Space Capital's Space Investment Quarterly report shows investment in space infrastructure reached $22.2 billion in 2025.

Chad Anderson views the 2025 record investment levels as evidence the market transitioned from skepticism to industrial maturity and proven utility.

Chad Anderson predicts a SpaceX IPO in 2026 could impact the space investment landscape.

Chad Anderson is the CEO and founder of Space Capital.

The 2025 investment level surpassed the previous record set in 2021.

Chad Anderson joins the On Orbit podcast to share takeaways from the 2025 Space Investment Quarterly report and predictions for 2026.

Space Capital identified a trend of increased investment in geospatial intelligence capabilities that aligns with AI investment.

Massi Ladovaz is the CEO of SpinLaunch.

Walter Berger was appointed to the SpinLaunch Advisory Board.

Walter Berger has more than 40 years of global leadership experience across satellite communications, advanced networking, and enterprise technology platforms.

Walter Berger currently serves as an advisory board member of Harmoni Towers.

SpinLaunch has completed critical antenna and payload testing milestones for the Meridian constellation.

SpinLaunch expanded its Advisory Board with the additions of aerospace pioneer and investor Dómhnal Slattery and satellite communications and defense veteran Peter Hadinger.

SpinLaunch is preparing for First Customer Link for the Meridian constellation, scheduled to launch aboard SpaceX Transporter-18 in October 2026.

Under Walter Berger’s leadership, Kymeta established itself as a provider of electronically steered satellite communications solutions adopted by the Department of Defense and by government, enterprise, and maritime customers worldwide.

Walter Berger held senior executive roles at AppDynamics, SoftLayer, and Leap Wireless, with AppDynamics acquired by Cisco, SoftLayer acquired by IBM, and Leap Wireless acquired by AT&T.

Walter Berger served as president and Co-CEO of Kymeta Corporation and led the launch of the first commercially successful metamaterial flat-panel satellite antenna and multiple first-to-market products.

Walter Berger currently serves as Executive Chairman of AURA Network Systems.

The First Customer Link mission for SpinLaunch’s Meridian constellation will validate end-to-end system performance ahead of initial customer deployments and broader service rollout.

Suelynn Choy holds a PhD in precise Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) from RMIT University.

Suelynn Choy is Professor of Satellite Navigation at RMIT University.

Suelynn Choy researches improvements to GPS and GNSS algorithms and the use of satellite data for weather and climate studies.

The PNT conference produced takeaways that included the need for resilient PNT systems and the critical role of geodesy in tying PNT solutions to the Earth's reference frame.

Suelynn Choy advocates increasing women's participation in STEM.

Suelynn Choy trains the next generation of professionals and contributes to informed decision-making in government and industry.

Suelynn Choy is Deputy Dean at RMIT University.

Suelynn Choy is Director of the RMIT Satellite Positioning for Atmosphere, Climate and Environment (SPACE) Research Centre.

Suelynn Choy specialises in applications and methods of accurate and reliable positioning and satellite remote sensing of the Earth's atmosphere.

Suelynn Choy’s research interests concentrate on precise satellite positioning and navigation, geodesy, and the use of geospatial and satellite technologies for disaster management and atmospheric remote sensing.

Suelynn Choy manages a team of six PhD students focused on positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) and space-based data applications.

Suelynn Choy has authored numerous publications, contributed to industry collaborations, and advised national and international committees on satellite navigation and positioning.

Dr. Ajay Kothari holds a PhD and MS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland and a BSc in Physics from Bombay University.

The analysis selected the Falcon Heavy partially reusable option for mission planning.

The New Glenn SpaceSIDE model used liquid hydrogen density of 68 kilograms per cubic meter and liquid oxygen density of 1,153 kilograms per cubic meter.

SpaceX Starship’s upper stage mass is approximately 85 to 100 tons and is not compatible with the low-dry-weight upper-stage requirement of the proposed approach.

Dr. Ajay Kothari is President and Founder of Astrox Corporation, an aerospace R&D company located in suburban Washington, DC.

Both SpaceX Falcon Heavy and Blue Origin New Glenn offer upper-stage dry masses in the ranges considered useful for the proposed approach, approximately 4.5–6 tons for Falcon-derived upper stages and 10–12 tons for New Glenn upper stages.

SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System requires 8 to 15 refueling operations to support Artemis III human rating according to the analysis.

Four Falcon Heavy launches at $120 million each would cost $480 million in launch costs under the assumed pricing.

SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System has a fineness ratio of about 5.5 to 6 for its upper stage.

The proposed Falcon Heavy concept uses four Falcon Heavy flights with docking of upper stages in LEO to increase propellant fraction for TLI, LOI, and lunar landing.

Recent Congressional funding covers missions up to Artemis 5 but does not fund the infrastructure needed for a permanent lunar presence.

Blue Origin’s New Glenn may be available to support Commercial Lunar Payload Service missions with Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark I launcher and may support human return with Mark II.

Media estimates place New Glenn launch price near $160 million per flight, and four such launches yield an estimated $640 million in launch costs under those media estimates.

The analysis uses a required payload fraction of about 0.84 for the Merlin 1Dv engine to perform TLI plus LOI plus landing.

Falcon 9 upper stage dry mass is 4.5 tons according to SpaceX numbers, and the analysis uses 6 tons dry mass to account for tank rigidization, landing legs, and docking mechanisms.

Dr. Ajay Kothari has over 40 professional publications and has been principal investigator on more than 35 NASA and DoD contracts.

The New Glenn upper stage was modeled in Astrox’s SpaceSIDE using a component-based subsystem approach due to lack of Blue Origin published subsystem weights.

The Space Launch System does not offer a sustainable or cost-effective option for lunar settlements.

Astrox’s SpaceSIDE model for the New Glenn upper stage used a BE-3U engine design with a specific impulse of 463.5 seconds.