Hello and welcome back to TechCrunch Space. This will be the final TechCrunch Space newsletter you receive in 2024, so to all our readers, have a wonderful holiday and see you next year.

There’s a lot to look forward to next year. I expect to see much more progress from SpaceX on Starship, big changes to NASA under the leadership of incoming administrator Jared Isaacman, Rocket Lab’s Neutron debut, and big missions for Impulse Space, Varda, and dozens of other startups. It will also be interesting to see if rumors prove true with Boeing selling off its space business. That would truly mark a new world order.

In terms of venture financing, I expect to see more recovery from the lows in the 2023 time span, and if Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency does even a fraction of what it proposes, that could significantly loosen the regulatory and bureaucratic environment in which infrastructure-heavy industries (like space) operate. The downstream effects could be seen very quickly.

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Story of the week

Speaking of regulations, it was nice to get an update from Blue Origin last week on the inaugural New Glenn launch, with the company essentially saying that the only puzzle pieces to fit into place are regulatory approvals for the rocket’s hot fire test and launch.

With scarcely two weeks left of the year, it is absolutely feasible that New Glenn still launches in 2024, but a lot will depend on how the hot fire test goes. The turnaround time will be tight…

Funding of the week

Late-stage deals in space have been on the decline this year, so it was exciting to see the announcement from Fleet Space Technologies that it had closed a $100 million Series D. The Adelaide, Australia-based startup has developed a technology stack to enable mineral prospecting from space — and identifying critical mineral deposits will be key in a future that heavily relies on them (i.e. identifying lithium for batteries).

This week in space history

Okay, we did Thanksgiving in space a few editions ago, so it only feels right to take a look at how astronauts celebrate Christmas in space. The astronaut fleet has spent 18 consecutive years celebrating the holiday on the station, replete with mini Christmas trees, Santa hats, stockings, and other decorations.

Click this link to see a really lovely collection of photos from NASA over the years.