Max Q: One other day, one other delay

Hiya and welcome again to Max Q!

On this difficulty:

• Pixxel’s new investor
• Mission delays for Boeing, Rocket Lab
• Information from SpaceX and extra

Hyperspectral imagery startup Pixxel has closed $36 million in funding because it prepares to roll out new distant sensing and analytics capabilities to clients.

The LA- and Bangalore-based startup additionally scored a brand new strategic investor: Google, the tech large that’s as well-known for its mapping merchandise as it’s for its search engine. Whereas Google led the Sequence B funding spherical, this doesn’t mark the beginning of its relationship with Pixxel, CEO Awais Ahmed mentioned in a latest interview.

“We had been already working with them as a shopper earlier than this,” he defined, with an AI analysis crew from Google using Pixxel’s hyperspectral knowledge in agricultural purposes. Google additionally rolled out its Earth Engine final 12 months, a strong instrument that provides governments and companies entry to an enormous trove of Earth statement knowledge from a whole bunch of sensors in orbit. A lot of Pixxel’s customers individually use Earth Engine, Ahmed mentioned, and the final word aim is to combine the startup’s knowledge onto that service.

Boeing and NASA mentioned that the primary crewed flight take a look at of the Starliner capsule could be additional delayed attributable to a brand new crop of technical points with the spacecraft.

The primary crewed mission was scheduled to fly two NASA astronauts on July 21 after being pushed again from an earlier April launch date. Officers didn’t present a brand new launch date throughout a media briefing, although Boeing’s VP of economic crew, Mark Nappi, mentioned management would spend the subsequent week or so determining a plan to make sure the capsule is protected for flight.

“The underside line right here is: security is at all times our prime precedence,” a Boeing official mentioned. “It’s at all times been that method with human spaceflight. And in order that’s what drives this determination. You possibly can say we’re disenchanted as a result of it means a delay, however the crew is proud that we’re making the precise selections.”

Picture Credit: United Launch Alliance

Extra information from TC and past

• Axiom House’s second personal mission to the Worldwide House Station concluded with a profitable splashdown late on Might 30. (TechCrunch)
• China goals to land taikonauts on the moon earlier than 2030. In the meantime, the nation can also be at work growing its reply to Starlink. (SpaceNews/SpaceNews)
• The European House Company is inviting industrial corporations to submit proposals for cargo transportation providers to and from the ISS. (ESA)
• Hubble Community raised $20 million to construct out its satellite tv for pc community that any Bluetooth-enabled machine will have the ability to connect with. (TechCrunch)
• Rocket Manufacturing unit Augsburg carried out a full-duration scorching fireplace take a look at of its higher stage for 280 seconds, a primary for an EU-based firm. (RFA)
• Rocket Lab’s personal mission to Venus has slipped to January 2025 after the corporate missed the launch window final month. (TechCrunch)
• Sierra House powered up its Dream Chaser spaceplane for the primary time. (Sierra House)
• SpaceX’s position within the Russia-Ukraine battle isn’t over but, with the Pentagon ordering extra Starlink terminals to go to Ukrainian troops. (TechCrunch)

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