August 8, 2025

Firefly Shares Jump 34% in Nasdaq Debut (Source: Space News)
Shares in Firefly Aerospace jumped 34% in the company’s debut on the Nasdaq Thursday. Firefly shares closed at $60.34 and traded as high as $73.80 during the day. The company sold nearly 19.3 million shares at $45 each in the IPO, generating net proceeds of $868.5 million. The company plans to use those funds to pay down debt and for other corporate purposes. Firefly’s IPO comes two months after Voyager Technologies went public, but industry observers say there are limited opportunities for other space companies to go public in the near term. (8/8)

China Flight-Tests Crewed Lunar Lander (Source: Space News)
China conducted a takeoff and landing test for a crewed lunar lander. The first integrated landing and ascent test of the Lanyue (“embracing the moon”) crewed lunar lander took place this week, simulating a landing on and ascent from the lunar surface. Footage from the test shows the four-legged lander under thrust, with a yellow plume suggesting the use of a nitrogen tetroxide-based oxidizer, likely in combination with hydrazine. The Lanyue lunar lander consists of a propulsion module and landing module and is designed to transport two astronauts between lunar orbit and the moon’s surface. (8/8)

After Nine Planned for 2025, ULA Sees 20-25 Launches in 2026 (Source: Space News)
United Launch Alliance is planning nine launches this year. In a call with reporters Thursday, ULA CEO Tory Bruno said the company expected to perform nine launches, down from a dozen he estimated in March and a projection of 20 from last year. About two-thirds of the launches will be for commercial customers, such as Amazon’s Project Kuiper constellation, and one-third for national security missions. The first national security Vulcan launch, USSF-106, is scheduled for Aug. 12. Despite the lower forecast for this year, Bruno said ULA still anticipates 20-25 launches in 2026 and beyond, including moving to a cadence of two launches per month before the end of this year. (8/8)

Astranis GEO Satellites Ready for Service (Source: Space News)
Two small GEO broadband satellites built by Astranis for Anuvu are ready to begin service. Astranis said the satellites, launched at the end of last year as part of the four-satellite Block 2 group, have reached their orbital locations in GEO and are ready to provide broadband services over the continental United States for Anuvu. A third satellite from the launch, for Orbits Corp. of the Philippines, has also reached GEO and is undergoing final health checks before beginning service. The fourth satellite, UtilitySat, continues to suffer thruster problems that are keeping it from raising its orbit. (8/8)

NASA Can Support Golden Dome (Source: Space News)
NASA says it has technologies it can offer for the Golden Dome missile defense program. An official with the Marshall Space Flight Center said at the Space & Missile Defense Symposium this week that technologies under development at the center such as a rotating detonation rocket engine, which offers higher efficiency than traditional technologies, could benefit the missile defense initiative. Other technologies from Marshall could include cryogenic propellant management, artificial intelligence and inflatable space structures. (8/8)

Politics Spoils Aerospace Investment Planning (Source: Space News)
Investors say a changing political climate is making it harder for them to pick winners among space industry companies. They say they have to balance significant increases in defense spending, particularly Golden Dome, with proposed cuts to NASA. Uncertainty about spending levels and priorities has created confusion among investors whose portfolios include space companies with significant government business. One venture capital investor said they planned to pull back from space because of that lack of clarity. (8/8)

Orbital Operations Raises $8.8 Million for OTV (Source: Space News)
A startup has raised a seed round to develop a high-performance orbital transfer vehicle that can loiter in orbit for years despite using cryogenic propellants. Orbital Operations said Thursday it raised $8.8 million from several investors. The startup is working on Astraeus, a vehicle capable of rapid movement between orbits, powered by an engine using liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants. The company has designed a cryogenic propellant management system to prevent boiloff of those propellants, and the seed funding will allow the company to develop an orbital test of that technology in 2027. The company initially explored commercial uses of Astraeus but is now focused on defense applications. (8/8)

Voyager Acquires EMSI (Source: Voyager)
Voyager Technologies has acquired a company developing AI systems for space. Voyager said Thursday it acquired ElectroMagnetic Systems, Inc. (EMSI) for an undisclosed sum. EMSI develops AI and machine learning technologies for automated target recognition software and intelligence analytics to be used on space-based radar systems. Voyager plans to use EMSI’s technologies for defense and national security applications. (8/8)

Jacksonville's Cecil Spaceport to Seek FAA Reentry License (Source: Jacksonville Daily Record)
A Florida spaceport is pursuing plans to host spacecraft reentries. The Jacksonville Aviation Authority board unanimously approved plans to seek an FAA license to allow spacecraft reentries at Cecil Spaceport, a former naval air station. Cecil has an FAA spaceport license for launches, but has yet to host a licensed launch. Spaceport officials say a license could support efforts to host research as well as hypersonic testing. The board also approved plans for a “space vehicle facility” at the spaceport, but provided few details about what the facility would entail. (8/8)

New Frontier Aerospace to Advance Rocket-Powered Hypersonic VTOL Aircraft for Air Force (Source: New Frontier)
New Frontier Aerospace (NFA) is excited to announce a Collaborative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) aimed at advancing an innovative rocket-powered hypersonic Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft. This partnership will leverage advanced aerodynamics and flight control techniques to revolutionize high-speed transportation of cargo and passengers for both commercial and military missions.

The collaboration focuses on creating a comprehensive aerodynamic database to optimize the structural design, aerothermal performance, and control systems of NFA's Pathfinder hypersonic VTOL aircraft. Pathfinder is designed to fly missions powered by NFA's Mjölnir rocket engines, which recently completed a series of hot-fire tests. (8/4)

James Webb Space Telescope Spots a Potential New Exoplanet Just 4 Light-Years Away (Source: Space.com)
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have found strong evidence for a new exoplanet — one orbiting Alpha Centauri A, the nearest sun-like star to Earth. It's located just four light-years away from us, in the Alpha Centauri triple-star system. Using JWST's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), the team imaged Alpha Centauri with a coronagraphic mask to remove the glare from the stars, allowing them to see much fainter objects like planets. That revealed a potential orbiting world some 10,000 times fainter than Alpha Centauri A. (8/7)

Firefly Raises $868 Million in Upsized US IPO (Source: Reuters)
Northrop Grumman-backed Firefly Aerospace priced its upsized U.S. initial public offering at $45 per share on Wednesday, raising $868.3 million, and indicating strong demand for the buzzy space technology startup that put a lander on the moon.
Firefly sold about 19.3 million shares priced above its already raised, marketed range of $41 and $43 apiece. Previously, it had planned to sell 16.2 million shares of its stock. (8/6)

Launch Manifest Forecasting Less Clear with Range Improvements (Source: SPACErePORT)
Used to be that launch manifests on the Eastern and Western Ranges were fairly static with launches added to the range schedules months in advance. The ranges are now much more efficient and the systems that once took weeks to configure between launches can now be turned around within a day. Combined with improvements to FAA licensing (and associated safety reviews), today's range technologies now allow launches to be added with only days' notice.

The Eastern Range is expected to support over 100 launches this year. It has the capacity for more, probably more than three per week, for vehicles like Falcon-9 with well-understood performance characteristics. Newer rockets like Vulcan, New Glenn, SLS and Starship, and never-flown ones planned by Relativity, Stoke, Phantom Space, Firefly, Vaya, ABL, and Starfighters, will take some time to build up their processing flows and performance histories, so won't be reaching Falcon-9 cadences for years. (8/7)

NASA Selects Blue Origin of Merritt Island Among Six Companies to Provide Orbital Transfer Vehicle Studies (Source: Space Coast Daily)
NASA has selected six companies, including Blue Origin of Merritt Island, to produce studies focused on lower-cost ways to launch and deliver spacecraft of various sizes and forms to multiple, difficult-to-reach orbits. Blue Origin will produce two studies, including one for Blue Ring, a large, high-mobility space platform providing full-service payload delivery, on-board edge computing, hosting, and end-to-end mission operations.

It uses hybrid solar-electric and chemical propulsion capability to reach geostationary, cislunar, Mars, and interplanetary destinations. The second is a New Glenn upper stage study. (8/7)

Comet or Something Else. 31/ATLAS Data Sparks Questions (Source: Futurism)
As evidence continues to mount that the mysterious object with interstellar origins currently speeding toward the inner solar system at a breakneck speed is a comet, not everybody's convinced quite yet. Harvard astronomer and alien hunter Avi Loeb raised the far-fetched, yet tantalizing possibility that the object, which was first spotted by astronomers earlier this year, could have been sent by an extraterrestrial civilization.

While he admitted it's most likely that "3I/ATLAS is a completely natural interstellar object, probably a comet," Loeb  is questioning that conclusion once more. At the heart of the conundrum is the purported comet's tail. The glowing globs of icy particulates conventionally leave a trail of gas and dust in a comet's wake, but 3I/ATLAS "exhibits increasing dust activity and reddening colors during the observation period, with no visible tail detected." (8/6)

‘People Moved On’: Starlink Falters in Key African Market (Source: Tech Central)
Some Kenyans turned to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite communications service after the government tried to restrict access to the internet during last year’s protests that left more than 60 dead. Anti-government demonstrations returned in June. This time, though, Starlink’s appeal has faded.

Those who purchased the service may have thought it could help bypass government control over internet access because satellite internet is less susceptible to terrestrial infrastructure disruptions like cable cuts. However, Starlink’s high costs and slow speeds have deterred many users, said Chris Orwa, a Nairobi-based data analyst who purchased the service after the shutdown. “People made an emotional purchase,” he said. “If they had sat down and compared it with other options, it would have been the worst option.” (8/7)

Reforming NASA: A Path to Mars and Beyond (Source: The Hill)
Every president for the past 35 years has called for a return to the Moon and a path to Mars. More than $100 billion has been spent, yet the return path remains distant and uncertain. Major programs are over budget, behind schedule and often canceled. This wastes opportunities for science and discovery and undermines public confidence in NASA.

Similarly, we have maintained a continuous presence in low Earth orbit (which is a great accomplishment). But we still haven’t cracked the code on creating the commercial orbital economy. If we don’t, humankind’s future in space will forever be tethered to taxpayer funding and inefficient government spending. The federal government is entering a challenging budgetary environment. The national debt is exploding, and we can’t spend our way out of it. NASA can and must do more with less.

One of leadership’s current solutions to budget pressures is to reduce astronaut crew sizes and mission frequency. Meanwhile, bureaucratic positions proliferate. This is unacceptable. Astronauts — not bureaucrats — are the human identity of the agency. There are too many managers, deputies, assistants and review boards — and not enough doers. Bureaucracy is stifling innovation. (8/7)

China and Pakistan Expand Tech Collaboration to Nuclear Power, Space and AI (Source: SCMP)
Pakistan is deepening technological cooperation with China, expanding beyond aircraft and missiles to advanced sectors such as space exploration and nuclear technology, according to the country’s planning minister. (8/7)

Spaceport PABs Ready for Takeoff (Source: Bond Buyer)
Tax-exempt private activity bonds (PABs) can now boldly go where no such bonds have gone before thanks to a One Big Beautiful Bill provision allowing their use for spaceport projects, but it's unclear at this stage whether spaceport PABs will take off as a financing vehicle. Like airport PABs, spaceport PABs are subject to a governmental ownership requirement... "as with airport PABs, the federal government doesn't satisfy the requirement—it must be a state or local government."

However, the safe harbor rules that permit limited leases of property financed with airport PABs apply also to spaceport property. That means a private operator could lease a facility financed with spaceport PABs provided the operator agrees not to claim federal depreciation deductions or tax credits for the property, the lease term isn't more than 80% of the property's reasonably expected economic life and the private operator doesn't have an option to buy the property "other than at fair market value determined on the exercise date."

Tax-exempt PABs would likely offer lower-cost financing for spaceport projects than either taxable debt or equity, Hutchinson said  when asked about the potential pros and cons of using spaceport PABs. "The trade-off is that tax-exempt PAB financing for spaceports is probably cheaper, but you have to give up other economic and tax benefits to use it," he said. "Equity financing is probably more expensive, but the private operator gets to keep the economic and tax 'upside' on the project." (8/6)

Hawaii Scientist Will Help Trick Out a Vehicle for NASA to Take to the Moon (Source: HPR)
Shoot for the stars, and just maybe you’ll end up on the moon. University of Hawaii scientists were recently awarded a contract to build a scientific instrument that will travel to the moon. The NASA Lunar Terrain Vehicle will launch later this decade — and it will be outfitted with a detector to look for ice. (8/6)

Army Crafting a New Space Policy, Moving Out on Counterspace (Source: Breaking Defense)
The US Army is working on a new space policy to serve as the “umbrella” for a new Army space strategy and doctrine, as well as the foundation for future requirements and acquisitions, according to a senior service official. The rewrite of what is known as Army Regulation 900.1[PDF] is necessary in the face of the changed operational environment in space stemming from advancing adversary threats, said Brig. Gen. Donald Brooks, deputy commanding general for operations at Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC). (8/6)

China Completes First Landing, Takeoff Test of Manned Lunar Lander (Source: Xinhua)
China on Thursday announced that it has successfully completed a comprehensive test for the landing and takeoff of its manned lunar lander at a test site in Huailai County, Hebei Province. The test completed on Wednesday represents a key step in the development of China's manned lunar exploration program, and it also marks the first time that China has carried out a test for extraterrestrial landing and takeoff of a manned spacecraft, said the China Manned Space Agency. (8/7)

DLR Completes Key Component for the Callisto Demonstrator’s Landing Legs (Source: European Spaceflight)
The German aerospace agency DLR has completed the manufacturing of a key component of the thermal protection system for the landing legs of its Callisto reusable booster demonstrator. The Callisto project is a trilateral initiative between DLR, the French space agency CNES, and the Japanese space agency JAXA. The primary aim of the project is to mature key technologies for the development of future reusable rocket boosters.

On 30 July, the DLR Institute for Frontier Materials on Earth and in Space announced the completion of the first reusable clip-on Thermal Protection System (TPS) for the Callisto demonstrator’s landing legs. (8/6)

ISRO Targets 2029 to Ready the Third Launch Pad for India's Next-Gen Rockets (Source: India Today)
India's space capabilities are set to receive a significant boost with the ongoing development of Isro's Third Satellite Launch Pad (TLP) at the Satish Dhawan Space Center. The development is moving smoothly as the government is awaiting bidding on tenders for multiple developmental works in and around the launch pad. The project received financial sanction in March 2025, marking a critical step towards expanding the country’s launch infrastructure to support next-generation launch vehicles. (8/6)

Indian Rockets are in ‘Great Demand’ Globally, But We are Short of Manufacturing Capacity, Says Ex-ISRO Chief (Source: Startuppedia)
India’s rockets are in ‘great demand’ globally, and the country is falling short of manufacturing capacity to meet the demand, former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), S Somanath said. “Indian rockets are in great demand. But the problem is availability, it’s controlled by our ability to manufacture in numbers,” Somanath said, highlighting a critical gap between India’s technological capability and its industrial readiness.

India has made significant strides in space technology with missions like Chandrayaan and Gaganyaan, along with commercial launches for foreign satellites. Somanath said production remains heavily centralized and mission-specific, rather than geared toward volume manufacturing. (8/6)

North Korea Capitalizes on Russia’s Help by Expanding Satellite Launching Facility (Source: Wall Street Journal)
North Korea has accelerated construction of a launch site for spy satellites in recent months, including the addition of a seaport that could facilitate deliveries of new components from Russia. The expansion at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, located on the country’s west coast, would allow the regime of dictator Kim Jong Un to more quickly receive larger rocket components by sea than the current delivery method via railroad lines, security experts say. (8/7)