62 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MAY 2024
Space Tech Startup Xona Raises $19M
Series A for its Cutting-Edge Satellite
Navigation Service E
Xona, a company developing a network of small
satellites to provide high-precision navigation
services, announced an oversubscribed $19
million Series A funding round led by Future
Ventures and Seraphim Space. New investors
NGP Capital, Industrious Ventures, Murata
Electronics, Space Capital, and Aloniq also
joined the round.
Big Win for Defense Production Act
Budget Allocation in FY24 Budget E
One year ago, President Biden issued a deter-
mination that chips and packaging are criti-
cal for national security. Since that time, much
work has been done to continue the conversa-
tion in Washington, elevating the importance
of the entire chips value chain, and including
printed circuit boards and substrates, without
which chips cannot operate. On the heels of two
recent and substantial DoD award announce-
ments, the U.S.
RTX's Advanced Ground System
for Space-based Missile Warning
Now Operational E
An advanced ground system for space-based
missile warning developed by Raytheon, an
RTX business, is now operational at the U.S.
Space Force's Overhead Persistent Infrared
Battlespace Awareness Center (OBAC). "ere
are thousands of satellites on orbit today and
space is an increasingly contested domain,"
said Sandy Brown, vice president for Mission
Solutions & Payloads for Raytheon.
U.S. Air Force Secretary Kendall Flies
in AI-Piloted X-62A VISTA E
Lockheed Martin Skunk Works joined the
U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and other gov-
ernment and industry partners in hosting U.S.
Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall to
fly in the X-62A Variable In-flight Simulation
Test Aircra (VISTA), a one-of-a-kind aircra
modified to test artificial intelligence (AI) and
autonomy capabilities.
First Two WorldView Legion Spacecraft
Performing Well After Launch E
Maxar Intelligence, provider of secure, precise
geospatial intelligence, confirmed the first two
WorldView Legion satellites are performing
well aer being launched on a SpaceX Falcon
9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base,
California. Shortly aer launch, the satellites
deployed their solar arrays and began receiv-
ing and sending signals.
NASA Doubles Down, Advances
6 Innovative Tech Concepts to
New Phase E
One of the "science fiction-like" concepts—
for a lunar railway system to provide pay-
load transport on the Moon—is being devel-
oped at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts pro-
gram (NIAC) has selected six visionary con-
cept studies for additional funding and devel-
opment. Each study has already completed
the initial NIAC phase, showing their futuris-
tic ideas—like a lunar railway system and fluid-
based telescopes—may provide fresh perspec-
tives and approaches as NASA explores the
unknown in space.
