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MSFT builds medical superintelligence. Anduril, SpaceX, Xona & Maxar advance defense deals. An Imagining Forward Newsletter, Edition 28

space brew
deal flow
government
SpaceX wins $82M USSF-SSC contract, extending market leadership as the U.S. military’s primary launch provider (VS).
Momentus wins NASA contract to demo 1kW+ electric power for ISAM robots in LEO (SN).
Xona raises $92M Series B by Craft, Seraphim, Toyota & wins $20M SpaceWERX award for spoof-proof GPS proxy (SN).
Maxar teams with Satellogic under a $290M NGA program for multi-class object detection & global site monitoring (VS).
seed
OutSee secures $2.4M Seed to propel predictive genomics in nervous & metabolic drug discovery (LT).
series A+
Cato Networks raises $359M Series G by Vitruvian, Lightspeed to secure legacy infrastructure with AI SASE tech (FM).
public & m&a
headlines
🚀
Anduril & Argo Space deliver SDA & edge compute for space mobility to national security customers (AS).
Axiom Space & Skyroot Aerospace, ISRO’s SpaceX, partner on LEO launch & data center infrastructure (AS).
Sidus and Vorago partner on radiation-hardened MCUs to boost compute in extreme space environments (SN).
Moog expedites hypersonic & orbital launch with avionics manufacturing hub in New York (VS).
Cambrian Works boosts on-orbit compute & telemetry with high-speed network hardware on ISS (SN).
Finland expands intelligence & surveillance with ICEYE’s SAR satellites (AT).
🤖
community spotlight
today, 07/02
cosmic weekly insights

by @DARPA on X
bite-size signals
Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” delivers short-term stimulus, but without a long-term strategy, America risks losing its grip on the technologies that will define the next century.
The promise of American deep tech leadership—defined by supremacy in space, AI, biotech, robotics, and next-gen energy—isn’t just a matter of ambition; it’s a strategic necessity. With geopolitical fault lines hardening and capital-intensive innovation cycles accelerating, the U.S. needs more than tax relief and defense spending to maintain its edge.
Enter the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)—the Trump administration’s flagship fiscal policy in 2025. It’s bold. It’s fast. And it’s missing the mark.
While the bill brings meaningful wins for defense contractors and industrial reshoring, it stops short of crafting the long-range scaffolding needed for deep tech dominance.
Subsector Scorecard: Bill Hits and Misses
⚙️ Advanced Industrials
Win: Big winner. “Made-in-America” incentives, full expensing, and SME tax relief drive near-term factory investment. Some reshoring momentum for legacy sectors.
Miss: No successor to the CHIPS Act, no focused reinvestment in smart factories, and little vision for industrial transformation beyond cost and location.
☢️ Energy (Nuclear, Clean, and Critical Minerals)
Win: Fossil fuel producers see a windfall from deregulation, expanded public land access, and royalty relief.
Miss: Repeals IRA clean tech credits, undermines zero-carbon momentum. Nuclear startups are shut out. No new loan guarantees, regulatory streamlining, or domestic critical mineral strategy.
🛰️ SpaceTech
Win: $150 billion in defense spending may indirectly benefit satellite surveillance, launch systems, and dual-use applications.
Miss: No targeted funding or procurement guarantees for commercial space. NASA and civil initiatives are absent. No export reforms to ease ITAR friction for startups.
🤖 Robotics & Automation
Win: 100% expensing on capital equipment and expanded pass-through deductions support automation uptake in manufacturing.
Miss: No investment in robotics R&D, no national reskilling agenda, and no modernization of standards or procurement frameworks to support industrial robotics at scale.
🔐 Cybersecurity
Win: Defense budgets may enhance DoD-level cybersecurity investments.
Miss: Rollbacks in FTC enforcement (e.g., paused auto dealer pricing rule) and no mention of cybersecurity tax credits or critical infrastructure mandates. Civil-sector cyber remains underprioritized.
🧬 Biotech
Win: Almost none.
Miss: The bill cuts Medicaid access and slashes public health resources—undermining biotech demand signals. No FDA streamlining, no bio-manufacturing incentives, no pandemic preparedness funding.
What Would Have Launched Deep Tech Further?
To move beyond industrial nostalgia and truly position the U.S. for the next decade of competition, OBBBA could have integrated five key pillars:
1. A National Deep Tech Strategy
Mirroring the CHIPS Act playbook: cross-sector innovation targets, federal R&D matching, and advanced manufacturing zones across states.
2. Incentives & Tariff Alignment
Raise tariffs on low-tech imports (e.g., steel, textiles) while lowering them on critical inputs: chips, biotech reagents, reactor-grade metals, rare earths, optical components.
3. Talent Mobilization
Launch “Frontier Fellowships” for STEM grads and immigrant founders in AI, bio, space. Expand green cards for PhDs and enforce tech-transfer protections.
4. Smart Industrial Policy
Procurement mandates for domestic satellites, AI chips, robotics, and quantum systems. Fast-track agency standards for adoption in health, energy, and defense.
5. Energy & Resource Sovereignty
Subsidize uranium enrichment, modular reactor deployment, and recycling of lithium, cobalt, and rare earths. Prioritize geopolitically secure trade partnerships.
Long-Term Bottom Line
If America wants to lead the frontier economy by 2035, it needs more than tax cuts and oil permits—it needs a blueprint. A $500 billion strategic deep tech fund over 10 years, paired with targeted deregulation and talent acceleration, could ensure the U.S. defines—not follows—the next era of innovation.
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