Amazon Robotics (formerly Kiva Systems) operates over 500,000 mobile robots in its fulfillment centers to power rapid order fulfillment. DJI remains the world’s largest drone manufacturer, commanding over 70% of the global market with flagship Phantom and Mavic series. SoftBank Robotics’ Pepper humanoid, launched in 2014, was the world’s first full-scale consumer-facing humanoid robot and…
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Global space startup funding reached about $8.6–$9.5 billion in 2024. By Q3 2024, space tech funding had risen to $6 billion, nearly the total for 2023. In 2024, 73 space-related acquisitions were announced, including 23 in NewSpace, a 39% increase from the previous year. SES agreed to acquire Intelsat for $3.1 billion in 2024, with…
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The global space economy was valued at around $630 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2035. SpaceX revolutionized orbital launch with reusable Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets and operates the Starlink broadband satellite constellation. OneWeb has deployed a Low Earth Orbit broadband constellation of about 648 small satellites for…
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SpaceX (USA, founded 2002 by Elon Musk) achieved the first private orbital rocket launch in 2008, performed the first booster landing in 2015, and launched the Starlink mega-constellation. Blue Origin (USA, founded 2000 by Jeff Bezos) completed the first vertical landing of a New Shepard booster in 2015, flew the first crewed suborbital flight in…
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In 2024, Rocket Lab surged over 360%, Intuitive Machines jumped 720%, and Redwire climbed 436% amid a wave of small-cap space-stock rallies. By early 2025, many space stocks retraced 40–60% from their 2024 highs as investors reassessed profitability and valuations. Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ: RKLB) reported Q1 2025 revenue of $122.6 million, up 32% year…
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The Pentagon aims to field a software-defined, multi-layer Enterprise SATCOM network that seamlessly routes data across DoD, allied, and commercial satellites in LEO, MEO, and GEO to support Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2). In 2020 the Space Force and DoD CIO committed to the shift, with the SDA launching the National Defense Space Architecture…
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Sentinel-1 radar imaged the aftermath of Cyclone Idai in Mozambique in 2019 and revealed approximately 2,165 km² of flooding around the coastal city of Beira. Idai’s satellite flood maps pinpointed about 400,000 people stranded and helped allocate rescue resources. NOAA’s GOES weather satellites monitored Hurricane Dorian in 2019 as it approached the Bahamas, providing real-time…
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1859: British astronomer Richard Carrington observed a powerful solar flare, and within a day telegraph systems worldwide went haywire while auroras appeared near the equator—the Carrington Event, the largest geomagnetic storm on record. During the 1957–58 International Geophysical Year, Explorer-1 became the first U.S. satellite to discover the Van Allen radiation belts encircling Earth. SOHO,…
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On September 19, 1988, Ofek-1 became Israel’s first indigenous satellite, making Israel the eighth nation to orbit its own spacecraft. The Israel Space Agency (ISA) was established in 1983 under physicist Yuval Ne’eman to oversee Israel’s civilian space activities. The Shavit launch vehicle is a 20-meter-tall, three-stage solid-fuel rocket that can loft about 380 kg…
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The China National Space Administration (CNSA) was established in 1993 as China’s civil space authority. By the end of 2024, China operated more than 1,060 active satellites in orbit, a count that has grown more than six-fold since 2015. Chang’e-4 achieved the first landing on the Moon’s far side in 2019. Micius (Mozi), launched in…
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