website.
Rocket Lab Wins Design Con-
tract for Mars Mission
Two spacecraft designed by Long Beach- based space systems company Rocket Lab USA Inc. may end up orbiting Mars as part of a NASA mission slated for 2024.
The company announced June 15 that it was awarded a design subcontract by UC Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory for the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers mission under NASA’s Small Innovative Mis- sions for Planetary Exploration program.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a company spokesperson said the dollar value of the contract was in the “tens of millions.”
Blue and Gold, the name of the two Photon spacecraft that will be developed by Rocket Lab, would rideshare aboard a commercial launch vehicle contracted by NASA. The goal of the mission is to study how Mars’ climate has changed over time.
The company’s plans will be subject to a
preliminary design review in June, followed by a confirmation review in July, before the company actually builds the spacecraft.
Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab is on the verge of going public in a SPAC deal with technology investor Vector Capital-backed Vector Acquisi- tion Corp. The deal, which values the company at $4.1 billion, is expected to close at the end of the second quarter.
Rocket Lab has sent more than 100 satellites to orbit for government and commercial use since its first launch in 2018 and has raised $290 million in funding to date.
Boeing Secures $169M For 12
Apache Helicopters in AZ.
Boeing has received a $169.46 million contract from the U.S. Army to support a long lead effort for the full-rate production of lot 12 Apache attack helicopters.
Services will take place at the company’s facility in Meza, Arizona, and the estimated completion date is May 31, 2027, the Depart- ment of Defense said in late June.
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