Raphael Stevens

Elon Musk on Monday gave an update on the timeline for SpaceX’s first orbital launch of the company’s next-generation Starship rocket.
“We’ll have 39 flightworthy engines built by next month, then another month to integrate, so hopefully May for orbital flight test,” Musk tweeted in response to CNBC.
SpaceX needs a license from the Federal Aviation Administration to launch the flight, with the regulator expected to complete a key environmental assessment by March 28.

Prototypes of SpaceX’s Starship rocket and Super Heavy booster stand at the company’s Starbase facility in Texas.
Michael Sheetz | CNBC

Elon Musk on Monday gave an update on the timeline for SpaceX’s first orbital launch of the company’s next-generation Starship rocket.
“We’ll have 39 flightworthy engines built by next month, then another month to integrate, so hopefully May for orbital flight test,” Musk tweeted in response to CNBC.

Starship is the nearly 400-foot tall, reusable rocket that SpaceX has been developing, with the goal of creating a vehicle that can carry cargo and groups of people beyond Earth. The rocket and its Super Heavy booster are powered by SpaceX’s Raptor series of engines.
In February, Musk gave a presentation on Starship at the company’s Starbase facility in Texas, outlining the path forward and obstacles for the rocket’s testing.
SpaceX has completed multiple high-altitude flight tests with Starship prototypes, but its next major step is to reach space. While that milestone was expected to be reached last year, development progress has been delayed and the orbital flight test is also pending regulatory approval.
SpaceX needs a license from the Federal Aviation Administration. March 28 remains the target date for completion of a key environmental assessment, a spokesperson for the FAA told CNBC.

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The Ford F-150 Lightning pickup will have an electric range of up to 320 miles, according to final EPA estimates released Monday by the automaker.
The top range of the all-electric pickup is 20 miles higher than Ford initially estimated, which places it just above the range of the 2022 Rivian R1T, but still shy of the 2022 GMC Hummer EV.
The Rivian R1T with a larger optional battery pack is rated at up to 314 miles. The GMC Hummer Edition 1 pickup is at a GM-estimated 329 miles.

2022 Ford F-150 Lightning

DETROIT – Ford Motor’s 2022 F-150 Lightning pickup will have an electric range of up to 320 miles, according to final Environmental Protection Agency estimates released Monday by the automaker.
The top range of the all-electric pickup is 20 miles higher than Ford initially estimated, which places it just above the range of the 2022 Rivian R1T, but still shy of the 2022 GMC Hummer EV.

The Rivian R1T with a larger optional battery pack is rated at up to 314 miles. The GMC Hummer Edition 1 pickup is at a GM-estimated 329 miles. Both are the only versions of the vehicles currently available.
Rivian and GM both confirmed longer-range options of the pickups will be available at later dates, including an R1T with a range of more than 400 miles and a Hummer pickup at 350 miles. Those models are not currently on sale.

While the F-150 Lightning has a lower range than the Hummer, it is more efficient. Both the Lightning and the R1T have a combined highway and city rating of 70 MPGe, an electric vehicle range equivalent for miles per gallon. The Hummer has a rating of 47 MPGe, about 33% less than the other pickups, according to Car and Driver.
Overall, the F-150 Lightning will come with a range of 230 miles, 300 miles or 320 miles, depending on model and size of the battery packs in the vehicles.
Ford is expected to start serial production of the F-150 Lightning shortly, with deliveries beginning in the spring. A work-oriented version of the F-150 Lightning will start at about $40,000, while a high-end model will top out at about $90,000.
A Tesla pickup could one day lead the pack, but not yet. When CEO Elon Musk first unveiled his automaker’s Cybertruck in November 2019, he claimed versions of the angular electric pickup would have a range of 500 miles. Musk said in January that production of the pickup suffered several delays and is not expected until next year.

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A Boeing 777X airplane takes off during its first test flight from the company’s plant in Everett, Washington, January 25, 2020.
Terray Sylvester | Reuters

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
Boeing — Shares fell about 4% after a Boeing 737 passenger jet crashed in China with 132 people on board. China’s civil aviation agency lost contact with the flight over Wuzhou, and the number of deaths is currently unknown. 

Air Products and Chemicals — The specialty chemical stock gained nearly 1% after JPMorgan upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to overweight from neutral. JPMorgan said the stock’s rough start to a year had created a discount relative to a rival chemical stock with several possible catalysts coming up.
Berkshire Hathaway — Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) shares rose about 2% on news that it would buy insurance company Alleghany for $11.6 billion in cash, or $848.02 per share. Shares of Alleghany, which will operate as an independent subsidiary of the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate, soared 24% following the news.
Manchester United — Shares of Manchester United rose more than 4% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to a buy from hold and said it was trading at a discount.
General Motors — Shares of General Motors fell 2.7% as Morgan Stanley lowered its price target to $50 per share and reiterated the auto company as equal weight. Analysts said they were concerned about inflation and ongoing supply chain disruptions which could affect demand.
Disney — Disney shares fell 1.2% on Monday. It comes as the entertainment company announced it would close its Shanghai Disney Resort amid a Covid outbreak in China.

Silvergate Capital — Shares of the crypto-focused bank rose 1.9% after Bank of America rated the stock as a buy and said it offers investors an “alternative way to gain exposure to the growth of the digital asset ecosystem.”
Nielsen Holdings — Nielsen shares sank nearly 7% after the company, which is known for TV ratings, rejected a $9.13 billion takeover bid from a private-equity consortium.
Anaplan — The business software company’s shares soared by more than 27% following a deal with private equity firm Thoma Bravo, which will buy Anaplan for $10.7 billion, or $66 per share, in cash. Thoma Bravo said it plans to use Anaplan as a platform for further acquisitions, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Tesla — Tesla shares rallied 1.7% after Jefferies reiterated the electric-vehicle company as a buy but lowered its price target to $1,250 from $1,400 amid a “riskier macro and geopolitical environment.”
BlackBerry — BlackBerry shares rose about 1.4% after RBC upgraded the company’s stock to sector perform from underperform.
Occidental Petroleum, Marathon Oil — Oil prices edged higher on Monday as talks between Russia and Ukraine showed no signs of progress. Shares of Occidental and Marathon each rose about 8%, respectively.
— CNBC’s Hannah Miao, Jesse Pound and Tanaya Macheel contributed reporting

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Russia is rapidly cutting itself off from much of the global space industry in response to Western sanctions due to the invasion of Ukraine.
Space-focused research and investment firm Quilty Analytics sees U.S. companies as net beneficiaries, with Elon Musk’s SpaceX “the clear winner” in the global launch marketplace.
Other companies providing space station services and developing new orbiting habitats are poised to benefit, Quilty noted, with Iridium as a likely gainer in satellite communications.

A Falcon 9 rocket carries 49 Starlink satellites toward orbit on Feb. 3, 2022.

Russia is rapidly cutting itself off from much of the global space industry in response to Western sanctions due to the invasion of Ukraine, and U.S. companies stand to benefit, according to an analyst report on Friday.
“Russia and Ukraine have for decades contributed significantly to the global space industry. Both arepowerhouses of rocket and propulsion expertise, supplying launch services and engine systems to customers the world over,” Quilty Analytics, a boutique research and investment firm focused on space businesses, wrote in an industry briefing.

The Russian state-run Roscosmos space agency, with its Soyuz rockets, has long been one of the leading launch providers in the industry — delivering satellites, cargo and crew into orbit.
As Russia retaliates and withdraws its launch services for American and European organizations, Quilty sees U.S. companies as net beneficiaries, with a number of satellites now looking for rides to orbit. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is “the clear winner” in the launch marketplace, the research firm’s founder, Chris Quilty, told CNBC.
Already, SpaceX’s Starlink competitor OneWeb announced on Monday it will move launches of its internet satellites to Musk’s company, after terminating its launch agreement with Russia’s Roscosmos. OneWeb says launches with SpaceX will start later this year.
“Russian launch activity is being withdrawn from the market at the exact moment that launch rates are hitting new historical records. Someone needs to absorb this demand, but Europe is not well positioned because of their top-down approach to the market,” Quilty said.
Musk, in a response to CNBC, said that SpaceX does not expect to see a dramatic increase in the demand for launches to orbit this year. Prior to Russia’s step back from the market, SpaceX expected to launch about 65% of all the world’s spacecraft flying to orbit this year. Musk said that “incremental demand might take that to ~70%, so not a major change,” Musk said.

Beyond SpaceX, other companies providing space station services and developing new orbiting habitats — such as Boeing, Axiom, Sierra Space, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Voyager — are poised to benefit. Quilty also sees Iridium Communications likely gaining from providing satellite communications to Ukrainian and NATO forces.

Russia’s retaliation in space

A Soyuz 2 rocket launches 36 OneWeb satellites on March 25, 2020 from Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia.

Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, it began retaliating to sanctions through Roscosmos — with the suspension of OneWeb internet satellite launches earlier this month one of the country’s first actions.
Quilty outlined Russia’s space retaliation in four categories:

Soyuz rockets withdrawn from the European launch market
Termination of rocket engine sales to the U.S.
Threatened disbandment of the International Space Station partnership
A cyber attack that disabled Viasat broadband service in Ukraine and other parts of Europe

In satellite and spacecraft manufacturing, Russian-based company EDB Fakel makes propulsion units and supplies electric thrusters to OneWeb, Quilty noted, as well as “several” makers of large geosynchronous satellites.
“EDB Fakel estimates it has roughly 10% of the global spacecraft market, a share they are likely to forfeit due to the Russian government’s actions,” Quilty wrote.
The impact of the withdrawal of Soyuz rockets from much of the global launch market also has serious ramifications. Soyuz has long filled an important role in the middle of the launch market and has been a staple for Roscosmos and the Russian space program.
Soyuz has also benefited significantly from Western demand for launches, with international civil customers accounting for 51% of Soyuz missions since 2000, Quilty said. Additionally, Russia’s launch infrastructure, with three primary spaceports, have made up a quarter of global launch activity since 2010, the firm said.
“The loss of western customers and demand sources (like the ISS) will economically hurt,” Quilty wrote.

U.S. companies

Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket lifts off from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Aug. 10, 2021 carrying a Cygnus spacecraft with cargo for the International Space Station.
Terry Zaperach / NASA Wallops

There will be a need for other suppliers and eventually a new space station if Russia withdraws early from the ISS partnership, or at least doesn’t extend its role beyond 2024, the firm said.
U.S. space companies would stand to benefit. Quilty found multiple companies as likely filling that gap in services — with SpaceX and Sierra Space for cargo delivery, Boeing and SpaceX for crew delivery, and the four private space stations in development: Axiom’s, Northrop’s, Starlab, and Orbital Reef.
Quilty also identified five satellite imagery companies – Maxar, Planet, ICEYE, Capella, and BlackSky – as gaining from the demand for same-day intelligence about the situation in Ukraine.
“A handful of companies have been at the forefront of providing optical, hyperspectral, and SAR imagery during the Russian-Ukraine conflict, but most (if not all) EO players will benefit from this unprecedented exposure,” Quilty wrote.
In satellite communications, Quilty believes Iridium may see an increase in demand for its Certus broadband and push to talk devices and services.
“Iridium typically experiences demand spikes for its narrowband voice/data services at times of global crisis, including earthquakes, weather related events, and military conflicts,” Quilty wrote.
But Quilty also cautioned that Iridium could “face some blowback in Russia,” where the company provides services to “thousands of users, especially in the energy industry.”
While United Launch Alliance, the rocket building joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed, uses Russian-built RD-180 engines to power its Atlas V rockets, the end of engine sales “is not a major loss for ULA” since the company already has the engines it needs as it phases out use of Atlas V. However, ULA does not stand to benefit from stranded Soyuz customers, Quilty noted, as the company’s replacement Vulcan rocket series has yet to make its debut and the remaining Atlas V rockets are already booked.
Northrop Grumman, on the other hand, still purchases Russian-built RD-181 engines to power its Antares rockets. Additionally, the rockets’ main body is manufactured by Ukrainian Yuzhmash State Enterprise, which makes Antares “heavily dependent” and arguably the “most compromised” U.S. rocket series by Russia’s war. While Northrop Grumman has said it has what it needs to conduct two more Antares launches, which cover mission orders until early 2023, the rocket’s future is in doubt.
“Without a resolution to the war, it is unclear how Antares will continue without an extensive redesign. NASA is Northrop Grumman’s sole customer for the rocket,” Quilty wrote.

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General Motors is creating a new China-based premium import business focused on sales of high-margin, “iconic vehicles” from the U.S.
The business will focus on vehicles and potentially brands that are currently not available in that market.
GM has not been a major exporter of vehicles to China. It has instead largely localized production for China through Chinese joint venture partners within the country.

GM President Mark Reuss announces a $2.2 billion investment in the automaker’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant in Michigan for new all-electric trucks and autonomous vehicles on Jan. 27, 2020.
Michael Wayland / CNBC

DETROIT – General Motors is creating a new China-based premium import business focused on sales of high-margin, “iconic vehicles” from the U.S.
The business, which GM is calling a start-up within the automaker, will focus on vehicles and potentially brands that are currently not available in the Chinese market, according to GM President Mark Reuss.

“We’re going to bring in some pretty iconic vehicles into China,” he told CNBC during an interview. “It’s a strategy that I think is really neat because it’s uniquely American, in most cases.”
The products will include electric vehicles as well as ones with traditional internal combustion engines, Reuss said. He declined to specify what vehicles will be part of the new business but cited “a pretty aspirational Cadillac” and other “iconic” SUV-like vehicles.
“It’s some iconic vehicles but also some iconic brands as well,” Reuss said. “It’s exciting. It’s a different way to think about it.”
The new business is a change in strategy for GM. The automaker has not exported many vehicles to China, which is the automaker’s largest market by volume. It has instead localized production for China through joint venture partners within the country.

GM did not export any vehicles from the U.S. to China in 2021, according to a company spokeswoman. That compares with GM’s overall sales in China last year of 2.9 million vehicles. The company previously imported some U.S.-built vehicles to China, such as the Chevrolet Camaro, but in low volumes, according to research firm LMC Automotive.

Automakers typically don’t export many U.S.-built vehicles to China due to logistical costs and tariffs, which eat away at profit margins. The top five U.S.-built vehicles sent to China were from German luxury automakers BMW and Mercedes-Benz, according to LMC. Combined, they only totaled about 144,000 units, LMC said.
The new import business “is being built from the ground up and will enjoy a high level of autonomy,” GM said in a statement. The automaker declined to disclose other information regarding the business, saying “additional details will be shared at a later date.”
The comments follow local Chinese media recently reporting GM’s China chief, Julian Blissett, confirming plans to create a new, independently owned premium brand in the country through the import of “halo cars.”
Halo vehicles are often iconic products that are unique in design and feature high-performance parts. They’re used to attract attention to a car nameplate or brand.
While the new business will likely be importing in low volumes, such vehicles could carry hefty profit margins for the automaker. GM’s Chinese operations earned about $1.1 billion in 2021, up $586 million from 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic weighed more heavily on the business.
“It’s Americana. It’s low volume, high margin; it’s the whole notion of a halo,” said Jeff Schuster, president of global forecasting and the Americas at LMC. “I think there still is some aspiration to have Americana.”
He added: “As long as that holds, and again, the volumes are going to be small, I suspect that it’s going to be an easy play that makes sense.”

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Elon Musk’s SpaceX believes an aviation-specific antenna may be revolutionary for connecting Starlink, its global high-speed internet service, with airplanes.
“Connectivity on airplanes is something that we believe is ripe for an overhaul,” SpaceX vice president Jonathan Hofeller said on Monday.
SpaceX is testing aviation-specific Starlink terminals, also known as satellite antennas, on aircraft.

A passenger plane takes off from Frankfurt Airport. The aviation industry is particularly hard hit by the effects of the global Corona pandemic.
Picture alliance | Getty Images

WASHINGTON – Elon Musk’s SpaceX believes an aviation-specific antenna may be revolutionary for connecting Starlink, its global high-speed internet service, with airplanes.
“Connectivity on airplanes is something that we believe is ripe for an overhaul,” SpaceX vice president Jonathan Hofeller said Monday at the Satellite 2022 conference here.

In-flight connectivity is a market that SpaceX has talked about disrupting since the company began offering Starlink service. Hofeller said that air travel passengers’ expectations for internet service “has changed faster than the technology has changed,” creating an opportunity for Starlink.
“Our approach to connectivity in the sky is much like it is at home: You walk into your house and the internet just works. It’s simple. It’s high speed,” Hofeller said.
Airlines work with satellite broadband providers for inflight Wi-Fi, with Viasat and Intelsat — the latter of which purchased Gogo’s commercial aviation business — two such companies that add connectivity on flights by airlines including Delta, JetBlue, American Airlines and United. But, while existing services use satellites in distant orbits, Starlink satellites orbit closer to the Earth and could boost the speeds that passengers see in-flight. Additionally, the global mesh of Starlink satellites would mean aircraft could connect to the internet without disruption.
“We believe in a future where connectivity is abundant, you’re not scrapping for kilobits per second here. It’s so much that people get on the plane and they stream just like they do in their home, so we’re designing a service that every single passenger on that plan can stream simultaneously if need be,” Hofeller said.
SpaceX is testing aviation-specific Starlink terminals, also known as satellite antennas, on aircraft. Hofeller emphasized that SpaceX is also currently “going through the certifications” to get the terminals approved with a variety of aircraft, a regulatory hurdle to entering the in-flight connectivity market.

A batch of Starlink satellites deploy in orbit after a launch on Nov. 13, 2021.

A conference attendee, who identified as an employee of aircraft builder Embraer, asked for more details. Hofeller said SpaceX is working to make the Starlink terminals “smaller and lighter,” but didn’t say more beyond that. Hofeller invited the Embraer representative to talk with SpaceX privately “about the technology we have on the aviation side.”
SpaceX has launched about 2,000 Starlink satellites to date to support its global network.
Hofeller said that SpaceX currently has about 250,000 total Starlink subscribers, a number which includes both consumers and enterprise customers. Starlink users pay $99 a month for the standard service and $500 a month for the premium tier.

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An FDA advisory committee will discuss the timing of Covid-19 boosters for the coming months and what factors would make it necessary to update the shots to target specific Covid variants.
The meeting will take place April 6.
The FDA decides which flu vaccine should be used every year based on which variant is circulating. Covid-19 vaccines will likely be handled in a similar way moving forward.

A nurses fills up syringes for patients as they receive their coronavirus disease (COVID-19) booster vaccination during a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination clinic in Southfield, Michigan, September 29, 2021.
Emily Elconin | Reuters

A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee will meet next month to discuss the future of Covid-19 booster shots in the U.S. and whether the vaccines should be updated to target specific variants.
The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will meet April 6 to debate the timing of Covid boosters for the coming months as well as when the shots should be updated to target specific variants. They haven’t scheduled a specific vote nor are they expected to discuss Pfizer or Moderna’s recent applications for fourth Covid vaccine doses.

Public health experts and the vaccine makers have said Covid will eventually become a seasonal virus like the flu, which has higher transmission during the winter months and then recedes when the weather turns warm again. The CEOs of Pfizer and Moderna have both said annual vaccinations against Covid will be necessary similar to the flu, particularly for the elderly and those with underlying conditions.
Ever year, the FDA advisory committee decides which flu vaccine should be administered in the U.S. based on what strain is circulating and other factors. The committee will likely take a similar approach to Covid vaccines moving forward.
“Now is the time to discuss the need for future boosters as we aim to move forward safely, with COVID-19 becoming a virus like others such as influenza that we prepare for, protect against, and treat,” said Dr. Peter Marks, the head of the FDA’s vaccine safety group.

CNBC Health & Science

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