Investing in Space: Doing well to do good

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I met up with Planet CFO Ashley Fieglein Johnson here in NYC earlier this month, and one thing she said has really stuck with me: "We have to do well in order to do good."

Perhaps an obvious statement – given Planet is a publicly-traded company aiming to be profitable – but one that was striking, as companies and leaders in the space industry often proclaim goals of humanity-changing magnitude. And it's true: Space technologies have changed life around the world in a variety of ways, from GPS to communications and more.

But it's a simple yet crucial lesson, in a sector where sci-fi projections can overwhelm dollars and sense. Ambitions of social good won't mean much if the business isn't making money.

Fieglein Johnson, while noting she's not the originator of the quote, said the idea of doing well to do good first came up when she was interviewing with Planet's founders, Will Marshall and Robbie Schingler — and has become all the more poignant as space companies navigate lean times for fundraising and growth.

"I don't want to be the finance person constantly having to say no to science fair projects," Fieglein Johnson said, but "a company, especially a publicly-traded company, can't be a science project."

With a proliferation of imagery satellites in orbit, Planet's CFO emphasized that the company is focused on using its "dataset to create economic value to our end customer" – such as reducing the amount of fertilizer used in agriculture as costs rise.

"The carrot of being able to do good doesn't tend to survive the nuclear winter of a tough economy," Fieglein Johnson said.

Planet's stock slid last year alongside other recently debuted pure-play space companies, but Fieglein Johnson sees the company at a "tipping point" because "awareness of Planet is just at a fundamentally new level." That has been one of Planet's biggest challenges, she said, and means that the company can now "start to be more outward-focused in our growth ambitions."

• Rocket Lab successfully launches first Electron mission from the U.S., with the rocket delivering a trio of satellites to orbit for Hawkeye 360 from NASA's Wallops in Virginia. The long-awaited launch also marked the debut of NASA's new autonomous flight termination software, which the agency says will be "revolutionary" for aiding U.S. launches. – CNBC
• SpaceX completes Starship 'wet dress rehearsal' in major milestone toward first orbital launch: The company's prototype 24, stacked on Super Heavy booster prototype 7, was loaded with 10 million pounds of fuel in a crucial verification step ahead of launch. – CNBC
• NASA's Ingenuity helicopter on Mars completes 40th flight, as the demonstration craft continues its remarkable run of successful flights into 2023. – NASA
• Canada announces an effort to modernize launch regulations in order to boost commercial space opportunities in the country. – Canada / SpaceNews
• Asteroid-mining startup AstroForge announces plans to launch first mission in April, flying a demonstration spacecraft on an upcoming SpaceX rideshare launch. – Bloomberg
• Boeing closes in on first Starliner crew flight with prep milestone: The company mated the capsule with a service module, a key integration step, as it prepares for an April launch with NASA astronauts. – Boeing
• Astrobotic completes pre-flight testing of first lunar lander, with the Peregrine vehicle now ready to be shipped to Florida for launch on ULA's Vulcan rocket. – Astrobotic
• U.S. and Japanese astronauts conduct spacewalk to continue ISS power assembly work, the first of this year as work continues on the research laboratory. – NASA

• OneWeb signs insurance extension valued over $1 billion through Marsh, with the broker continuing to cover launches through 2023. – OneWeb
• Viasat wins U.S. Marine Corps contract for satellite communications, for an undisclosed amount. – Viasat
• Mynaric lands order from startup WARPSPACE for "small number" of laser terminals, with Mynaric CCO Tina Ghataore noting the deal is her company's "first customer in Japan." – Mynaric
• German rocket company Isar Aerospace signs deal with Spaceflight Inc. for launches later this decade. – Spaceflight
• Small rocket builder iRocket adds Blake Larson to board of directors. Larson spent 40 years at Orbital ATK and Northrop Grumman before retiring from the latter as VP and president of its space division. – iRocket

• Morgan Stanley begins coverage of Planet with an equal-weight (hold) rating, and a price target of $6 a share that represents a 24% rise from the stock's previous close. The firm called Planet a "one-to-many business model" and said it "creates potential for significant margin expansion." – Morgan Stanley
• William Blair downgrades Viasat to market perform (hold), citing the stock's 18% gain to begin the year and concern that the coming ViaSat-3 satellite's "entry into service may not be enough to stem subscriber losses amid pressure from SpaceX's Starlink," and looming further pressure from Amazon's Project Kuiper. – William Blair
• Boeing reports Q4 results, with its Defense, Space & Security unit increasing revenue 5% year over year to $6.2 billion, and an operating margin of 1.8%. On the space side, Boeing highlighted delivery of three satellites and the success of the Artemis I mission. – Boeing
• Lockheed Martin's space business grows net sales 12% in Q4 to $3.3 billion versus the same period a year ago, which it attributed primarily to higher volume among classified programs and its Orion capsule program. But Q4 operating profit slipped 25% from a year prior, which included lower earnings from United Launch Alliance (ULA) " due to lower launch volume." – Lockheed Martin
• Northrop Grumman reports a Q4 space sales increase of 23%, to $3.3 billion, compared to a year ago, from launch and missile systems. The unit's operating margin fell slightly, to 9.1% from 9.6% a year prior, in part because of a $45 million "write-down of commercial inventory." – Northrop Grumman 

• Jan. 29 – SpaceX Falcon 9 launches Starlink mission from California, in what would be the company's 6th launch this year. 
• Jan. 31 – SpaceX Falcon 9 launches Starlink mission from Florida.