August 19, 2025

AstroAgency Expands to North America (Source: AstroAgency)
AstroAgency, a strategic communications and market intelligence firm dedicated to the commercial space industry is accelerating its expansion into North America, formalizing two new transatlantic partnerships. UK-headquartered AstroAgency has signed two agreements with Voyager Technologies and Cislunar International, kicking off a six-month push to grow the firm’s connections and clients across the United States and Canada.

The first MOU will see AstroAgency and Voyager Technologies collaborate across several fronts, including European and U.S. stakeholder engagement, strategic marketing support, and the development of VISTA, a new science park initiative. AstroAgency is anticipated to establish a North American office at VISTA as the development progresses. (8/19)

Voyager Establishes VISTA Science Park (Source: Voyager)
Voyager Institute for Space, Technology and Advancement is the first-of-its-kind U.S. campus dedicated to in-space research, manufacturing and services. Here, the brightest minds in aerospace, robotics, AI and science converge in a dynamic ecosystem built to accelerate discovery, collaboration and commercialization.

With access to the International Space Station and future commercial platforms, VISTA tenants can develop the next generation of space-based technologies and services across civil, commercial and national security markets. As an in-space, platform-agnostic ecosystem, the Science Park will drive advancements across industries and tackle some of the greatest challenges in space-based civil, commercial and national security. (8/19)

Cygnus Named to Honor Columbia Astronaut McCool (Source: Northrop Grumman)
The next Cygnus spacecraft to go to the International Space Station has been named after a Columbia astronaut. Northrop Grumman said Monday that it named NG-23 Cygnus spacecraft the S.S. William “Willie” C. McCool after the pilot on the STS-107 mission. NG-23 is scheduled to launch next month on a Falcon 9. (8/19)

NASA Glenn Offers Hangar for Lease (Source: WEWS)
NASA’s Glenn Research Center is offering an iconic hangar for lease. The center says the large hangar, built in 1941 and easily recognized by people flying through Cleveland’s airport thanks to the large NASA logo on its roof, is available to companies through an enhanced use lease. NASA has not set a price for leasing the hangar, and whoever leases it will have to sign a National Historic Preservation Act agreement to preserve its exterior, but will be free to renovate the interior. (8/19)

Finalists Selected for Artemis Plushie (Source: CollectSpace)
A contest has selected 25 finalists for the design of a “zero-gravity indicator” for the Artemis 2 mission. Crowdsourcing company Freelancer announced the designs that made the cut in the competition to create a unique plushie that will fly on Artemis 2, tethered to a console to float around once the spacecraft in microgravity. Twelve of the designs are from children and 13 from adults, ranging from animals to whimsical creatures. NASA will select one of the finalists to go on Artemis 2. (8/19)

Platinum Equity to Acquire Anuvu (Source: Space News)
Anuvu, which provides in-flight connectivity services using satellites, is being acquired by a private equity firm. Platinum Equity said Monday it expects to complete a deal before the end of the year for Anuvu, which provides wi-fi to airlines and media services across the aviation and maritime markets. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Anuvu, which went through Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization five years ago, is shifting from leasing capacity on conventional GEO satellites to operating its own “micro GEO” satellites with software-defined payloads. The first two of those satellites, built by Astranis, are now in operation over North America. Anuvu has options for up to eight Astranis satellites. (8/19)

SpinLaunch Raises $30 Million for Broadband Constellation (Source: Space News)
SpinLaunch has raised $30 million to continue work on a broadband satellite constellation. On Monday, the company announced the funds, which came from existing investors as well as a $12 million strategic investment by Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace announced in April. The money will allow SpinLaunch to continue development of Meridian Space, a constellation the company claims can provide broadband services with far less capital investment than other systems. SpinLaunch hired Massimiliano Ladovaz, former CTO of OneWeb, as its new CEO last month. (8/19)

Space Wargame Includes US and Allied Nations (Source: Space News)
Allied nations will have a bigger role in a major space wargame run by the U.S. Space Force. Officials said the 2027 version of the Schriever Wargame will include allied nations jointly developing scenarios and objectives rather than following U.S.-led planning. The Schriever Wargame is a tabletop exercise that has brought together military planners since 2001 to explore space security challenges. The shift, Space Force officials said, reflects the increasing emphasis on international cooperation and partnering with allied nations. (8/19)

Revolv Space to Provide Solar Array Tech to Blue Canyon (Source: Space News)
Italian-Dutch company Revolv Space has won its first order from an American customer for satellite components. Revolv Space said that Blue Canyon Technologies ordered six units of its flagship solar array drive assembly, SARA, for use on Blue Canyon spacecraft. Securing its first contract with an American customer is a milestone for the three-year-old Revolv Space, which is run by a team distributed across Europe. The company is readying another financing round later this year to support expansion after raising 2.8 million euros in May 2024. (8/19)

China's CAS Launches Kinetica-1 With Seven Satellites (Source: Space News)
A Chinese commercial rocket launched seven satellites early Tuesday, including two for a Latin American customer. The Kinetica-1, or Lijian-1, solid-fuel rocket lifted off at 3:33 a.m. Eastern from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. CAS Space, which operates the rocket, said it successfully deployed seven satellites into low Earth orbit. The satellites include two satellites, each weighing less than 100 grams, from Mexican company ThumbSat. ThumbSat-1 carries a selfie payload, aiming to capture its own mirror-selfie in orbit, while ThumbSat-2 carries an artistic payload. The other five satellites were from Chinese organizations. (8/19)

Firefly Aerospace Eyes Alpha Launches From Japan (Source: Reuters)
Firefly Aerospace is exploring an option to launch its Alpha rocket from Japan. The plan could make Japan the second offshore launch site - and first in Asia - for Firefly. The company is preparing for an Alpha launch in Sweden. Space Cotan, operator of the Hokkaido Spaceport located about 820 km northeast of Tokyo, said it and Firefly signed a preliminary agreement to study the feasibility of launching the small-lift rocket Alpha from there. (8/18)

A Comet That Exploded Over Earth 12,800 Years Ago May Have Triggered Centuries of Bitter Cold (Source: ZME Science)
In 2024, scientists studying ancient sediments in the eastern United States reported signs of a comet exploding in Earth’s skies 12,800 years ago. That event, they suggested, might have plunged the planet into a thousand-year cold spell known as the Younger Dryas.

Now, a new study has taken the search deep beneath the ocean, and the results strengthen the case. Researchers from the University of South Carolina analyzed seafloor mud from Baffin Bay, near Greenland, and found tiny traces of comet dust and metallic debris consistent with a cosmic airburst. (8/18)

Kazakhstan Aims to Revive Cold War-Era Baikonur Spaceport for the New Rocket Race (Source: Euractiv)
Before every Soviet rocket launch, cosmonauts would kick the launcher before clambering into their ride to space. Today, out in the dusty steppes of Central Asia, Kazakhstan's government is trying to kick-start its own space industry by breaking out of Russia's orbit. Astana is racing to revive the Baikonur Cosmodrome by transforming the sprawling desert hub – with much of it still leased out to Russia – into a cutting-edge spaceport for the world's rocket start-ups. (8/18)

SpaceX Flies 24 Starlink Satellites on its 100th Falcon 9 Launch of 2025 (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launched its 100th Falcon 9 rocket of the year Monday morning. The flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base carried another batch of Starlink optimized V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit. This was also the 72nd SpaceX launch of Starlink satellites so far in 2025. It brings the total number of Starlink satellites orbited in 2025 to 1,786. (8/18)

Starlink Eyes More Capacity With E-Band Spectrum Request (Source: PC Mag)
SpaceX is trying to expand Starlink's capacity by tapping more radio spectrum across its first-generation satellite fleet. On Friday, the company filed a request with the US FCC to add “E-band” radio frequencies, in the 71.0-76.0 GHz and 81.0-86.0 GHz ranges, to its first-generation Starlink constellation. If granted, the change promises to help first-generation Starlink satellites “deliver more capacity more quickly to more Americans, especially those in rural and other underserved areas,” SpaceX says. (8/18)