July 26, 2025

Thales Alenia Space and Italian Space Agency to Develop First Human Outpost on the Moon (Source: Reuters)
Aerospace group Thales Alenia Space (TAS) and Italian Space Agency ASI said on Friday they have signed a contract to develop the first human lunar outpost, an important step in the NASA-led Artemis moon exploration program. The Artemis project views the lunar surface as a testing ground for later missions to Mars. It has grown into a multi-nation effort involving dozens of private companies - among them Elon Musk's SpaceX - at the forefront of an emerging global space race. (7/25)

NASA Tests New Liquid Hydrogen Tank for Crewed Artemis Missions (Source: NASA)
As teams get ready for the first crewed Artemis mission, which will take a crew of four around the Moon and back in 10 days, engineers with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program tested the new liquid hydrogen sphere, which holds one of the cryogenic propellants used to power the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, at Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

To minimize time between launch attempts since SLS holds approximately 600,000 gallons of chilled liquid hydrogen, the team built an additional liquid hydrogen storage sphere at the launch pad. To ensure the tank functions properly and can safely flow the minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit super-cool liquid gas to the mobile launcher and SLS during launch countdown, the Artemis launch team successfully practiced flowing liquid hydrogen from both tanks to ensure there were no issues. (7/25)

SpaceX Launches Saturday Starlink Mission at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Florida Today)
After an initial delay, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soared off LC-40 at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, carrying 28 Starlink internet satellites to orbit. The liftoff brought brightness to the predawn sky with a brief jellyfish effect for spectators. (7/26)

Industry Warns Against ISS Cuts (Source: Space News)
Industry officials say that budget cuts to the ISS could have severe consequences. During a panel at the AIAA ASCEND conference Thursday, executives said that the proposed fiscal year 2026 cuts, which reduce the station’s budget by 25%, exacerbate shortfalls from previous years that have reduced cargo deliveries to the station.

The suggested cuts, some warned, could slash research being conducted on the station and turn astronauts into “custodians and caretakers of a mothballed facility.” That has implications for the transition to commercial stations and as well as for geopolitics, as companies and countries turn to China’s Tiangong station. Appropriations bills pending in Congress would reject the proposed cuts, but may not fully resolve the station’s budget crunch. (7/25)

Sidus Space Announces Proposed Public Offering (Source: Sidus Space)
Sidus Space announced that it intends to offer to sell shares of its Class A common stock (and/or pre-funded warrants (“Pre-Funded Warrants”) in lieu thereof) in a best-efforts public offering. All of the shares of Class A common stock (and/or Pre-funded Warrants) are to be sold by the Company. (7/25)

UK Grants Spaceflux $7.3 Million to Expand Global Telescope Network (Source: Space News)
A British company plans to expand a network of telescopes to provide space situational awareness services. Spaceflux said Thursday it received $7.3 million from the U.K. Innovation & Science Seed Fund to expand its global telescope network. Spaceflux currently operates 15 optical and infrared telescopes across the globe that can track objects from low Earth orbit to cislunar space, and plans to install 10 more by next year. The SSA data from Spaceflux could augment European capabilities to monitor space objects and reduce reliance on the United States. (7/25)

Russia Launches Multiple Science Payloads on Soyuz (Source: NSF)
A Soyuz rocket launched a space science mission and other smallsats early Friday. The Soyuz-2.1b rocket lifted off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome with a pair of Ionosfera-M satellites. The launch also carried 18 cubesat secondary payloads, 17 from Russian institutions and one from Iran. (7/25)

Senegal Joins Artemis Accords (Source: Space News)
Senegal is the latest nation to sign the Artemis Accords. The head of the African nation’s space agency signed the Accords during a ceremony Thursday at NASA Headquarters. Senegal is the 56th nation overall, and fourth this year, to sign the document, which outlines best practices for safe and sustainable space exploration. Some see the signing as a way for the United States to counter growing Chinese space diplomacy in Africa. (7/25)

Europe's Airbus/Leonardo/Thales Consolidation Making Progress (Source: Reuters)
A French government official says plans for a combination of major European space companies is making progress. French industry minister Marc Ferracci said Thursday that discussions about a combination of the space businesses at Airbus Defence and Space, Leonardo and Thales Alenia Space were “moving forward in a constructive manner” but didn’t elaborate on the specifics of those discussions. The proposed combination, sometimes referred to as Project Bromo, is intended to help Europe better compete with the United States in satellite manufacturing. The CEO of Leonardo said last month that he expected the companies to reach a “go/no-go” decision on Project Bromo by the end of July. (7/25)

India's NavSat System at Minimal Operation (Source: WION)
India’s satellite navigation system is at minimal levels of operation. Indian government documents show that four of 11 satellites in the Navigation with Indian Constellation, or NavIC, system are fully operational, the minimum needed to provide navigation services in and around India. Of those four, one is already beyond its 10-year design life and another is nearing 10 years in orbit. One replacement NavIC satellite, NVS-02, launched in January but a propulsion malfunction stranded it in a transfer orbit that prevents it from providing services. (7/25)

Arsenic Life Study Findings Retracted (Source: Science)
An “arsenic life” study that NASA hailed 15 years ago as a key development in astrobiology has been retracted. The study, published by the journal Science in 2010, found that microbes in a California lake were able to use arsenic in place of phosphorus in DNA and proteins. NASA, who funded the research, said at the time that the discovery “broadens our thinking about the possibility of life on other planets.” However, other scientists were not able to replicate the findings and Science announced Thursday it was formally retracting the paper, citing “flawed data” but noting there was no evidence of misconduct. Scientists involved in the original paper opposed the move to retract the study, stating they stand by the results they published. (7/25)

Amazon’s $140 Million Space Coast Investment Begins to Pay Off (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The satellite train is starting to pick up steam for Amazon and its $140 million processing facility at Kennedy Space Center is gearing up to support multiple missions at a time. (7/24)

E.P.A. Is Said to Draft a Plan to End Its Ability to Fight Climate Change (Source: New York Times)
The Trump administration has drafted a plan to repeal a fundamental scientific finding that gives the United States government its authority to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions and fight climate change, according to two people familiar with the plan. The proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule rescinds a 2009 declaration known as the “endangerment finding,” which scientifically established that greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane endanger human lives. (7/24)

Space Force Creates New ‘System Deltas’ (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Space Force’s primary acquisition command has created two new subordinate organizations, called “Systems Deltas (SYDs),” to oversee development programs: the first for missile warning and tracking, the second for space-based sensing and targeting. The move, announced Wednesday, is part of a long-running effort by Space Systems Command (SSC) to reorganize acquisition programs along mission area lines, syncing up with the structure of the service’s main operational arm, Space Operations Command (SpOC). (7/24)

ESA Establishes Human and Robotic Exploration Biobank in Portugal (Source: European Spaceflight)
The European Space Agency has selected the Gulbenkian Institute of Molecular Medicine in Lisbon, Portugal, to host its new Human and Robotic Exploration Biobank. In December 2024, ESA published a call for proposals for the establishment of the Exploration Biobank under its Human and Robotic Exploration directorate. (7/24)

Dassault CEO Pushing for VORTEX to be Adopted as an ESA Project (Source: European Spaceflight)
Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO Eric Trappier has revealed that the company expects its VORTEX spaceplane project to be adopted as a European Space Agency program as early as next year. The company signed a contract with the French Ministry of the Armed Forces for the development of its initial demonstrator, called VORTEX-D. (7/25)