Max Q: Will Starlink IPO?

Hello and welcome back to Max Q!

In this issue:

• Breakeven cashflow for Starlink
• News from Kuva Space and more

SpaceX’s Starlink has “achieved breakeven cash flow,” CEO Elon Musk said, a milestone achievement for the rocket company’s four-year-old satellite internet business unit.

He announced the news in a post on X, the social media platform that he also owns. He added that Starlink “is also now a majority of all active satellites and will have launched a majority of all satellites cumulatively from Earth by next year.” The news raises the question of if — or when — Starlink will ever join the public markets via an initial public offering.

More news from TC and beyond

The Federal Aviation Administration has finished a key portion of the launch license review for SpaceX’s Starship, bringing the company one step closer to a second launch.

Kuva Space, a hyperspectral imagery startup founded in Finland, has closed a €16.6 million ($17.6 million) Series A funding round as it looks to deploy up to 100 satellites by the end of the decade.

Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane is nearing its first test flight after years of development.

SpaceX and United Launch Alliance were awarded a U.S. Space Force contract for 21 launches, worth $2.5 billion in total.

Virgin Galactic conducted its fifth crewed suborbital mission.

Zephr has emerged from stealth with radical plans to dramatically improve GPS — using cell phones with zero hardware modifications.

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