Houston space data startup to compute real-time insights in orbit

out of this world

Together, Little Place Labs and Loft Orbital are paving the way for a new era of rapid-response capabilities in space. Photo courtesy of Little Place Labs

A Houston space startup has announced a new partnership that will “push the boundaries of real-time data processing and insight delivery.”

Little Place Labs is collaborating with San Francisco-based Loft Orbital to pair its low-latency operations, using its space infrastructure with LittlePlace Labs’ cutting-edge analytics. This will enhance maritime domain awareness under a US Air Force Phase 2 STTR by deploying Little Place Labs software to Loft’s YAM-6 satellite as a virtual mission.

“Our on-orbit data processing solutions, paired with Loft’s satellite platform, allow us to derive and deliver insights in near real-time for time-sensitive situations,” Little Place Labs Co-founder and CEO Bosco Lai says in a news release. “These insights are critical to commercial and national security stakeholders, including those in the US government. This collaboration highlights the new space age, where companies like Little Place Labs and Loft come together, integrating our solutions into powerful capabilities.”

Loft plans to deploy Little Place Labs’ applications to its constellation of satellites. Each satellite node will be equipped with a sensing resource like visible and infrared images, and configurable software-defined radios. The satellite nodes make up Loft’s space infrastructure, which will include onboard edge compute and connectivity resources. The infrastructure will be used to build and complete complex missions. The low-latency maritime domain awareness is an example of the complex challenges that won’t involve deployment of new hardware. This aligns with both companies goals to address real-time data solutions and rapid responses in space.

"We are proud to support customers like Little Place Labs in pushing the limits of what’s possible with low latency applications and onboard edge compute,” Mitchell Scher, director of business development at Loft, adds. “While we’re providing the infrastructure to support these kinds of low-latency operations, it is only as useful as the applications our customers deploy and the operational value they produce for their end users.”

Little Place Labs will be working with another military organization, as they were recently selected by AFWERX for a STTR Phase II contract in the amount of $1.8 million dollars. The focus will be “revolutionizing space- based ISR through decentralized systems,” per a news release. This will be done in-orbit ML computing for near-real-time intelligence to address challenges in the Department of the Air Force.

Another recent collaboration sees their Orbitfy software suite on LEOcloud’s Space Edge infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). This will help facilitate “scalable real-time data processing and analysis directly on spacecraft, significantly reducing downlink costs and enabling faster mission-critical insight,” according to a news release. The Orbitfy Software suite combines data preprocessing capabilities with low-SWaP machine learning applications that is designed for deployment directly on space infrastructures and satellites.

Little Place Labs is also using its satellite real-time solutions to help address wildfires. They were one of four companies part of the completion of the first round of the XPRIZE Autonomous Wildfire Challenge by the coalition Fire Foresight.

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Six Italian companies are coming to the Space City to accelerate their businesses thanks to a new program. Photo via nasa.gov

Houston to host 6 Italian aerospace companies with new program

space it up

It's an Italian invasion in Houston — and it's happening in the name of accelerating innovation within aerospace.

For the first time, Italy has announced an international aerospace-focused program in the United States. The Italian Trade Agency and Italian Space Agency will partner with Space Foundation to launch Space It Up, an initiative that will accelerate six companies in Houston.

“The launch of Space It Up marks a pivotal moment in our ongoing commitment to nurturing innovation and facilitating global partnerships," Fabrizio Giustarini, Italian Trade Commissioner of Houston, says in a news release. "This program serves as a testament to the collaborative spirit that defines the aerospace industry. It represents the convergence of Italian ingenuity and Houston's esteemed legacy in space exploration, setting the stage for unprecedented advancements."

The Italian companies in the inaugural cohort represent various areas of cutting-edge aerospace innovations and technologies. The selected companies are:

Arca Dynamics, a space traffic management and Earth observation service provider.
Delta Space, a low-cost satellite connectivity for sensors and launch services.
Involve Space, a pseudo-satellite platform and intelligent software to enable access to space.
Nabu, an IoT and data analysis provider.
NOVAC, which is producing an innovative shapeable all-solid-state structural supercapacitor.
T4i, developing innovative engines to serve small satellite platforms.

ITA and Space Foundation will provide a six-week immersive program focused on the most important aspects of the aerospace industry that will also include business events, networking opportunities, and, ultimately, connect the Houston aerospace community with the Italian startups.

Space It Up will launch its kick-off event at noon on September 1 at Ion Houston, followed by a demo day on September 27. The Demo Day will demonstrate the transformative impact on the aerospace industry by presenting the progress on break-through technologies and projects like the acceleration programs.

The Houston office is one of five ITA offices in the U.S. Other partnerships include Houston-based digital platform leader Village Insights, which will serve as a digital epicenter for Italy’s aerospace companies.

“From the cradle of Renaissance to the frontiers of the cosmos, Italy’s heritage of space innovations knows no bounds,” Keli Kedis Ogborn, Space Foundation vice president of space and entrepreneurship, says in a news release. “With a legacy of scientific advancements, Italy continues to script a new chapter in history, this time with a broader focus on international collaboration and impactful growth to the evolving global space ecosystem.”

Eric Ingram and Sergio Gallucci of SCOUT are focused on creating data-driven solutions to space technology management to save companies billions and prevent space debris. Photos courtesy of SCOUT

Tech startup lands in Houston to help space support services take off

space tech

A Virginia-based space company startup focusing on developing small and inexpensive satellites is making an out-of-this-world entrance in the Houston commercial innovation space.

SCOUT has been selected as part of the 2020 MassChallange's Texas in Houston cohort, a zero-equity startup accelerator, in the commercial space track and is planning a demonstration mission with the Johnson Space Center in 2021.

The startup, founded in 2019 by Eric Ingram and joined shortly after by Sergio Gallucci. Both have years of experience in innovative research and development, leading teams across academia, government, and industry. Their data will help manufacturers and operators extend satellite lifetimes, avoid failing satellites, reducing up to a billion dollars in losses.

"If we want further operate in space and grow our space presence overall," Eric Ingram, CEO-and-founder tells InnovationMap. "We need to have a safe environment to expand that presence so any time you have unchecked failures and space debris is a problem. We want to help take some of the riskiness out of space operations by providing data that doesn't already exist."

SCOUT provides a wide array of new products based on data to produce small and inexpensive satellites to perform in-space inspections of large and expensive satellites. Their data and spaceflight autonomy software helps spacecraft detect, identify, and refine models for observed objects to gather information and enable autonomous operations.

The space startup's observation and comprehension capabilities creates data products for customers, such as Spacecraft Sensor Suites and Satellite Inspections. The former is a sensor suite under current development to enable a new way to monitor satellites in space while the latter consists of their small satellites that can enable on-demand and on-site inspections for space assets.

This, according to Ingram, is changing the paradigm of operational risk in space.

"If we are able to better understand how these satellites age over time and diagnose problems before they become catastrophic failures," says Ingram "We can prevent space debris from even happening. The more safety and responsibility in space, the better it is for everyone to increase their technology and investment in what is a very rapidly growing industry."

Lost satellites tend to happen often, resulting in about $300 million lost in hardware and around $40 million annual revenue gone. Spacecrafts in outer space can be part of many unpredictable interactions that can be difficult to trace including solar activity, thermal, mechanical wear, and outgassing.

SCOUT will focus the rest of the year in growing their company, despite the setbacks caused by the coronavirus. Their priority is to meet their fundraising and technical milestones while engaging in strategic partnerships with satellite industry players.

"The space industry is growing and is becoming a more realistic and viable avenue for business growth and investment," says Ingram. "Houston is a diverse city with innovation at every front and the effort that NASA is going through to aid the commercial space industry, combined with the startup accelerators that there is a lot of adjacent opportunities and overlap in capabilities."

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Micro-nuclear reactor to launch at Texas A&M innovation campus in 2026

nuclear pilot

The Texas A&M University System and Last Energy plan to launch a micro-nuclear reactor pilot project next summer at the Texas A&M-RELLIS technology and innovation campus in Bryan.

Washington, D.C.-based Last Energy will build a 5-megawatt reactor that’s a scaled-down version of its 20-megawatt reactor. The micro-reactor initially will aim to demonstrate safety and stability, and test the ability to generate electricity for the grid.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) fast-tracked the project under its New Reactor Pilot Program. The project will mark Last Energy’s first installation of a nuclear reactor in the U.S.

Private funds are paying for the project, which Robert Albritton, chairman of the Texas A&M system’s board of regents, said is “an example of what’s possible when we try to meet the needs of the state and tap into the latest technologies.”

Glenn Hegar, chancellor of the Texas A&M system, said the 5-megawatt reactor is the kind of project the system had in mind when it built the 2,400-acre Texas A&M-RELLIS campus.

The project is “bold, it’s forward-looking, and it brings together private innovation and public research to solve today’s energy challenges,” Hegar said.

As it gears up to build the reactor, Last Energy has secured a land lease at Texas A&M-RELLIS, obtained uranium fuel, and signed an agreement with DOE. Founder and CEO Bret Kugelmass said the project will usher in “the next atomic era.”

In February, John Sharp, chancellor of Texas A&M’s flagship campus, said the university had offered land at Texas A&M-RELLIS to four companies to build small modular nuclear reactors. Power generated by reactors at Texas A&M-RELLIS may someday be supplied to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid.

Also in February, Last Energy announced plans to develop 30 micro-nuclear reactors at a 200-acre site about halfway between Lubbock and Fort Worth.

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This article originally appeared on our sister site, EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

Houston falls from top 50 in global ranking of 'World's Best Cities'

Rankings & Reports

Houston is no longer one of the top 50 best cities in the world, according to a prestigious annual report by Canada-based real estate and tourism marketing firm Resonance Consultancy.

The newest "World's Best Cities" list dropped Houston from No. 40 last year to No. 58 for 2026.

The experts at Resonance Consultancy annually compare the world's top 100 cities with metropolitan populations of at least 1 million residents or more based on the relative qualities of livability, "lovability," and prosperity. The firm additionally collaborated with AI software company AlphaGeo to determine each city's "exposure to risk, adaptation capacity," and resilience to change.

The No. 1 best city in the world is London, with New York (No. 2), Paris (No. 3), Tokyo (No. 4), and Madrid (No. 5) rounding out the top five in 2026.

Houston at least didn't rank as poorly as it did in 2023, when the city surprisingly plummeted as the 66th best city in the world. In 2022, Houston ranked 42nd on the list.

Despite dropping 18 places, Resonance Consultancy maintains that Houston "keeps defying gravity" and is a "coveted hometown for the best and brightest on earth."

The report cited the Houston metro's ever-growing population, its relatively low median home values ($265,000 in 2024), and its expanding job market as top reasons for why the city shouldn't be overlooked.

"Chevron’s shift of its headquarters from California to Houston, backed by $100 million in renovations, crowns relocations drawn by record 2024 Port Houston throughput of more than four million containers and a projected 71,000 new jobs in 2025," the report said.

The report also draws attention to the city's diversity, spanning from the upcoming grand opening of the long-awaited Ismaili Center, to the transformation of several industrial buildings near Memorial City Mall into a mixed-use development called Greenside.

"West Houston’s Greenside will convert 35,000 square feet of warehouses into a retail, restaurant and community hub around a one-acre park by 2026, while America’s inaugural Ismaili Center remains on schedule for later this year," the report said. "The gathering place for the community and home for programs promoting understanding of Islam and the Ismaili community is another cultural jewel for the country’s most proudly diverse major city."

In Resonance Consultancy's separate list ranking "America's Best Cities," Houston fell out of the top 10 and currently ranks as the 13th best U.S. city.

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin and Dallas also saw major declines in their standings for 2026. Austin plummeted from No. 53 last year to No. 87 for 2026, and Dallas fell from No. 53 to No. 78.

"In this decade of rapid transformation, the world’s cities are confronting challenges head‑on, from climate resilience and aging infrastructure to equitable growth," the report said. "The pandemic, long forgotten but still a sage oracle, exposed foundational weaknesses – from health‑care capacity to housing affordability. Yet, true to their dynamic nature, the leading cities are not merely recovering, but setting the pace, defining new paradigms of innovation, sustainability and everyday livability."

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

Waymo self-driving robotaxis will launch in Houston in 2026

Coming Soon

Houston just cleared a major lane to the future. Waymo has announced the official launch of its self-driving robotaxi service in the Bayou City, beginning with employee-only operations this fall ahead of a public launch in early 2026.

The full rollout will include three Texas cities, Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio, along with Miami and Orlando, Florida. Currently, the company operates in the San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, with service available in Austin and Atlanta through Uber.

Before letting its technology loose on a city, Waymo first tests the routes with human drivers. Once each locale is mapped, the cars can begin driving independently. Unique situations are flagged by specialists, and engineers evaluate performance in virtual replicas of each city.

“Waymo’s quickly entering a number of new cities in the U.S. and around the world, and our approach to every new city is consistent,” explained the announcement. “We compare our driving performance against a proven baseline to validate the performance of the Waymo Driver and identify any unique local characteristics.”

The launch puts Waymo ahead of Tesla. Elon Musk’s Austin-based carmaker has made a lot of hullabaloo about autonomy being the future of the company, but has yet to launch its service on a wide scale.

Waymo started testing San Antonio’s roadways in May as part of a multi-city “road trip,” which also included Houston. The company says its measured approach to launches helps alleviate local concern over safety and other issues.

“The future of transportation is accelerating, and we are driving it forward with a commitment to quality and safety,” Waymo wrote. “Our rigorous process of continuous iteration, validation, and local engagement ensures that we put communities first as we expand.”

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