Before setting personal goals for a new year, I always find that reflecting on highlights from the year gone by makes me appreciate the effort I’ve spent and helps refine where to build.
2023 may not have been a banner year for the space industry, but it certainly was a banner year to be a space reporter. I struggle to think of any year since I started covering this business that had higher highs and lower lows. Here are my personal top five stories from this year, in reverse order:
5. FAA balancing air and space
In a comprehensive feature, my colleague Leslie Josephs and I dove into the data around how the Federal Aviation Administration is navigating planes and rockets battling for the same airspace. The year-after-year increase in space missions shows no signs of slowing, so cataloging where the FAA has made improvements (“Since 2018, the FAA has cut airspace closures in half for launches”) and where there’s still demand for more changes (“The space industry doesn’t have a formalized system for supporting air traffic control”) felt like a worthwhile watermark.
4. Pentagon rocket sweepstakes
The rocket launching business is often noted for being one of, if not the, most difficult subsectors when it comes to making money in the space industry. Hopefully CNBC readers came away understanding a bit more this year about the most lucrative opportunity in the launch business: The Pentagon’s NSSL awards. With Phase 2 orders winding down and Phase 3 awards about to begin, 2023 marked a significant shift in how the U.S. military buys rockets. That’s especially important for companies vying to be in Phase 3 after Phase 2 saw Space Force dole out over $5.6 billion for 48 launches.
3. India the new space superpower
We called this out in June, and I think the rest of the world took notice two months later: India landing a cargo mission on the moon isn’t a one-off, but instead represents the country’s replacement of Russia among space superpowers. The U.S. and China are the clear No. 1 and No. 2. Thankfully for American ambitions (and businesses) in space, the new No. 3 is keen to work with NASA and industry for a variety of upcoming Indian missions.
2. Starship’s first launch
One of the most insane work weeks of my career naturally culminated with the first launch attempt of the world’s largest rocket: I bounced between Texas and Colorado multiple times while the annual Space Symposium conference – and its many obligations for a space reporter – coincided with SpaceX’s attempt to launch Starship. Topping off that week with a killer blog and TV hits, live from South Padre Island, on the minute-by-minute of Starship’s flight was exhausting but satisfying.
1. Virgin Orbit goes down
I’ve never been more on the front lines of a business story than I was while covering the Virgin Orbit saga. I’ll never forget walking through D.C.’s Union Station, searching for the Amtrak back to NYC while on the phone with sources who were just told the company was pausing operations as leadership hunted for a funding lifeline. The weeks to come were no less chaotic, as Virgin Orbit was forced to fully shut down and was sold off in bankruptcy.
Honorable mentions among other news we broke at CNBC: Crunchtime for Sierra Space, Kathy Lueders joins SpaceX, Blue Origin gets a new CEO, and Firefly’s undertaking of the challenging Victux Nox mission.
Thank you to the trust of sources and readers for another great year covering the space business for CNBC. See you in 2024!
Programming note: Investing in Space will be on hiatus next week. Watch for the next edition on Jan. 11. Happy New Year!
