October 6, 2026

Open Cosmos May Downsize Constellation Plan (Source: Space News)
Satellite operator Open Cosmos says it can provide services with a 192-satellite constellation, a fraction of the size of its original system. An initial 192 small satellites will form the core of its LEO network, the company said Monday. That figure is well below the 576 LEO satellites covered by spectrum filings Open Cosmos gained after they were rescinded from Germany's Rivada Space Networks, but the company says that 192 is sufficient to serve demand it sees from government customers for resilient connectivity. Open Cosmos added that launch constraints have kept it from launching more satellites. The company, which has built 50 satellites that are awaiting launch, is hoping for an extension from the ITU for its deployment deadlines in November. (10/6)

York Satellites to Inspect GEO Objects (Source: Space News)
Two satellites built by York Space Systems will be used for inspecting objects in GEO. The Tetra 3 and 4 satellites will support space domain awareness, including resident-space-object sensing and rendezvous and proximity operations, the company announced Monday. The two spacecraft will carry a suite of sensors, including a long-wave infrared camera, a lidar sensor capable of ranging objects at distances of 20 kilometers and a GPS receiver designed for GEO operations. The Space Force described Tetra 3 and 4 in a 2021 white paper as a "two-for-one" purchase from York to test new technologies and give military operators an on-orbit platform for developing tactics and training. York said Tetra 3 and 4 are its first national security missions in GEO as a prime contractor. (10/6)

FAA Moving with Caution to Ease Launcher Bottleneck (Source: Space News)
As evidence grows of a launch bottleneck, government officials are cautious about taking action out of concerns it could make the problem worse. Data from the FAA show the agency licensed 187 launches in fiscal year 2026, which ended last week, down from the 196 licensed launches in 2025. That is the first time since fiscal year 2019 that the number of licensed launches declined year over year. The FAA had previously forecast between 209 and 214 operations, which include launches and reentries, in 2026; there were 194 operations overall. At a recent spaceport forum, officials said they were aware of the problems companies were facing trying to find launches but said that if the government stepped in to support legacy launch vehicles, it could undercut investment in new vehicles projected to enter service in the coming years. (10/6)

Satellite Redesign Could Ease Launch Capacity Crunch (Source: Space News)
Companies are addressing the launch capacity crunch by redesigning their satellites. Meridian Space, a company working on a broadband constellation, has designed satellites that can be launched up to 250 at a time on a Falcon 9, thanks to a new antenna design. The company is testing the antenna on a satellite launched on a rideshare mission last week. Other satellite developers, though, say that more launch capacity is still needed to meet growing demand. (10/6)

Viasat prepares to demo commercial alternative to NASA’s TDRS (Source: Aerospace America)
California satellite operator Viasat is readying for the launch of a communications satellite that aims to demonstrate commercial spacecraft can take over the duties of NASA’s aging Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) network. The Maxwell satellite, built and operated by Rocket Lab, is set for a journey into orbit on the upcoming SpaceX Bandwagon-5 launch from Florida.

The demonstration is part of NASA’s ongoing Communications Service Project (CSP) to eventually replace TDRS, the first of which began operations in 1983. NASA in late 2024 stopped using TDRS for new missions, but noted “current TDRS users, like the International Space Station, Hubble Space Telescope, and many other Earth- and universe-observing missions, will still rely on TDRS until the mid-2030s.” (10/5)

DISH DBS Exits Bankruptcy (Source: Space News)
The EchoStar subsidiary behind U.S. satellite broadcaster Dish TV and online streaming service Sling TV has emerged from bankruptcy protection. DISH DBS exited Chapter 11 with around $4.35 billion less debt, EchoStar said in a brief regulatory disclosure Friday, three months after filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. DISH DBS had a prepackaged restructuring plan to help it quickly emerge from Chapter 11. EchoStar's Hughes geostationary broadband business separately filed for bankruptcy in August, following mounting competition from SpaceX's Starlink network in LEO, but entered proceedings without a prepackaged deal with creditors. (10/6)

Resource Competition Intensifies with Surge in Megaconstellations (Source: Space News)
The surge of interest in large satellite constellations is putting pressure on the satellite manufacturing supply chain. Companies are facing shortages of specialized components and materials, suppliers struggling to keep up, and competition from the booming artificial intelligence industry. Competition for scarce resources and supplies amid surging demand is forcing tradeoffs in industry that threaten to delay launches and may push companies out of the market or trigger greater consolidation. A report earlier this year by the Aerospace Industries Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers isolated nine critical components contributing to supply chain bottlenecks due to an inability to keep up with demand, ranging from valves and actuators to switchgears and transformers. (10/6)

DoD Interest in Space-Based Solar Intensifies (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon is showing renewed interest in space-based solar power. One startup in the field, Overview Energy, received a contract last week of undisclosed size from the Pentagon's Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund to finance the design, construction and testing of a ground beacon that would help its satellites locate and authenticate receiving sites before transmitting power. The contract follows an Air Force study announced in May to assess how Overview's system could supply large military installations. Military customers may be willing to pay a premium for dependable electricity in places where conventional supplies are costly or vulnerable, providing an initial source of revenue for companies proposing to beam power from space to the ground. (10/6)

Voyager to Develop Smallsat Deployers for Space Force (Source: Space News)
Voyager Technologies won a Pentagon contract to develop smallsat deployers. The $22.4 million contract announced Monday will go toward work on flight-ready satellite deployment systems aimed at helping the U.S. Space Force make better use of unused capacity aboard national security launches. Under the agreement, Voyager will develop prototype small-satellite dispensers that would allow additional spacecraft to ride aboard launches that have available payload capacity after accounting for the primary mission. Voyager did not disclose when the system could fly or identify the launch vehicles or satellite programs that might use it. (10/6)

NASA Insourcing Triggers Amentum Layoffs at Kennedy Space Center (Source: Florida Today)
The prime contractor for Artemis ground systems at the Kennedy Space Center is laying off staff after NASA took some work in-house. Amentum said in a filing that it will lay off 70 people working at the center at the end of November. The company said the layoffs were prompted by a NASA decision to perform work itself that it previously assigned to contractors. Since Jared Isaacman took over as administrator at the end of last year, the agency has worked to reduce its reliance on contractors, including hiring as civil servants many people who had been contractors. (10/6)

Space Force Considers "Mission Development Zone" at California Spaceport (Source: Air & Space Forces)
The Space Force is considering building support facilities and potentially even factories at Vandenberg Space Force Base. The service issued a notice last month seeking feedback on a concept for a "Mission Development Zone" at Vandenberg. The zone would include facilities needed to support a growth in launch activity at the base, from offices to payload processing facilities. That could also include launch vehicle factories and plants for producing commodities. Vandenberg envisions leasing land in the zone to companies who would build facilities. (10/6)

Halzen Wins Physics Nobel for Cosmic Particles (Source: Scientific American)
A scientist who studied high-energy cosmic particles has won the Nobel Prize in Physics. The 2026 prize, announced Tuesday, went to Francis Halzen, a professor at the University of Wisconsin who is principal investigator for the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica. The observatory is designed to detect neutrinos, which rarely interact with other matter, by detecting the flashes of light in ice deep below the surface when a neutrino does collide with an atom. IceCube has successfully detected high-energy neutrinos from beyond the solar system, helping open up the field of multimessenger astronomy that combined traditional electromagnetic observations with neutrinos and gravitational waves. (10/6)

Environmental Group Urges FCC to Reject Blue Origin's 51,600-Satellite "Project Sunrise" (Source: Center for Space Environmentalism)
The Center for Space Environmentalism, which describes itself as an international collective focused on stewardship of the orbital environment, has formally opposed Blue Origin's FCC application to launch and operate up to 51,600 satellites for an orbital data center system called "Project Sunrise." CSE asked the Commission to apply the Precautionary Principle and reject the application until a rigorous environmental review is done. NASA has separately raised safety and sustainability concerns, as the planned 500–1,800 km altitudes overlap human spaceflight paths and science assets, and that the application lacks an orbital debris mitigation plan.

CSE rejects Blue Origin's claim that putting compute in orbit is "sustainable." It argues that this approach moves the environmental burden of data processing into the upper atmosphere, because the launch cadence would inject alumina and black carbon that can deplete ozone and contribute to climate forcing. The group also objects to the deorbit plan. Even at Blue Origin's stated 90% end-of-mission disposal success rate, as many as 5,160 dead satellites could be left stranded in orbit. CSE also challenges Blue Origin's requested waivers of processing-round rules and of milestone and surety-bond requirements.

CSE wants the FCC to require a full Environmental Impact Statement instead of relying on categorical exclusions, to deny all the waivers, and to update its NEPA procedures in line with GAO recommendations. The group also urged the FCC to weigh the aggregate effect of all pending orbital data center applications, which together total about 1.088 million satellites. (10/5)

PSI-led Team to Explore Potential Lunar Cave (Source: Douglas Messier)
NASA has selected a Planetary Science Institute-led proposal to investigate whether a potentially large underground cave extends beyond the opening of a lunar pit. Such a cave may one day provide a safe haven for astronauts to escape the radiation and extreme temperature swings present at the lunar surface. The project will be funded through NASA’s Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon (PRISM) program, which sends scientific instruments to the Moon on spacecraft provided by the Commercial Lunar Payloads Services (CLPS) initiative providers. (10/4)

Megaconstellation Plans Escalate, From Thousands of Satellites to a Proposed Million (Source: Space News)
Amazon wants more than 5,000 satellites in orbit, while Blue Origin has proposed another 5,400. Chinese companies have filed plans for vastly larger numbers, and Elon Musk has discussed a constellation of 1 million, intensifying competition for the resources needed to deploy megaconstellations. (10/5)

Open Cosmos Targets 192-Satellite ConnectedCosmos Network, with 96 Planned by 2028 (Source: Space Intel Report)
Open Cosmos says it has completed more than 50 satellites for ConnectedCosmos, its planned low-Earth-orbit data-transfer network. The UK company aims to deploy more than 96 by the end of 2028 and build to 192 satellites for global coverage by 2030, despite launch-access challenges and earlier regulatory deployment deadlines. (10/5)

SpaceX Proposes Florida Gas Pipeline to Supply Starship Launches From Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Reuters)
SpaceX is seeking approval to build a natural gas pipeline in Florida to supply fuel for its rocket ​launched from Cape Canaveral, according to a state regulatory ‌filing from September. A SpaceX subsidiary, Coastal Connect Services (CCS), has requested the Florida Public Service Commission to approve a tariff for a new 32.4-mile, 16-inch natural ​gas transmission pipeline in Brevard County, where Cape Canaveral is ​located.

CCS has proposed to build and operate pipeline facilities that would bring natural gas from the existing Florida Gas Transmission (FGT) interstate ​pipeline directly to its customers, according to the filing. In the ​petition, the company said the pipeline is crucial for safe, timely and efficient ‌natural ⁠gas delivery, as current truck-based supply and existing local pipelines cannot meet SpaceX's growing needs at the spaceport. The proposed pipeline would be similar to an 8-mile pipeline SpaceX has also requested for its Boca ​Chica launch site ​in South Texas. (10/5)

Kratos Wins More Than $100 Million in Space Intelligence and Cyber Contracts (Source: Via Satellite)
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has secured multiple contracts worth more than $100 million combined to provide space intelligence data and cyber capabilities. The work will use its KnownSpace Network, an infrastructure of radio-frequency collection assets. (10/5)

FAA Will Accept More Risk to Aircraft From Space Debris Under New Policy (Source: The Air Current)
In a little-noticed June 8 memo from its Executive Safety Council, the FAA has dropped the rolling cap that limited how many aircraft could fly each year through the outer contours of launch and reentry hazard areas. In those zones, debris risk is higher than the Air Traffic Organization's long-standing one-in-a-billion standard. The old cap of 6,412 aircraft per 12 months, adopted in 2017 when the FAA licensed only a few dozen launches a year, was meant to keep 95% confidence of no fatal debris strike over 80 years.

Usage had reached only about 30% of the cap, but the FAA projected the limit would be hit at around 640 operations per year. That ceiling is well below the White House's goal of 1,000+ launches and reentries by 2030 and Elon Musk's stated aim of 10,000 Starship flights a year. Under the new policy, which will be phased in over 12 months, the agency will accept debris risk up to one in a million, the threshold in its Part 450 commercial space rules. It will keep the innermost hazard areas closed and continue tracking how many aircraft fly through the outer contours.

The pilots' union ALPA objected that the FAA lowered the standard without consulting airlines. ALPA noted that newer tools are already shrinking airspace closures without accepting more risk, including the Range Risk Analysis Tool introduced after Starship 7's January 2025 breakup scattered debris across the Caribbean and pushed three airliners into fuel emergencies. ALPA's safety chair warned that integrating airspace "by reducing safety standards will only result in accidents." (10/5)

York to Integrate Space Force Tetra 3 and 4 Missions on GEO Spacecraft (Source: Via Satellite)
York Space Systems will integrate a government space domain awareness (SDA) into a spacecraft headed to Geostationary Orbit (GEO), marking the first time the company has integrated a satellite for GEO. York announced it had cleared the delta critical design review (dCDR) for the U.S. Space Force Tetra 3 and Tetra 4 missions as the prime contractor. York will now proceed to build the spacecraft and expects delivery in the fourth quarter of this year. (10/5)

October 5, 2026

McGregor Pays Record Penalty for SpaceX Groundwater Overpumping (Source: Times of India)
The city of McGregor, Texas, will cover the cost of groundwater overpumping at SpaceX's rocket testing facility, agreeing to pay at least $175,000 to the Southern Trinity Groundwater Conservation District over 25 years — the largest penalty the district has ever imposed. The city is liable because it owns the site and its wells, which it leases to SpaceX. The City Council approved the negotiated deal on Monday, sidestepping a possible district court fight. The district had issued violation notices to both SpaceX and McGregor in each of the past three years, for a combined 128 million gallons pumped beyond permitted limits. (10/4)

The Same Satellite Can Have Military and Civilian Functions, a Dilemma for New Zealand (Source: The Conversation)
New Zealand is rapidly developing capabilities and partnerships in a sector estimated to be worth NZ$2.5 billion to the national economy. Just last month, New Zealand agreed to spend nearly $24 million to fund a military satellite led by the US for the Wideband Global SATCOM constellation. The government also renewed participation in Operation Olympic Defender, a US-led military partnership aimed at making space safe and secure.

But becoming increasingly involved in international efforts to protect satellite services critical to infrastructure – including navigation, banking and communications – creates a dilemma. As countries expand military capabilities to make space more secure, their actions can make others feel threatened, increasing the very tensions they are trying to prevent. It also highlights how dual-use approaches to satellite technology could threaten the many benefits of the satellite services the country relies on. (10/4)

Rocket Factory Augsburg Appoints New CEO (Source: Douglas Messier)
Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has a new leader: The Supervisory Board has appointed Alexander Dahm as Chief Executive Officer. He succeeds Prof. Dr. Indulis Kalnins and will be responsible for the company’s continued development and its path to the maiden flight of the RFA ONE launch vehicle. Dr. Kalnins will remain associated with the company and contribute his expertise. (10/5)

Exploration Company Considers Middle East Launch Sites for Heavy-Lift Rocket (Source: Space News)
The Exploration Company is considering launch sites in the Middle East for its proposed heavy-lift rocket. The European company announced this summer it was working on an engine called Storm that could be used on a future large launch vehicle, although the company has provided few specifics about the vehicle or the schedule for developing it. At a spaceport meeting Sunday, a company official said it anticipated strong demand for the vehicle, particularly outside the United States. The company is in talks about establishing a launch site for the vehicle somewhere in the Middle East, acknowledging that export controls will be a major hurdle to overcome. (10/5)

Esrange Prepares for Orbital Launches (Source: Space News)
Sweden's Esrange Space Center is preparing for a busy period of launch activity as it seeks to host orbital launches. Those launches include several hop tests of the European Space Agency's Themis reusable rocket demonstrator along with a series of sounding rocket flights. Esrange is preparing for its first orbital launches, with SSC announcing an agreement last month with Firefly Aerospace to purchase two Alpha launches from the center no earlier than 2028.

Swedish lawmakers have expressed concern the country is falling behind its neighbor Norway, whose Andøya spaceport conducted its first successful orbital launch last month by Isar Aerospace. Norwegian officials, meanwhile, announced last week plans to spend $65 million on a second orbital launch pad at Andøya after worries Norway might fall behind other countries, including Sweden. (10/5)

Nebex and Thrusters Unlimited Partner for Sovereign Space Programs, Beginning in Latin America (Source: Nebex)
Nebex, the commercial exchange infrastructure for the global space economy, and Thrusters Unlimited have partnered to structure and execute sovereign space programs, beginning in Latin America. The two companies will orchestrate complex sovereign space transactions end to end. Thrusters Unlimited brings local industrial and stakeholder capability. Nebex provides the transaction structuring, capital alignment, and execution infrastructure that turn national space ambitions into deliverable programs.

The companies have begun structuring $700 million in initial sovereign space program, spanning Earth observation, telecommunications and other strategic space capabilities. Nebex and Thrusters Unlimited will work together to structure these programs for execution, aligning procurement, industrial participation and capital around each transaction. (10/5)

Leonardo DRS Establishes UK Subsidiary (Source: Leonardo DRS)
Leonardo DRS announced the establishment of DRS UK, a new subsidiary created to support the company’s business in the United Kingdom, along with the launch of local production of tactical radars in the UK. The newly purpose-built production site expands DRS’s manufacturing footprint and creates a dedicated local presence to support UK defense customers. (10/5)

Arms Production Surge Strains US Workforce (Source: CNN)
Camden, Ark., has become a crucial hub for missile production as the US rebuilds its depleted arsenal, with defense contractors such as L3Harris and Raytheon aiming to significantly increase output. However, the town faces challenges such as a shrinking population, limited housing and under-resourced schools. The surge has production lines working overtime and companies are looking to automate production lines and collaborate with local institutions to address workforce issues. (10/4)

Blue Origin Debuts 20-Meter Lunar Power Tower (Source: Tech Times)
Blue Origin has unveiled the Power Tower, a 20-meter solar power system designed to generate over 10 kilowatts of electricity for lunar operations, particularly near the south pole. The modular system addresses the challenge of reliable power generation on the moon. The Power Tower builds on technology from Honeybee Robotics and aligns with NASA's Artemis program. (10/5)

Varda Space Raises $251M as 2 New Spacecraft Launched (Source: Douglas Messier)
Varda Space Industries announced a fundraising round of $251 million to scale its space-based pharmaceutical processing as SpaceX launched two of the company’s spacecraft into orbit. The round raised the amount raised by the microgravity-enabled life sciences company to $598 million. (10/5)

Denver Broncos Partners With MDA Space (Source: Via Satellite)
Recently, the Denver Broncos announced its first-ever space partner, MDA Space. It now begs the question, will other sports franchises and teams look to strike space partnerships? “We led early in discussions with MDA Space that the Broncos are the closest NFL team to space. We are a ‘mile high,’ and we just love that. It is a very significant alignment for us. We believe the space industry stands for innovation, precision, education, and the next generation of scientists and manufacturing.” (10/2)

NASA Chief Jared Isaacman Wants To Stay ‘Open-Minded’ About UFOs: ‘If It’s Aliens, I Think NASA Should Have a Seat at the Table’ (Source: Space.com)
Could unidentified anomalous phenomena — a new catch-all term for unidentified objects in the sky, oceans or space — be pushing the United States towards another "Sputnik Moment"? That's the belief of NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who compared the uptick in reported unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) sightings in recent years to the Cold War paranoia stirred up when the former Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to circle Earth in 1957. (10/4)

Airbus Completes 32 OneWeb Refresh Satellites Ahead of Launch (Source: Via Satellite)
Eutelsat hit a milestone for its OneWeb refresh plan as Airbus Defense and Space completed the first 32 satellites in the refresh for launch. The satellites are set to be shipped for launch on a SpaceX mission; Eutelsat did not specify a timeframe.

Eutelsat ordered these satellites in late 2024 as part of a 100-satellite extension. The operator has recently ordered more refresh satellites — ordering a total of 669 new OneWeb satellites for service continuity. These mark the first OneWeb satellites built in Toulouse, France. Airbus shifted manufacturing from the former joint venture Airbus OneWeb Satellites in Florida to France. (10/2)

DOE Announces $400M for Frontier Science Research (Source: Payload)
The Department of Energy is super-charging research into bleeding edge energy tech. The DOE announced $400M in new funds yesterday geared toward advancing scientific research on basic energy science, fusion, and nuclear physics. While the funds aren’t explicitly directed toward deep-space and in-orbit projects, they will have a huge impact on the future of the power-hungry space industry.

The funds will support research into topics relevant to many next-gen space technologies, including: Advanced scientific computing; Biological and environmental topics; High-energy physics; Nuclear physics and fusion energy science; And nuclear isotope R&D and production. (10/2)

Superpowers Race to Put Nuclear Reactors on the Moon (Source: New York Times)
The US and China both believe nuclear reactors are key enablers for their lunar ambitions. The countries plan to turn on their reactors only after they reach the moon. But some leading scientists caution that governments are moving too quickly in an era of space exploration that has seen some notable disasters. In the last six years, multiple Chinese, American and Russian rockets have failed and exploded, and a Russian lander has crashed into the moon. Space junk regularly tumbles to Earth.

Failures could cause a chain reaction with dire consequences. Falling reactor debris could scatter radioactive material, as happened in Canada in the late 1970s. An explosion or a meltdown on the moon’s surface would risk turning entire regions into no-go zones. Editor's Note: Imagine a reactor failure turning much of the strategically vital lunar south pole into a no-go zone, after tons of infrastructure and resources have been committed to operations there. (10/4)

Blue Origin Unveils 20-Meter Lunar Power Tower Designed to Deliver More Than 10 kW (Source: Space.com)
Blue Origin has unveiled a vertically deployed solar array system designed to provide more than 10 kilowatts of power for Moon Base operations at the lunar south pole. The company presented the 20-meter-tall “Power Tower” as a potential energy source for future lunar infrastructure. (10/4)

Sweden Secures 2028 Orbital Launch at Esrange as Nordic Competition Intensifies (Source: Space News)
Sweden’s Esrange Space Center is preparing for increased launch activity after securing an orbital launch targeted for 2028. The development comes as political scrutiny grows around efforts to establish orbital launch capability at the site and strengthens the emerging Nordic launch race. (10/2)

Conflicts of Interest for Musk's Return to Federal Service (Source: New York Times)
After a long make-nice campaign, Mr. Musk is back in Washington with a seat at the table of the Pentagon, as a co-director of a group advising an agency that is a source of his vast personal wealth. As before when he was a special government employee, Mr. Musk’s appointment immediately set off concerns about whether he would have too much sway over decisions affecting his interests and those of his allies.

“It’s extraordinary to see the return without any recognition of the exceptional harm that he was responsible for in round one,” said Max Stier, the chief executive of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan organization that estimates that Mr. Musk’s cost-cutting efforts, dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency, cost each taxpayer more than $1,000 last year in waste. Now, added Mr. Stier, “there’s no question that his financial interests are directly engaged in the position he’s going to fill here.” (10/3)

Could We Ever Create Artificial Gravity on a Spaceship? (Source: Live Science)
"There's really no reason it couldn't happen," says Torin Clark at the University of Colorado Boulder. "From a technical perspective, this is something that could happen in the very near future." Researchers have three main approaches for creating artificial gravity. One is the classic sci-fi idea: a giant ring that rotates passengers' entire living quarters so they live and work under forces similar to Earth's gravity. "You have a relatively long radius, which means you don't have to spin very fast to create gravity," Diaz Artiles said.

"But this is massive. You can't get all the parts up there in the same spacecraft." A short-radius centrifuge is a more feasible option. It's essentially a tube with a radius of 6 to 10 feet (1.8 to 3 m) that spins to simulate gravity. A passenger sits or stands inside, with their head closest to the center of rotation, so the spin generates the strongest pull down toward their feet. Instead of allowing passengers to live in artificial gravity, this smaller device would be used in short daily sessions. "It's kind of like an exercise device."

The final option is for spacecraft to create gravity via linear acceleration. This works in the same way that an accelerating car pushes passengers back into their seats, except the spacecraft would be oriented to push an astronaut's feet into the floor. To slow down, the spacecraft would turn around, firing its thrusters in the opposite direction to decelerate smoothly while maintaining a roughly similar gravity for its occupants. (10/4)

NASA Adds New Moon Base Science Investigations (Source: Douglas Messier)
NASA selected three new scientific investigations and their payload suites to advance our knowledge of the Moon and help pave the way for building humanity’s first lunar outpost, Moon Base. The suite of science instruments and technologies was selected through NASA’s Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon (PRISM) program and will fly to the lunar surface using the CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative as part of the agency’s Moon Base Program.

The payloads will help researchers understand lunar resources, map natural shelters, and assess environmental hazards, laying the foundational groundwork for a safe and sustained human presence under the agency’s Artemis and Moon Base programs. (10/4)

How China Keeps its Astronauts Well-Fed (Source: Xinhua)
China's space station is becoming less distant and more like home, as astronauts bring the comforting tastes into orbit. The Chinese space kitchen now serves nearly 200 food items. Alongside dumplings and mooncakes, home-style dishes such as Kung Pao chicken, mapo tofu and fried rice have made it onto the station's menu. (10/3)

A Galactic Nobel? Experts Float the International Space Station Among Contenders for the Peace Prize (Source: AP)
Not-so-outlandish, prognosticators say: The Nobel Peace Prize this year could go galactic, with an award to the International Space Station. But terrestrial contenders loom too, including U.S. President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada, emergency teams in Sudan, children’s advocates in Ukraine and two top international courts, experts say. The annual guessing game about who will win the prize, often called the most prestigious award on the planet, is revving up ahead of the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s Oct. 9 announcement of the winner in Oslo. (10/2)

Milt Windler, Flight Director Who Helped Save Apollo 13, Dies at 94 (Source: Collect Space)
Milt Windler, one of the four leaders of Mission Control who in 1970 directed the round-the-clock efforts to bring the Apollo 13 astronauts back to Earth safely, has died at the age of 94. Windler died on Thursday (Oct. 1). Named a NASA flight director in 1968 after working on recovery operations during the Mercury and Gemini programs, Windler also led a shift of flight controllers for the Apollo 8 first circumlunar flight and Apollo 10 lunar landing dress rehearsal, as well as the second, third and fourth moon landings. (10/3)

Army Awards $67 Million to Counter Space-Enabled Surveillance, Adds Soldiers to Space Field (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Army is putting nearly $67 million into electromagnetic warfare prototype systems that would make it harder for adversaries to use space-based surveillance to find and target American forces. Meanwhile, more than 600 soldiers have joined the Army’s new space operations career field, giving the service its first permanent enlisted workforce dedicated to the space domain. (10/3)

October 4, 2026

Living With Starship - Texas Offers a Preview of What Might Be Coming to Space Coast (Source: Florida Today)
As soon as the end of the year, Starship could be launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A, bringing a rocket unlike anything the Space Coast has seen, more powerful than even the mighty Saturn V or NASA’s new moon rocket, SLS. “I can understand how people can be worried about it, but I really don’t think it’s a bad thing at all,” said Ashley Hunter, assistant manager at Karma Coffee and Books on South Padre Island, a gathering spot for locals and tourists. “The worst thing, if it is even worse, you just feel some shaking here and there.”

Port Isabel local Maria Kump is one of the concerned residents. She said the windows in her condominium shake and new cracks are forming in the walls. The foundation of the pool is also suspected to be damaged from the vibration, she said. According to Wil Ziniga, “It seems like their main complaint is Elon – (that) he deals with an iron fist. He backs the community against the wall and makes them make decisions right away, you know, if not, he’ll take money off the table and stuff like that.”

Many residents here echo that since SpaceX has come to town, things have changed in a positive way. They got a taste of what Florida’s Space Coast has experienced for decades as America’s busiest spaceport. And it has brought curiosity about exploration beyond Earth. Years ago, rockets were the last thing on the minds of people in the South Texas community, they said. Now, rockets are part of life. “That’s definitely been a different perspective for this part of the world,” said Gomez. (10/4)

Trump Diverted $1.4 Billion in Science Funds Mandated by Congress (Source: New York Times)
The National Science Foundation, one of the biggest sources of federal research funding, withheld $1.4 billion that Congress had intended for research over the course of the past year, according to internal data. The extraordinary move — holding back about one-fifth of the NSF’s primary research budget — is the latest sign of how the Trump administration is finding creative ways to work around Congress.

Lawmakers from both parties have consistently opposed White House-led proposals to cut funding to major science agencies, including the NSF, [NASA] and the National Institutes of Health. Since the NSF was founded over 75 years ago, the agency has spent nearly all of its budget on so-called basic research from a wide range of scientific fields, which has led to major advances in technology

“The money should be granted as Congress intended, and essentially, they’re ignoring what Congress did,” said Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) of the Science, Space and Technology Committee. “It’s a dramatic attack on the science enterprise that has served us very well since World War II, when this whole system was set up,” Ms. Lofgren added. (10/2)

Following Ancient Rain Toward the Origins of Life on Mars (Source: Tohoku)
The Mars we know today is a cold, dry world of dust and rocks. However, around 3.8-3.6 billion years ago, it may have looked very different. Geological and mineral evidence suggests that, in its distant past, the planet experienced periods warm and wet enough for water to exist on its surface, potentially forming rivers, lakes, and even an ocean in the northern hemisphere.

Earlier research has also shown that formaldehyde (H₂CO) could have been produced in the atmosphere of warm early Mars. The importance of this substance is that once delivered to water, formaldehyde can serve as a starting material for chemical reactions that produce sugars, amino acids, and other complex organic molecules - compounds important to ultimately start life. Yet one major question remained unanswered: where on Mars would this formaldehyde have actually reached the surface?

To answer this question, a research team led by scientists from Tohoku University, the Earth-Life Science Institute, and the Institute of Science Tokyo created a global map showing where atmospheric H₂CO may have been delivered across the planet during its early history. (10/1)

NASA’s Webb Provides Crash Course on Planet-Shattering Collisions (Source: NASA)
In the early history of our solar system, scientists theorize that a Mars-sized object called Theia smashed into the infant Earth, vaporizing massive amounts of rock and blasting it into space. Some of that material coalesced into the Moon, where NASA’s Artemis program is returning humans, preparing for Mars, and shaping the future of space exploration.

That long-ago, violent collision reshaped our home planet. Astronomers have used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to examine a class of young stellar systems that show signs of similar upheavals, providing clues to the amount of energy in their collisions. The results offer insights into the composition and evolution of these chaotic systems. (10/1)

Rheinmetall, Argotec Launch First Satellite for Military Air-Defense Network (Source: Space News)
German defense contractor Rheinmetall and Italian space company Argotec launched the first satellite developed under a new partnership. The spacecraft was designed to help military forces spot activity on the ground that could signal an emerging airborne threat. (10/2)

Scientists Connect Cosmic Fingerprints of the Universe’s First Stars With MEGATRON Simulation (Source: Space.com)
Beginning in 2023 and set to run until 2030, MEGATRON uses James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) data to combine cutting-edge cosmological simulations with sophisticated models of radiation, chemistry, and galaxy formation. This allows researchers to investigate how the first galaxies and the first stars, known as Population III (POP III) stars, lit the shadows of the cosmic dark ages.

This is an important quest; POP III stars were primarily composed of hydrogen and helium, the lightest elements, and all that was available in the universe's infancy. However, during their lives, POP III stars forged heavier elements, which astronomers call metals. Upon their supernova deaths, POP III stars distributed elements like nitrogen, carbon, and oxygen to become the building blocks of the next generation of stars, their planets, and eventually life itself, be it here on Earth or anywhere else it exists in the cosmos. (10/3)

Skyroot CEO Pawan Chandana Among TIME's 100 Most Influential Rising Stars (Source: NDTV)
Skyroot Aerospace co-founder and CEO Pawan Kumar Chandana has been named to TIME's 2026 TIME100 Next list, which recognises emerging leaders shaping the future across various fields. Chandana's recognition comes after Skyroot Aerospace's successful Vikram-I mission, which marked a significant milestone for India's private space sector. On July 18, 2026, Vikram-I became the first privately developed Indian rocket to successfully launch to orbit from Indian soil, carrying multiple payloads into Low Earth Orbit. (10/3)

NASA Satellites Detect Fires at Russian Tsymbulova Drone Launch Site (Source: Militarnyi)
Fires on the grounds of the Russian Tsymbulova drone launch site in the Oryol region were detected by NASA’s FIRMS satellites on the night of October 3. This was reported by the Telegram channel Falcon Insight. Most likely, this is the result of strikes by the Ukrainian Defense Forces, as Russian monitoring channels reported drone activity in the area that night. (10/3)

Space Force Laying Groundwork To Connect Future Satellite ‘Enclaves’ As It Prepares for Additional Launches (Source: Defense Scoop)
The Space Force is on the cusp of launching its next batch of satellites into low-Earth orbit as officials are laying the groundwork to connect future “enclaves” of platforms that are expected to pass critical data to warfighters.

The Space Development Agency over the past year has been building out a so-called Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) that will consist of multiple layers of data transport and missile tracking satellites manufactured by multiple vendors. SDA is planning to add to it next week with the launch of 21 Northrop Grumman-made birds. The upcoming launch is about adding capacity to what’s already on orbit. (10/2)

Thomas Zurbuchen Joins Blue Origin as SVP of Advanced Concepts (Source: ETHZ)
Over the past three years, Thomas Zurbuchen, Director of ETH Zurich Space, has had a major impact on space research and education at ETH Zurich. He is now leaving the university to join US space technology company Blue Origin. "In my role as Senior Vice President, I will lead Blue Origin's Advanced Concepts team in the US, which develops next-generation concepts and systems to advance a sustainable future of living and working in space. That means we’ll have a major say in what this space technology company builds next." (10/2)

Whatever Trump Claims, Weaponization of Space Makes Losers of Us All (Source: SCMP)
Many other states such as China, Russia, Britain, France and Japan have built dedicated space combat organizations. However, none of them has publicly acknowledged deploying on-orbit space weapons, unwilling to face the global backlash against turning outer space into a battlefield.

Another reason people have refrained from talking about the weaponization of space is because there is no clear definition of what constitutes a space weapon. Systems that have a civilian purpose can be used for military purposes. For example, an ordinary satellite can instantly turn into an offensive weapon if it extends a robotic arm to seize other spacecraft.

For nearly two decades, China, Russia and many Global South countries have called for a legally binding treaty to ban space weaponization entirely. The US-led Western bloc, however, argues that space militarization is inevitable, so the world should instead focus on establishing non-binding “responsible behaviors”. (10/1)

Space Force to Demonstrate GEO Refueling, Orbit Transfer in Upcoming Demos (Source: Aerospace America)
The Space Force will test a depot-servicer-client model of operations in geostationary orbit, says Col. Scott Carstetter. “We view that as a potential structure that could scale,” he says. First to be launched are the Tetra-5 client satellites, built by Colorado-based Orion Space Solutions through a combined SSC-Air Force Research Laboratory program. The satellites are to expend fuel during separate anomaly resolution tests before the launch of the other spacecraft: a Provisioner servicer from Denver-based Astroscale U.S. and a fuel depot from Colorado-based Orbit Fab. (10/1)

ESA Boss Sees European Human Spaceflight Taking Decade To Attain (Source: Aviation Week)
Europe would need about a decade to develop an independent human spaceflight capability, European Space Agency Director General Josef Aschbacher says as the continent explores whether to make the investment. The cost of such an effort would be around to €10 billion ($11.2 billion), he said. (9/1)

Virgin Galactic Seat Prices Soar by $200,000 (Source: Latte Luxury)
Virgin Galactic has quietly bumped up the cost to fly to space on one of its spaceships to eye-watering $850,000 per seat. And don’t ask when you’ll actually get into space as the backlogged queue of paying passengers is in the realms of 700. Also bear in mind, Virgin Galactic’s most recent spaceflight was over two years ago, and the first test flights for the new Delta Class aircraft, which will accommodate up to six paying passengers (instead of four), will now not launch until February 2027 at the earliest. (10/2)

Canberra Rattles the Tin to Try and Get Australian of the Year Katherine Bennell-Pegg Into Space in 2028 (Source: Startup Daily)
Aussie ministers Tim Ayres and Andrew Charlton wrote to the premiers in August, chasing financial partners for Australia’s first official astronaut mission, by 2026 Australian of the Year, Katherine Bennell-Pegg, in early 2028. The letter says the European Space Agency, where Bennell-Pegg trained, has invited Australia to participate, with a commitment required by mid-October.

But Canberra’s pitch had mixed response according to the Oz. South Australia, where she’s based, is keen. NSW has assumed its favourite position – sitting on its hands and wallet. But the Northern Territory’s Country Liberal Party lost it, with acting chief minister Gerard Maley calling the idea “reckless” and “way out of touch”, telling the government to “come back down to earth”. (10/2)

Kenyan Gov’t Issues Update on Proposed Spaceport Project (Source: Nairobi Leo)
Kenya has provided an update on plans to develop a proposed spaceport, with the Government moving ahead with a feasibility study. In a statement on Thursday, Directorate of Public-Private Partnership Director General Kefa Seda said the development is being pursued as part of efforts to position Kenya to participate more actively in the global space economy. Seda said the government had taken another step towards advancing the project through the signing of a funding agreement to support the feasibility study.

The feasibility study will examine the proposed spaceport's viability, investment requirements and commercial prospects before the Government proceeds with the selection of a private sector partner. Seda said Kenya's geographic location and existing infrastructure along the coast could support the development of commercial launch operations. (10/1)

‘Every State in the Country Has Taken Interest’ in Proposed U.S. Space Academy, NASA Administrator Says (Source: Bay News 9)
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman says there has been wide interest from states seeking to become the home of President Donald Trump’s proposed U.S. Space Academy. "I would say every state in the country has taken interest in this. Everyone is very excited to have a Space Academy in their backyard." (10/1)

As US Relations Fray, Canada Gets Serious About Sovereign Launch, Now with Bigger Rockets (Source: Ars Technica)
A year or two ago, a few Canadian launch companies were trying to develop small rockets, but if we’re being frank, the industry was not particularly notable. But then the Trump Administration started threatening and instituting tariffs. There was talk of making Canada the 51st state. And pretty much every Canadian I know began telling me how enraged they were at their neighbors to the south. It’s hard to blame them.

This has led the Canadian government to reassess all manner of areas where it had previously been happy to rely largely on the US government and American companies for goods and services. This included sovereign access to space. Small-class rockets were being planned, but now the Canadian Rocket Company has shifted to a larger one.

“From a technical perspective and an infrastructure perspective, essentially 90 percent of everything you do on that light lift piece gets thrown out the window, and it’s almost like a net new program,” Hugh Kolias said. “And everyone said, if you’re not going to try to commercialize light lift, then why even do it in the first place? And that kind of hit us relatively hard.” So the company set its sights higher: developing the R-2 rocket, a fairly standard medium-lift vehicle that in renderings somewhat resembles SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. (10/1)

Venus’ Mysterious Haze is Actually Cosmic Dust (Source: Ars Technica)
Venus is shrouded in a veil of mystery. The yellowish “lower haze” at the bottom of its atmosphere was discovered by the Venera and Pioneer Venus probes in the 1970s. These spacecraft were some of the first to successfully send images of the planet back to Earth, but the haze they saw went unexplained for decades. Now the mystery Venus was keeping has been unveiled. What nobody knew then was that the haze is an accumulation of particles from meteorites. (10/1)

Critics Malign Elon Musk's Return To Trump Administration (Sources: Yahoo! News, Spectrum News)
Fear, mockery and confusion were among the reactions to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's plan to install Elon Musk as the co-leader of a project to study the future of warfare. "Project Meridian" will be led by the owner of X as well as Anduril Industries co-founder Palmer Luckey and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA). Pentagon technology chief Emil Michael will oversee them. 

According to Hegseth, the project will focus on "discovering, developing and fielding" the weapons systems of the future that U.S. troops may need on battlefields ranging "from under the Earth to beyond the moon." Musk's inclusion in another recent unofficial Trump administration role drew much criticism. He infamously oversaw the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which conducted the largest peacetime reduction of the federal workforce on record, even as government spending continued to rise.

According to one critic: "Elon Musk is now in charge of the future of warfare. That's a massive, massive, massive concern." Another concern is Musk's potential to tilt election outcomes for the November 2026 midterms. Musk has committed between $100 million to $120 million to boost Republican candidates and voter turnout, and is said to have boasted of his under-the-radar (and potentially unethical) influence in 2024's elections. (10/1)

California Gets a New Eye in the Sky to Track Planet-Warming Methane (Source: LA Times)
California got its second satellite tuned to spot a powerful climate pollutant Thursday when it launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Lompoc. Pasadena-based nonprofit Carbon Mapper, which partners with the state, can now check twice as often for climate-heating methane plumes, improving the emerging picture of this invisible gas. (10/1)

Chinese Rocket Firm, Disease Research Lab Plan Space Pharmaceutical Payloads (Source: Xinhua)
China's commercial rocket company CAS Space announced that it joined hands with the Guangzhou Laboratory to carry out collaborative research and development on space pharmaceutical payloads, with a plan of a suborbital flight validation by a reusable spacecraft in 2027. The first group of payloads is planned to fly aboard the company's Lihong-2, a reusable launch vehicle. It will conduct protein and small-molecule drug crystallization experiments as well as early technical validation of space pharmaceutical equipment, the company said.

The laboratory is dedicated to studying respiratory diseases and their prevention and control. Under the collaboration, the lab will raise scientific questions around drug crystallization and handle experimental design, sample management, ground control and result analysis. According to Xu Qiang, modern medicine has substantial demand for higher-quality structural data, more stable drug crystal forms, disease models that more closely resemble the human body and more efficient screening tools. The space environment may provide new ways to address some of these challenges. (10/1)

Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement 2026 Awarded to CosmoAmautas (Source: EuroPlanet)
The 2026 Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement has been awarded to CosmoAmautas, a Peruvian non-profit association that uses planetary science and astronomy as a gateway to spark curiosity and bring scientific opportunities to children and young students across Peru. Dr Gabriela Calistro Rivera received the prize on behalf of CosmoAmautas at the recent Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC2026) in The Hague and gave a public lecture about the work of the association. The prize is accompanied by a cash award of 1000 Euros. (10/1)

Space Exploration Should Learn From Deep Sea Technology (Source: Space News)
When human astronauts reach the moon again and eventually reach Mars, will treks by foot in a spacesuit be necessary? Prioritizing missions with remote-operated and other vehicles may help reduce the risks and potential injuries of moving in a spacesuit, according to Dennis Meredith.

"Astronauts would be more productive if they didn’t have to spend time donning, doffing, cleaning and servicing spacesuits," he wrote. "They would experience less fatigue and a lower risk of injuries if they spent their exploration time in a comfortable shirtsleeve environment. Less energy expended would mean lower consumption of oxygen, water and food." (10/2)

October 3, 2026

Oman Spaceport Witnesses a Successful Test Launch of Azad Dreamer Rocket (Source: Times of Oman)
The "Etlaq" spaceport in Duqm successfully conducted a trial launch of the Azad Dreamer rocket as part of the Karman X1 space mission. The 4.3-metre-long rocket, weighing 26 kg, was launched from the spaceport and followed a stable upward trajectory, with flight data accurately transmitted to the mission control center. The rocket reached its designated target altitude within the test range.

The mission was not intended to reach space, but focused on testing the launch process, rocket performance during flight, and the technologies and systems used in the mission. Karman X1 marks the second successful launch conducted from the Duqm spaceport, following the successful Duqm-1 launch in December 2024. (10/3)

NASA Taps 16 Firms for $1.4B Enterprise Logistics Support Pact (Source: NASA)
NASA has awarded 16 prime positions on a potential $1.4 billion blanket purchase agreement that brings most of the logistics services it buys from industry into a single consolidated mechanism, replacing 10 separate center-level contracts. Under the Enterprise Logistics Support Services (ELSS) agreements, awardees will compete for orders covering equipment and property management, transportation, disposal, product support, flight hardware support operations, equipment maintenance and repair, export control, move operations, and flight hardware and other material purchases.

The pact was awarded through OASIS+, the GSA's government-wide vehicle for professional services that aren't IT-centric, and NASA may use firm-fixed-price, time-and-materials, labor-hour, or hybrid contract types. Work runs over an initial five-year base ordering period, followed by up to three option years and a possible six-month extension, with the base period open through Sep. 30, 2031.

The awardees are Akima Facilities Operations, Akima Global Logistics, Alutiiq Operations Services, ASR International, ASRC Federal Administrative Services, ASRC Federal Professional Services, IAP World Services, KBR Wyle Services, Leidos, LogiCore, Prime Response, S&K Applied Solutions, TechTrans International, Tetra Tech, TRAX International, and Yulista Support Services. Notably, seven of the 16 are subsidiaries of Alaska Native Corporations. (10/2)

Canadian Center for Space Isotopes launches in Toronto (Source: SpaceQ)
The Nuclear Innovation Institute (NII) has launched the Canadian Center for Space Isotopes in Toronto, a group that will study how Canada can become a leader in supplying the radioactive isotopes that power deep-space probes. The institute is a member-based not-for-profit that works on nuclear and clean energy. The center will run research, policy work and industry meetings through 2030, with a report on the opportunity to make Canada a leader in space isotopes due in early 2027. (10/2)

Berkowitz Out at DoD Space Policy Office (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Pentagon has quietly replaced Marc Berkowitz as space policy czar, with his former deputy Michael Gancio now serving as acting assistant secretary. Gancio has a background in intelligence, according to his official DoD biography, most recently serving as an advisor to Sen. Tom Cotton, R-AR. The decision wasn’t formally announced, although two sources said he left the position on Wednesday.

Sources inside and outside of the Pentagon said that Berkowitz resigned. Government and industry sources have said that Berkowitz, who has had a long space-oriented career in both government and industry, had clashed with his boss, Elbridge Colby, on more than one occasion. “From what I have been told, Colby doesn’t care about space so it has been frustrating,” one industry consultant with Pentagon ties said. (10/2)

What Space Travel Teaches Us About Sleep and Circadian Rhythms (Source: The Conversation)
Research in chronobiology and sleep science has demonstrated that carefully guiding astronaut schedules around exercise, meals, tailored lighting and work scheduling can help offset some of the negative effects of sleep loss and circadian disruption. Artificial lighting can also be controlled to provide more appropriate environmental cues.

But there is a catch: giving astronauts time to sleep does not necessarily mean they will sleep. Astronauts have traditionally been given around eight and a half hours of sleep opportunity on each day of spaceflight. But research across different types of mission suggests they often obtain only about six to six and a half hours.

Repeated night after night, that gap becomes chronic sleep restriction. Research aboard the International Space Station has linked daily sleep patterns of six hours or less with measurable reductions in vigilant attention – the ability to notice and respond reliably to important information. In an environment where a missed signal could have serious consequences, sleep is not simply a matter of comfort – it is part of mission safety. (10/2)

Suborbital Space Tour Listed on China's Trip.com (Source: China Daily)
Chinese travel group Trip.com has listed a 5.1 million yuan ($760,000) suborbital space tourism package on its platform, marking a direct effort by Western commercial space operators to tap high-net-worth travelers in China. The six-day luxury itinerary, which was revealed in mid-September, is offered through HHtravel, Trip.com's high-end customized tour subsidiary, in partnership with spaceflight company Virgin Galactic, headquartered in the United States.

In the package, clients will undergo three days of preflight training at Spaceport America near Las Cruces, New Mexico. On the fifth day, passengers board Virgin Galactic's air-launched spacecraft for a 90-minute suborbital flight, experiencing several minutes of weightlessness and views of the curvature of the Earth. The package price covers preflight training, ground transport, luxury accommodation in the US, custom spacesuits and commemorative flight footage. (10/3)

NASA Directive Might Increase the Odds of Contaminating Mars (Source: Scientific American)
A new NASA directive seeks to loosen “planetary protection” rules meant to avoid the contamination other worlds with microbial life from Earth. The policy shift arrived via a message to NASA personnel that was obtained and shared yesterday by the independent watchdog sites NASA Watch and Astrobiology.com.

In it, NASA administrator Jared Isaacman writes that procedures for avoiding contamination “must reflect our current scientific knowledge” and argues that this knowledge has shifted since the current rules were established decades ago. The directive “ensures we can use our incredible data to lower costs on our missions,” says Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “This process will also help increase commercial capabilities—getting more missions into space by streamlining space exploration.” (10/2)

SES and Sky Extend Direct-to-Home Satellite Capacity Agreement Across UK and Ireland (Source: SatNews)
On Wednesday, SES announced a multi-year extension of its direct-to-home (DTH) satellite capacity agreement with European media and connectivity provider Sky. The renewal extends the long-standing commercial relationship between the two entities into the next decade, ensuring continuous video transmission and broadcast distribution services across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. (10/2)

Over 150 'New Start' DoD Programs Face Delay Under a CR (Source: Breaking Defense)
The federal government rang in a new fiscal year on Thursday, and, as has been the norm for years, the government will now be operating under a continuing resolution (CR). And if there’s one thing military leaders like to remind everyone about, at every opportunity, it’s that a CR means the Pentagon cannot begin funding new programs, also known as “new starts,” at a time when the department is pursuing novel technologies.

Breaking Defense reached out to the Pentagon and the services to ask for details on new starts that will be impacted by the CR, but a list was not provided by press time. New starts are listed as such in the fiscal 2027 budget request, and a search under that phrase of both procurement and research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) budget documents turned up over 150 results.

“The Pentagon — the senior leadership, OSD [the Office of the Secretary of Defense] —  keeps insisting they’re going to get $350 billion dollars in reconciliation. They will not, and they keep insisting they’re going to get more than $100 billion in a supplemental. I think that is very unlikely as long as the war continues,” says Sen. Chris Coons (D-CT). “And so there is likely to be somewhere between a $500 [billion] and $700 billion gap between what the Pentagon is planning on and continuing to insist on, and what they will actually get in appropriations.” (10/1)

HyImpulse Secures Scottish Launch License (Source: DPA)
A German rocket company has been granted a launch licence by UK regulators, as it plans to blast off from a spaceport in the Shetland Islands, off the coast of northern Scotland, early next year. HyImpulse, which builds commercial rockets, received its UK launch operator licence on Thursday from the Civil Aviation Authority. It is hoped HyImpulse will now be able to launch its SR75 suborbital vehicle in spring 2027. (10/1)

UAE Unveils Probe for its Most Ambitious Asteroid Mission (Source: Flight Global)
The United Arab Emirates has publicly revealed the probe for its MRB Explorer asteroid mission, describing the project as a significant turning point in the country’s effort to become a leading spacefaring nation. The unveiling marks a prominent step in the UAE’s expanding space ambitions. (10/2)

Satlyt Raises $8M Seed to Expand Its Virtual ODC Network (Source: Payload)
While investors pour billions of dollars into orbital-data-center (ODC) concepts that require new feats of engineering, Satlyt’s virtual ODC network is already flying above us—and growing rapidly. The startup—with joint headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, and Sunnyvale, CA—unveiled a $8M seed round today to expand its team and its virtual ODC network. (10/1)

NASA Squeezed Treasury, Vibe Coded, and Broke the Mold in Bid to Save Swift (Source: Ars Technica)
An attempt to save NASA’s $500 million Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory from dropping out of orbit fell short, but the behind-the-scenes machinations required just to make a rescue possible deserve recognition, government and commercial space officials said in a recounting of the mission. The rescue mission was developed by Katalyst Space Technologies, working under a $30 million contract awarded by NASA.

NASA and Katalyst officials are reviewing lessons learned from the mission to better prepare for the next time they need to rapidly call up a satellite rescue mission. First and foremost: Don’t wait until the last minute, said Shawn Domagal-Goldman. Katalyst quickly put out orders to suppliers for all the parts required to assemble the Link spacecraft. In some cases, Katalyst found its suppliers couldn’t deliver in time, so it decided to build parts itself. Engineers also had to decide what to test on the spacecraft before handing it over to the launch provider, Northrop Grumman.

NASA’s strategy was to tell Katalyst what to do, but not how to do it. “On paper, it was five requirements,” said Kieran Wilson, principal investigator for the Link mission at Katalyst. “In practice, it boiled down to do no harm and boost Swift. It was not specified how that was going to happen. That allowed us, in turn, to put engineering judgment ahead of exhaustive process, which allowed us to move much more quickly.” (10/1)

Norwegian Government Proposes Paying for Second Andøya Launch Pad (Source: European Spaceflight)
The Norwegian government plans to invest almost NOK 650 million (almost €60 million) to build a second orbital launch pad at Andøya Spaceport. The state will own the pad and lease it to Andøya Space, the commercial operator of the orbital launch facility. (10/1)

Skyrora Shifts Orbital Launch Timeline to 2030 (Source: Payload)
First-mover advantage isn’t all it’s cracked up to be—at least, that’s the thought process for UK launch startup Skyrora. The company announced this week that it completed a 45-second hotfire test of a scaled-down version of the engine that will power the first stage of Skyrora’s orbital Skylark XL rocket. The test will inform the company’s development of the larger 70 kN engine, and Skyrora will use the data to make upgrades on the engine interface, firing operations, and tank design, according to COO Jack-James Marlow.

While Skyrora is working toward a potential second flight of its suborbital Skylark L2 vehicle next year, Marlow told Payload Skyrora is “tentatively aiming for 2030 for orbital launch.” Its a big jump from last year’s projection, when Skyrora told Payload it could optimistically attempt an orbital flight as early as Q4 2026. (10/2)

Google Launches Satellite Carrying AI Chips to Test Artificial Intelligence in Space (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Google has launched a satellite carrying several of the company’s AI chips, beginning an effort to determine whether advanced computing can operate in orbit. The mission will test the performance and practicality of running AI hardware in the space environment. (10/2)

Canada Rocket Company to Build $30 Million Methalox Engine Test Facility in Ontario (Source: NSF)
Canada Rocket Company plans to develop Canada’s first large-scale rocket engine test facility at London International Airport. The $30 million complex will support static-fire testing of the company’s methalox engines as it works toward a reusable medium-lift launch vehicle. (10/1)

Inside Isaacman’s Washington Plays (Source: Politico)
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman’s latest moves to build political cachet in the GOP — while unusual — could benefit an agency that lacks a Cabinet-level voice. The administrator attended a high-profile luncheon this week at the White House with the country’s most notable tech executives. And new regulatory filings show he’s donated millions to Trump’s super PAC this summer, MAGA Inc. — $1 million in June and $2 million in August — plus another half-a-million earlier this year to the Senate GOP super PAC.

Those moves, while atypical for a sitting head of the space agency, could benefit NASA. The push comes as Isaacman seeks top-level buy-in for key space programs — including a moon landing and a lunar outpost. But the spending could spell trouble if Democrats retake a chamber next year. (10/2)

October 2, 2026

SpaceX Launches ISS Crew on Thursday Express Flight From Florida (Source: Space News)
A new crew is on the ISS after an express flight there Thursday. A Falcon 9 lifted off Thursday from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, placing a Crew Dragon spacecraft into orbit on the Crew-13 mission for NASA. The Dragon docked with the ISS less than eight hours later, at 7:05 p.m. Eastern. That is the shortest transit time to the ISS for an American spacecraft. The mission was scheduled to launch in mid-September but was delayed by an oxidizer leak on the Crew Dragon that required surgical-like repairs to replace a valve. Crew-13 delivered to the ISS two NASA astronauts, one Roscosmos cosmonaut, and a Canadian Space Agency astronaut, the first from that agency to go there since 2019. (10/2)

Five Falcon Boosters Launched in Triple-Header Thursday (Sources: Space News, Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX's second launch of the day Thursday was a Falcon 9 rideshare mission. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 2:32 p.m. Eastern on the Transporter-18 mission. There were 130 payloads on the flight, SpaceX said, a total that includes hosted payloads and satellites that will be deployed later from orbital transfer vehicles. Demand for rideshare missions like the Transporter series remains high even as SpaceX moves to end such flights, as well as commercial Falcon 9 missions in general, in the next few years.

SpaceX completed its launch tripleheader Thursday with a classified Falcon Heavy launch. The Falcon Heavy lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:54 p.m. Eastern. The rocket was flying its first mission for the National Reconnaissance Office, designated NROL-97, but the NRO did not disclose details about the payload. The launch used the same side boosters as the previous Falcon Heavy launch, of NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, a little more than a month ago. (10/3)

Iceye and Nokia Team on Broadband Constellations (Source: Space News)
Iceye and Nokia are teaming up to develop sovereign broadband constellations. The two Finnish companies said Thursday they would work together to offer government customers a complete low Earth orbit system that would also include the ruggedized user terminals needed to support missions such as defense, border security, emergency services and disaster response. Iceye brings satellite expertise from its work on radar-imaging spacecraft while Nokia aims to leverage the terrestrial tactical networking technologies it has doubled down on after exiting the consumer handset market. The companies plan to launch the first broadband satellites in 2028 but did not comment on potential customers and spectrum arrangements. (10/2)

Space Force Retires DSP Satellites (Source: Space News)
The Space Force has retired a Cold War-era missile-warning satellite program after a final exercise. The service said Thursday that the final two Defense Support Program (DSP) satellites took part in U.S. Space Command's Apollo Maneuvers exercise in September, where crews repositioned the aging spacecraft before sending them to supersynchronous disposal orbits. During the exercise, crews from the 2nd Space Warning Squadron demonstrated what the service described as "dynamic on-orbit maneuvers" with two DSP satellites before their retirement.  The timing offered Space Command a chance to use satellites that were already headed for disposal. The Pentagon launched 23 DSP satellites between 1970 and 2007, with the final two spacecraft launched in 2004 and 2007. (10/2)

Europe Plans $27 Billion Investment in Military Satellite Program (Source: Space News)
European governments are preparing to invest up to 24 billion euros ($27 billion) on a joint military satellite project called SPACE. The Council of the European Union formally approved the SPACE project Monday as one of the first five European Defense Projects of Common Interest under the European Defense Industry Program. SPACE will involve participation from 20 countries, including 18 EU member states, Norway and Ukraine. The project covers space-based early warning; satellite communications; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; positioning, navigation and timing; navigation warfare and responsive space systems. Separately, 15 EU nations agreed this week on an initiative to jointly access and share data used to track and characterize objects in orbit. (10/2)

L3Harris to Provide Satellite-to-Aircraft Comms Under $462 Million Space Force Contract (Source: Space News)
The Space Force has finalized a contract with L3Harris to provide commercial satellite communications aboard executive aircraft used by senior U.S. government and military leaders. The $461.9 million contract, announced Wednesday, is substantially larger than a preliminary $77.1 million agreement awarded to L3Harris in March. It covers satellite connectivity for the executive airlift fleet through October 2028. L3Harris will manage connectivity across commercial satellite networks operating in different orbits and frequency bands, giving the aircraft access to multiple sources of satellite communications. (10/2)

Satisfaction After Starship Orbital Test (Source: Space News)
Both SpaceX and outside analysts appear largely satisfied with the latest Starship test flight. The Flight 14 mission on Monday was the first Starship to reach orbit, although the vehicle suffered some engine failures and returned to Earth after about three hours, rather than the 10-hour mission originally planned. SpaceX executives said this week the flight went "extremely well" but did not provide specifics about the schedule and plans for the next flight, which could include the first attempt to recover the Starship upper stage back at Starbase. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said earlier this week that he expects Starship to be flying once or twice a week next year, although in an earnings call in August he promised daily Starship missions. (10/2)

China Needs 31 More Launches to Meet 100-Launch 2026 Goal (Source: Space News)
China has plans for a busy fourth quarter of launches. With a goal of more than 100 launches in 2026, China would need to conduct at least 31 in the final three months of the year to achieve that milestone. Among the major missions planned in the fourth quarter is the next crewed mission to the Tiangong station, Shenzhou-24, in November. Possible debut launches include Orienspace's Gravity-2, iSpace's Hyperbola-3 with a first stage recovery attempt, and Zhihang-1 from Zenk Space, which earlier aimed for a launch in June. Numerous launches for the Guowang and Qianfan constellations are expected as well. (10/2)

Overview Energy and Virtus Solis Advance Space-Based Solar Power (Source: Space News)
Two recent contracts signal a resurgence of interest in space-based solar power. Overview Energy, a company that plans to collect solar energy and beam it to Earth using near-infrared lasers, said it won a contract from the Pentagon's Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund to develop a beacon for ground stations to guide those laser transmissions. Another startup, Virtus Solis, said it signed an agreement with a data-center startup to sell it 100 megawatts of power from its future space solar power systems. Officials from both the space and energy industries said the growing demand for power from data centers, along with technological advances in space solar power, makes the concept more feasible. (10/2)

UK's Foundational Gains $11 Million for Satellite Laser Ranging (Source: Space News)
A British startup has plans to commercialize a decades-old technology for tracking satellites. Foundational emerged from stealth Thursday with $11 million in funding to develop satellite laser ranging (SLR) technologies for commercial applications. SLR, which uses lasers from the ground to precisely measure satellite positions in orbit, has been used since the 1960s but has largely been limited to government programs given its high cost.  Foundational is planning a network of autonomous, low-cost SLR stations to make the service commercially viable. (10/2)

Thruster Fails on Japan's Hayabusa2 (Source: Jiji Press)
An electric thruster on Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft has malfunctioned. The thruster, the only one of four on the spacecraft that was still working, broke down in August, and attempts to restore it have failed. The Japanese space agency JAXA plans to use subsystems from the other three thrusters, which were used earlier in the mission and have since degraded, for the thruster that has malfunctioned in the hopes of restoring it. Hayabusa2 is in an extended mission since returning asteroid samples to Earth in 2020, and needs to get the thruster restored so it can continue to maneuver towards another asteroid, 1998 KY26, in 2031. (10/2)

Portugal's Omnidea Acquires Orbex’s UK Manufacturing Assets and IP (Source: Omnidea)
European space technology group Omnidea has acquired the UK-based manufacturing assets and intellectual property of Orbex. Omnidea will establish its UK operations at Orbex’s former manufacturing facility in Forres, Scotland. An initial team of ex-Orbex employees will join the business, with Omnidea planning to recruit further as the operation develops.

Omnidea was already working alongside Orbex as a partner in the European Space Agency’s European Launcher Challenge (ELC) and has been developing its own suborbital launcher program with ESA for the past four years. The Scottish operation will become Omnidea’s center for structures development and fabrication and a hub for flight and ground-system electronics, complementing the Group’s existing expertise in propulsion, fluid systems and other critical space technologies. (10/1)

FAA Order on Airspace Safety Management and Space Operations (Source: FAA)
The FAA issued an order that establishes the safety management policy and requirements for the entire agency to create a unified Safety Management System and improve its ability to proactively identify hazards and manage risk in the National Airspace System (NAS).  This includes space transport launch and reentry operations that may affect aircraft, air traffic operations, aviation users, aviation infrastructure, or FAA-provided NAS services.

The order applies to FAA-licensed commercial space operations and to those authorized by NASA, DoD, and other federal agencies. The order also requires the FAA to continue its development and implementation of new procedures and technologies to facilitate integration of increasing numbers of space operations into the NAS. The improvements will increase safety and efficiency and will be completed within the required one-year transition period. (10/1)

FAA Advances Licensing of Relativity Ops at Cape Canaveral Spaceport with Maximum Cadence of 24 Launches Per Year (Source: FAA)
The FAA is issuing this Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and Record of Decision (ROD) to support the issuance of a vehicle operator license to Relativity Space, to conduct Terran R launch operations at Launch Complex 16 at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The Space Force was the lead agency in the preparation of the 2024 Final Supplemental Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the Terran R Space Launch Program at the spaceport.

The Proposed Action modifies launch and testing capabilities within Relativity’s existing property boundary following the retirement of the Terran 1 Program. The SEA supports FAA’s issuance of a vehicle operator license allowing Relativity to conduct Terran R operations at CCSFS SLC-16 and associated airspace closures. If Relativity submits a license application to the FAA proposing operational changes that fall outside of the scope of the SEA, additional environmental review would be required prior to FAA issuing a license or modification for those activities. (9/30)

October 1, 2026

Data Deluge Prompts Space Force Need for Laser Comms (Source: Air & Space Forces Magazine)
The US Space Force must adopt optical communications technology to avoid data bottlenecks as it launches more satellites, according to a report from the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. The report says the current method of using radio frequencies is insufficient for the volume of data generated by modern sensors. (9/30)
 
DIU, Space Force to Develop Monitoring Satellites (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Defense Innovation Unit and the US Space Force have partnered to accelerate the development of commercial satellites for on-orbit monitoring. The collaboration integrates DIU's Geosynchronous High-Resolution Optical Space-Based Tactical Reconnaissance project with the Space Force's RG-XX program, which aims to replace Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program satellites. Northrop Grumman and True Anomaly have been selected to develop prototypes by 2028, utilizing commercial technologies to enhance resolution and mobility. (9/29)

UCF Business Incubation Program Named Florida’s Top Incubator (Source: Team Orlando)
After helping generate thousands of jobs, significant investment in companies and hundreds of millions of dollars of economic impact in Central Florida, the UCF Business Incubation Program has earned national recognition as one of the country’s top business incubators. Time released its inaugural listing of America’s Best Incubators & Accelerators 2026, spotlighting programs that assist early-stage companies to grow, scale and create lasting economic impact. (8/19)

Stratolaunch Expands Hypersonic Flight Test Infrastructure with Acquisition of Boeing 777 Carrier Aircraft (Source: Stratolaunch)
Stratolaunch has acquired a Boeing 777-200ER, expanding Stratolaunch’s fleet of carrier aircraft supporting the company’s Talon-A air-launched hypersonic flight test platforms. This expands Stratolaunch’s fleet of carrier aircraft beyond the Spirit of Mojave and Roc. With three carrier aircraft, Stratolaunch intends to maintain continuous launch readiness, boosting overall flight capacity by 35%. (9/30)

Golden Dome Question Remain After Budget Brief (Source: Space News)
Congressional budget analysts have finally been briefed on the Golden Dome missile defense system, but are remaining quiet about its cost. At a Senate hearing Tuesday, David Mosher, the Congressional Budget Office's director of national security analysis, said his office had been briefed last week on an architecture being developed under Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein, the officer leading Golden Dome.

He declined to discuss details of the briefing in the open hearing, but the office has neither withdrawn nor publicly revised its $1.2 trillion 20-year cost estimate it released several months ago. The Pentagon has put the cost of Golden Dome at about $185 billion over the coming decade. Senators at the hearing raised questions about what coverage Golden Dome will provide, some noting that the name suggested nationwide coverage while the system will likely initially offer only a limited-area defense.

Editor's Note: Given the current $40 trillion national debt, I expect the next Congress to look hard at ways to shrink the historically large $1.5 trillion DoD budget. Golden Dome is an easy target. (10/1)

DoD Plans Autonomous Warfare Command (Source: CNN)
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced a new DoD Autonomous Warfare Command, which will focus on AI robotics and autonomous weapons, will be led by a four-star general, a sign that it will have a key role in future military operations. He cited lessons learned from the war in Ukraine as motivation for the new command and said that a complementary effort known as Project Agincourt will work to clear the way for the new command and overhaul how the military acquires, tests, and fields drones and other similar weapons. (9/30)

'Clowns Out, Cowboys In,' Says Hegseth as a Fifth of Generals and Admirals are Fired (Source: BBC)
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday confirmed the firing of 20% of top military leadership, while stressing a "warrior ethos".  The announcement adds to an earlier round of personnel cuts in 2025, when Hegseth assembled military leaders at Quantico and criticized the department as too "woke". He also slammed leaders, saying "fat generals and admirals" is "a bad look".

"We are no longer the woke department or the weak department," Hegseth said. "The ideological clowns are out. The patriotic cowboys are in with testosterone testing on top. Diversity is not our strength. Unity is our strength," he said. There are over 800 active-duty generals and admirals across the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force, according to the latest department tally. (9/30)

FCC Votes to Limit Environmental Reviews for Space Things (Source: Space News)
FCC commissioners voted Wednesday to exclude space activities from environmental reviews. The FCC ruled 2-1 that licensing satellites does not constitute a "major federal action" that would trigger reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act. The decision codified the FCC's longstanding practice of excluding constellations from these environmental reviews. The commission also voted to make more than 1,000 megahertz of additional spectrum available for satellite services in the 12.7 and 42 gigahertz bands. (10/1)

Rocket Lab Signs for 20 More Synspective Launches (Source: Space News)
Rocket Lab has signed its biggest commercial launch contract to date with a long-time customer. Rocket Lab said Wednesday it signed a contract with Synspective, a Japanese company operating a constellation of radar-imaging satellites, for 20 Electron launches from 2028 through 2031. Each launch will carry a single StriX satellite. Rocket Lab has already launched 13 StriX satellites with contracts for 14 more before this latest deal. Rocket Lab said it now has more than 100 launches under contract with various government and commercial customers. (10/1)

Honda and Redwire Team on Space Station Robotic Arm System (Source: Space News)
Honda and Redwire are partnering on a robotic arm system for future commercial space stations. Honda announced Thursday that the companies will explore combining Honda's multi-fingered robotic hand with Redwire's Staark robotic arm to assist space station research and experiments.

Honda has developed robotics technologies for decades to support automation of complex manufacturing and assembly tasks, including a multi-fingered robotic hand incorporating force and tactile sensing throughout the fingertips and palm. The companies said they plan to discuss potential applications for those robotic systems with space station developers and others at the International Astronautical Congress next week. (10/1)

Viridian Space Studying VLEO Satellite "Control Surfaces" with University of Washington (Source: Space News)
Viridian Space will work with the University of Washington to study development of control surfaces for satellites in very low Earth orbit (VLEO). The company announced Wednesday a $225,000 NASA Small Business Technology Transfer contract to study how spacecraft can use the tenuous atmosphere in VLEO to aid in maneuvering, rather than treat it solely as a source of drag. Viridian was established in 2021 to develop air-breathing electric propulsion systems that ingest atmosphere at an altitude between 200 and 300 kilometers to feed a plasma thruster, and earlier this year signed a cooperative research and development agreement with the Air Force Research Laboratory to support that work. (10/1)

Firefly to Launch Starcloud Data Center Payload on Lunar Mission (Source: Firefly)
Firefly Aerospace will carry an orbital data center payload from Starcloud on a future lunar mission. The companies announced Wednesday that Starcloud will fly a computing payload called SC-1L on a Firefly Elytra orbital spacecraft on its third lunar landing mission in 2028. SC-1L will test the ability to carry out AI applications in lunar orbit, ingesting data from a camera system and processing it. The demonstration will test technologies that could support future orbital data center spacecraft operating around the moon. (10/1)

NASA Picks Modulate Space for $38 Million Lunar 5G Network Plans (Source: NASA)
NASA awarded a contract to develop technologies for a 5G network at its future lunar base. The $38 million contract with Modulate Space Corporation will test technologies for a "5G Network-in-a-Box" that will also include Wi-Fi to support communications between elements of a lunar base. The agency said that the work will give it insight into the system architecture and operational performance while providing the flexibility needed to evolve the technology for future lunar surface communications. (10/1)

NASA, International Partners Advance Work on Space Crops (Source: NASA)
NASA, CSA (Canadian Space Agency), and the German Aerospace Center signed a joint statement of intent to begin coordinated, preparatory work toward an Earth-based demonstrator to learn how to grow crops on the Moon, which will be essential to helping astronauts go farther and stay longer in space.

The Lunar Agriculture Module-Ground Test Demonstrator aims to develop the technologies needed to grow space crops and study how they perform under atmospheres and controlled environments similar to those expected during missions at Moon Base. Through Moon Base, NASA and its partners will build the infrastructure to support an enduring human presence near the Moon's South Pole, advancing science and technology while preparing for future human missions to Mars. (9/30)

Quantum Space Executes Launch Processing Agreement with All Points Logistics for Prime Mission (Source: Quantum Space)
Quantum Space, LLC (the “Company” or “Quantum Space”), a company developing the next generation of advanced maneuverable spacecraft for national security and commercial missions, today announced that it has executed a new spacecraft processing work order with All Points Logistics for the 2027 launch campaign for Quantum Space’s Prime mission. (9/30)

Blue Origin’s First Outside Funding Round is ‘Oversubscribed’ and Not Closed Yet, CEO Says (Source: CNBC)
Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said the company’s first-ever outside capital raise is not closed yet and is drawing heavy investor interest, describing the funding round as “oversubscribed.” Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the company had already raised $10 billion at a valuation of $140 billion. Jeff Bezos chipped in $2 billion in the current raise and has invested $30 billion since the company’s founding in 2000. (9/30)

FCC Exempts Space Activities From Some Environmental Rules and Opens 1,000 MHz of Spectrum (Source: Space News)
The FCC advanced its deregulation agenda with two decisions: exempting certain space activities from federal environmental regulations and making 1,000 megahertz of spectrum available. The actions could reduce regulatory requirements for affected space activities while expanding access to communications capacity. (9/30)

Ukraine Urges U.S. Sanctions on Entities Supporting Russia’s Starlink Rival (Source: Reuters)
Ukraine is asking Washington to sanction several Russian entities it says are helping develop Rassvet, a domestic satellite network intended as an alternative to SpaceX’s Starlink. The appeal underscores the network’s strategic significance and Kyiv’s effort to constrain Russia’s access to space-based communications capabilities. (9/30)

Rising Launch Cadence Increases Risk of Fatal Space-Debris Reentries (Source: Space.com)
Experts warn that continued growth in rocket launch frequency could increase the likelihood of uncontrolled space-debris reentries and, eventually, a fatality on the ground. The trend underscores the safety consequences of expanding launch activity and the need to manage debris generated by increasingly crowded orbital operations. (9/30)

What's Up with Russia's Planned New Crew Capsule? (Source: Ars Technica)
In what seems like an alternate universe in hindsight, Russia and ESA began discussing collaboration on next-generation crewed spacecraft two decades ago. Under the agreement, Europe would have provided a service module to power a crew capsule carrying up to six passengers. Europe ultimately decided not to pursue a crewed spacecraft project at the time, and Russia’s Roscosmos chose to move ahead with a crewed spacecraft on its own.

Beyond the name changes and a flood of renderings, after nearly 20 years of work, then, is anything actually happening with the Eagle spacecraft? For starters, the relatively new chief executive of Roscosmos, Dmitry Bakanov, appears to have jettisoned the “Eagle” name of the spacecraft in favor of PTK NP. Bakanov said tests of the spacecraft’s parachute system will begin this fall. Also planned are tests in emergency rescue modes during an emergency at the launch pad, possibly including a flight test, later this year.

It’s not clear from the report whether these tests will involve real flight hardware, boilerplate vehicles, or mockups. Vladimir Putin spoke confidently about the “Eagle” spacecraft and the resumption of Russia’s lunar program. Clearly, they have not happened. (9/30)

Z-Trak Space Raises Funding for Reusable Fission-A Rocket, Targets Late-2027 Debut (Source: Space News)
Chinese launch startup Z-Trak Space has secured a new funding round to advance its Fission-A small reusable rocket, which uses electric-pump propulsion. The company is targeting a first flight in late 2027, adding another entrant to China’s developing commercial launch sector.

CAS Space Targets Early 2027 Debut of Reusable Lihong-2 Suborbital Rocket with Pharmaceutical Payloads (Source: Space News)
Chinese commercial launch provider CAS Space is targeting early 2027 for the first flight of its reusable Lihong-2 suborbital rocket. The mission is planned to carry pharmaceutical payloads, linking the company’s vehicle development to emerging commercial demand for suborbital research and in-space processing. (9/30)

Look Up Proposes Space Radar Network at French Territories (Source: Look Up)
Look Up is presenting plans for a radar network across France’s overseas territories, with six new space surveillance radars set to be deployed. These investments will support the deployment of Look Up’s high-precision SORASYS radars, designed to detect and track satellites and debris at altitudes of up to 2,000 km, day and night and in all weather conditions. Look Up aims to deploy a network of seven radars by 2030, capable of monitoring all traffic in low Earth orbit as early as 2028. (9/30)

Florida's Lonestar Space Teams with Ecuador Space Society for Space-Based Digital Resilience (Source: Lonestar Space)
Lonestar Space and Ecuador Space Society are joining forces to advance space-based digital resilience in Ecuador. An MOU with the Ecuador Space Society (ESS) will explore how Lonestar’s StarVault network can support Ecuador’s national priorities — from government continuity and critical infrastructure to scientific research, digital heritage, and the protection of data and AI systems. Together, Lonestar and ESS will engage Ecuadorian public institutions, industry, and academia, to identify priority use cases and develop potential government pilot programs. (9/29)

Making Them Feel Good About Themselves (Source: SPACErePORT)
In the before-times of the Obama administration, NASA was heavily criticized by Republicans in Congress for the agency's outreach to Muslim nations as part of its efforts to expand international relationships. In a fateful 2010 media interview, Administrator Michael Bolden discussed this outreach, citing the Muslim world's "historic contribution to science, math, and engineering." He was immediately criticized by Republican members for trying to make Muslims "feel good about themselves," and by his predecessor, Michael Griffin, who called it a "perversion of NASA's purpose."

Contrast that 2010 knee-jerk political response with the current administration's accelerated recruitment of Artemis Accords signatories, which now includes 13 nations where Islam is the largest religion, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Turkey, Bangladesh, Senegal, Albania, the Republic of Djibouti, Malaysia, Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire. Important note: Multiple signatories to the Artemis Accords are at the same time signed-up to the China/Russia International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) partnership.

Populations worldwide aspire to participate in space exploration, and spacefaring leaders like the US, China, Europe, and Russia have effectively used space-related collaboration as a diplomatic tool for trade and global alliance-building. During its first term, the Trump administration shunned alliances with third-world countries, while China successfully used space cooperation in its aggressive pursuit of long-term global economic partnerships. Now we're once again playing catch-up. (9/30)

DIU, Space Force Team Up to Kick-Start Buys of Commercial Sats for Monitoring GEO (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Space Force have joined forces to more rapidly develop and field next-generation, commercially developed satellites to monitor geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO), according to the service. Under the joint effort, DIU’s Geosynchronous High-Resolution Optical Space-Based Tactical Reconnaissance (GHOST-R) project is now going to serve as a feeder for the Space Force’s nascent RG-XX program to replace the venerable Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellites.

According to a Sep. 18 Space Systems Command (SSC) announcement, by “collaborating” with DIU the Space Force is “leveraging rapid prototyping” for RG-XX. Two companies have been chosen to develop and fly those prototypes by 2028, the release said: Northrop Grumman and True Anomaly. (9/29)

Starlab, Elethron Partner for Autonomous In-Space Semiconductor Processing (Source: SatNews)
Addressing the growing demand for high-performance semiconductor components, Elethron has secured a payload reservation aboard the commercial space station Starlab to test and refine advanced substrate manufacturing in microgravity. Under the agreement, Elethron will deploy its ĀTAR platform—an autonomous, modular in-space materials-processing laboratory—to Starlab for a six-month pilot program. Operating in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) eliminates gravity-driven convection and buoyancy, allowing materials to form with fewer crystal defects and improved compositional uniformity. (9/29)

Starship Spurring a Crisis (Source: CNN)
As Starship flights ramp up, SpaceX has made clear that the company will phase out the use of two of its most iconic creations: the Dragon spacecraft, which ferries astronauts and cargo to and from the ISS, and the Falcon 9 rocket, which for a decade has dominated the global launch market. These vehicles not only revolutionized the space industry in their own way, they’re also still very much essential to ongoing work in Earth orbit, without clear backup options in place.

The prospect of this loss is already spurring panic among some satellite operators, said Caleb Henry, director of research at analytics firm Quilty Space. “For small satellite operators, which tend to be more entrepreneurial, this crisis has been percolating for about six months at least,” Henry said. “In order to raise money, startups need to show they have a viable path to orbit. They have to move quickly.” (9/30)

Sugar From Space Became One of the Backbones of Life on Earth (Source: The Conversation)
Is there life elsewhere, or is Earth unique in the universe? This is one of humanity’s great unanswered questions. One way to approach this mystery is to investigate how life began here on Earth. Our research explores the conditions where a mixture of molecules somehow transformed from chemistry into biology.

In a new study published in Scientific Reports, we shed new light on one possible step in this process: how a fragile sugar from outer space may have helped create the conditions for its own survival on Earth, where it eventually became the backbone of one of life’s most important molecules. (9/29)

A Cold War Spy Satellite Named After Farrah Fawcett Just Blew Apart in Orbit (Source: Gizmodo)
An American spy satellite unexpectedly shattered into pieces, creating a cloud of debris in low-Earth orbit. The U.S. Space Force’s satellite tracking system confirmed the satellite, officially designated as USA-32, broke apart on September 13 at 5:13 p.m. ET. It was labeled as a fragmentation event, which means the satellite suddenly exploded into smaller pieces, but the cause of its unplanned breakup has yet to be identified. (9/30)

Starship Engine Issues Could Impact NASA's Moon Mission Objectives (Source: Reuters)
The Starship engine failure that nearly foiled the orbital debut of SpaceX's next-generation spacecraft on its 14th uncrewed test flight may complicate NASA's ability to meet its time frame for astronaut missions to the moon. Starship is one of two vehicles ‌vying to become the first craft that NASA will use as early as 2028 to land humans on the Moon. Determining what caused the engine glitch remains critical to SpaceX's bottom line. But the stakes are potentially higher for NASA, as a Starship moon-landing vehicle would rely ⁠on the same engine system.

"Any engine fix that holds up the next flights, including the planned attempt to catch the ship with the launch tower's arms (after re-entry), eats into that schedule," Dean Sladen said. "The real pressure is the moon. NASA needs Starship for Artemis III," an Earth-orbit test mission targeted as soon as next summer as a rehearsal flight for the program's actual ‌first crewed lunar ⁠landing, Sladen said. (9/29)