Space News for Wednesday, February 07, 2024

In this episode, we aggregate and summarize today's top space news stories. Enjoy!(00:10) Podcast Introduction(00:25) Viasat preparing to start services from hobbled ViaSat-3 satellite(00:51) Venture-backed space companies face “year of reckoning”(01:21) JPL to lay off 8% of workforce(01:48) Space VCs urge startups to pursue government contracts but stay focused on commercial success(02:18) Spectrum for the Space and Satellite Industry(02:50) AI startup Synthetaic raises $15 million in Series B funding(03:23) UPDATE: It’s a stand down at final minute as SpaceX scrubs Starlink smallsats launch – SatNews(03:57) UPDATE: SpaceX stands down from ISS undocking NASA’s Ax-3 astronauts to return to Earth – SatNews(04:32) Septentrio reveals new GNSS smart antenna – SatNews(04:58) Beyond Gravity helps NASA with precise positioning capability to track PACE satellite – SatNews(05:31) COTS systems support nexgen satellites— SmallSat Symposium panel of experts upcoming… – SatNews(06:04) Aldoria names new Vice President – SatNews(06:32) 40 Years Ago: STS-41B, the First Flight of the Manned Maneuvering Unit(07:08) Gamma-ray Bursts: Harvesting Knowledge From the Universe’s Most Powerful Explosions(07:38) JPL Workforce Update(08:04) Falcon 9 set to launch PACE science satellite for NASA