Rapidly Responsive Space Stations Are Being Developed by TechCrunch and Other Sources

Hello and welcome back to TechCrunch Space. Let’s dive into this week’s top stories.

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Story of the Week: Gravitics’ Orbital Platforms

While there are limited details about the mission profile, I’m extremely intrigued by this news from space station developer Gravitics. The company was selected to develop orbital platforms to enable rapid response space missions. According to an email from Gravitics co-founder and CMO Mike DeRosa:

…we are not putting a module on a rocket for a tactically responsive launch. Instead, the mission is related to developing ‘platforms to enable a new kind of tactically responsive space mission.’

Scoop of the Week: True Anomaly Layoffs

Defense and space startup True Anomaly has laid off approximately 25% of its staff, and canceled its summer internship program, TechCrunch learned. While we couldn’t confirm the total headcount prior to these layoffs, True Anomaly had over 100 employees as of December 2023, according to a recent report from the Denver Business Journal.

What We’re Reading

I highly recommend this in-depth article by SpaceNews’ Sandra Erwin and Debra Werner. They explore how the Space Force’s push for a proliferated constellation of satellites is exposing weaknesses in the U.S. industrial base:

…the Space Force’s drive to create a vast network of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites has exposed vulnerabilities in the US space industry.

Read the full article

This Week in Space History

On May 1, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American to enter space when he piloted his capsule on a 15-minute suborbital flight. Interestingly, Blue Origin’s suborbital rocket is named after him!

Learn more about Alan Shepard

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Hardware: Roborock’s Roomba Competitor Gets a Robot Arm

Brian Heater, TechCrunch

Roborock has released a robot arm designed for its vacuum cleaning robots. The company claims that the arm will provide improved navigation and cleaning capabilities.

Read more about this development in Brian Heater’s article:

https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/02/roborock-robot-arm-vacuum-cleaning/