July 18, 2025

SpaceForest Expands Launch Plans with Portuguese Island Agreement (Source: European Spaceflight)
Poland-based rocket builder SpaceForest has signed an agreement with the Atlantic Spaceport Consortium to launch its Perun rocket from the Portuguese island of Santa Maria in 2026.

SpaceForest began developing the one-stage 11.5-meter Perun sounding rocket under its Suborbital Inexpensive Rocket Project initiative in early 2018. The company launched a pair of test flights in 2023, both of which had been aborted midflight before reaching the 50-kilometre target altitude. In October 2024, the company received €2.4 million in new funding through the European Space Agency’s Boost! program, which has gone toward upgrading the rocket’s SF1000 hybrid propulsion system ahead of its next flight. (7/18)

Final ML-2 Tower Module Added as Artemis and SLS Block 1B Receive a Funding Reprieve (Source: NSF)
Mobile Launcher 2 (ML-2), the launch tower and platform to be used by the Block 1B variant of the Space Launch System (SLS), recently had its tenth and final tower module stacked on July 2. Module 10 will support the Orion crew access arm and related systems, and its installation brings the ML-2 tower’s height to 106 m. The overall ML-2 structure will be over 122 m tall and mass over 5,600,000 kg.

In other good news for the SLS and Artemis programs, Congress recently approved additional funding to preserve the Artemis IV and V missions, thereby maintaining SLS Block 1B and the rationale for using ML-2, which is only compatible with SLS vehicles from Block 1B forward. (7/17)

Avio Celebrates its Independence Day (Source: European Spaceflight)
On 10 July, representatives from Italy, Germany, and France met at the European Space Agency headquarters to sign the Launcher Exploitation Declaration, which officially began the transfer of Vega C launch operation responsibilities from Arianespace to the rocket’s builder, Avio. While Italy had reason to celebrate, the week also delivered unwelcome news that may yet shape the country’s future participation in European launcher programs.

On 7 July, ESA announced the five companies shortlisted for its European Launcher Challenge initiative. While Avio, having already received substantial institutional support for its small launch vehicle, was not widely expected to submit a proposal, reports following the announcement suggest otherwise. (7/16)

Austrian Space Diver Felix Baumgartner was 'Born to Fly' (Source: Space Daily)
Austrian daredevil "fearless Felix" Baumgartner, who died on Thursday aged 56, stunned fans around the world by breaking the sound barrier in a hair-raising dive from the fringe of space more than a decade ago. Baumgartner's dramatic 2012 jump from a capsule more than 39 kilometers above the Earth propelled the extreme adventure-seeker into the record books. Sporting a "born to fly" tattoo, Baumgartner recorded the fastest freefall by leaping from the capsule and reaching a top speed of 1,357.6 kilometers per hour. (7/17)

Guetlein Confirmed to Lead Golden Dome for Space Force (Source: Space News)
The Senate confirmed Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein on Thursday to lead the Golden Dome missile defense system. Guetlein’s confirmation, which came two months after Trump nominated him, marks a key milestone for the administration’s ambitious plan to create an orbital missile defense shield that would protect the continental United States from ballistic, hypersonic and cruise missile threats. Guetlein had been vice chief of space operations at the Space Force, and the White House nominated Lt. Gen. Shawn Bratton earlier this week to move into that role. (7/18)

House Leaders: Trump Illegally Impounding NASA Funds (Source: Space News)
Top House Democrats are accusing NASA of illegally impounding funds and taking steps to prematurely implement the fiscal year 2026 budget proposal. In a letter this week to Sean Duffy, the new acting administrator of NASA, the ranking members of the House Science Committee and its space subcommittee, Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Valerie Foushee (D-NC), argued that agency officials are “attempting to override Congress’ rightful authority over NASA’s budget” through measures such as impounding funds appropriated for fiscal 2025 and implementing elements of the 2026 budget proposal before Congress acts on it.

That includes canceling a planned upgrade to the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer instrument on the ISS and blocking press releases about milestones from missions slated for cancellation. While the White House proposed a nearly 25% cut in NASA’s budget for 2026, House and Senate spending bills would instead keep overall agency funding flat. (7/18)

Space Force Receives RTX Ground Control System (Source: Bloomberg)
The Space Force has received Raytheon Technologies' Next Generation Operational Control System, a $7.6 billion ground-based GPS satellite control network. The system was delivered July 1 and is expected to begin operations later this year. (7/17)

Vulcan Rocket Set to Launch National Security Mission (Source: Florida Today)
United Launch Alliance is preparing for the third launch of its Vulcan rocket, which will carry its first national security payload for the US Space Force. The Vulcan, which is designed to replace the Atlas V and Delta IV rockets, received certification in March for national security missions. (7/18)

New Glenn to Launch Mars Mission (Source: Space News)
The next New Glenn launch will carry a NASA Mars mission. Blue Origin said Thursday that the NG-2 mission of New Glenn will carry ESCAPADE, a mission featuring a pair of smallsats that will go to Mars to study how the solar wind interacts with the planet’s magnetic field. ESCAPADE was the original payload for the first New Glenn launch but taken off that flight because of delays with the launch vehicle.

The launch will also carry a technology demonstration payload from Viasat as part of NASA’s Communications Services Project. Blue Origin did not give an updated launch date for NG-2, but the ESCAPADE smallsats have yet to be shipped to the launch site, suggesting the launch may still be months away. (7/18)

SaxaVord Spaceport Loses Founder (Shetland News)
The founder of SaxaVord Spaceport in the Shetland Islands is stepping back from the project after a terminal cancer diagnosis. Frank Strang said he would “step back but not down” from his work at the spaceport after being told he has six months to two years to live. He worked for years to develop a spaceport at a former Royal Air Force radar station on the island of Unst. The facility is now a licensed spaceport but has yet to host an orbital launch attempt. German company Rocket Factory Augsburg is working to perform the inaugural launch of its RFA ONE rocket there before the end of this year. (7/18)

Skepticism Over China's Lunar ISRU Claim (Source: Space.com)
A Chinese study finds that water and oxygen could be extracted from lunar soil, but not everyone is convinced it is feasible. The approach, the Chinese study says, needs only solar power to heat the lunar regolith and a source of carbon dioxide, such as from the exhalations of astronauts. However, one American researcher has raised questions about the effectiveness of this technique, including the efficiency of heating the regolith and whether astronauts could provide enough carbon dioxide. (7/18)

Chinese Researchers Craft High Fidelity Mars Soil Simulant to Support Future Missions (Source: Space Daily)
A team of Chinese geologists has developed a high-fidelity Mars soil simulant, designated UPRS-1, that closely replicates the regolith of Utopia Planitia. This advancement is expected to aid upcoming exploration missions, including China's Tianwen 3 sample-return effort.

UPRS-1 mimics the mechanical, spectral, physical and chemical characteristics of Martian soil based on data from the Zhurong rover, which landed in Utopia Planitia during China's Tianwen 1 mission, and NASA's earlier Viking-2 lander. The simulant addresses a key research gap, as most previous soil analogs focused on Mars' southern highlands rather than its northern lowlands. (7/14)

NASA Completes Solar Panel Installation for Roman Space Telescope (Source: Space Daily)
Technicians completed the installation of solar panels on NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on June 14 and 16, marking one of the final stages of observatory assembly. The six-panel system, known as the Solar Array Sun Shield, will both power the spacecraft and protect its instruments from heat. (7/14)

NASA Issues Challenge for Public Design of Ejection System (Source: Space Daily)
Dreaming of designing part of a rocket for NASA? The space organization is offering a challenge for those who think they can solve a capability gap in its Stratospheric Projectile Entry Experiment on Dynamics (SPEED), a two-stage stratospheric drop test architecture. SPEED is under development to bridge the state-of-the-art gap that many NASA flagship missions need to reduce system risk and allow more optimized designs via margin reduction, a NASA press release said. (7/16)

Investing in Space: The Market’s Taking Off (Source: CNBC)
The space sector showed signs of heating up in the second quarter despite global uncertainty triggered by U.S. trade tariffs. Space startups kept drawing in funds over the April-June stretch, riding the high of “sustained interest” in defense opportunities and improved market sentiment, according to Seraphim Space. Venture capital companies remained the most active space investors in recent months, contributing 77% of 2025 funding in the industry to date, Space Capital found. (7/18)

Astroscale U.S. Signs Space Act Agreement with NASA to Advance National Security On-Orbit Servicing Capabilities (Source: Astroscale)
Astroscale U.S. has signed a reimbursable Space Act Agreement with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) to test rendezvous, proximity operations, and docking (RPOD) capabilities of the Astroscale U.S. Refueler spacecraft. Astroscale U.S. will test its Refueler at GSFC in preparation for Astroscale U.S.’s two refueling operations of U.S. DOD satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO) for the United States Space Force. (7/17)

Spaceport Video Update: Starship, Blue Origin, Vulcan, SLS (Source: NSF)
The latest NSF Space Coast Update as SpaceX progresses on major construction projects at the Kennedy Space Center. Get detailed updates on the massive Giga Bay building at Roberts Road, Starship launch mount, and new tower constructions.

Meanwhile, Blue Origin ramps up preparations for upcoming launches of the New Glenn rocket, with new facilities and BE-4 engines ready for flight. Relativity and Stoke Space make strides with Terran R and Nova rocket launch infrastructure, and ULA gears up Vulcan for its first U.S. Space Force mission. Plus, NASA’s Artemis II rocket is fully stacked in preparation for humanity’s return to lunar orbit! Click here. (7/16)

Protestors Rally Behind NASA in the Face of Budget Cuts and Layoffs (Source: Space News)
It’s rare for protestors to show up outside NASA headquarters in Washington — and even rarer when they include a Pokémon character. Specifically, on June 30, about 60 people, including someone dressed as Pikachu, protested budget cuts and potential layoffs at NASA. The protest, which took place on the corner of 4th and E Streets SW, aimed to raise public awareness about the situation and demand that the Trump administration cease budget pressure on NASA until Congress could address the issue. (7/16)

Starship at Cape Canaveral Spaceport Making Progress as SpaceX Tries to Push the Program Forward (Source: NSF)
Over the past several months, SpaceX has been significantly expanding its operations at the Roberts Road facility in Cape Canaveral. The foundation for the first Gigbay has been a slow but intense project. This project isn’t as simple as the foundations for the Mega Bays, where SpaceX drilled a set of piles and then poured the foundation. Which then allowed crews to place pre-fabricated modular parts until it was the correct height for the Mega Bays.

This building is far more advanced and complex; teams need to drill all of the piles for the foundation and then dig out around those piles. This part is already completed. Next, crews will need to build a massive rebar box to fill the excavated area, which is still currently underway. Click here. (7/16) 

Inside Elon Musk’s Plan to Rain SpaceX’s Rocket Debris Over Hawaii’s Pristine Waters (Source: Guardian)
The north-west Hawaiian island of Mokumanamana is said to be touched by the gods. No humans have lived on Mokumanamana, but it has the world’s highest density of ancient Hawaiian religious sites. The hundreds of miles of ocean that surround Mokumanamana and other Hawaiian islands are now under threat, according to environmentalists and scientists.

The FAA announced in May that it had given SpaceX permission to detonate rocket ships over these protected waters. In conjunction with the FAA's approval for an increased number of Texas launches, SpaceX proposed expanding the area in the Pacific Ocean where debris from his exploded Starships can land by roughly 75 times its original scope. This new area encompasses vast regions throughout the Pacific, including around the eight main Hawaiian islands, Mokumanamana and the entire north-west Hawaiian chain of islands.

Once SpaceX ramps up launches, bird and sea life could face hazardous material spills, falling objects and sonic booms, according to thousands of pages of government documents reviewed by oceanographers, aerospace engineers, former government employees, lawyers and Hawaiian residents. They fear Musk’s “fail fast” approach to rocket launches, along with his ties to the US government, could mean SpaceX will have free rein over the region. Many in Hawaii say the FAA’s review of potential environmental consequences is not thorough enough. (7/17)

Indian Startup Making Space Travel Greener (Source: The Print)
Thirteen years ago, well before the Indian Space Policy opened the doors for private players, the idea of Bellatrix Aerospace was floated by its founders, with limitless dreams and a recommendation letter from former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. The Bengaluru-based space startup is now challenging world leaders in sustainable space technology and green propulsion, making space travel cleaner and greener. (7/16)

Second Rocket Launch From Oman's Spaceport Called Off but Momentum Builds (Source: The National)
Oman's ambitious bid to develop a commercial rocket launch site to put the country at the center of the region's growing space sector is taking shape, even after a recent test mission setback. Oman's plans to carry out a second rocket launch from its under-construction spaceport were called off on Sunday after engineers discovered a technical problem shortly before lift-off.

The Duqm-2 mission was expected to launch a 12-meter experimental suborbital rocket from Etlaq Spaceport, the Middle East's first commercial launch site, in the remote coastal desert of Duqm. But a fault was found in the rocket’s actuator, a device that helps control systems on the launch vehicle. (7/16)

Hubble Network Launches Bluetooth Satellite System for Tracking Devices From Orbit (Source: Geekwire)
A Seattle space startup called Hubble Network is unveiling a system that uses satellites and low-power Bluetooth signals to monitor devices and sensors around the globe. The system, known as the Hubble BLE Finding Network, can open the way for applications ranging from locating lost pets to monitoring supply chains and watching out for wildfires, Hubble Network CEO and co-founder Alex Haro said. “Agriculture, oil and gas, mining, defense … There are all these important verticals and industries where there is need for this very battery- and cost-efficient network that can have global accessibility,” Haro said. (7/16)

NASA Tests Scientific Instruments in Arizona Crater Ahead of Moon Landing Attempt (Source: NPR)
NASA wants to land Artemis astronauts on the moon soon, but the scientific instruments they'll bring must be tested on Earth. Click here. (7/17)

NASA Still Gung-Ho About Starliner, But Launch Vehicle Issues Could Arise (Source: Ars Technica)
After so many delays, difficulties, and disappointments, you might be inclined to think that NASA wants to wash its hands of Boeing's troubled Starliner spacecraft. But that's not the case. The manager of NASA's commercial crew program, Steve Stich, told reporters Thursday that Boeing and its propulsion supplier, Aerojet Rocketdyne, are moving forward with several changes to the Starliner spacecraft to resolve problems that bedeviled a test flight to the ISS last year.

These changes include new seals to plug helium leaks and thermal shunts and barriers to keep the spacecraft's thrusters from overheating. Boeing, now more than $2 billion in the hole to pay for all Starliner's delays, is still more than a year away from executing on its multibillion-dollar NASA contract and beginning crew rotation flights to the ISS. But NASA officials say Boeing remains committed to Starliner.

One drawback of flying a Starliner cargo mission is that it will use up one of United Launch Alliance's remaining Atlas V rockets currently earmarked for a future Starliner crew launch. That means Boeing would have to turn to another rocket to accomplish its full contract with NASA, which covers up to six crew missions. While Boeing says Starliner can launch on several different rockets, the difficulty of adapting the spacecraft to a new launch vehicle, such as ULA's Vulcan, shouldn't be overlooked. (7/16)

There Could be “Dark Main Sequence” Stars at the Galactic Center (Source: Ars Technica)
For a star, its initial mass is everything. It determines how quickly it burns through its hydrogen and how it will evolve once it starts fusing heavier elements. It's so well understood that scientists have devised a "main sequence" that acts a bit like a periodic table for stars, correlating their mass and age with their properties.

The main sequence, however, is based on an assumption that's almost always true: All of the energy involved comes from the gravity-driven fusion of lighter elements into heavier ones. However, three astrophysicists consider an alternative source of energy that may apply at the very center of our galaxy— energy released when dark matter particles and antiparticles collide and annihilate. (7/16)

How to Use Lunar Soil to Live on the Moon (Source: Cosmos)
Researchers from China have developed a new technology which they say could produce water, oxygen and fuel from lunar soil. The equipment may allow for cheaper, more sustainable space exploration. A single liter of water costs about $33,000 (roughly US$22,000) to ship by rocket to the Moon. Finding ways of utilizing lunar resources will be critical if humans are to return there and set up temporary or long-term habitats.

Lu Wang’s team previously used lunar soil samples returned to Earth by Chinese spacecraft Chang’e 5 to show that Moon dust has many useful compounds. Their new research shows that it is possible to extract water from lunar soil, then use that water and CO2 exhaled by astronauts to produce hydrogen gas and carbon monoxide – products which can then be used to make fuel and breathable oxygen.

All that is required to power the process is a photothermal technology which converts sunlight to heat. “The biggest surprise for us was the tangible success of this integrated approach. The one-step integration of lunar H2O extraction and photothermal CO2 catalysis could enhance energy utilization efficiency and decrease the cost and complexity of infrastructure development.” (7/17)

University of Surrey Launches Space Institute to Drive the UK's Small Satellite Boom and Tackle Urgent Global Challenges (Source: University of Surrey)
With the UK's £19 billion space economy surging, government and industry urgently need faster research, innovation and skilled talent – yet more than half of space organizations report critical shortages, a challenge now being tackled by the newly launched Surrey Space Institute at the University of Surrey. The Institute will convert the University's 45-year small satellite leadership into mission-ready solutions for climate, resilience and secure global connectivity. (7/16)

ESA Backs EuroSpaceport’s North Sea Launch Site (Source: European Spaceflight)
EuroSpaceport has secured European Space Agency support for its North Sea launch site. The announcement also revealed that Poland’s SpaceForest has signed on to launch its suborbital Perun rocket from the facility in the second half of 2026.

Founded in 2020, EuroSpaceport is developing Spaceport North Sea, a sea-based launch platform built on a repurposed offshore wind turbine service vessel. Integration activities will take place in the Esbjerg harbor before the rocket is loaded onto the floating launch platform, which will then move to its launch position 50 to 100 kilometers offshore. There, the vessel will deploy specialized legs to anchor itself to the seafloor in preparation for launch activities. (7/16)