July 10, 2026

Consortium Unites Florida Universities to Promote Space Research (Source: FSRC)
The Florida Space Research Consortium (FSRC) brings together Florida’s leading research universities to better align the state’s academic strengths with its central role in space. By connecting expertise across institutions and linking it more directly to Florida’s space infrastructure, the Consortium strengthens the state’s ability to contribute to — and help shape — civil, commercial and national security space activities.
 
It provides a clearer, more coordinated way for partners across government, industry, and academia to engage with the full breadth of capabilities at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida A&M University, Florida Institute of Technology, Florida International University, Florida State University, UCF, the University of Florida and the University of South Florida. Click here. (7/9)

ISS Test Finds That Moon Dust Could be Effective as a Lunar Building Material (Source: Brighterside News)
Building material samples from the University of Delaware spent six months bolted to the outside of the International Space Station, exposed to vacuum, radiation and constant temperature swings. When they came back, some were stronger than matching samples kept on Earth. The team is working with geopolymers, a cement-like material that can be made by chemically binding clay-rich powders into a solid. In this case, the powders were simulated lunar and Martian regolith, stand-ins for the dusty surface material found on those worlds. (7/7)

China Recovers Long March 10B First Stage (Source: Douglas Messier)
China became the second nation to recover an orbital class rocket for reuse on Friday Long March 10B first stage was caught by wires on an sea-based platform. The rocket lifted off on its inaugural flight at 12:15 p.m. local time. The first stage landed on the platform a short time later. This was a flight test of the rocket; it’s not clear whether it was carrying a payload.

It was China’s third attempt to land the first stage of a rocket. The first stage of LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 rocket came very close to a successful landing on Dec. 3, 2025. Twenty days later a Long March 12A rocket’s first stage failed during its descent. Long March 10B is a medium-lift launch vehicle capable of placing 16,000 kg in a 200-km high orbit or 11,000 kg into a 900 km high orbit. (7/10)

US Air Force Picks Longshot to Test Hypersonic Tech with Ground-Based Launcher (Source: Interesting Engineering)
Longshot announced on July 8 that it has joined the U.S. Air Force’s new AEDC Velocity Alliance. This gives the kinetic space launch startup a chance to help modernize America’s hypersonic testing infrastructure. The Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) and the Air Force Test Center created the consortium to boost the nation’s testing abilities for next-generation defense technologies. The kinetic launch startup will help the Air Force expand hypersonic testing using a reusable accelerator designed to cut costs and increase test frequency. (7/9)

Russia Tries to Jam Starlink Systems to Counter Ukrainian Drones (Source: Reuters)
Russian forces are trying to counter Ukrainian "mid-strike" drone attacks by camouflaging cargoes and installing powerful jamming systems to disrupt Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet system, Ukrainian drone commanders and pilots told ​Reuters. Kyiv's development of "mid-strike" drones that can hit targets dozens of kilometers behind front lines accurately and cheaply, and are often flown via Starlink, has transformed the war ‌in Ukraine. (7/8)

Environmental Groups Urge FCC to Pause Orbital Data Center Applications (Source: Space.com)
Environmental and scientific organizations are banding together to demand federal environmental reviews of space-based data center projects, which plan to put more than a million new satellites in Earth orbit over the coming years. "Allowing a million orbiting data centers with no environmental review isn’t just irresponsible — it’s reckless," Tim Whitehouse, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said in a statement. (7/9)

ArianeGroup Tests Upgraded Ariane 6 Upper Stage Rocket Engine (Source: European Spaceflight)
Details of a previously unannounced test campaign involving an upgraded Ariane 6 rocket engine have emerged in the 2025 annual accounts of ArianeGroup SAS, the group’s French entity. The filings describe the testing of a 200-kilonewton version of the rocket’s Vinci upper stage engine at DLR’s Lampoldshausen facility in Germany. The upgrade increases the engine’s thrust by around 11%, from 180 kilonewtons. The testing was “conducted throughout the year” and included a long-duration test in October that lasted 570 seconds. (7/9)

DoD, Silicon Valley Now are Betting on Solar Power Beaming (Source: Breaking Defense)
“While we have been informally researching the topic for a few years, Space Operational Energy is a growing focus for us,” an Air Force spokesperson said. “We hope to host industry days and create avenues for collaboration with industry partners in the near future.” The Pentagon’s renewed interest in such a capability is being buoyed by research over the past five years that has brought some of the underlying technologies to fruition, as well as its war on Iran, which showed how US adversaries can easily target Earth-based fuel logistics tails.

In May, the Air Force contracted Virginia-based startup Overview Energy for a year-long study on the use cases in which space-based solar power could supply electricity “in constrained and contested logistics environments.” (7/9)

Pentagon Accelerates Directed-Energy (Sources: Aviation Week)
The Pentagon awarded Lockheed Martin and nLIGHT Defense contracts to transition high-energy laser weapon systems into field-ready, production-oriented platforms to defeat drones and cruise missiles. Separately, the Space Force funded Pulse Space’s $40 million effort for laser-based power beaming and orbital tracking. The Space Force also finalized an acquisition-structure reform creating nine mission-area portfolio acquisition executives. (7/9)

Auxilium Biotechnologies Demonstrates Scalable Bioprinting of Multiple Organ Tissues on ISS (Source: Payload)
Auxilium Biotechnologies said it has created multiple types of organ tissues aboard the International Space Station, a milestone toward scalable in-orbit bioprinting. The company positioned the results as enabling future bioprinting use cases in space, building toward broader orbital manufacturing and medical applications. (7/9)

China Announces Plan to Build Early-Warning System for Dangerous Asteroids (Source: Space.com)
China has announced that it wants to develop a "space-ground" asteroid early-warning network, while providing few details on what it could look like. But recent papers and presentations to the United Nations provide clues as to what the country has in mind for planetary defense. (7/9)

Boys Club: Isaacman Flew Acting AG Blanche in Controversial DC Mall Flyover (Source: CBS)
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman flew private military jets over Washington, D.C., in a July 4 flyover with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as a passenger — despite safety objections from the FAA. In an unusual move, a senior adviser to the NASA administrator petitioned the FAA on behalf of Isaacman's private jet company, JDI Holdings, to participate in the aerial demonstrations over the National Mall during the America 250 celebrations in Washington. (7/8)

Embry‑Riddle Professor Takes on Key U.S. Role in International Astronomy Organization (Source: ERAU)
Dr. Terry Oswalt, professor in the Department of Physical Sciences at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University, has been elected to represent the United States in the International Astronomical Union (IAU), an organization often described as the “United Nations of Astronomy.” Oswalt will serve a three-year term on the U.S. National Committee (USNC) for the IAU, the body responsible for coordinating U.S. participation in the international organization that helps shape collaboration among astronomers worldwide. (7/1)

Space Force Completes Procurement Reorganization (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force has completed the largest acquisition-organization overhaul since the service’s creation, replacing its prior structure with nine mission-focused Portfolio Acquisition Executives. The executives will oversee buying, integration, and modernization of military space capabilities. (7/9)

Shotwell Donates $325 Million to "Trump Accounts" (Source: Business Insider)
President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to thank SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell for her and her husband's stock donation to Trump Accounts, which he said was worth $325 million. "Thank you to the brilliant and highly respected Gwynne Shotwell, and her husband, Robert, for their extreme generosity in helping children to attain the ever magnificent American dream!" Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday.

A Trump Account (officially a 530A IRA) is a federally established, tax-advantaged investment account for U.S. citizens under age 18. Designed to build long-term wealth, the U.S. Treasury seeds eligible children's accounts with a $ $1,000 pilot deposit. (7/9)

Wally Funk, a Texas Aviation Pioneer and Former Record Holder, Dies at 87 (Source: Houston Chronicle)
Texas resident, icon of the aviation world, and former record holder Wally Funk died on Wednesday evening in Grapevine, Texas. She was 87 years old. Born on Feb. 1, 1939 in Las Vegas, Funk had several "firsts" under her belt. She served as the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board; the first female civilian flight instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma; and the first female Federal Aviation Administration inspector. She reportedly trained more than 3,000 people to fly and logged thousands of flight hours over her lifetime.

Funk was also one of NASA's First Lady Astronaut Trainees (FLATs, or the "Mercury 13") in the 1960s. Unfortunately, none of the 13 women ever went to space with NASA. Funk applied to be an astronaut multiple times and was rejected. However, Funk eventually achieved her dream of reaching space in 2021. She was an "honored guest" on Jeff Bezos-founded spaceflight company Blue Origin's first passenger spaceflight ever, out of Van Horn, Texas. (7/9)

Astronomers Scrutinize Exoplanet That Survived the Death of its Star (Source: Reuters)
Researchers now have made detailed observations of a Jupiter-like exoplanet that has lived on for billions of years after the death of its sun-like star. It's located 81 light-years from Earth in the constellation Draco. WD 1856  b, is about eight times greater than that of Jupiter, our solar system's largest planet. Its atmospheric temperature — about 260 degrees Fahrenheit (127 degrees Celsius) — is unexpectedly ​warm. (7/9)

Vantor Offers Regularly Refreshed Whole-Earth 3D Maps (Source: Space Daily)
Vantor, the American Earth-observation company formerly known as Maxar, is now rebuilding chosen stretches of the planet as three-dimensional models and delivering them within a day of imaging — a commercial first, the company says, and one aimed as much at autonomous machines as at the analysts and militaries who have always been its customers. The service, called WorldView 3D, went live on July 1. It draws on a fleet of 10 satellites imaging Earth’s surface at 12-inch (30-centimeter) resolution.  (7/9)

MDA Space Acquiring 70% Stake in French Earth Observation Company CLS (Sources: Globe and Mail, Via Satellite)
MDA Space announced July 8 it would acquire 70% of Collecte Localisation Satellites, or CLS, for 567 million euros ($648 million) in cash. The acquisition complements MDA Space’s EO business from the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) Radarsat constellation. MDA Space is also preparing to launch the next-generation, Chorus constellation, which is currently expected to launch in late 2026. (7/9)

Eight NATO Allies to Create New Satellite Mega-Constellation (Source: Breaking Defense)
Eight NATO countries plan to link their military satellites into a “mega-constellation” to enable “high-speed communications, intelligence and missile tracking,” the alliance announced on Tuesday at its Summit Defence Industry Forum in Ankara, in a move that joins a number of other a new initiatives aimed at improving NATO space capabilities.

Connecting multiple national satellites will “overcome the cost, time and coverage limitations of single-nation satellite fleets,” a NATO press release said. The new network, called the Hybrid Alliance Layered Operations in Space (HALO), initially will involve Denmark, Canada, Finland, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and Turkey. (7/8)

Starlink to Private Jet Owners: Our Prices Are Doubling (Source: PC Mag)
Starlink is doubling the monthly cost of internet service for private and business jet operators. On Tuesday, SpaceX updated the Starlink.com support page for its Business Aviation plans. The company used to charge $10,000 per month for the Aviation Jet Unlimited tier. However, the tier, now called Aviation Global Unlimited, will now cost $20,000. (7/8)

Bridenstine Questions Artemis Lunar Lander Plans (Source: Space.com)
The former head of NASA is questioning the agency's plans to return astronauts to the moon, asking whether the crewed landers selected for the Artemis program are the right vehicles to get the job done. Jim Bridenstine voiced skepticism about the architecture of NASA's Artemis moon landers, both of which are trailing in development compared to the Orion spacecraft with which they're being designed to fly. "The architecture is extraordinarily complicated," Bridenstine said. He compared the Artemis plan unfavorably to NASA's approach during the Apollo program, which he argued was much less complex. (7/8)

New Entrant to DoD's Launch Competition Isn't a Launcher (Source: Ars Technica)
The addition of Impulse Space to DoD's Phase 3 launch contract was something of a surprise. The company specializes in building spacecraft for in-space operations, rather than launching from Earth. “I think it’s fair to say that Phase 3 did not contemplate this,” said Eric Romo, president and chief operating officer of Impulse Space, in an interview. “However, the Space Force has been really clear that they’ve got a lot of demands for high-energy launch, especially at GEO, and they don’t have a lot of supply.”

Phase 3 refers to the third iteration of the military’s launch program, known as National Security Space Launch Phase 3. It allows companies to bid on “task orders” for launches between the period of 2025 and 2029. Launches typically take place one to three years after a contract is awarded. To further complicate things, there are two lanes of this program.  (7/8)

July 9, 2026

Golden Dome Generates Potential Spinoff Opportunities (Source: Space News)
The proposed Golden Dome missile-defense system has companies looking for new business opportunities. The prospect of deploying hundreds or even thousands of satellites for missile warning, tracking, communications and even interception missions has prompted companies to search for opportunities beyond the spacecraft themselves. That includes areas such as satellite refueling, orbital transportation, communications relay networks and in-space servicing, as companies argue those services will be essential to Golden Dome's satellite constellations. However, the Pentagon, which has disclosed few details about the Golden Dome architecture, has not indicated its interest in those other services. (7/9)

SpaceX Sets Booster Reuse Record After Thursday Launch From Florida (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX set a booster reuse record on its latest Starlink mission. A Falcon 9 lifted off at 5:25 am Eastern Thursday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, putting 29 Starlink satellites into orbit. The launch was the 36th flight of this Falcon 9 booster, designated B1067, which made its first flight five years ago. (7/9)

Starlink Now Used to Track Pets (Source: Space News)
The latest application for Starlink is dog tracking. Pet technology company Fi launched a dog tracker Wednesday that uses T-Mobile's Starlink-enabled T-Satellite service to remain connected across the United States, even outside the telco's terrestrial network. The company said Fi Ultra marks the first consumer product outside smartphones to ship with Starlink Direct-to-Cell as a core feature. The company expects a "meaningful share" of its customer base to upgrade to the Starlink-enabled tracker, especially those in rural regions or who travel in remote areas. (7/8)

Cosmic Rays Could Help Detect Orbital Nukes (Source: Science News)
Cosmic rays could help detect orbiting nuclear weapons. A study published this week discussed how a satellite could determine if another satellite had a nuclear weapon by approaching it with a neutron detector. A surge of neutrons would be a telltale sign that the spacecraft had a nuclear weapon, as cosmic rays would interact with the bomb's fissile material creating the neutrons. Experts caution, though, that the satellite with detectors would have to come very close to the spacecraft to detect the neutron, which would raise concerns. (7/9)

Australian Beach Debris Likely From Launch Vehicles (Source: New York Times)
Spherical tanks that washed ashore on an Australian beach likely came from a launch vehicle. The metallic tanks, about a meter across, washed ashore over the weekend on beaches in Queensland. The Australian Space Agency said it concluded the tanks are pressure vessels from a launch vehicle. It added it believes it has identified the source of the tanks but did not disclose it, saying it was in discussions with international authorities to confirm the source of the tanks. (7/9)

Loft Orbital Books Multiple Launches Aboard MaiaSpace Rockets (Source: European Spaceflight)
US-based satellite operator Loft Orbital has signed a multi-launch agreement with ArianeGroup subsidiary MaiaSpace. Although the announcement provided few details, it did share that the first flight was expected in 2028. (7/9)

New Singapore Space Agency Seeks to Build Up the Country’s Space Industry (Source: Space News)
Singapore's new space agency has signed a cooperative agreement with Japan. At the Spacetide conference this week, the National Space Agency of Singapore (NSAS) signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Japanese space agency JAXA covering potential joint work in areas ranging from space technology to industry development. The agreement is the first signed by NSAS since it began operations April 1. The agency has several mandates, which include growing the country's space industry and developing a national space law. (7/8)

New Horizons Wakes Up 6 Billion Miles Beyond Jupiter (Source: Space.com)
NASA's New Horizons probe has woken up in good health nearly 6 billion miles away beyond Pluto after spending nearly a year in hibernation. Traveling such vast distances between our solar system's most remote objects means New Horizons often cruises for months at a time with little to do other than passively collect data. During these periods, the probe goes into a hibernation mode in which its instruments still collect data, but most other systems power down. (7/8)

Starlink Halts New Sign-ups in Seven Counties as Capacity Exhausted (Source: Business Daily Africa)
Starlink has suspended new customer sign-ups in seven countries including Nairobi, Kiambu, Mombasa, and Machakos after surging demand exhausted available network capacity, signaling mounting pressure on its rapidly expanding connectivity services. (7/8)

Payloads Used to Dictate the Terms of Launch. That’s Finally Changing (Source: Ars Technica)
It wasn’t easy to find anyone outside of SpaceX clamoring for a rocket like Starship just 10 years ago. Today, the space industry can’t wait for Starship to finally deliver. With a payload capacity of more than 100 metric tons (220,000 pounds) to low-Earth orbit, SpaceX’s new rocket is changing the thinking of just about everyone in the space industry. With the unrealized but potentially game-changing benefits of refueling, Starship could carry the same amount of payload to higher orbits, the Moon, or Mars.

Some US satellite manufacturers are adapting for the substantial capacity of the world’s most powerful rocket. This is a reversal of how things usually go in the balance of supply and demand between launch vehicles and satellite operators. Rocket designs have long engineered their vehicles to match trends in the satellite industry. They designed for their customers’ needs, or at least for what their customers were telling them they needed. But in 2026, a new era of abundant super-heavy-lift launch promises to unlock entirely new applications for satellites. (7/9)

Oklahoma's Infinity One Spaceport: Heritage in Motion (Source: Global Spaceport Alliance)
Like many first-generation commercial spaceports, Oklahoma’s facility arrived ahead of the market. The early 2000s brought optimism about commercial spaceflight, but vehicles, regulatory frameworks, and sustainable business models lagged behind early enthusiasm. For years, the spaceport symbolized potential not yet realized, underscoring the gap between infrastructure and market readiness.

Today, that story is shifting. Recently rebranded as Infinity One Oklahoma Spaceport, the site is aligning itself with the realities and growth of the NewSpace era. The name reflects the “Infinity One” flight corridor, a strategic pathway enabling high-inclination orbital access, a clear reminder that geography still matters in spaceflight. More importantly, it signals a transition from aspiration to action. Click here. (7/7)

World's First Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine to Surge Production (Source: Interesting Engineering)
Houston-based Venus Aerospace has raised $91 million in Series B funding to expand production of its rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE), a propulsion technology that could reshape future hypersonic weapons, reusable launch systems and high-speed aircraft. The investment comes a little over a year after the company completed what it describes as the first U.S. flight of a high-thrust RDRE, validating an engine concept that aerospace engineers have pursued for decades. Venus will use the fresh capital to move the technology from flight testing toward full-rate manufacturing for defense and space customers. (7/8)

Exploration Company Expands to Houston (Source: Douglas Messier)
The Exploration Company (TEC) has opened a Rapid Innovation lab in Houston, Texas and acquired a spacecraft propulsion company as it continues to develop its Nyx crew and cargo vehicles to serve space stations in Earth orbit. A full-scale mockup of the company’s Nyx crew capsule sits at the center of the new lab, which is located near NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

TEC aims to provide crew and cargo services to commercial space stations now in development in the United States. The Franco-German company is planning to launch a Nyx cargo freighter to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2028. TEC recently completed a parachute drop test with a Nyx capsule in the Mojave Desert. The test focused the transition from drogue parachutes to the main parachutes that bring the vehicle safely to the ground. (7/9)

Unseenlabs Announces its Second Generation of Satellite for RF Detection Dedicated to Multi-domain Awareness (Source: Unseenlabs)
Unseenlabs announces the deployment of its new generation of satellites (Gen 2), scaling up its space-based radio frequency (RF) detection capabilities from focused maritime domain awareness to broader multi-domain awareness including maritime, land and space. This new generation expands Unseenlabs’ ability to provide actionable data and intelligence services, supporting customers worldwide to make informed decisions in increasingly complex operational and geopolitical environments. (7/8)

Sweden and Oman Compete for Small-Launch Traffic (Source: Space News)
It has been an interesting couple of weeks for spaceport geopolitics. Spaceports, considered the second bottleneck for space access after launchers, have been increasingly debated at the ESA level. The question is a sophisticated one: Does Europe need to finance multiple spaceports, with different sizes and characteristics, to create a system in which Kourou can be complemented by smaller, decentralized spaceports?

On the commercial side, however, the question seems to have a different tone. With the exception of PLD Space, private and smaller launcher operators seem to have already decided to invest in the smaller bets. U.S. company Firefly Aerospace is targeting the first launch of its Alpha rocket from Esrange in Sweden, in 2028. And again, both Germany’s HyImpulse and France’s Latitude signed agreements to use Oman's Etlaq Spaceport.

There is a fair amount of wishful thinking in all this. None of these companies have flown an orbital rocket yet, and signing MoUs is not the same as reaching orbit. Still, it would be interesting and slightly worrying if, after so much bureaucratic debate over “spaceports yes” or “spaceports no,” Oman takes the lead on something Europe could have arranged by itself. (7/8)

Venus Aerospace Raises $91 Million for Hypersonic Engine Development (Source: Space News)
Hypersonic propulsion startup Venus Aerospace has raised $91 million. The company said the new capital will fund engine development and manufacturing as it seeks to scale production of its rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) from flight testing toward operational deployment. The reusable, throttleable engine is intended for a range of missions, including munitions, space launch vehicles, orbital transfer vehicles and lunar landers. (7/8)

Italy's D-Orbit to Support Japan's ArkEdge with Launch Logistics (Source: Space News)
Italian space logistics specialist D-Orbit will provide a series of launches aboard its ION Satellite Carrier for Japanese startup ArkEdge Space. D-Orbit will send ArkEdge satellites to sun-synchronous orbit in 2027 and 2028 on an undisclosed number of missions, the companies announced Tuesday. D-Orbit's ION has completed 23 missions with the most recent ION launched on a SpaceX rideshare mission Tuesday. (7/8)

The Government’s Options to Address Strained Spaceports (Source: Space News)
Industry officials are offering a range of options to deal with strained launch sites. The concepts range from additional funding for spaceport infrastructure improvements to more cooperation among government agencies in dealing with launch site upgrades. The ideas are, in many cases, not new but are getting more attention after the Blue Origin New Glenn pad explosion in May. (7/8)

Apolink Deploys 3U Cubesat to Test S-Band Intersatellite Links (Source: Space News)
Among the payloads on Transporter-17 was the first satellite for data-relay startup Apolink. The 3U cubesat will test intersatellite links in S-band using a novel experimental license from the FCC. That license allows Apolink's cubesat to receive S-band signals from designated partner satellites on an unprotected and non-interference basis, before storing and forwarding them to approved ground stations. The IPoS-TDsM, or Interoperability Protocol over Satellite – Technology Demonstration Mission, is designed to close low-power links at distances of up to about 150 kilometers during line-of-sight passes. (7/8)

Orbit Fab Gets New CEO, New Investment for In-Orbit Fueling (Source: Space News)
Satellite refueling company Orbit Fab has a new CEO and additional funding as it moves from technology development to commercial operations. The company announced Tuesday it hired Peter Shaper, a former CEO of satellite services companies CapRock Communications and Speedcast, while lead investor Stride Capital is providing more than $25 million in interim financing as it works closing a Series B round.

Shaper said he is tasked with taking Orbit Fab's technology to refuel satellites in orbit, with three demo missions planned in the next 18 to 24 months, and turning it into a commercial service with the U.S. government as a likely initial customer. (7/8)

Space Systems Command Awards SES 5-Year Blanket Purchase Agreement (Source: Via Satellite)
The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) has awarded SES Space and Defense a five-year blanket purchase agreement (BPA) for global Ku-band connectivity, including a number of managed connectivity services. (7/8)

VSFB Announces ‘Spaceport of the Future' Industry Day to Drive Large-Scale Infrastructure Modernization (Source: USSF)
Space Launch Delta 30 is scheduled to host a "Spaceport of the Future" Industry Day  on July 29 at Vandenberg Space Force Base. The Industry Day aims to align government and industry partners on a large-scale infrastructure recapitalization effort designed to transform the base into a high-capacity spaceport.

The Industry Day will gather executive-level decision-makers, site leads, and organizations specializing in large-scale infrastructure, power grid expansion, environmental planning, logistics, and venture capital. Topics of discussion will include streamlining contract procurement timelines, exploring public-private collaboration models, and implementing shared-use infrastructure strategies. (7/6)

Blue Origin Reportedly Raising $10B at $130B Valuation (Source: Tech Crunch)
Billionaire Jeff Bezos’ space rocket company Blue Origin is raising $10 billion at a $130 billion pre-money valuation from Coatue Asset Management, Bezos himself, and other large investors. Coatue is expected to invest about $4 billion in the round, which would be Blue Origin’s first external fundraise. Bezos is said to be committing $2 billion, and the other investors will account for the remaining funds, according to the report. (7/8)

AST SpaceMobile Adds Three More BlueBird Satellites to LEO (Source: Space News)
AST SpaceMobile has deployed three additional BlueBird satellites into low Earth orbit, moving ahead of its plan to build a space-based cellular broadband network. The company is targeting deployment of 45 to 60 satellites by the end of the year as it scales capacity in-orbit. (7/8)

Component Anomaly Delays Thaicom 9, Affecting Other Astranis Satellites Too (Source: Space Intel Report)
Thaicom says its Thaicom 9 satellite—previously scheduled for launch in 2024—has been delayed to March 2027 following a power system anomaly identified on one of the four other Astranis Space Technologies micro-GEO satellites that were sharing a SpaceX launch. The issue drives a multi-satellite schedule slip for the cluster. (7/8)

CesiumAstro Files FCC Application for 737-Satellite “Synchronicity” Reconfigurable Connectivity Constellation (Source: Via Satellite)
CesiumAstro submitted an FCC filing for a 737-satellite constellation called Synchronicity to provide reconfigurable connectivity to fixed and mobile satellite users. CesiumAstro, which is based in Austin, Texas, builds software-defined radios and phased arrays and processor systems, and has moved into end-to-end missions. Last year the company announced its Element reconfigurable satellite platform, but this is the first indication it plans to launch its own constellation. (7/7)

July 8, 2026

Uranus and Neptune May Not be ‘Ice Giants’ After All (Source: Science)
t’s time to revisit our idea of Neptune and Uranus, too—for the so-called ice giants likely contain very little ice. The term is “a little bit misleading,” says Ravit Helled, a planetary scientist at the University of Zürich. “We really don’t know what these planets are made of.” She and her colleagues do, however, have ideas, ranging from magma oceans to soups of icy methane. (7/7)

New UCF Study Links Microgravity, Space Radiation to Accelerated Aging (Source: UCF)
What happens to the human body in space may help scientists create new anti-aging therapies. UCF’s Michal Masternak and his team have identified molecular changes in the liver that happen when space travelers experience radiation and microgravity. These changes – that resemble accelerated aging – provide new insight into how prolonged space missions may increase health risks for astronauts and reveal potential targets for therapies that could combat age-related diseases on Earth. (7/7)

SpaceX Transporter-17 Deploys Four Canadian Satellites Deployed on Transporter-17 Mission (Source: SpaceQ)
SpaceX successfully launched the Transporter-17 rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Tuesday morning, deploying 81 payloads into low-Earth orbit (LEO), including four Canadian payloads from GHGSat, EarthDaily Analytics, and the University of Victoria. (7/7)

With SpaceX Starship, Japan's ispace Provides Ride-Share to the Moon (Source: Reuters)
Japanese moon transport company ispace plans a new, lower-cost lunar ​cargo business using SpaceX's Starship heavy rocket and moon lander. Tokyo-based ispace has bought 500 kg (1,102 lb) of capacity for $50 million on a Starship that would land on the moon as soon as 2030, and will build a lunar surface vehicle that ​can host payloads from clients worldwide sharing their ride on Starship to the ​moon, it said. (7/8)

Kennedy Space Center Offers 'Celebrate USA 250' Ticket Discounts (Source: Florida Today)
In honor of America's 250th anniversary, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is offering $17.76 in savings on one-day admission tickets through Aug. 31. The discounted pricing brings adult admission to $59.24, and child admission to $49.24. (7/4)

NASA Acquisition Workforce Losses: Opportunity Amid Challenges (Source: FNN)
Across the government, agencies face a pronounced loss of historical knowledge as retirements and federal workforce reductions levy widespread impact. The shift marks a pivotal moment for countless departments and teams, including those at NASA.

While the changes create hurdles and pressures, also emerging are opportunities to reassess and reimagine how work gets done – particularly in the federal acquisition workforce. This is especially significant as the work of acquisition itself faces increasing complexity, said NASA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Procurement Marvin Horne.

“With high retirements, it’s removing people who know how to execute complex source evaluation boards, historical knowledge of certain contract structures – why they were successful or why they failed – historical knowledge of contractor negotiation strategies, even the informal stakeholder engagement that ensures strong procurement and program collaboration,” Horne said. “The true concern is not about replacement of staff; it’s about replacing judgment cultivated over a 25- to 30-year career. (6/30)

NASA Seeks Industry Input to Accelerate Lunar Surface Technologies (Source: NASA)
Long-term lunar exploration requires technology, infrastructure, and operations that function together cohesively on the surface of the Moon. To accelerate the development of key lunar surface systems and reduce risk, NASA and industry must work together in the design, development, testing, and evaluation of innovative solutions that support U.S. space priorities.

NASA is seeking feedback on a draft solicitation for the Lunar Enabling Infrastructure Accelerator, an effort to help develop emerging capabilities in surface power, in-situ resource utilization, advanced manufacturing, and innovative nanomaterials. The draft is available for review by U.S. organizations, including industry, educational institutions, and non-profits. (6/29)

Firefly Aerospace Awarded $13 Million JPL Contract for SkyFall Mars Mission Aeroshell (Source: Telemetry Today)
Firefly Aerospace has received a $13 million subcontract from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to manufacture, test, and deliver the aeroshell for NASA's SkyFall mission to Mars, which is currently targeted for launch in late 2028. The SkyFall mission, managed by JPL, will deploy three Mars helicopters derived from the Ingenuity technology demonstrator to conduct scientific investigations, perform airborne subsurface mapping, and prospect for resources that could support future human missions to Mars.

The mission will use a new "SkyFall Maneuver," in which the helicopters are released during descent and fly themselves to the Martian surface, eliminating the need for a traditional landing platform. (7/7)

U.S. Eyes Offshore Spaceports With First-Ever Call for Industry Input (Source: G Captain)
The Trump administration is taking its first formal step toward evaluating whether federal offshore waters could support commercial space launches and spacecraft recovery operations. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on Tuesday announced it will publish a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public and industry feedback on the potential use of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) for offshore space launch, re-entry and recovery infrastructure.

The RFI, scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on July 8, opens a 30-day public comment period through Aug. 7. BOEM said it is looking for technical, environmental, operational and safety information that could help shape future planning and coordination for offshore space activities. (7/7)

First SaxaVord Rocket Launch Could Take Place in August (Source: Shetland News)
The first rocket test flight could take place at SaxaVord Spaceport in Unst between August and early September. A launch window will be in place at the site, having been agreed with international, national and local authorities and regulators. Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) said earlier this year it was aiming for a launch after 1 July, with the first and second stages of its ONE launch vehicle delivered to Unst in March. (7/7)

Paso Robles is Full Steam Ahead on Spaceport — and a Local Aerospace Company Took Notice (Source: The Tribune)
Even if Paso Robles might not yet have its spaceport license, aerospace company Zone 5 Technologies is already seeing its potential. That’s why it’s expanding its manufacturing operations to the Paso Robles Municipal Airport this summer. Zone 5 Technologies is San Luis Obispo-based with its only location currently being right near the SLO County Regional Airport on Buckley Road. (7/7)

ULA’s Last Six Atlas Vs Can’t Launch Anything Besides Boeing’s Starliner (Source: Ars Technica)
The final flight of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket is still several years off, but an important era for the once-dominant launch company came to a close last week. The final flight of an Atlas V for the Amazon Leo broadband constellation lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport last Thursday, sending 29 satellites to orbit to move the network closer to providing initial services.

There are six more Atlas Vs in ULA’s inventory to launch Boeing’s Starliner crew capsules to the ISS under contract to NASA. But it is not certain today that Boeing will use all six of those Atlas Vs. Last year, NASA reduced the number of guaranteed missions in Boeing’s commercial crew contract from six to four after chronic delays in the program. The next Starliner flight will haul cargo to the ISS, expending one of the remaining Atlas Vs.

So what happens to the Atlas Vs left in ULA’s inventory if Boeing doesn’t need to use them all? One idea would be to repurpose the rockets for other missions, perhaps to add launch capacity for the Amazon Leo network. But there’s a catch. The Starliner spacecraft flies in an exposed configuration during launch, meaning the launch last week was the last time an Atlas V will fly with a payload fairing. Even if Boeing gave up some of the Atlas Vs under its contractual control, ULA would not be able to easily retrofit any of the leftover Atlas Vs for other missions. (7/7)

UC Santa Cruz Researchers Make Breakthrough on Solar Enigma (Source: UCSC)
Researchers are closer to unraveling a long-standing solar mystery surrounding the extreme thinness of the Sun’s tachocline layer of strong shearing motion—a region believed to be critical for creating the violent eruptions of high-energy particles and radiation from the Sun known as “space weather.”

Their study reveals new insights into how magnetic fields keep the solar tachocline so thin, and more generally, how tachoclines in other solar-type stars may contribute to stellar “spin down”—the mysterious process by which stars are observed to slow their overall rotation rates, or “spins”, as they slowly evolve. The new simulations suggest a holistic interplay between rotation, magnetism, and tachoclines in solar-like stars. (7/7)

To Aid Aging KSC Infrastructure, Florida Senator Pitches 'Space Ready Act' (Source: Florida Today)
With the number of launches increasing on Florida’s Space Coast while the infrastructure at Kennedy Space Center shows its age – and on the heels of a warning from NASA’s top watchdog — a Florida senator proposed a solution to the Cape's woes.

Senator Ashley Moody visited Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on July 7 to announce the Space Ready 2.0 Act. While it will not provide new funding, the Space Ready 2.0 Act aims to give NASA a new vehicle to accept contributions from commercial partners. It would be a pilot program. (7/7)

Investment in Russia’s Private Space Sector Could Exceed $1.3 Billion by 2030 (Source: TASS)
Investment in private companies within the rocket and space industry could exceed 100 billion rubles ($1.3 billion) by 2030, Roscosmos Deputy General Director Grigory Maximov said. "We recognize that, beyond any altruistic motivations, the private players entering this field understand how the market will take shape and what it will look like and, consequently, how the associated revenues and expenditures will ultimately flow back into their business operations," he said. (7/7)

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute Increases Investment in Giant Magellan Telescope (Source: Giant Magellan)
The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) has reaffirmed its long-term commitment to the Giant Magellan Telescope through a new investment that brings its total contribution to nearly $110 million (USD), strengthening the Republic of Korea’s leadership as the project’s third-largest partner. (7/7)

Space Force Adds Relativity, Impulse Space to National Security Launch Program (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force is widening the field of companies eligible to compete for national security launch contracts, adding launch startup Relativity Space and orbital transportation company Impulse Space to a roster of commercial providers as it looks to diversify how military satellites reach orbit. Impulse Space plans to provide GEO rideshare missions using its Helios tug. (7/8)

Arianespace Opens Door to GEO Rideshare Opportunities From 2029 (Source: Spacewatch Global)
Infinite Orbits and Arianespace have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a framework for future collaboration on multiple direct-to-geostationary orbit (GEO) launch services. The partnership unites Arianespace’s decades of launch heritage with Infinite Orbits’ next-generation in-orbit servicing capabilities.

Direct access to geostationary orbit allows Infinite Orbits to deploy servicing spacecraft more rapidly, supporting satellite inspection and life-extension missions with greater operational flexibility. By identifying these future launch requirements, the French New Space company reaffirms its commitment to European launch capabilities while supporting the timely development of sovereign access to geostationary orbit. (7/8)

SpaceX Launches Transporter-17 Amid Concerns About Rideshare Program’s Future (Source: Space News)
SpaceX launched the latest in its Transporter series of rideshare missions July 7 as industry concerns about the program’s future reach what one rival company executive called a panic. SpaceX launched 81 payloads on the latest launch in its rideshare series. But SpaceX is not accepting Transporter reservations beyond late 2028. (7/8)

Starfighters Space Welcomes FAA Supersonic Rulemaking (Source: Starfighters Space)
Starfighters Space expressed its support for the FAA's proposed revision of regulations that currently prohibit civil/commercial supersonic flight in US airspace. The FAA proposal would replace the current ban on supersonic flight with a "performance-based certification framework that reflects advances in aircraft technology and noise mitigation."

"As the operator of the world's only commercial fleet of flight-ready Mach 2+ aircraft, we view this proposal as an important milestone for the future of high-speed aviation," said Tim Franta, CEO of Starfighters Space. "We commend the Administration and the FAA for advancing policies that encourage American space innovation while maintaining a strong commitment to safety." (7/8)

SpaceX Just Launched the 1st-Ever Nuclear-Powered Commercial Satellite (Source: Space.com)
The world's first commercially built nuclear-powered satellite has reached orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The BOHR (Betavoltaic Orbital High-Reliability) satellite, built by Florida-based company City Labs, launched on SpaceX's Transporter-17 rideshare mission.

BOHR is a novel cubesat testing out its proprietary "NanoTritium" betavoltaic micropower source in space for the first time. Similar to how spacecraft like NASA's Voyager probes' radioisotope thermoelectric generators produce power from the heat emitted from their plutonium cores, City Lab's NanoTritium device harnesses the beta particles emitted from the radioactive decay of tritium, which can be converted directly to electricity using a semiconductor. (7/7)

Skyroot Prepares for First Orbital Launch Attempt (Source: Space News)
Indian launch startup Skyroot Aerospace is preparing for its first orbital launch attempt as soon as July 12, with plans to quickly scale up to monthly launches. The Vikram-1 rocket, designed to carry small satellites into low-Earth orbit, will lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota between July 12 and Aug. 4, the company said. (7/7)

'Once Upon a Time in Space' Series to Tell Florida's Space Story (Source: Florida Today)
Coming as America celebrates its 250th birthday, as well as the 15th anniversary of the final NASA space shuttle flight, Florida’s historic space story is getting a spotlight in a new PBS documentary series. Starting July 14, WUCF will present Once Upon a Time in Space, a new four-part PBS documentary series that tells America’s space story through the voices of astronauts, people behind the missions, and their families. (7/7)

Two Asteroid Rendezvous in One Weekend (Source: Douglas Messier)
Last weekend there was not one but two rendezvous with distant asteroids conducted by Chinese and Japanese spacecraft. After a voyage of 1 billion kilometers and more than 400 days, China’s Tianwen-2 spacecraft arrived at asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa (a.k.a., 2016 HO3). Chinese officials released an image of the near-Earth object taken from a distance of 20 kilometers.

Tianwen-2 will study the asteroid for nine months before departing for Earth with a sample for scientists to examine. It is China’s first mission to explore an asteroid.Kamoʻoalewa is a small Apollo-type near-Earth object that has been estimated to be 40–100 meters in diameter based on ground observations. Tianwen-2’s data will allow scientists to determine its exact dimensions.

Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft has conducted a flyby of asteroid 98943 Torifune. The near-Earth object resembles a peanut in the form of two rubble piles. It also appears similar to 486958 Arrokoth, a Kuiper belt object whose two lobes formed independently before gently merging together. Asteroid 98943 Torifune has been estimated to be 450 meters in diameter based on ground observations. Hayabusa2’s has a fixed camera that was not designed for a rapid flyby. So, the spacecraft’s capacity to return images was limited. (7/7)

Apophis to Pass Within GEO Ring (Source: Space Daily)
On 13 April 2029, an asteroid the size of a large skyscraper, roughly 375 meters across and named Apophis, will sweep past Earth closer than many telecommunications satellites orbit. And for once, we will be able to watch. Under clear, dark skies, an estimated two billion people across Europe, Africa and parts of Asia should be able to see it cross the night sky with the naked eye.

The single most important thing to say about that is also the most reassuring: it is a close pass, not a threat. Apophis will not hit Earth. The numbers are startling. Apophis will pass about 31,600 kilometers above Earth’s surface, which is roughly one tenth of the distance to the Moon and only about five times the radius of the Earth itself. Crucially, that is inside the ring of geostationary satellites, the ones sitting some 36,000 kilometers up that relay much of our television and communications. An asteroid this large will actually pass beneath them. (7/6)

Trapped in Orbit: China's Approach to Emergency Action on TSS (Source: Futura)
A small crack in a spacecraft window set off a complex chain of events aboard China's Tiangong  space station last year. The episode began in November 2025 and only fully resolved this past May 2026, spanning nearly seven months. The incident thoroughly tested China's emergency contingency planning for crewed  spaceflight. It ultimately concluded with a successful, improvised rescue that drew unusually open commentary from a normally guarded  space program.

China’s human  spaceflight program manages this risk through a strict standing contingency policy known as “one launch, one on standby.” Under this framework, engineers maintain a backup Shenzhou spacecraft and a Long March 2F rocket on hand at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The China Manned  Space Agency activated this emergency protocol, accelerating the launch timeline of the Shenzhou 22 vehicle by roughly six months to send it up uncrewed as a dedicated lifeboat. (7/5)

Audit: Starliner Costs Lower Than Full Reliance on SpaceX (Source: Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
Boeing's Starliner faces delays and cost overruns, but it remains a less expensive option for NASA than relying solely on SpaceX, according to an audit by the NASA Office of Inspector General. The audit highlights unresolved issues such as helium leaks and thruster problems, which could delay human-rating certification to 2027. NASA has spent nearly $10 billion on the Commercial Crew Program, with Boeing's contract now valued at $3.7 billion and SpaceX's at $4.9 billion. (7/6)

Europe’s Space Sovereignty Will Depend on How It Scales Optical Connectivity (Source: Astrolight)
The recent European Commission’s move to prioritize European operators in allocating spectrum for direct-to-device connectivity services, the development of Europe’s IRIS² constellation, and Germany’s planned €35 billion investment in defense space capabilities are all part of Europe’s strategic push to reduce its reliance on foreign space services.

Experts argue, however, that building infrastructure is only part of the challenge: for sovereign space networks to remain competitive, they have to utilize and scale optical communication. Global satellite connectivity demand will increase more than 11 times between 2024 and 2034. At the same time, less than 10% of all data generated in orbit currently reaches Earth, largely because of limited downlink bandwidth and scarce spectrum availability in conventional communication systems. (7/6)

Famous Study in Error: the Universe Isn’t Anisotropic (Source: Big Think)
Here in our Universe, we’ve drawn the conclusion that it’s been expanding and cooling for 13.8 billion years: ever since the hot Big Bang first began. In all directions, the same cosmic structures emerge: stars, galaxies, groups and clusters of galaxies, a network of interconnected filaments, with vast cosmic voids separating these matter-rich structures. At distances near and far, and in all directions and all locations, the Universe appears not identical, but similar: with the same densities, galaxy counts, and types of structures found everywhere.

Our cosmological picture, however, only makes sense — and exhibits self-consistency — if the Universe is both homogeneous and isotropic: the same in all locations and the same in all directions. The underlying equations we use to govern the expanding Universe on the largest of cosmic scales, the Friedmann equations, require both of these assumptions to be true.

Thus far, the large-scale structure data seems to agree with these assumptions, including from the largest surveys of all: the 2dF galaxy redshift survey, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey have all supported this consensus picture. However, in a new study published in Nature at the end of June 2026, coauthors Francesco Sylos Labini and Marco Galoppo argue that the DESI data actually supports an anisotropic Universe. (7/6)

July 7, 2026

Canadian Artemis II Crew Member Jeremy Hansen Stepping Down From Astronaut Role (Source: CNN)
Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who captivated the world when he flew around the moon alongside three American crewmates during the Artemis II mission in April, said Monday that he would step back from a full-time astronaut role in September. Hansen said the move was “far from a departure,” as he would transition to serve as a reservist member of the Royal Canadian Air Force in a deliberate move “to leave the door open for creative, ongoing ways to support and enable the vital work happening in Canada with respect to space.” (7/6)

Voyager Closes $250 Million Credit Facility (Source: Voyager)
Voyager Technologies (NYSE: VOYG) closed a $250 million credit facility led by J.P. Morgan. The upsized facility expands Voyager’s financial flexibility, providing liquidity at scale to support accelerating customer demand across the company’s space, defense and national security portfolio. “We are building a generational defense and space company, and this capital position reflects the confidence our financial partners have in where we’re headed.” (7/6)

DoD SpaceX Awards Call Into Question Pentagon's Commitment to Competition (Source: Space News)
Recent multibillion-dollar awards to SpaceX have raised questions about the Pentagon's commitment to competition. The awards, worth nearly $6.5 billion, put SpaceX at the forefront of efforts to build a global military surveillance network and a space-based communications backbone for missile defense. The Pentagon is seeking to expand military space capabilities while simultaneously urging industry to invest in manufacturing capacity and scale production.

However, its efforts to create a competitive market for proliferated military satellites is running into rising operational urgency, resulting in an increased reliance on one company — SpaceX — that has mastered industrial-scale production. Some in Congress have raised concerns about that strategy, pushing the Defense Department to increase competition in major procurements as a way to reduce costs, encourage innovation and preserve industrial capacity. (7/7)

Iridium Completes Aireon Acquisition Ahead of Rocket Lab Acquisition (Source: Space News)
Iridium Communications has completed its takeover of Aireon, bringing the aircraft-tracking venture fully in-house. Iridium said Monday that it bought the remaining 61% of Aireon it did not already own from air navigation service providers in several countries, completing a $367 million deal announced in May. Aireon, which has provided an aviation safety service since 2019 using Iridium satellites and the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) signals aircraft broadcast, will continue to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary. The Aireon purchase closed a week after Iridium agreed to be acquired by Rocket Lab for $8 billion. Rocket Lab has not discussed specific plans for Aireon but said it wants to enhance Iridium services in general. (7/7)

BAE Microprocessor Passes Radiation Testing for Military Space Use (Source: Space News)
BAE Systems says a microprocessor intended for use in military space applications has passed key tests. The company said the Endura processor performed reliably in testing designed to simulate both the natural radiation environment of space and the more severe strategic radiation conditions required for certain defense missions. Endura integrates multiple onboard computing functions into a single device used to power satellites operating in the harsh environment of space. BAE Systems says it is discussing use of the chip with multiple prime contractors for missile defense applications. (7/7)

Belgium's Simera to Provide Multispectral Imagers for Spanish Wildfire Constellation (Source: Space News)
Simera Space will provide multispectral imagers for a Spanish wildfire-tracking satellite system. The Belgian company said it is building eight MultiScape100 sensors for Telespazio's Spanish subsidiary, which recently won 21.3 million euros ($24.4 million) from the local Canary Islands government to be prime contractor for the Earth observation constellation.  The imagers will be placed on three satellites slated to launch in the second half of 2028. The constellation, using satellites from Spanish company AVS, would be optimized specifically for the environmental and operational challenges facing the islands. (7/7)

NASA Redirects Post-ISS Plans, Seeks Fixed-Price Vendors for Commercial Station Development (Source: NASA)
NASA issued a draft request for proposals for the next phase of its commercial space station program. The draft RFP for the next phase of the Commercial LEO Destinations program comes after NASA said last month it would not pursue an alternative approach involving a government-procured core module for the ISS that commercial modules would attach to. Instead, NASA says it is following the desire of industry to issue fixed-price contracts to advance development of commercial stations, with the agency planning to make at least two awards for early station development, and then one or more for final design and certification. Feedback on the draft RFP is due to NASA late this month. (7/7)

Musk No Longer A Trillionaire: What Went Wrong With SpaceX IPO (Source: NDTV)
Three weeks. That's all it took for Elon Musk to go from becoming the world's first trillionaire to slipping below the 13-digit mark. When SpaceX made its blockbuster Nasdaq debut on June 12, shares were priced at $135, opened at $150, and surged sharply in the following sessions. At one point, the company was worth nearly $2.8 trillion, briefly overtaking Amazon in market capitalization. Musk's personal fortune climbed past $1.4 trillion, rewriting financial history. But the euphoria didn't last.

By early July, SpaceX shares had fallen more than 30 per cent from their peak, erasing hundreds of billions of dollars in market value. Musk's fortune dropped below the trillion-dollar mark once again, fluctuating around $992-$997 billion depending on the wealth tracker. He remains the richest person in the world, but no longer a trillionaire. Most insider-held shares remain locked up, with phased releases expected after the company's August earnings. Until then, the stock's relatively limited float could continue to exaggerate price movements. (7/6)

SpaceX Cautioned Against Buying T-Mobile (Source: Phone Arena)
The telecom industry is going through... something. While traditional carriers have stopped innovating, space companies are getting creative. Cellular growth is cooling off, but SpaceX wants in anyway. While President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell has floated the idea of building a terrestrial network, the cost and time constraints make that a long shot. A quicker entry point would be scooping up T-Mobile, but that might just be inviting more problems.

SpaceX and T-Mobile already collaborate on direct-to-device (D2D) and broadband, so the synergy is there. Stepping into cellular territory could muddy the company's focus. And SpaceX would have to fork over upward of $180 billion for T-Mobile, straining its finances just to limit its own reach.

That's because buying T-Mobile closes the door on potential partnerships with AT&T and Verizon. Sure, those two have inked deals with AST SpaceMobile, but with AST stumbling, they will likely look to team up with SpaceX when its exclusivity with T-Mobile expires. By outright owning T-Mobile, SpaceX locks itself out of two-thirds of the mobile market. (7/6)

NASA’s Curiosity Rover is Investigating Unusual Polygon Structures That Look Like a “Giant Martian Honeycomb” (Source: The Debrief)
An unusual discovery on the Red Planet has revealed an odd-looking series of polygon-shaped structures, documented in new images obtained by NASA’s Curiosity Rover. The curious features were discovered after Curiosity was dispatched to an area of interest on the Martian terrain initially identified from orbital imagery obtained by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

Senior Research Scientist William Farrand of the Space Science Institute described the area in question as being “covered with polygonal structures like the top of a giant Martian honeycomb.” Similar polygon-shaped features are often seen in geology, such as the famous Giant’s Causeway on Northern Ireland’s Antrim Coast. (7/6)

NASA Leading Whole-of-Government Mandate for Space Nuclear Power/Propulsion (Source: Aviation Week)
Driven by an urgent U.S. government mandate to develop space nuclear power and propulsion, NASA is leading a whole-of-government charge to accelerate the deployment of reactors on the Moon and in orbit. But after six decades of stop-start development since the experimental SNAP-10 reactor launched to space in 1965, can U.S. space nuclear ambitions finally get off the launchpad? National security requirements, combined with the White House’s strategic vision for U.S. space superiority, have elevated space nuclear capability to a national priority, says Kristin Houston.

After decades of stalled progress, the stakes for U.S. space nuclear power have risen sharply. China and Russia are developing a joint nuclear powerplant to support a future lunar research station, with operations targeted for 2036. At the same time, growing competition in space is driving the Pentagon to pursue highly maneuverable spacecraft that will require new propulsion systems capable of operating farther from Earth and moving more dynamically in orbit.

The U.S. military is not rushing to field nuclear propulsion, however. Senior officials want to determine whether the technology can deliver the high thrust and high delta-v needed for future satellite missions. (6/30)

NASA Employs Psychological Stressors During Astronaut Selection Process (Source: Space Daily)
The specific function of identifying worrisome psychological factors, at NASA, falls to a group called Behavioral Health and Performance, or BHP, an operational team within the medical sciences directorate at Johnson Space Center in Houston. The BHP team consists of operational psychologists and research psychologists who work together on astronaut selection, psychological training, in-flight behavioral support, and family support programs.

The direct BHP contribution to astronaut selection extends across approximately six to seven months of the total seventeen-month selection process. During that period, candidates who have passed the initial application screening are brought to Johnson Space Center for a sequence of interviews, group exercises, medical evaluations, and psychiatric assessments. The specific tools the BHP team uses have been developed and refined over decades of NASA experience.

The tactic of interrupting a candidate mid-sentence and criticizing their reasoning is not designed to intimidate the candidate. It is designed to observe what the candidate does next. The candidate who apologizes and defers is behaving substantially differently from the candidate who acknowledges the criticism, holds their position, and continues to reason. The tactic of telling a candidate their correct solution is wrong is not designed to embarrass them. It is designed to observe whether they collapse under contradiction from an authority figure or continue to trust their own judgment. (7/6)

NASA Adds Three European Firms to the Commercial Data Program (Source: Space News)
On June 23, NASA’s Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) program announced contract awards covering eight new commercial satellite data providers, including three European firms: Kuva Space (Finland), OroraTech (Germany) and Satlantis (Spain). Their inclusion brings additional European capacity into a US-led procurement framework. For operators and data aggregators, CSDA contract awards signal near-term demand and can influence data product roadmaps, geographies served and technology priorities. (7/6)

ESA and Canadian Space Agency Fund NorthStar Plan to Speed Up Collision Alerts (Source: SpaceQ)
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) are funding the next phase of NorthStar Earth & Space’s plan to process space surveillance data directly in orbit. The Montreal-based company is developing artificial intelligence software to detect faint objects using onboard satellite computers. This edge computing method processes information in space before sending it to Earth, reducing the time needed to identify potential collision threats.

As low-Earth orbit (LEO) becomes increasingly congested, commercial and defence operators need rapid updates to avoid collisions. Traditional space surveillance requires beaming raw images to ground stations for analysis, creating a data bottleneck. Shifting machine learning algorithms directly to the satellite filters out the noise, reducing bandwidth requirements and increasing the network’s overall observation capacity. (7/6)

NorthStar Earth & Space Weighs Public-Market Debut Via SPAC Merger with Viking Acquisition Corp. (Source: Space Intel Report)
Space situation awareness service provider NorthStar Earth & Space of Canada, which is planning an IPO following a merger with Viking Acquisition Corp. I, a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), is positioning its future constellation of satellites as a superior alternative to ground-based lasers for monitoring satellite activity. NorthStar, whose initial buildout of in-orbit sensors was curtailed by what it said were performance defects on the sensors launched in 2024 on Spire Global satellites, is planning a 96-sensor fleet on satellites owned by Kepler Communications, a fellow Canadian satellite operator. (7/6)

Revolutionary Superconducting Thruster Harnesses Earth's Magnetic Field in 1st Orbital Test (Source: Space.com)
New Zealand company Zenno Astronautics has tested the first of its kind thruster based on superconducting magnets to maintain the position of a satellite in space. Superconducting magnets can convert solar energy directly into momentum in space and provide a source of acceleration that needs no fuel, but until recently, the technology was too large and complex to fit on a satellite. That's no longer the case. Zenno Astronautics, a spin-off from the University of Auckland, has flown its new "Supertorquer" system on the Mira satellite built by California-based start-up Impulse Space. (7/6)

NASA Faces On-Orbit Servicing Challenge for Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) (Source: SatNews)
NASA astrophysics division director Shawn Domagal-Goldman confirmed that the agency’s upcoming flagship alien-hunting telescope, the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), is being structurally engineered to mandate robotic in-space servicing, assembly, and maintenance (ISAM). The strategic engineering pivot represents a fundamental departure from the fixed, single-lifecycle design philosophies of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), transforming the $11 billion optical instrument into an upgradable orbital asset destined for the Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2 (L2). (7/6)

Isar Aerospace Signs Agreement for Canadian Launch Site (Source: Space News)
Isar Aerospace has signed an agreement to develop a Canadian launch site for Spectrum, the company's two-stage orbital launch vehicle. The agreement is linked to a broader deal involving the sale of submarines to the Canadian military. The arrangement connects small-launch infrastructure work with defense-driven procurement and industrial cooperation. (7/6)

Cyber in Space Signs Partnership Deal with ExeQuantum (Source: Via Satellite)
Cyber in Space hopes a partnership with ExeQuantum will enable it to deliver better advanced cyber resilience and quantum-readiness services to organizations across the global aerospace and space ecosystem. The partnership will enable Cyber in Space to incorporate ExeQuantum’s cryptographic discovery capabilities within its advisory services. This will allow clients to identify cryptographic vulnerabilities, understand their exposure to ‘harvest now, decrypt later’ threats and develop practical roadmaps towards quantum-safe operations. (7/6)

Astropolitics and the Post-Earth Economy (Source: Space Review)
A growing human presence in space means expanding beyond the realm of instantaneous communications we have become accustomed to on Earth. David Rogers says that will mean fundamentally rethinking governance. Click here. (7/6)
 
Rededicating a Space Museum (Source: Space Review)
The National Air and Space Museum marked its 50th anniversary last week with a rededication. Jeff Foust reports on the nearly complete overhaul of the museum that now features several new space-related exhibits. Click here. (7/6)
 
“Vastly, Hugely, Mind-Bogglingly Big”: The Galaxy Garden as a Milky Way Analog (Source: Space Review)
The Milky Way galaxy is such a huge structure that it is almost impossible for the human mind to comprehend how vast it is. Deana Weibel visits one effort to do so, in the form of a garden in Hawaii. Click here. (7/6)
 
Transforming Domains: Space, Military Justice, and the Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps in 2050 (Source: Space Review)
While the US Space Force is a separate military branch, it still relies on the Air Force for some capabilities, including lawyers. Todd Pennington discusses why evolutions in both the Space Force and the military justice system mean that arrangement will likely change. Click here. (7/6)
 
The Mars Tax: Starship’s Toll on American Lunar Ambitions (Source: Space Review)
SpaceX’s Starship is one of the two lunar landers being developed for landing NASA astronauts on the Moon. Ethan Hicks argues that Starship’s origins as a Mars vehicle create a “tax” on its use as a lunar lander that jeopardizes the schedule for Artemis. Click here. (7/6)

Failed Rocket Firm Took Slice Out of Pizza Maker and Dry Cleaners (Source: The Times)
The collapse of Moray-based rocket manufacturer Orbex left behind £73.3 million in cumulative losses. Its creditors included a pizza maker, a dry cleaner, and a local café, among scores of other small and medium-sized enterprises. The firm, which planned the Sutherland Spaceport, ultimately went into administration and triggered liquidation for its subsidiaries. (7/7)

Italy Brings IRIDE Earth Observation Service Online (Source: European Spaceflight)
Italy’s IRIDE Earth observation service went live on 1 July, opening initial access to imagery and analytics from one of the program’s planned six satellite constellations for government users. While ASI did not share details about the initial imagery acquisitions, it did state that they “represent some of the application areas in which IRIDE will gradually be used, from civil protection and environmental monitoring to security, cultural heritage protection and international cooperation.” (7/6)

"Dual Use" is a Misleading Term (Source: Space News)
There is only technology. How it is employed is a question of intent, context and political will, not of the technology itself. A precision optical payload captures imagery whether the target is a forest fire or a forward operating base. Autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations software closes distance on a piece of debris or an adversary asset according to instruction, not category. The knife cuts bread or threatens a neighbour; the capability is the same. The term “dual-use” has always obscured this, but in the present strategic environment it has become worse than imprecise. It has become a distraction. (7/6)

Blue Origin Insulates Lunar Landers from Launch Pad Recovery Fallout (Source: SatNews)
Blue Origin Senior Vice President of Lunar Permanence John Couluris confirmed that engineering, assembly, and integration work on its Blue Moon lunar lander lines remains insulated from the launch infrastructure recovery underway in Florida. Blue Origin is actively assembling seven distinct Blue Moon lunar landers at its manufacturing facilities, moving forward with its long-term cislunar delivery manifest for both NASA and commercial clients.

The manufacturing pipeline for the Blue Moon lander portfolio consists of two separate vehicle blocks engineered to establish an active logistical pipeline to the lunar surface. The initial operational variant, the Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1), is a single-stage, cargo-only robotic lander designed to deliver up to three metric tons of payload to any location on the lunar surface. The company is currently building three MK1 flight articles, led by the pathfinder vehicle named Endurance.

Concurrently, manufacturing teams are assembling four full-scale Blue Moon Mark 2 (MK2) architectures. The MK2 serves as the primary crewed vehicle for Blue Origin’s Human Landing System (HLS) National Team, which secured a $3.4 billion NASA development contract in 2023. This larger architecture relies on an integrated high-capacity cryogenic fluid management system to keep its liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants sub-cooled over long-duration orbital coast phases. The MK2 is tasked with transporting astronauts from the near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) down to the lunar south pole starting with the Artemis V mission. (7/6)

Center for Space Futures, Novaspace and SpaceTech Gulf Sign Agreement to Develop Global Space Capability Mapping Dashboard (Source: Space News)
The Centre for Space Futures (CSF), in partnership with Novaspace and SpaceTech Gulf, has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to jointly develop a “Global Space Capability Mapping and Index Dashboard.” The initiative is aimed at consolidating information on global space capabilities into a dashboard format, providing a common reference tool that can influence partnership targeting and investment priorities. (7/6)

AESPP Unveils Africa–Europe New Space EO Initiative for a Scalable Earth Observation Mission (Source: Spacewatch Global)
The Africa–Europe Space Partnership Program (AESPP) announced a new Africa–Europe Earth Observation initiative aimed at developing a scalable EO mission. The program is designed to facilitate EO missions and investments that generate tangible socio-economic benefits across the African continent. (7/6)

Apophis Is Coming. Planetary Defense Is Coming of Age (Source: Spacewatch Global)
Apophis’ 2029 approach puts planetary defense execution into sharper focus, with DART, Hera and RAMSES providing examples for how missions can be structured to take action against asteroid threats. These missions suggest that capability-building is not just technological, but also organizational—centered on global cooperation required to plan, fund, and operate coordinated spacecraft efforts. For space decision-makers, Apophis can drive concepts for future planetary-risk mitigation programs, using lessons learned from science missions. These lessons include science instrumentation, navigation/impact techniques, and end-to-end response planning. (7/6)

ESA and Airbus Move Forward with Aeolus-2, with UK Expertise (Source: UKSA)
The European Space Agency has commissioned Airbus Defense and Space to develop Aeolus-2, a wind-monitoring satellite set for a 2034 launch. The $58.3 million project aims to enhance global wind profile data with an advanced lidar instrument, building on the successes of the original Aeolus and EarthCARE missions. Aeolus-2 will provide comprehensive wind data to improve weather forecasting and climate research.

Airbus teams in the UK will contribute expertise and build on their heritage from the original Aeolus mission, ‘Aeolus-1’, which exceeded its planned lifetime and whose data was adopted by weather services around the world. (7/3)

Proposed Supersonic Rule Would Enable Sonic Boom Mitigations to Allow US Flight Operations (Source: AIAA)
The FAA is proposing a maximum pressure-wave reading at ground level, basically a “noise-based certification standard,” to replace the 53-year-old ban on commercial aircraft flying at speed of Mach 1 or greater over the continental U.S. A new 63-page draft rule states that such flights would only be permitted if “the aircraft be operated such that sonic boom overpressure at the surface does not exceed 0.11 pound per square foot (psf),” among other conditions.

Editor's Note: This would open the door for supersonic aircraft operators, like Boom Supersonic and Starfighters Space, to employ novel noise mitigation approaches to broaden their access to new markets. It might also facilitate the development of a proposed supersonic/hypersonic flight test corridor in the airspace near Midland Air and Space Port in Texas. (7/2)

July 6, 2026

NASA’s TESS Mission Finds Planetary System in New Way (Source: NASA)
For the first time, NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) mission has identified a planet orbiting a distant star thanks to ripples in space-time. Unlike the star-hugging transiting planets TESS regularly reveals, the newfound world is a super-Jupiter orbiting far from its host star. Astronomers found the first hint of the planet, called Gaia23bra b, in 2023 using ESA's (European Space Agency) now-retired Gaia space telescope.

Gaia’s alert system flagged a star that brightened — something that can happen when a foreground star passes in front of a more distant one and magnifies its light through gravitational microlensing. Researchers later looked back through archived TESS data and found TESS had caught it too. (7/1)

SES Falls as Barclays Flags 2026 Growth Risks and Starlink Threat (Source: Investing.com)
SES shares fell over 2% on Monday after Barclays downgraded the stock to “underweight” from “equal weight” rating and lowered its price target to €7.05 from €7.75. The broker cited three reasons for the downgrade. First, it said significant underlying improvement is required in several areas in 2026 to deliver consensus forecasts, which it called "possible but uncertain."

Second, Barclays said it is 5% below 2028 consensus on revenue and 3% below on adjusted EBITDA, driven by "fears around competition in particular." Third, the broker said it expects more focus on where Starlink and Amazon LEO satellite constellations can hurt incumbent operators as Starlink "continues to demonstrate strong growth." (7/6)

Space Travel’s Heavyweights Ponder a Future with Antimatter Rockets (Source: The Hill)
Recently, two of the powerful men on the planet where space policy is concerned had an exchange on the social media platform X about antimatter. The exchange is another example of how what was once science fiction is becoming reality. While the name antimatter invokes countless references in science fiction, it is a real thing. Antimatter is the mirror twin of matter, having the same mass but having opposite properties such as electric charges.

The reason that antimatter could become the ultimate spacecraft propellant is that when matter and antimatter collide, they are both transformed 100 percent into energy. Even a nuclear bomb converts only a small amount of its mass into an explosion that can wipe out a city. An antimatter rocket, one that uses the explosion caused by the fusion of matter and antimatter, would be orders of magnitude more efficient that a chemical or even a nuclear rocket. (7/5)

The Investors Scrambling to Keep SpaceX - and Elon Musk - Out of Their Portfolios (Source: Bloomberg)
Christopher Bejnar has spent the last couple of months combing through the fine print of exchange-traded funds, emailing financial advisers and moving money into European stocks – all to keep SpaceX out of his $1 million portfolio.

As Elon Musk’s newest public company heads into Nasdaq’s stock indexes this week, the 46-year-old software engineer in Philadelphia is making sure that none of his money is backing the Tesla and SpaceX founder who recently became the world’s first trillionaire. To stay away, Bejnar said he’s moved $50,000 into European index funds and bought shares of Rocket Lab Corp, a SpaceX rival. (7/6)

AI, Ex-Soviet Engineers, and the Holy Grail of Rocketry: Inside the Bold Bet to Rival SpaceX (Source: Fast Company)
Aerospace startup Aspire is designing a fully reusable rocket that could make launches cheaper. It might just beat Elon Musk at his own game. “The engine that we have now could have probably taken seven years and up to half a billion dollars,” said Stan Rudenko. “In our collaboration, it basically took half a year . . . and we already have a first version."

Rudenko is the CEO of Aspire Space Technologies, and the collaboration he’s talking about is with Leap 71, a Dubai-based computational engineering startup. They have formed an almost sci-fi alliance: A team staffed by the legends of the Soviet space program—engineers who built the Energia rocket and the fully autonomous Buran space shuttle—is joining forces with an autonomous AI software system and HBD, a Shanghai-based large-format metal additive manufacturer.

If they pull it off, they could become the most formidable enemy to SpaceX’s quasimonopoly on the commercial space economy. They plan to do it not by copying Elon Musk’s massive Starship, but by resurrecting the decades-old aerospace dream of the aerospike engine. They want to put it on Oryx, a two-stage vehicle that will make space launches cheaper than what’s available today. If it all works and they complete their timeline—from its late 2026 full-scale engine test to its 2031 first flight. (7/6)

‘Flight Originated From the Imagination’: How Artists Have Captured Space Travel (Source: Guardian)
Wearing a shiny silver spacesuit, Alan Shepard clutches his helmet and looks like an archetypal blue-eyed American hero. The 1961 portrait by Bruce Stevenson paid tribute to the first US astronaut in space. It also planted a seed. James Webb, the then administrator of NASA, saw the painting and was inspired to start the space agency’s own art program, believing that artists could bring a unique perspective to exploring the cosmos. From 1962 to 1974 it was led by James Dean, who then became the first art curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington. (7/6)

NASA Chief Says Agency Aiding Blue Origin Explosion Inquiry: ‘We Can’t Slow Down’ (Source: Washington Examiner)
NASA is assisting the investigation into Blue Origin’s May rocket explosion, its administrator confirmed Sunday, as the space agency tries to keep up the momentum for its Artemis moon program. Blue Origin’s New Glenn malfunction has threatened NASA's Artemis timeline, as the rocket in question and its payload could be selected for Artemis IV, the first crewed lunar landing since 1972. Jared Isaacman said the space agency is supporting Blue Origin in its investigation and expressed optimism that the company will solve the anomaly responsible for the New Glenn failure. (7/5)

Shetland Spaceport to Spend More Than £100k on Security (Source: The Herald)
Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has been given permission to launch from the SaxaVord spaceport in Shetland, and a successful launch would be the first time satellites have been carried into space from Scottish, or British, soil. RFA appears to be on the verge of holding its first flight, with SaxaVord spaceport submitting a building warrant application detailing plans for a perimeter fence, which would cost around £120,000.

The application was submitted last week after the launch window began. RFA's maiden mission will carry a 500kg Earth observation satellite for a Scandinavian customer. Residents have been advised to apply for 'local residents passes' during the launch window, with temporary traffic restrictions to be in place for several hours at a time. (7/6)

China's Long March-8A Rocket Launches New Satellite Group (Source: Xinhua)
China sent a new satellite group into space on Sunday on a Long March 8A rocket from a commercial spacecraft launch site in the southern island province of Hainan. The satellite group was launched and entered its preset orbit successfully. (7/5)

NASA Leader Flew His Vintage Jet at DC Air Show Over FAA Objections (Source: Wall Street Journal)
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman flew a vintage jet fighter at the Fourth of July air show over Washington, D.C., despite objections by federal air-safety regulators. The regulator initially denied Isaacman’s request to fly in the Freedom 250 celebration, calling the aircraft too dangerous for densely populated areas. A representative for Isaacman late last month petitioned the FAA to allow four 1970s-built jets to join aircraft flying over the National Mall. (7/5)

Euclid Discovers the Most Ancient Quasar in the Universe (Source: ESA)
The European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope has discovered 31 of the most ancient quasars ever found. Two of these giant and dazzling galaxy cores, powered by gargantuan black holes, are the earliest quasars yet observed in cosmic history. They shone with the light of a trillion Suns back when the Universe was 670 million years old – just 5% of its current age. (7/6)

NASA Astronauts Will Plant Capitol-Flown Flag on Next Moon Landing (Source: Collect Space)
NASA now has the next United States flag to be deployed on the surface of the moon. A member of the last mission to land on the moon, joined by the most recent astronauts to fly there, accepted the red, white and blue banner during a speech by President Donald Trump late night on Saturday (July 4) as part of a "Salute to America" semiquincentennial celebration. (7/5)

Isaacman: China May Land on Moon Before US Does it Again (Source: TASS)
China could land a man on the Moon before American astronauts return to it, said NASA Director Jared Isaacman. "The Chinese will land their taiconauts on the moon. There's no question," he said. "The question is ‘Will the United States return before them, and will we do so in a different way this time? Will we build the base, establish that enduring presence.’ I think the answer is ‘Yes’. "We are very much in a space race right now, and the Chinese are moving at incredible speeds." (7/5)

NASA Tests Advanced New Mars Rover Prototype in the California Desert (Source: Space.com)
A new rover prototype is teaching NASA scientists how to design robots that can think for themselves and navigate terrain that would leave old rovers stuck in the lunar or Martian dust. The Exploration Rover for Navigating Extreme Sloped Terrain (ERNEST), developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, recently completed a 16-mile (26 kilometers) trek through the desert in Southern California. The journey took more than 37 hours of driving time over the course of seven days, and ERNEST completed it almost entirely autonomously, "with minimal intervention" from engineers monitoring the test, according to a JPL statement. (7/5)

Mysterious Debris Found on Queensland Beaches Could be ‘Space Balls’ – and May Contain Toxic Rocket Fuel (Source: The Guardian)
Six pieces of suspected space debris found washed up on north Queensland beaches could be “space balls” that are often left over from rocket launches, according to one expert. The Australian Space Agency confirmed on Sunday it was working to determine the nature and origin of the mysterious objects, which police said were suspected of containing hazardous chemicals. (7/5)

A Rapid Advance to a European Manned Space Launcher (Source: Robert Clark)
Adding a 4th Prometheus engine to Europe's Maia launch vehicle's first stage will allow carriage of 8 tonnes to orbit. Note that the Apollo capsule only massed 6 tons. This means already by 2027 Europe could have its own manned-flight-capable all-liquid launcher. I’m aware that there has been discussion of making the Ariane 6 a manned launcher, but after the Challenger accident the use of large SRBs is less desirable, the SLS notwithstanding. (7/4)

South Korea's LG Innotek Seeks to Provide Satellite Substrates for SpaceX (Source: Maeil Business)
If LG Innotek succeeds in supplying satellite substrates to SpaceX, it will join the supply chain for the rapidly growing Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite market. There is also speculation that the company could connect to the space-based AI data center market that SpaceX is pursuing as a future industry.

However, despite SpaceX's aggressive goals, some analysts say it will take more than 10 years for Starlink and space-based AI data centers to become a reality because of technical and financial burdens. Even if the deal leads to an actual contract, it will take time before it translates into meaningful results in revenue and operating profit. (7/5)

Scientist Who Cleaned Space Toilet on Work Experience Now Leading Mars Exploration Teams (Source: BBC)
Cleaning a space toilet while on work experience was Claire Parfitt's first introduction to a career away from Earth's orbit. But she never imagined her time at the National Space Science Centre in Leicester, when she was 14, would one day see her lead a team exploring future Mars missions.

Parfitt, originally from Nottingham, now works for the European Space Agency's European Space Research and Technology Centre in the Netherlands. The 42-year-old joined the space industry after securing a physics degree and a PhD in spacecraft power systems engineering. (7/5)

Japan's Hayabusa2 Successfully Observes Asteroid Torifune (Source: Jiji)
Japan's Hayabusa2 unmanned probe successfully flew past the asteroid Torifune at close range on Sunday, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said. The probe is in normal condition, JAXA said. According to the plan, Hayabusa2 passed about 800 meters from the center of Torifune at around 6:30 pm Japan time to take pictures of its surface and observe it with an infrared camera and a spectrometer. Torifune is located about 100 million kilometers from Earth. (7/5)

Gaganyaan Mission: ISRO Successfully Conducts First SOLVE Ground Test (Source: The Hindu)
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully carried out the first ground test of the Sub-Orbital Launch Vehicle for Experiments (SOLVE) solid motor at the Static Test Facility, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The SOLVE solid motor is a key component for conducting Gaganyaan Test Missions and the first ground test was carried out on July 3. (7/5)