December 13, 2025

Eyeing Airport-Like Throughput, Launchers and Range Managers Seek Multimodal Efficiencies Around Their Spaceports (Source: SPACErePORT)
During a panel at the SpacePower conference in Orlando, Space Force launch site commanders sat with SpaceX and Blue Origin executives to discuss the historic launch cadence at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport and Vandenberg Space Force Base, driven by SpaceX's frequent missions for Starlink and Starshield. Overall, SpaceX anticipates reaching 167 total launches in 2025; averaging three launches per week.

But the panelists agreed that this could potentially be the start of a much busier launch cadence, as Blue Origin ramps up New Glenn missions, SpaceX starts Florida-based Starship launches, ULA shifts Vulcan into gear, and a plethora of other new small- and medium-class vehicles begin operations. They also agreed that ongoing Space Force "Spaceport of the Future" investments represent only a part of each spaceport's needed improvements.

Specifically, they need to improve and normalize the integration of launch and reentry vehicles flying through busy airspace corridors; expand maritime and port capabilities for launch/landing support vessels and deconfliction with other ships; and implement other intermodal logistical upgrades, including for the movement of people, equipment and commodities to/from and around the spaceports. (12/12)

Craig Appointed to Port Canaveral Board (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Gov. Ron DeSantis leaned on a local aerospace company’s CEO to fill the void left after Canaveral Port Authority Chairman Wayne Justice died in November. Carol Craig, founder and CEO of Cape Canaveral-based Sidus Space, was announced Tuesday as Justice’s replacement to sit on the five-member board and was sworn in during Wednesday’s commission meeting. Craig is also founder and CEO of Craig Technologies and a Navy veteran who served as a naval flight officer during her military career. She serves as a member of National Defense Industrial Association and the Florida Institute of Technology College of Engineering. (12/11)

Air Force Taps Northrop for Next-Gen Missile Production (Source: Defence Blog)
The United States Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation a new ceiling contract worth up to $100 million to advance two key strike‑weapon programs: the Stand‑In Attack Weapon (SiAW) and the Advanced Anti‑Radiation Guided Missile–Extended Range (AARGM‑ER). The agreement supports both production and research and development through December 31, 2034, according to the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. (12/10)

K2 Space Raises $250 Million to Scale High-Power Satellite Line (Source: Space News)
Satellite manufacturer K2 Space announced Thursday it raised $250 million to scale up production. The company said its Series C was led by Redpoint, with additional backing from several other investors. K2 was founded in 2022 to build large satellites with more onboard power and volume than typical platforms in low, medium or geostationary orbit. It plans to launch “Gravitas,” the first unit of its “Mega Class” line, in March, and will use the funding to scale up production of that class of spacecraft. (12/12)

China's Space Tech Advances Aren't All Based on Copying America's (Source: Space News)
The United States should not assume China’s accelerating progress in space and missile technology is simply the result of copying American systems, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink warned. Meink said that while China is copying U.S. capabilities in some ways, such as development of its launch complexes, the country is also “super innovative” in areas like operations. A central concern, Meink said, is China’s ability to manufacture and field systems at far greater scale than the United States. Meink’s warning comes as the Pentagon and the defense industrial base are looking to accelerate development timelines, adopt more agile acquisition practices and increase production capacity. (12/12)

SpaceX IPO Could Push Other Companies Toward IPOs (Source: Space News)
SpaceX’s new interest in pursuing an IPO could lead other space companies to follow. One investor said that a SpaceX IPO, potentially as soon as the second half of next year, would be a “seismic event for the space economy,” while another said that an IPO might encourage others in the industry to also go public. One such deal, on a far smaller scale, is Starfighters Space, which announced this week it will go public on the NYSE American exchange, seeking to raise $40 million. The company operates a fleet of aging F-104 Starfighter jets with plans to use them as air-launch platforms. (12/12)

NASA Picks CINEMA for Continued Development (Source: Space News)
NASA selected a heliophysics mission to move into the next phase of development. NASA said Thursday it will provide funding for the Cross-scale Investigation of Earth’s Magnetotail and Aurora, or CINEMA, mission to go into Phase B of development. CINEMA would fly nine smallsats in polar orbits to study the magnetotail, an extension of the Earth’s magnetic field linked to geomagnetic storms. At the end of the Phase B study, costing $28.2 million over 10 months, NASA will then decide whether to proceed into full development, with a total cost not to exceed $182.8 million.

CINEMA was one of four mission concepts NASA picked in 2023 for additional study as part of the heliophysics Small Explorer, or SMEX, program. NASA will also provide $2 million to another SMEX proposal, Chromospheric Magnetism Explorer, or CMEx, to mature its design for potential future consideration. The award comes as the heliophysics community is reeling from proposed major budget cuts and mission cancellations that raised doubts about the ability to implement the missions recommended in the field’s latest decadal survey a year ago as well as to retain researchers. (12/12)

NASA Astrophysics Community Optimistic for Increased Funding (Source: Space News)
An improved budget profile is giving new cause for optimism for NASA’s astrophysics program. That division was facing a budget cut of nearly two-thirds in the administration’s 2026 budget proposal, forcing the cancellation of many active or proposed missions. However, the acting director of NASA’s astrophysics division said at an event this week that he has been told to plan to funding levels in a House spending bill, which largely rejected the cuts but offers slightly less than a Senate bill. With that budget profile, NASA is moving ahead with a selection of a probe-class astrophysics mission next year along with the launch of the Roman Space Telescope as soon as next fall. Several smaller missions are also set to fly in the coming months, as well as an effort to reboost the Swift mission. (12/12)

China Launches More Guowang Constellation Satellites, Readies for Another Booster Landing Attempt (Source: Space News)
China launched more Guowang satellites as it prepares for another attempt to land a booster. A Long March 12 rocket lifted off at 6 p.m. Eastern Thursday from the coastal Hainan commercial space launch center. It placed into orbit the 16th group of satellites for the Guowang broadband constellation, likely featuring nine satellites. A variant of that rocket, the Long March 12A, is expected to launch next Tuesday from the Jiuquan spaceport. That version of the rocket includes a booster designed to land and be reused, although Chinese officials have not disclosed if they will attempt a landing on this launch. (12/12)

SpaceX Accelerates Pad Turnaround at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX set a pad turnaround record for its latest Starlink launch Thursday. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s SLC-40 at 5:01 p.m. Eastern, putting 29 Starlink satellites in orbit. The launch took place less than 51 hours after the previous Falcon 9 launch from SLC-40, the NROL-77 mission. A SpaceX executive said on social media that the rocket was ready for launch just 40 hours after the NROL-77 liftoff, but SpaceX waited for the “optimal deployment” time for the Starlink satellites. (12/12)

SpaceX’s Satellite Glitch Shows We Need Lasercom (Source: Astrolight)
Recently, US spy satellites, built by SpaceX, were found to be misdirecting signals, potentially disrupting telecom satellites in the same radio band. What this means in simple words is that we don’t even need bad actors to jam or affect our commercial or military operations – it can happen “accidentally,” by our own radio-based technologies.

However, there’s a solution to radio-spectrum congestion: laser communication. Lasercom operates in the light spectrum, avoiding radio band congestion and eliminating interference risks between operators. It also offers up to 100x faster data transmission rates. (12/12)