January 21, 2026

Did You Know "Cape Canaveral Spaceport" is a Proper Name? (Source: SPACErePORT)
Journalists and news publications seem reluctant to use "Cape Canaveral Spaceport" as a proper name, preferring instead the cumbersome use of both "Kennedy Space Center" and "Cape Canaveral Space Force Station." Those usages are obviously correct, but they can be unwieldy and even confusing in the context of a broader "spaceport" environment.

In the Florida Statutes, Section 331.304 of Chapter 331 establishes "spaceport territories" in the state. This section explicitly says: "The territory consisting of areas within the John F. Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station may be referred to as the 'Cape Canaveral Spaceport'." This new usage was federally embraced during Roy Bridges' tenure as NASA's KSC director, with NASA and the Air Force combining many KSC and CCAFS installation maintenance, security and support services into a Joint Base Operations Support Contract (J-BOSC).

That's why fire trucks, security vehicles and signage on both sides of the river sported "Cape Canaveral Spaceport" for several years, until NASA/DoD procurement complications caused them to separate again. The name lives on in Florida law, surviving the Legislature's revisions to Chapter 331 that changed the Spaceport Florida Authority into Space Florida. (1/20)

SpaceX, Stoke Space Aim to Launch Fully Reusable Rockets (Source: Douglas Messier)
Engineers have long dreamed of a fully reusable launch vehicle that could be landed and reflown with minimal turnaround time. SpaceX and Stoke Space aim to launch rockets designed to do exactly that later this year. Four other U.S. companies — Rocket Lab, Firefly Aerospace, Northrop Grumman and Relativity Space — are planning to debut new launch vehicles equipped with reusable first stages in 2026. Phantom Space is also looking to launch for the first time this year. (1/20)

NASA Astronaut Suni Williams Retires (Source: NASA)
After 27 years of service, NASA astronaut Suni Williams retired from the agency, effective Dec. 27, 2025. Williams completed three missions aboard the International Space Station, setting numerous human spaceflight records throughout her career. (1/20)

US Science After a Year of Trump (Source: Nature)
More than 7,800 research grants terminated or frozen. Some 25,000 scientists and personnel gone from agencies that oversee research. Proposed budget cuts of 35% — amounting to $32 billion. These are just a few of the ways in which Donald Trump has downsized and disrupted US science since returning to the White House last January.

As his administration seeks to reshape US research and development, it has substantially scaled back and restricted what science the country pursues and the workforce that runs the federal scientific enterprise. A year into Trump’s second presidential term, Nature presents a series of graphics that reveal the impact of his administration on science. Click here. (1/20)

Airbus Runs into Opposition with Satellite Business Consolidation (Source: European Spaceflight)
Unions are pushing back against Airbus as it moves to consolidate its satellite business, with Airbus Defence and Space absorbing Airbus Constellations Satellites. A union statement has called the move “industrial, economic and social nonsense. ... "there is no benefit in absorbing a company that is delivering strongly positive results, is experiencing strong growth, and is already wholly owned.” (1/20)

Auria Acquires RKF and Kythera (Source: Auria)
Auria Space, a portfolio company of Enlightenment Capital, has acquired RKF Engineering Solutions and Kythera Space Solutions, Maryland-based providers of satellite communications engineering, spectrum management, and autonomous satellite software solutions for private sector and U.S. federal government aerospace and defense markets. Auria stated that the acquisitions enable it to deliver an end-to-end solution for managing the full C3 lifecycle, "from the space asset and payload to the ground systems and the warfighter." (1/20)

Blue Moon Lander Leaves Florida for Texas Testing (Source: Florida Today)
Blue Origin’s first lunar lander is leaving the factory for final testing. The first Blue Moon Mark 1 lander, called Endurance, left its factory at Cape Canaveral Tuesday and was loaded on a ship for transport to Houston. There, it will undergo thermal vacuum testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Blue Origin plans to launch the uncrewed Endurance later this year. (1/21)

Space Force Appropriation Set at $26 Billion for FY2026 (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force would get $26 billion in an appropriations bill released Tuesday. The minibus appropriations bill, which includes the Defense Department, would provide $26 billion for the service, matching the administration’s request for fiscal year 2026. The bill made several changes to the request, including eliminating $277 million for MILNET, a proposed LEO communications constellation that would have been built by SpaceX. It also restores some funding for Resilient GPS, a program the Space Force recently said it would discontinue. On Golden Dome, defense appropriators said they support the initiative, but faulted the administration for failing to provide sufficient detail on how $23 billion in mandatory funding is being allocated. Counting funding in a budget reconciliation bill passed last July, the Space Force will have nearly $40 billion in 2026, nearly double its funding from five years ago. (1/21)

US is "Unacceptably Vulnerable" to Russian Space Attacks (Source: Space News)
The United States remains “unacceptably vulnerable” to a dangerous form of escalation by Russia in space, a new report warns. The report, released Wednesday by the Atlantic Council, said that in any conflict it is “highly plausible that Russia would consider nuclear, debris-generating and counter-commercial attacks in space against U.S., allied, or commercial space assets.” The report argues that Washington and its allies are underprepared for the risk that Moscow could deliberately escalate a conflict beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Western analysts, the report says, often underestimate Russia’s willingness to accept risk — and even self-inflicted damage — in pursuit of coercive goals. (1/21)

Starfish Space Wins $52.5 Million From SDA for Satellite Deorbiting (Source: Space News)
Starfish Space won a Space Development Agency contract for satellite deorbiting services. The company announced Wednesday it won a $52.5 million contract to deorbit one of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture satellites that is unable to do so itself at the end of its life. The contract includes options for additional satellite deorbiting services, provided by the same Otter spacecraft that Starfish will launch in 2027. The company, which has several other contracts from government and industry for servicing and life extension missions, said the services contract from SDA is a sign that the overall in-space servicing market is maturing beyond research and development. (1/21)

NASA Ends Support for Planetary Science Assessment Groups (Source: Space News)
NASA is ending support for a set of groups that provide input on planetary science topics. The agency said it would end financial support for eight “AGs,” or analysis and assessment groups, on topics ranging from lunar to outer solar system science. The AGs regularly meet to discuss ongoing and future missions, planetary science research and related topics, providing findings to NASA. The agency said recent executive orders and a constrained budget contributed to the decision to stop supporting the AGs, although the groups will be able to continue operations on their own. The decision is part of a broader drawdown of support for advisory committees, including eliminating several science advisory committees last year. Other committees have yet to meet since the start of the current administration. (1/21)

Isar Postpones Andøya Launch for Valve Issue (Source: Isar Aerospace)
Isar Aerospace is postponing the second launch of its Spectrum rocket. That launch was scheduled for later today from Andøya in northern Norway, but the company announced this morning it was delaying the launch to fix a pressurization valve. Isar did not announce a new launch date for the vehicle. The company’s launch window in Andøya is open through Friday, after which it would have to wait until at least February. (1/21)

NASA Picks Three CLPS Lunar Science Payloads (Source: NASA)
NASA has selected three science payloads for future lunar missions. The payloads, announced Tuesday, will fly on Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) landers no earlier than 2028. They include an instrument to produce 3D models of thermal emission, another to measure the heat flow from the lunar interior and measuring how galactic cosmic rays interact with the lunar regolith. (1/21)

Trump Lauds ‘Tremendous' Federal Workforce Cuts. Good-Government Group Calls Them ‘Disturbing" (Source: FNN)
President Trump on Tuesday touted the actions of his administration — including praising the major reductions to the federal workforce throughout 2025. He said his administration “slashed tremendous numbers of people off the federal payroll.” The White House touted federal workforce actions overhauling the probationary period; eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion across government; requiring employees to work on-site full-time; slashing federal jobs; and limiting agencies to one new hire for every four employees who exit the civil service. “I say, get rid of everybody that’s unnecessary, because that’s the way you make America great again,” Trump said.

But good-government groups such as the Partnership for Public Service tell a much different story. Max Stier described 2025 as “the most significant reduction in federal government capacity that we’ve ever experienced in our history.” Governmentwide, federal workforce data shows that about 320,000 federal employees left government during 2025, while just tens of thousands joined the civil service. The Office of Personnel Management reported a net loss of about 220,000 federal employees over the course of the year. “There were large-scale layoffs of employees, cuts to government programs and the ending of many grants, altering how the government does — or does not — serve the public and the outcomes it can achieve.” (1/20)

Orbex's Subsidiary in Denmark to File for Bankruptcy (Source: European Spaceflight)
Orbex’s Danish subsidiary, Orbital Express Launch ApS, is set to file for bankruptcy, with its facilities officially closing on 20 January and approximately 90 employees losing their jobs. UK-based Orbital Express Launch (Orbex) established its business in Denmark in October 2016. According to the company, its Copenhagen-based business carried out work in propulsion, testing, software, avionics, and business services.

While its Danish business is filing for bankruptcy, the company announced on 21 January that it had entered into talks to sell the rest of its operations to European space logistics startup The Exploration Company. The announcement stated that the companies have signed a Letter of Intent, and negotiations have begun. It added that all details about the potential purchase are confidential at this stage. (1/21)

The Hidden Microbial Communities That Shape Health in Space (Source: University of Glasgow)
Microorganisms live in biofilms - the equivalent of microbial “cities”- everywhere on Earth. These city-like structures protect and house microbial communities and play essential roles in enabling human and plant health on our planet. Now, new research sets out a path to uncover the role of biofilms in health during long-duration spaceflight, and how spaceflight research can reshape our understanding of these microbial communities on Earth.

“Biofilms are often considered from an infection viewpoint and treated as a problem to eliminate, but in reality they are the prevailing microbial lifestyle that supports healthy biological systems. Spaceflight offers a distinctive and invaluable testbed for biofilm organization and function, and, importantly, evidence so far makes it clear that biofilms need to be better understood, managed, and likely engineered to safeguard health during spaceflight.” (1/22)

Preserving NASA’s Scientific Mission: Budget Stability, Safety, and the National Interest (Source: Aerospace America)
NASA’s scientific enterprise has long served as a cornerstone of American leadership in discovery, innovation, and aerospace safety. Its science portfolio faces growing structural pressures driven not by technical shortcomings, but by budgetary instability, funding misalignment, and an increasingly compressed execution environment. These pressures pose tangible risks not only to mission outcomes, but also to the highly specialized workforce, civil servants, FFRDCs, and industry partners that are required to execute NASA science safely and effectively. (1/21)

Embry-Riddle Students Capture Malfunctioning Satellite in Spacecraft Control Competition (Source: Aerospace America)
A team of students from the XDLab Group at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has won the third annual Capture the Satellite competition, a game that teaches how to control a spacecraft to avoid obstacles and safely rendezvous with another spacecraft that needs service, on 15 January at AIAA SciTech Forum 2026. (1/20)

Grant Money Available for Space History Preservation (Source: Space 3.0)
The SPACE 3.0 Foundation is looking for space history preservation projects to fund. We are looking for proposals where up to $2,500 could make a real difference—ideas such as digitizing historical documents, videos, and oral histories. Click here. (1/20)

Liftoff for European Launch Startups (Source: Space Review)
Isar Aerospace is returning to the launch pad this week to make its second orbital launch attempt. Jeff Foust reports on that company and other European startups developing launch vehicles that got financial support from a European Space Agency program. Click here. (1/20)
 
The PSLV-C62 Failure Marks a Setback for India’s Space Ambitions (Source: Space Review)
Earlier this month India suffered a second failure of its PSLV rocket in as many flights. Ajey Lele examines the implications of the back-to-back failures of a rocket that had been the workhorse of the Indian space program. Click here. (1/20)
 
A Hell of a Character: the Late, Great, Martin Caidin (Source: Space Review)
A Florida space museum has an exhibit on Martin Caidin, a prolific author both space fact and fiction books. Dwayne Day discusses his life and career, whose works became the inspiration for a movie and TV series. Click here. (1/20)
 
The Successful Development of Russia’s Counterspace Activities in LEO and GEO (Source: Space Review)
Russia has embarked on a variety of projects to disrupt or destroy foreign satellites. Matthew Mowthorpe and Markos Trichas discuss those various counterspace efforts. Click here. (1/20)
 
Apollos Anew (Source: Space Review)
While many aspects of American space history have been extensively covered, there is still something new to learn about them. Dwayne Day reviews three recent books that provide a photographic history of the early Apollo missions. Click here. (1/20)

Gilmour's Last Rocket Blew Up. Taxpayers are Betting the Next One Will Go Better (Source: The Age)
Six months after its first orbital rocket cleared the launch tower for just 14 seconds before crashing back to earth, Gilmour Space Technologies has secured $217 million in funding that chief executive Adam Gilmour says finally gives Australia a fighting chance in the global space race. The funding round, led by the federal government’s National Reconstruction Fund Corporation, makes the Queensland company Australia’s newest unicorn – a fast-growth start-up valued at more than $1 billion – and one of the country’s most heavily backed private technology ventures. (1/20)

Dominion Dynamics Raises $21M for Dual-Use Arctic Sensing Network (Source: SpaceQ)
Founded in June 2025, Dominion Dynamics today announced it had closed a seed round of financing of $21 million, following an earlier raise of $4 million in August 2025. Dominion Dynamics bills itself as a “defense technology company engineering interoperable, attritable systems for contested theatres.” The company says it is currently building an “Arctic autonomy stack” which they describe as “a fusion of sensing, autonomy, and networked platforms designed for NATO’s most strategically exposed operating environment.” (1/19)

The Search for Alien Artifacts Is Coming Into Focus (Source: WIRED)
There’s no denying the allure of alien artifacts. Science fiction is awash in the material remnants of extraterrestrial civilizations, which surface in everything from the classic books of Arthur C. Clarke to game franchises like Mass Effect and Outer Wilds. The discovery of the first interstellar objects in the solar system within the past decade has sparked speculation that they could be alien artifacts or spaceships, though the scientific consensus remains that all three of these visitors have natural explanations.

“In the history of technosignatures, the possibility that there could be artifacts in the solar system has been around for a long time,” says Adam Frank. “We've been thinking about this for decades. We’ve been waiting for this to happen,” he continues. “But being responsible scientists means holding to the highest standards of evidence and also not crying wolf.”

By studying archival photographic observations captured by telescopes prior to the launch of Sputnik in 1957, Villarroel has produced a portrait of the sky before it was speckled with our satellites. As the lead of the Vanishing & Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations project (VASCO), she had initially been looking for any evidence that stars, or other natural objects, might vanish on these archival plates. (1/19)

Artemis II Astronauts Will Take Bone Marrow 'Avatars' to the Moon, to See How Damaging Spaceflight Really Is (Source: BBC)
When Artemis II astronauts launch on their journey around the Moon (which could be as early as February 2026), they'll be taking with them a small electronic chip that contains cells from their body. These will serve as 'avatars' that can then be analyzed back on Earth to find out how long-duration spaceflight affects humans. It's hoped that the experiment, known as AVATAR (A Virtual Astronaut Tissue Analog Response), will inform future crewed missions to the lunar surface, and help prepare to put human feet on Mars. (1/15)

Lunar Outpost Plans Autonomous Lunar "Workforce" to Prepare for Crew Arrivals (Source: Lunar Outpost)
Lunar Outpost is delivering the autonomous robotic workforce to establish outposts on the Moon and cities on Mars. From deploying infrastructure to navigating rugged terrain and conducting science, the Eagle Lunar Terrain Vehicle accelerates lunar development before Astronauts arrive. Once crews are on the Moon, Eagle's autonomy stack supports Astronauts in real-time through logistics, transportation, mapping, and more. (1/20)

Kongsberg Breaks Ground in Virginia for New Missile Production Line (Source: Naval News)
Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace held a groundbreaking ceremony Friday for its first state-of-the-art US-based missile production facility in Virginia. The facility will create more than 180 area jobs and inject more than $100 million in economic benefits, as well as create opportunities for local suppliers to support the production and manufacturing. "The state of Virginia, including the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and the Hampton Roads Alliance, have been integral in this process and we look forward to growing our presence in the US as we ramp up hiring,” said Heather Armentrout. (1/19)

SpaceX Spat Ends in Defeat for Activist Boaz Weinstein (Source: Wall Street Journal)
The old guard of British finance just landed another punch against Boaz Weinstein. The hedge-fund rabble-rouser has failed to wrest control of a U.K. investment trust prized for its valuable SpaceX shares, after fellow shareholders turned out in force to reject his bid to oust the board in favor of his own handpicked team. (1/20)

Florida Starship Progress with Launch Sites at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: NSF)
Although there has been a pause in launch operations as SpaceX transitions Starship to the Block 3 variant, the company continues to lay the foundations for a rapid launch cadence of its monster rocket out of Starbase and on the East Coast. Florida will see Starship launch out of LC-39A and LC-37, with the former set to come online later this year.

At LC-39A — the historic site once used for Apollo lunar missions and Space Shuttle flights — crews have installed the shoulder section of the Ship Quick Disconnect (SQD) arm on the integration tower. Rolled out just days earlier, this key piece enables propellant loading and umbilical connections for the Starship upper stage, with integration to the tower’s systems now underway.

At LC-37, site clearing and foundation work are underway for what is expected to become another Starship launch complex, potentially with two pads. The effort parallels early demolition and preparation at Starbase’s Pad 1. The massive LR13000 crane (previously used at LC-39A) is being reassembled to support tower erection, while a continuous flight augering drill installs foundation piles — drilling holes, filling them with concrete, and inserting rebar cages — following the same method seen at Starbase’s newer pads. (1/20)