Artemis II Update: Crew Begins Initial Phase of Moon Mission

Summary

• The Artemis II mission's Orion spacecraft is in a stable, elliptical high Earth orbit, with the critical translunar injection burn scheduled for ~7-8 PM ET.
• A key mission objective is to observe the far side of the moon for resources, including water, minerals, and oxygen, highlighting its strategic resource value.
• The mission involves a planned loss of communication (LOS) with Houston as the spacecraft passes behind the moon, a significant risk moment.
• The spacecraft will use a "free return trajectory," leveraging the moon's and Earth's gravity to swing back toward Earth.
• Shares of Globalstar rallied ~9% on reports Amazon is in talks to acquire it.
• Apple currently owns ~20% of Globalstar, whose technology currently enables emergency messaging on iPhones.
• The primary strategic value for Amazon in acquiring Globalstar is its licensed spectrum and its existing global regulatory authorizations and ground infrastructure.
• This acquisition would accelerate Amazon's space-based internet ambitions (Project Kuiper) by providing a "go-to-market" advantage to compete with SpaceX's Starlink.
• The thesis is that the value lies not in Globalstar's existing satellite hardware but in the spectrum rights and market access it controls.