Methodology
How we know what we say we know
Conclusion first, then mechanism, exact state, evidence, uncertainty, next verification, and the method behind it.
Source hierarchy
We use the strongest available source for each claim:
- Controlling systems of record and legal filings: regulator or registry filings, procurement actions, dockets, orders, and official statistics.
- First-party issuer or operator records: earnings releases, investor materials, mission manifests, and customer or provider announcements.
- Official reconciliation sources that update on a different lag.
- Reputable third-party context only when it adds framing that primary records cannot provide.
Every material claim keeps its source ID, stable document ID, retrieval time, content hash, location hint, and evidence class. Unknown is not zero, false, or an estimate.
Evidence labels
- Observed / verified
- Directly supported by the cited primary record.
- Company-reported
- Attributed to the issuer or operator, not rewritten as independently verified fact.
- Calculated
- A reproducible formula, inputs, units, rounding, currency basis, rate source, and timestamp are shown or linked.
- Estimated
- Method, assumptions, uncertainty, and available counterevidence are explicit.
- Inferred
- The evidence and reasoning are visible; causal or demand claims cannot exceed the record.
- Forecast
- Attributed to the forecaster with horizon and method or limitations; it is never presented as a known outcome.
- Unknown / not disclosed / not yet verified
- Used honestly instead of filling a gap.
State and amount discipline
We do not collapse contract ceiling or potential value, obligation, outlay, booking, backlog or RPO, revenue, funding, liquidity, and valuation. Amounts retain currency, units, period, scope, source definition, and epistemic status. Intended, reserved, manifested, scheduled, launched, deployed, and operational are different states.
Calculations
A calculated value must expose or link its formula, inputs, units, rounding, currency basis, rate source, timestamp, denominator, exclusions, and caveat. A chart is generated from normalized facts; it is not copied from a provider graphic.
AI use
AI may extract supplied records, compare prior and later snapshot states, propose structured drafts, and adapt one approved evidence card across formats. AI is never the evidence.
Identity, state, values, dates, citations, uncertainty, and forbidden recommendation language are validated deterministically. Subscriber data, signed tokens, provider IDs, nonpublic information, suspected material nonpublic information, and secret-bearing source material do not enter a model prompt.
Updates and corrections
An ordinary update adds current detail. A real-world state change advances or reverses the underlying event. A source amendment corrects or replaces the source's own record. An editorial correction means Space Now published an error or materially misleading statement.
Corrections create a new immutable card/issue revision, retain visible history, state what changed and why, and link the corrected evidence. Delivered issues are never silently rewritten.