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Are you a Space Entrepreneur? If so, now's your chance to get involved with SATELLITE 2017's Startup Space pitch competition. Startup Space is a Shark Tank-style competition that gives YOU a chance to share your new business and technology ideas to a panel of highly accomplished space professionals, investors, thought leaders, and fellow entrepreneurs. Whether you're a startup looking for venture funds, a company that's not quite a company yet, or just someone with a powerful idea...we want to hear it! Entries will be accepted through December 31, 2016 .   Submit your pitch now! If it's accepted, you'll deliver your pitch during SATELLITE 2017 in front of a panel of judges and a room full of attendees. The judges will evaluate each pitch on the technological and business innovation presented. The winning participants will be announced and honored at the SATELLITE 2017 Awards Reception in front of the entire industry on Wednesday, March 8 (Prizes TBA.)  Please allow at least 3 to 4 weeks for a response. We guarantee that all submissions received before December 31, 2016 will be reviewed. Submissions received after this deadline will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis and may not be considered in time for the event.
Planetary Finalizes  €25M Deal, Luxembourg Drafts Mining Law
Planetary Resources and the Government of Luxembourg have finalized the €25 million investment and cooperation agreement that has been in negotiation since June. €12 million will be in direct capital investment by the government, while the remaining €13 million will be in grants. Planetary Resources is hoping to launch its first prospecting mission to an asteroid in 2020. The Government of Luxembourg has also adopted a draft law that provides legal and regulatory framework for outer space resource mining, including provisions to ensure the rights of private operators to outer space resources that they extract.
Firefly Receives Letter of Intent for 42 Launches
Only a few months after Firefly Space Systems announced  financial difficulties , the company has received multiple Letters of Intent (LOI) from customers around the world. These LOI's include 42 launches through 2021, valued at over $300M . "Our customers' needs reflect the increasing market demand for small satellite launch capacity. They have unanimously encouraged Firefly to continue development of the Firefly Alpha vehicle as a critical component in the overall success of the emerging newspace industry," says Firefly CEO Thomas Markusic.
SpaceX, Boeing File for Massive Constellations
SpaceX recently filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the launch of 4,425 satellites. This massive constellation (The Union of Concerned Scientists lists only 1,419 active satellites in use today) aims to provide global 1Gbps broadband internet. This follows Boeing's June FCC application for a 2,956 satellite constellation of V-band communication satellites. Boeing also filed in November for a set of 60 Ka-band satellites to cover the Americas, Europe and Africa, and Asia in three highly eccentric orbits.
HawkEye 360 Raises $11M in Series A
HawkEye 360, an RF mapping and analysis company, has raised $11M in series A financing. The company is also planning to issue up to $2.75M in new stock to its shareholders. The funding will be used to help develop and build the company's first satellite cluster.  Orbiting at 600km, the Pathfinder cluster will offer typical imagery services, but HawkEye will put an emphasis on tracking RF spectrum usage. This will allow customers to avoid interference, make better spectrum deployment selections, and more precisely locate items like emergency beacons. The company also announced the appointment of John Serafini as CEO.
CASIS Announces Award Winners
The Center for the Advancement of Science In Space (CASIS) and The Boeing Company are supporting two research companies with $500K worth of seed funding. The grant, offered through the MassChallenge accelerator, will assist the companies with hardware costs necessary to prepare for flights to the ISS. The two grant recipients are LaunchPad Medical and  Biorasis, Inc . LaunchPad Medical is a medical device company researching the possible effects of combining stem cells with a unique bone-metal adhesive. Biorasis, Inc. is researching means to improve a wireless, implant-by-needle biosensor that can track metabolic activity with a focus around diabetes. CASIS has also awarded research agreements to five other projects that they feel might benefit from a microgravity environment. These projects include the following: Genes In Space-2, researching genetic processes that may lead to accelerated aging in space; GRASP, seeking to make terrestrial radio frequency data more affordable for retrieval; Intraterrestrial Fungus Grown in Space, seeking to validate new hardware capabilities to understand how funguses behave under microgravity; Tympanogen, Inc - seeking to improve how a patch with hydrogel can treat military wounds and reduce systemic inflammation; and Wound Healing, a project with a general scope of understanding the effects of spaceflight on tissue healing. 
RUAG Snags OneWeb Contract, Building Branch in Titusville
RUAG Space, a Swiss manufacturer of spacecraft structures and mechanism is opening a U.S. branch in Titusville, FL. The company has also signed a deal with OneWeb for the construction of 900 satellite structures by the end of 2020. RUAG will be employing a number of state-of-the-art processes, such as an automated fastener placement device for sandwich panels, in order to reduce the cost and time required for large-scale production of space structures.  
SS2 Test Flights, Dream Chaser Prepares to Land at Midland
Midland International Air and Space Port recently completed the compatibility process to receive Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser spacecraft. A corresponding FAA reentry license is still required for Dream Chaser to land in Midland, but the process is moving forward. Meanwhile, Virgin Galactic's suborbital vehicle SpaceShipTwo was forced to postpone its first glide flight test in early November  due to weather. The craft successfully completed the same glide test only a month later, on December 3.
China Launches Long March 5, ESA Funds Ariane 6
China successfully launched its new heavy lift vehicle, Long March 5. Capable of carrying 27.6 tons to LEO, or 15.4 tons to GTO, Long March 5 will be a key player in the construction of China's new space station. On the other side of the continent, the European Space Agency (ESA) recently awarded  full funding to the Ariane 6 program. ESA anticipates a first launch in 2020.
NASA Announces Lunar Payload RFI
NASA announced an RFI (with submissions due by December 9) seeking small payloads to be delivered to the Moon as early as 2017. These payloads will assist the agency's efforts to understand the potential role of the Moon in future exploration activities. Soon after NASA's announcement, XPRIZE team Moon Express announced that it will offer up to $500,000 for the first three payloads selected by NASA to fly as a part of their MX-1 missions. Astrobotic Technology preferred a two-for-one approach and announced that for every payload selected by NASA to fly on Astrobotic's first mission, it will provide an additional flight to payload providers on their second mission scheduled to fly in 2021 at no charge.
Vector Signs with ATLAS, Receives $1.25M from Space Angels
Vector announced today that it has received an additional $1.25M in angel funding led by Space Angels Network , a New York City-based investor in early-stage space companies. Space Angels Network will be helping with the success of the micro satellite industry through this investment. This will help Vector accelerate their development efforts towards the goal of being one of the first commercial dedicated micro satellite launch vehicles to achieve low earth orbit. Vector continues with the goal to connect space startups and innovators with affordable and reliable access to space.
The Space Show
This month, Dylan Taylor of the Space Angels Network and Michael Listner of Space Law and Policy Solutions share their respective  newspace  initiatives with Dr. David Livingston on  The Space Show .
Anselm Wiercioch
Al Kimbell
Anand Biradar
Brandon Medina
Chris Pitts
Curtis Iwata
Goktug Karacalioglu
Jeff Smith
Miekkel Clarkson
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