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Past Updates -
- 11/28/2024: Giving thanks to the DOE for prompt payment, and other policies which really do encourage small R&D businesses.
- 10/23/2024: We have updated our site, including details about our new project. Check it out: http://cubecab.com/
- 9/29/2024: Well, NOW it has been granted. Getting the paperwork all signed took a while. We are officially underway, though just on a study for now.
- 9/2/2024: DOE granted us a Phase I STTR award for safe nuclear thermal rocket engine design. Some states are discussing funding a spaceplane using it.
- 7/19/2024: CubeCab is not directly affected by today's CrowdStrike incident. Our systems are more robust than that.
- 6/30/2024: Ah, bureaucratic inertium, the secret ingredient that makes rocket development programs slow. The supply has been so high lately.
- 5/31/2024: Re our DOE proposal from April: bureaucrats don't ask to dot the Is & cross the Ts for things they don't intend to fund, right?
- 5/1/2024: CubeCab has moved to North Carolina. We look forward to further opportunities in our new location.
- 4/1/2024: Proposed to DOE SBIR: how to make a certain high-thrust nuclear thermal rocket safer for Earth-to-orbit launch than some chemical rockets.
- 3/1/2024: The rainy season reminds us of Cab-3A's almost-all-weather launch capability: no more delays from slight rain. (But no hurricanes, usually.)
- 2/1/2024: Anyone know how to get ahold of the DOD folks who want a govt-operated launch vehicle and thought Starship? Our Cab-3B is all about that.
- 1/1/2024: Fun fact of the new year's: GPS clocks are slowed down slightly to correct for relativity. Orbital speed is just that fast.
- 12/16/2023: Ah, the holidays. Got so busy we forgot our monthly checkin. Is orbital debris just a menace, or can it be a feast awaiting recycling?
- 11/1/2023: Unfortunately, leftover Halloween candy does not give enough delta-v to reach orbit, despite our investigators' extensive testing.
- 10/1/2023: SBIR proposals get interesting when the written req's say one thing, the Web interface to submit the proposal says another, and on Zoom they say something else.
- 9/1/2023: For those who've been asking this week: a "blue moon" event is not expected to, and does not, turn the Moon blue like our logo.
- 7/29/2023: We're still on FaceBook and the service once known as Twitter for now. We're considering posting on LinkedIn. No others look compelling yet.
- 6/24/2023: To certain friends whose circumstance is unfortunately not more public: launch American! We don't steal your satellites off the launch pad.
- 5/24/2023: We're more orange and blue, but apparently we're banned in Russia. https://twitter.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1661313281930215426
- 4/28/2023: Apologies for missing CDW this year. We've been working on something we hope to reveal soon.
- 3/31/2023: Every failure, such as Virgin Orbit's, is an opportunity to learn. We hope that many take this relatively well-documented opportunity.
- 2/9/2023: From a small rocket company to a large one, congrats to @spacex on lighting off the largest full rocket stack yet!
- 1/31/2023: We've been told that someone @fema is investigating rapid satellite launch to help w/disasters. Does anyone know who we should speak with?
- 12/26/2022: Congratulations to Adrian Tymes, Dustin Still, Andrew Barton, & Charles Prael for the issue of patent #11,535,403. Now let's put it to work!
- 12/2/2022: Claims that scientists without PhDs can't do "real" R&D are like claims that small business can't make "real" useful products.
- 10/26/2022: For our fans near Houston: we will be presenting an overview of our current projects tomorrow at https://eventbrite.com/e/aerospace-investment-symposium-tickets-422845631667?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
- 9/8/2022: Also see Sabrina's article on NSTXL: https://nstxl.org/space-freedom-and-the-future-how-rapid-satellite-launch-capabilities-can-support-critical-dod-missions/
- 9/8/2022: Hear from our own Sabrina Westerman next Thursday on using rapid launch capability to save lives and ensure freedom: https://www.f4fspace.org/liftoff
- 9/1/2022: Side project: turning last month's honorable mention into a SBIR proposal. An engine that makes fuel from orbital debris has applications.
- 7/19/2022: CubeCab is honored to receive honorable mention in NASA's Orbital Alchemy Challenge: https://nasaorbitalalchemy.techconnectventures.com
- 6/30/2022: Here's how we could extend that debris engine into making economically feasible solar power satellites: https://nstxl.org/the-lunar-solution/
- 6/7/2022: More detail on our last post's idea: https://contest.techbriefs.com/2022/entries/aerospace-and-defense/11722 - if you want to do us a small favor, make an account and vote for us.
- 5/31/2022: Orbital debris is an in-situ resource in orbit. If nothing else, grind it up fine and use it as reaction mass.
- 4/29/2022: Thanks to the CubeSat Developers Workshop, we have a new appreciation for how sharing a ride to orbit is not free. It's not all about $/kg.
- 3/11/2022: In this month's white paper, our CFO lays out our attempts to help Ukraine over the past year. http://cubecab.com/white_papers/Ukraine_Missed_Opportunities_and_Expectations_vs_Reality.pdf
- 2/28/2022: Satellite internet is great at helping those attacked by oppressive governments get the word out. Wartime is an extreme example of this.
- 1/31/2022: Among our challenges is misinformation about space. Not even rocket stuff but basics like "We have a Space Force". https://military.com/daily-news/2022/01/28/space-force-real-guardians-still-struggling-unconvinced-public.html
- 12/30/2021: One potential silver lining of Russia's ASAT & China's complaints about dodging Starlink: funding to clean up orbital debris, at long last.
- 11/19/2021: Just posted: a rapid launch & satellite architecture to quickly clean up messes like last Monday's Russian ASAT. http://cubecab.com/white_papers/Rapid_Space_Debris_Cleanup.pdf
- 9/29/2021: When judges claim "no scientific basis" to say "solid fuel rockets can launch in one place & land in another", their honesty's questionable.
- 9/6/2021: Just posted: how rapid & responsive satellite launch can preserve freedom. http://cubecab.com/white_papers/Ensuring_Internet_Freedom.pdf
- 7/30/2021: SBIR 21.1A complete. Potential (until MOU signed) TPOC found. Now seeking support letters that say you'd use our service if it's developed.
- 6/30/2021: If we apply for SBIR Phase 2 funding for our three "phase" development program, we'll need a new name for our phases. Maybe "parts"?
- 6/2/2021: Chief cause of difficulty finding TPOCs for our SBIR: people not answer email/voicemail, or saying they will follow up then not doing so.
- 4/16/2021: Work has begun on our SBIR 21.1A. ISO a MOU from DOD parties, preferably USAF or USSF, who want better space access than they can get today.
- 5/31/2021: After all these years, we may finally getting a bit of gov't funding. Not finalized yet, and only v. low 5 figures, but it may lead to more.
- 2/28/2021: NOM4D was less than anticipated. It's politically safe, but 54 months of simulations w/no funding to launch to the Moon seems excessive.
- 1/29/2021: Seeing quite a few sat proposals that are just art, w/no commercial or scientific purpose. Low-cost reliable launches spark the imagination.
- 12/31/2020: Congratulations on surviving 2020! May 2021 be a year of recovery.
- 11/29/2020: This weekend like every weekend, giving thanks for staying safe (not just medically). It is too easy to blow oneself up working with rockets.
- 10/31/2020: It turns out that pumpkins do not work as well as aircraft for carrying rockets. Happy Halloween, everyone! https://twitter.com/cubecab/status/1322584383883145216/photo/1
- 9/29/2020: CubeCab has been selected to present today & tomorrow at AFWERX's Engage Space online event: https://engage.space
- 8/27/2020: Those PlasticMasks masks are finally in production. We'll have production samples by 9/11, and our first batch for distribution around 9/30.
- 7/31/2020: Mask production beginning this weekend; first shipment expected in early September. Anticipating returning focus to rocketry in Q4.
- 7/29/2020: 1 mask (fully assembled) + 10 filters for $20, effectively $2/day: lower cost than daily disposable N95 masks long term. (3/3)
- 7/29/2020: Injection molded, sterilizable & reusable w/disposable filter cartridges, filtration should be as effective as a N95 mask. (2/3)
- 7/29/2020: We've been R&Ding next generation masks. We're spinning off a mask making venture, PlasticMasks, starting production next month. (1/3)
- 5/12/2020: We're fans of getting people familiar w/actual space tech. We hear https://iss-sim.spacex.com is a faithful sim of actual Dragon controls.
- 4/30/2020: Props to #SBA for processing record numbers of loans, and keeping people afloat where they can. Not a perfect job, but nobody's perfect.
- 3/29/2020: If social distancing is putting you off, be glad you're not a satellite. They have to stay many km apart, and that order's not so temporary.
- 2/29/2020: To those looking to work w/us on AtmoSense: the BAA's yet to release. We're as in the dark as you are. DARPA says due dates may be adjusted.
- 2/2/2020: Customers, customers, customers. So many institutions want a dedicated CubeSat launch, and for someone else to fund development.
- 12/31/2019: Now that the USSF officially exists, we would like to make our Cab-3B a launch vehicle they can own & operate directly.
- 11/27/2019: Giving thanks for all the support we've been getting. Onward to make the best low-cost dedicated small satellite launch vehicle!
- 10/25/2019: DD2345 approved; now to negotiate with Space Enterprise Consortium. Also, The Current War has tones of modern rocket race: too many fences.
- 9/26/2019: DDTC registration complete as of this morning. DD2345 filed. Now to wait on that, then we can finally sign up w/Space Enterprise Consortium.
- 8/29/2019: After more than a year of shenanigans, our DDTC registration is finally underway. It shouldn't be this hard for the gov't to take our money.
- 7/28/2019: Re last month's post: we have decided against attending SmallSat this year. Too much of the same stuff, year after year = no new deals.
- 6/30/2019: With increasing number of space events & finite marketing budget, we have to pick/choose which ones to go to, & skip ones unlikely to help.
- 5/31/2019: We are now seeking LOIs for payloads for our test program. Anyone interested, info@cubecab.com awaits your letter.
- 4/16/2019: Using this month's post to signal boost FAA. Anyone who works in the launch industry should read and maybe comment: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/04/15/2019-05972/streamlined-launch-and-reentry-licensing-requirements
- 3/31/2019: CubeCab will speak 4/18 ~3 PM @ Space Access 2019 on our experience applying for a FAA launch license & eliminating risk categories. #SA19
- 3/1/2019: Dropping our entry to the DARPA Launch Challenge: we launch 5 kg, DLC insists on minimum 10 kg. In talks re: helping another DLC entrant.
- 2/1/2019: FAA launch license app submitted last night, just before DLC deadline. Now to wait. Considering giving Space Access talk about app.
- 1/1/2019: Draft FAA launch license app submitted. Looking forward to review (even w/slowdown). 1 more month to finish DLC apps, then see if we're in.
- 11/30/2018: Giving thanks for teamwork: our DARPA Launch Challenge application is in, just in time! Next step: apply for a launch license from the FAA.
- 10/31/2018: Just in case anyone else thinks of this way to use it up: chocolate is not a high enough performance fuel for satisfactory amateur rockets.
- 10/1/2018: For all the flame and power of a rocket launch, we sometimes wonder what fraction of its energy is spent on paperwork.
- 8/17/2018: Our DARPA Launch Challenge prequal has now been accepted. (It took more than filling out that form.) That's the easiest of the 3 steps done.
- 7/29/2018: FAA Pre-Application formally begun 7/27. Good mtg. Distilling complex process to step-by-step via insights from other industries (as we do).
- 6/30/2018: To those asking about our BitcoinLatina contract: they had a reorg. Start of work for them has been delayed.
- 5/31/2018: #darpalaunchchallenge event went extremely well. Now seeing if we can get outside sponsorship to accelerate our dev & compete on time.
- 4/29/2018: http://darpalaunchchallenge.org mentions "launch pad"s. Unknown if they mean to thus exclude air launch. We intend to ask @ 5/23 event.
- 3/31/2018: Kudos to @NatReconOfc for RASR. This is exactly what's needed to transition to smaller, faster, cheaper & better space projects.
- 2/7/2018: Following up from last post: here's a customer willing to pay up front. We are now funded for development! http://bitcoinlatina.org/blog/bitcoinlatina-foundation-and-cubecab-to-launch-300-satellite-network-to-support-bcl-blockchain/
- 1/28/2018: Sorry for no post last month. Negotiating w/multiple 100+ sat customers. But almost all want to pay 100% credit; we can't extend credit.
- 11/23/2017: The BBC gave us another mention: http://bbc.com/future/story/20171121-the-fighter-jet-that-will-launch-satellites
- 10/30/2017: Congratulations to Cesaroni on getting back up and running! Burn down & rebuild is a scary way to update a factory. https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2017/10/24/spaceport-gains-new-facility-for-expanded-rocket.html
- 10/1/2017: Seems fast payload processing is more valuable than we thought. Launch within 1 day of delivery to launch site enables some payload types.
- 7/24/2017: CubeCab to launch 1,000 satellites for ThumbSat. http://prnewswire.com/news-releases/cubecab-to-launch-1000-satellites-for-thumbsat-300492515.html
- 7/23/2017: If you missed our TMRO interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULBbpAYARI8&t=1676s
- 7/22/2017: CubeCab to be interviewed on http://tmro.tv/live today re: launcher & customers. Show @ 11 AM PT/2 PM ET, interview approx. 11:20/2:20.
- 6/23/2017: We're live at the Paris Air Show! Come by and visit - booth S08 in the Paris Air Lab. https://twitter.com/cubecab/status/878277524437872641/photo/1
- 6/16/2017: Back from #SPRSA. Other presenters kept using stuff we came up with, even our bus/cab analogy. Is this what being a thought leader means?
- 4/1/2017: No fooling: CubeCab has been asked to speak at #ParisAirShow. Still working out details; will announce when we have more.
- 3/16/2017: Small contest, but if you want to vote for us, thanks in advance: https://contest.techbriefs.com/2017/entries/aerospace-and-defense/7435
- 3/1/2017: https://tmro.tv/2017/02/19/erday-astronauting-orbit-10-07/ - recent piece about CubeCab (starting around 18:10)
- 1/31/2017: How many of you would buy a dedicated 1U launch for $100K? We thought it'd be unprofitable (too little demand), but we've reason to recheck.
- 12/28/2016: Our holiday gift: if you need a CubeSat launch contract w/flexible payments as part of your startup's development, ask sales@cubecab.com.
- 11/11/2016: Online popularity contest, toss us a vote if you want: http://newspacepeople.com/newspace/vote-for-your-favourite-newspace-company
- 10/17/2016: Thanks, all who sent ideas for the forum! They were impressed by the level of thought & effort. Now to see what's made of the suggestions.
- 10/10/2016: Looking to brainstorm proposals to the Air Force Innovation Forum 10/17. http://pastebin.com/8J80E416 for details. Got ideas? Please send them!
- 8/26/2016: Finally finished with initial follow-ups from @SmallSat. If we missed you, or you just want to chat, please drop us a line: info@cubecab.com
- 8/16/2016: Still going through contacts from @SmallSat. If we haven't gotten to you yet don't worry: this is why we said we'd follow up within 2 weeks.
- 8/5/2016: Current status: once more unto the @SmallSat, dear friends, once more until the @SmallSat.
- 7/29/2016: Tentative request to fit our rockets to F/A-18s, so @USNavy carriers can launch sats, but no funding for it (yet). No bucks, no Buck Rogers.
- 5/28/2016: So many customers with launch scenarios only we can fill: responsive launch, temp-controlled payloads, low altitude, & tight constellations.
- 5/1/2016: People have been asking, so we'll say it here: if you want a copy of the presentation we wrote for Space Access, just ask info@cubecab.com
- 3/26/2016: Preparing to present at Space Access '16 in 2 weeks. So much we want to say & show, so much we can't in public just yet.
- 2/18/2016: Back from trip. Measuring (http://imgur.com/o1HHqc3), planning, meeting - so much we can't talk about until the contracts are signed.
- 1/19/2016: Preparing for 1/22 meeting @StarfightersAS. Configuration, measurement, regs, and a possible new fin can that's not a TIE fighter, honest.
- 12/28/2015: CubeCab plans to provide individual launches for 3U cubesats, with the ability to place 5 kg into 400km polar orbit https://aviationweek.com/space/emerging-small-satellite-launch-vehicles#slide-0-field_images-1389141
- 12/5/2015: We applaud #ULACubeSats for giving away CubeSat launches, even if only for a few 1Us within significant limitations. We can launch the rest.
- 11/4/2015: Hard to believe we went this long without naming our rocket. It's "Cab-3A": CubeCab is building cabs & this is version A of our 3U launcher.
- 10/7/2015: Having to miss Lunar Cubes to make time for several important (and, so far, productive) discussions that needed to happen this week: a wash.
- 9/12/2015: Productive conference, in terms of number of contacts. Now to follow up and see what comes of them.
- 9/8/2015: Another month, another conference, for now. Speaking @ Space 2.0 on Thursday.
- 8/11/2015: Home from #smallsat2015. May attend full #smallsat2016. WOW the demand for our service! Anyone want to buy 2018 rides at a discount, ask us.
- 8/2/2015: Now setting up to attend #smallsat2015 - just the pre-conference workshop, since we're focused on CubeSats.
- 7/17/2015: Taking a break from negotiating and developing to attend #newspace2015, where we are negotiating and developing.
- 7/24/2015: One annoying thing about NDAs: when developments happen, you can't talk about them until they're resolved. It's for the best, but still.
- 7/3/2015: So just how many launch aggregators are there out there?
- 5/15/2015: Still going through the contacts from SA '15 and Space Innovation Days. Space biz: it's more than just rocket science.
- 5/1/2015: Final draft of tonight's presentation is ready. Good PowerPoint isn't rocket science, but it takes work just like anything worth doing well.
- 4/19/2015: On May 1st, our COO will be presenting at Space Access '15 in Phoenix.
- 1/30/2015: 27 more days to help get this project funded Check out Project Spartan Spear by Project Spartan Spear on @Kickstarter
- 1/28/2015: PSS KickStarter is live! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1092366470/project-spartan-spear
- 1/19/2015: Helping Project Spartan Spear get their Kickstarter ready. Should be going in time for next update.
- 1/1/2015: 2014 in three words: a nice start. See you in 2015!
- 12/25/2014: People have asked how 100s of new satellites could be tracked and visualized. NORAD's Santa Tracker is a good start. http://noradsanta.org
- 12/18/2014: "@DIYSpacex: Send your Cubesat to Mars or an asteroid with CAT http://rgn.bz/FpiV " Think of all the possibilities https://twitter.com/cubecab/status/545772119351517184/photo/1
- 10/11/2014: Had a great day meeting and collaborating with other entrepreneurs at today's 4th International Workshop on #LunarCubes.
- 9/18/2014: "@airspacemag: Cubesats are great -- even if they die on you. http://airspacemag.com/daily-planet/cubesats-are-great-even-if-they-die-you-180952745/ " https://twitter.com/cubecab/status/512745918173421568/photo/1
- 8/25/2014: Happy birthday to our COO!
- 8/7/2014: It's been all work and no play for us since winning first prize in the Lightning Pitch Competition two weeks ago! @NewSpaceCon. #CubeCab
- 7/30/2014: Props to @Hawk_Ridge_Sys for setting us up w/software to model our rocket for last week's presentation. 1 picture = 1 kiloword.
- 6/25/2014: http://imgur.com/eMd9Ki1 won't fit through the ATM slot. Who knew? (Will be doing paperwork to get real check today.)
- 6/22/2014: Looking forward to @NewSpaceCon later this week!