SpaceX is Climbing the Stack and
Pulling Up the Ladder (Source: Space News)
SpaceX is positioning itself to serve as the toll collector to space as
it expands to more lucrative markets higher in the stack. That gives
the company unusual leverage in determining which aspects of the space
economy, from launch to orbital compute, remain open and contestable to
other companies, according to Konstantinos Trantopoulos, a senior
advisor and fellow at IMD Business School.
"At the base, launch access is tightening: outside customers face
multi-year waits. Higher up, connectivity stays available, but on
SpaceX’s terms. The question is why that grip should hold, when
dominant infrastructure elsewhere can eventually be contested,"
Trantopoulos says. The main strategic question for space companies, he
says, "is whether the layer you depend on is one its owner can close
around you. In space, that structure is taking shape faster than many
firms are adapting to it." (8/29)
Relativity Space's $565M Expansion
Plan to Create 590 Jobs on Space Coast (Source: Florida Today)
In its initial expansion phase, Relativity Space is projected to create
590 new jobs with average salaries of $86,000 — while investing more
than half a billion dollars on rocket-related infrastructure on
Florida's Space Coast, Space Florida reported.
Last month, Relativity Space made a splash by announcing plans to hire
thousands of employees by the end of 2034 and build facilities across
the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The private company is rebuilding Launch
Complex 16 at the military installation to accommodate future liftoffs
of its 284-foot, two-stage Terran R rockets. Space Florida is
discussing millions in FDOT funding for construction improvements and
new facilities, including new payload processing, upper-stage testing,
and launch complex upgrades.
Relativity Space has released few details in subsequent weeks. But on
Wednesday, Aug. 26, the Space Florida Investment Committee discussed
the company's comprehensive development plan to add payload processing,
upper-stage testing capabilities and future aerospace manufacturing, as
well as expanded launch capabilities at LC-16. (8/27)
Whitesides on Space Academy
(Source: Douglas Messier)
Rep. George Whitesides (D-CA) former Virgin Galactic CEO and NASA chief
of staff, offered his thoughts on the plan to create a U.S. Space
Academy. "In a time when most policy decisions from the administration
have caused higher costs, ruinous corruption, and long-term damage to
the nation, this idea deserves consideration," he said.
He expressed concern that the proposed commission may not include
members of Congress, as "it will be Congress that decides whether such
an academy is established, where it would be sited, and what its
purpose would be. Not the president. The president, as much as he might
like, has no authority to set up new federal organizations by fiat."
"Given that the deadline for the commission's report is late December,
there is virtually no chance of this proposal reaching legislative
maturity during the current Congress. Thus, the next Congress -- with
different leadership -- will judge the merits of the proposal. ...
Where will the money come from? The existing federally-run colleges
like West Point and the Naval Academy each cost roughly $1 billion per
year to run. As a NASA-led initiative, would that come out of NASA's
budget?" (8/29)
Isaacman Likes Space-Based Data Centers
(Source: The Hill)
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman on Wednesday suggested housing data
centers in space amid mounting controversy surrounding the facilities’
growing presence in the U.S. “Let’s take our data centers, put them in
Earth orbit, take advantage of that free fusion reactor that’s out
there for us and use that to ensure we do win the … space race for
sure, but the AI race, too,” Isaacman said in an interview with Nexstar
DC’s Vinay Simot. (8/26)
AI Accelerates Alloy Selection for
Aerospace (Source: The Times of India)
Washington State University researchers used artificial intelligence
(AI) to identify a faster, less costly way to 3D print a
high-performance metal alloy. This has avoided the need to manually
test more than 100 million possible printing configurations.
The advance could eventually make the alloy, widely used in aerospace
applications and potentially useful in other industries, printable on
more common commercial equipment. The AI strategy developed by the team
could also help with other scientific problems involving enormous
numbers of possible experiments, including drug discovery. (8/29)
Blue Origin to Build $160M Space
Payload Facility, Create 6-Figure Salaries (Source: Florida
Today)
Blue Origin plans to construct a 140-foot-tall payload processing
facility at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport that will create an estimated
23 new jobs boasting average salaries of $115,000. This
125,000-square-foot structure will improve upon and expand Blue
Origin's mission capabilities, Space Florida Chief Investment Officer
Ronald Lau said.
The private space company's total capital investment on the project
should clock in at $160 million, Lau said. To support construction,
Space Florida management proposes allocating up to $2.5 million in
matching-grant funding via the Florida Department of Transportation's
Spaceport Improvement Program. The Space Florida board of directors
should cast funding votes in early September. (8/28)
Airbus Considers Selling OneWeb
Satellite Factory at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Le Figaro)
European space giant Airbus is considering selling its US
operations to focus on its planned merger with Thales and
Leonardo at the European level. "The company is sounding out potential
buyers for this US division," which includes "a factory in Florida and
the 'Arrow' range of small satellites," targeting commercial,
institutional, and national security clients, Financial Times reported,
citing "sources close to the matter." In January 2024, Airbus became
the sole owner of AOS (Airbus OneWeb Satellites) and its satellite
manufacturing facility at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, after acquiring
Eutelsat-OneWeb's 50% stake in their joint venture. (8/29)
Exolaunch to Deploy 68 Payloads on
SpaceX’s Transporter-18 and Bandwagon-5 Rideshare Missions (Source:
Spacewatch Global)
Exolaunch will manage the deployment of 68 client payloads across
SpaceX’s upcoming Transporter-18 and Bandwagon-5 rideshare missions,
underscoring the scale of its role in arranging access to orbit for
satellite operators and other commercial space customers. (8/28)
Long March 6C Rocket Sage Fragments in
Orbit, Creating Cloud of Debris (Source: Space News)
A Chinese Long March 6C rocket upper stage has fragmented in orbit,
just days after the stage delivered a seven-satellite rideshare
mission, according to LeoLabs. LeoLabs first detected the debris on
Wednesday night from its radar site in Western Australia. “We quickly
confirmed this event with a follow-up pass over our radar site in New
Zealand. We estimate tens to hundreds of fragments were generated,” the
company tweeted. (8/28)
Questions Raised Concerning Effects of
Vermilion Parish SpaceX Facility on Area Wildlife (Source:
Louisiana Radio Network)
SpaceX’s $100 billion rocket launch site in coastal Vermilion Parish
could bring thousands of jobs to Acadiana. But some are questioning
what the massive development could mean for the area’s wildlife. Pecan
Island is a popular destination for fishing, crabbing and duck hunting.
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell says “SpaceX is committed to keeping
very large portions of these 125,000 acres untouched, so that
high-value wetlands stay habitat and don’t become infrastructure.”
The surrounding wetlands are home to alligators, deer, and native water
birds. Tens of thousands of ducks and snow geese winter in the marshes
near Pecan Island, which is also an important stop for migrating birds.
Shotwell says rocket launches and wildlife can coexist, based on what
SpaceX has seen at its other facilities. “The birds might fly away
during a launch, but I guarantee they come back,” Shotwell stated.
But Louisiana Wildlife Federation Executive Director Rebecca Triche has
concerns. She says the FAA is proposing rule changes that would waive
13 federal environmental and public health laws for commercial space
permits, including projects like Starbase Louisiana. “If you waive all
of that and you have a lot of non-disclosure agreements, what can the
public learn about the ultimate impact of this site?” Triche asked.
Triche says the possibility of eliminating environmental review
requirements is particularly troubling. (8/27)
NordSpace's Atlantic Spaceport Complex
Secures $10 Million for Canada's Sovereign Launch Capability (Source:
NordSpace)
NordSpace announced a combined $10 million investment to accelerate the
buildout of Canada's most capable commercial spaceport. The investment
includes $1 million from the Government of Canada through ACOA's
Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (REGI) program, $4 million
from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and $5 million of
NordSpace's own capital. It builds upon significant capital privately
raised by the company, in addition to the $8.3 million previously
committed to NordSpace under the Department of National Defence's
Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) Launch the North
challenge. (8/27)
Maturing Space Labs and Cheaper
Launches Fuel Dreams of Making Drugs and Tissues in Orbit (Source:
Science)
Varda is only one expression of a much broader bet. Across academia and
industry, researchers are trying to transform decades of biomedical
experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS) into a new
kind of manufacturing enterprise. They think microgravity can improve
not just the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, but also the growth of
stem cells, implants, miniature organs, and other living materials.
That vision is not new, but increasingly sophisticated orbital
laboratories and cheaper rocket launches are reviving hopes that
microgravity might finally become an industrial tool rather than merely
a scientific curiosity. “The biggest revolution over the past couple
decades has been the decline in launch costs,” says Matthew Weinzierl.
“When more companies like Varda produce autonomous manufacturing and
research facilities, we’re going to have, I think, a similar
revolution.”
Yet the field still faces the question that has shadowed space
manufacturing for decades: whether remarkable science can overcome the
stubborn economics of doing business hundreds of kilometers above
Earth. If its use cases show promise, the industry has the potential to
be transformative, Weinzierl says. But today, “‘uncertain’ is one word
I would use,” he adds. “‘Nascent’ is another.” (8/27)
Space Force, GDIT Roll Out Digital
Tool for Satellite Design (Source: Air and Space Forces)
Space Systems Command is working with General Dynamics Information
Technology on Project Enigma, a digital platform for the Evolved
Strategic Satellite Communications program. The platform, which has
been operational for several months, allows secure collaboration and
has significantly reduced design timelines. (8/27)
NASA Challenge Tests Wheel Designs for
Moon Base Mobility (Source: Douglas Messier)
As NASA prepares to establish the Moon Base, advancing surface mobility
will be key to helping crews and robotic systems travel farther across
the lunar surface. To help advance that capability, the Rock and Roll
with NASA Challenge invited public innovators to design and build
next-generation lunar rover wheels. Five teams from 128 submissions and
49 countries advanced to the final phase of the competition, where they
tested their prototypes on July 31 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in
Houston. (8/28)
August 28, 2026
L3Harris, Leidos Scaling Up Infrared
Sensor Technology for SDA Missile Tracking Satellites (Source:
Aerospace America)
Launches of the additional missile tracking satellites the U.S. Space Development Agency contracted in July are slated to begin at the end of the year. The effort is meant to accelerate the use of a technology expected to play a major role in tracking advanced threats from space: infrared sensor payloads. (8/28)
Space Force Plans ‘Scorecard’ to Evaluate Programs’ Commercial Integration and More (Source: Air & Space Forces)
The Space Force is exploring ways to incentivize acquisition leaders to leverage more commercial innovation across their programs, including a new “scorecard” to quantify their efforts. The service is making sweeping reforms to its acquisition enterprise in response to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s call for “acquisition transformation.” That includes changing the way it sets requirements, manages programs, and fields capabilities. In June, the Space Force announced nine portfolio acquisition executives who will manage programs by mission areas, and officials are now working to put the authorities and structures in place to support those PAEs. (8/26)
Trump Officially Plans for Civilian Federal Pay Freeze in 2027 (Source: FNN)
"I have determined that for 2027, base pay and locality pay for civilian federal employees will not change from the 2026 rates," Trump wrote in his alternative pay plan letter, quietly transmitted to Congress on Wednesday. "This decision will maintain fiscal responsibility without harming the government's ability to recruit and retain well qualified employees." (8/28)
Trump Directs Government to Establish US Space Academy (Source: SPACErePORT)
President Trump has established a commission aimed at creating a US Space Academy. The commission will be chaired by the NASA Administrator, with presidential assistants for science/technology and economic policy serving as vice chairs. Membership will also include the Secretary of War, Secretary of the Air Force, and others. The commission will guide the creation of "a NASA-led Federal academy dedicated to combining rigorous technical education with leadership development, discipline, and a durable commitment to public service."
At first glance, this doesn't appear to be a new military academy, serving the Space Force alongside others for the Army, Navy, and Air Force. But that might depend on what the commission ultimately recommends. Maybe it's more like the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York. The USMMA is tied to the US Department of Transportation and, like the military academies, requires a post-graduation commitment to service (including with the Navy or Coast Guard). Also like the military academies, USMMA is highly selective, with a system for accepting Congressionally nominated candidates.
The existing academies are expensive. We can expect a huge startup cost for a new Space Academy's capital facility development, added to annual operating cost in the hundreds of millions. Each of the academies already operating are seeking FY-2027 operating/maintenance appropriations of between $250M and $380M. (8/28)
After This Week's Baltic GPS Jamming - is it Possible to Have Precision Without Satellites? (Source: Aktyvus Photonics)
This week's GPS blackouts across Poland and NATO's confirmation that the minehunter ORP Albatros was jammed in the Baltic on 21 August make one thing clear. NATO's eastern flank can no longer depend on satellite navigation. Yet much of the precision-strike toolkit still quietly depends on it. Laurynas Šatas of Aktyvus Photonics believes laser designation is a better solution in today’s situation.
“The signal can be degraded or switched off across an entire region, and increasingly is. The lesson is that our precision can't keep depending on a single signal someone else can take away. Laser designation is built for exactly this. The capability exists, it's standardized, and much of it can be built in Europe rather than licensed from outside it. So there is no need to put all the trust in the satellites anymore.”
Editor's Note: "GPS jamming" is a misnomer. It's GNSS jamming, because Galileo's and BeiDou's signals are interoperable with GPS, making them vulnerable to the same interference. GLONASS is a partial exception because it operates at a higher frequency that can escape jamming from narrow-band emitters. (8/28)
A Power Grid on the Moon (Source: SpaceCom)
Future lunar operations may include scientific stations separated by kilometers, autonomous mining equipment operating in permanently shadowed regions, mobile robots exploring new terrain, and commercial facilities manufacturing products on the Moon. Each will have different energy demands and operating schedules.
Astrobotic envisions a flexible network capable of routing electricity where it is needed while supporting mobile charging stations, wireless power transfer, and standardized connections that simplify how future systems work together.
That approach reduces duplication, improves reliability, and lowers the cost of expanding operations. Instead of every mission solving the same power challenges independently, new customers can build upon infrastructure already in place. (8/27)
A SPAC Resurgence (Source: Space News)
Another space company is going public through a SPAC deal. Singapore-based Astrum Space announced plans Thursday to merge with a publicly listed blank-check company in a deal valuing the satellite direct-to-device (D2D) venture at about $1 billion. The transaction would combine Astrum with Black Spade Acquisition III Co., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by Black Spade Capital, the private investment arm of casino magnate Lawrence Ho.
The SPAC has $172.5 million in trust. Chinese property investor and Astrum founder Zhou Qingzhi has separately committed up to $168 million to support the company, according to regulatory filings, including development and launch of Neastar-1, the small geostationary satellite ordered last year from Swissto12. Neastar-1 would use L-band spectrum to provide low-bandwidth multimedia and mass notification services across Asia, in addition to basic connectivity for remote networks, with a launch planned by early 2029. (8/28)
European Court Annuls Italian Defense Contract (Source: Space News)
A European court has annulled a decision by the European Defence Agency (EDA) to award a contract for satellite communications to Telespazio, while leaving the contract itself intact . The European Union's General Court ordered EDA, the European organization that coordinates defense across member nations, to pay 4.32 million euros in damages to Airbus Defence and Space and Marlink Events, the consortium partners behind a rejected bid that brought the case against the agency. That amount is the estimated profit on the contract.
The ruling was based on the court's assessment that the consortium would have had a 95% chance of winning the 2023 contract over Telespazio had the procurement been handled correctly, as Telespazio's original bid didn't meet specific requirements. However, the contract remains in force and EDA can continue placing orders with Telespazio under it. An EDA spokesperson said the agency is evaluating how to respond to the judgment. (8/28)
Golden Dome Live-Fire Exercises Tests Industry-Supplied Tech (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon is testing technologies outside established military programs in Golden Dome live-fire exercises. Army Lt. Gen. Brian Gibson, the deputy head of Golden Dome, said at a conference this week that two live-fire tests conducted at different locations in the United States over the past eight months included technologies supplied by industry that were not part of existing Pentagon programs of record. That illustrates how the program is trying to combine established missile defenses with technologies that have not gone through the military's traditional acquisition process. Gibson said the exercises were designed to validate software and new links between sensors that detect and track threats and the weapons assigned to engage them. (8/28)
Space Force Makes Use of Commercial Data Marketplace (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force spent nearly $124 million through its commercial data marketplace in less than three years. A GAO study released Thursday said the purchases through the Global Data Marketplace from January 2023 to September 2025 supported missions ranging from tracking satellites in orbit to detecting GPS interference and supplying commercial imagery and analysis to combatant commands.
More than half of the purchases were by the Joint Commercial Operations Cell, which uses unclassified commercial data and analysis to augment military sensors and provide information that can be more easily shared with allies and other partners. The report found that the Pentagon has yet to fully organize how it buys, shares and reuses commercial data, with some concerns within the Space Force about data rights and long-term access. (8/28)
NorthStar Earth and Space to Add Tracking Sensors to Kepler Data-Relay Satellites (Source: Space News)
Northstar Earth and Space will install space tracking sensors on Kepler Communications data-relay satellites. The two Canadian companies announced an agreement Thursday where Northstar will add 11 optical space domain awareness sensors on future Kepler spacecraft. NorthStar plans to announce a manufacturer later for the payload sensors that are slated to deploy across two separate launches in 2028 for Kepler's next-generation relay spacecraft. The sensors will replace four Northstar spacecraft launched in 2024 that later failed in orbit. (8/28)
Ariane 6 Launches Weather Satellite on Thursday (Source: Space News)
An Ariane 6 launched a European weather satellite Thursday. An Ariane 62 lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, deploying the MTG-I2 satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit 36 minutes later. MTG-I2 is the third satellite in the Meteosat Third Generation program developed by ESA and Eumetsat, and will provide images of Europe and North Africa every 2.5 minutes to aid weather forecasting. The launch was the fourth launch of an Ariane 6 so far this year. At a prelaunch briefing last week an Arianespace executive said the company still expected to perform seven to eight launches this year. (8/28)
China Developing Wharf to Support Sea-Launch Operations (Source: Space News)
Shanghai has begun construction on a wharf intended to connect a planned commercial rocket manufacturing hub to sea-launch operations. The Linzang Road wharf in Shanghai's Minhang district will handle rocket rollout, dockside loading and river-sea transfer once complete in 2027. The development is a piece of Minhang's planned "Rocket Star City," a 9.3-square-kilometer commercial space cluster announced in January. The plan targets 80 rockets and 200 satellites in annual production by 2027, rising to 150 rockets and 500 satellites by 2030. The facility will allow companies to build rockets there and ship them either to other spaceports or for launch from offshore facilities. (8/28)
Jonny Kim to Leave Astronaut Corps (Source: NASA)
NASA astronaut Jonny Kim is leaving the agency to return to military service. Thursday was the last day in the astronaut corps for Kim, who was part of the agency's 2017 astronaut class. He spent eight months on the International Space Station in 2025. Kim, a U.S. Navy lieutenant commander who served as both a Navy SEAL and doctor, is returning to the Navy to complete his military career in naval aviation training. (8/28)
Air Force Also Has a "Starbase Louisiana" (Source: KATC)
It turns out there is another Starbase in Louisiana. On Tuesday, SpaceX and the state government announced plans to develop a massive spaceport for SpaceX's Starship launch vehicle that the company called "Starbase Louisiana." The announcement prompted a statement from the U.S. Air Force, noting it has a program called "STARBASE Louisiana" that is a STEM learning initiative. The Air Force said it was "aware of recent inquiries regarding a potential affiliation" between its program and the spaceport. "The operations and planning for Starbase Louisiana by SpaceX are not affiliated with STARBASE Louisiana," it added. (8/28)
Blue Origin Expands at Space Coast Airport, Potentially Into Space Perspective Building (Source: Talk of Titusville)
Blue Origin is establishing a foothold at Space Coast Regional Airport as the private company continues rebuilding its New Glenn launch complex at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport and expanding its massive manufacturing facilities there. According to Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority records, the airport entered into a temporary nine-acre space use agreement along Challenger Avenue with Blue Origin to accommodate the influx of contractor activity. The company is paying $16,880 a month under an agreement running through June 30, 2027.
Airport Director Kevin Daugherty announced that a pending agreement will see Blue Origin lease space at the airport’s former terminal building at 1 Bristow Way, where the company plans to make property improvements and move in. Daugherty also noted that Blue Origin has evaluated Space Perspective’s former balloon factory—a massive white 700-foot-long tent structure near the old terminal—as a potential option for future light manufacturing or logistics. (8/26)
Astrum Space Plans $1 Billion SPAC Merger to Advance Satellite Direct-to-Device Venture (Source: Space News)
Singapore-based Astrum Space plans to merge with a publicly listed blank-check company in a transaction valuing the direct-to-device satellite venture at about $1 billion. The deal places Astrum among space startups using public-market combinations to fund connectivity ambitions and potentially expand investor access. (8/27)
Kepler and NorthStar Partner on Optical Data Relay and Space Domain Awareness (Source: Via Satellite)
Kepler Communications will combine its optical data relay infrastructure with NorthStar’s space domain awareness services under a strategic partnership. The agreement also includes a hosted payload arrangement, linking high-speed space-based communications infrastructure with capabilities for monitoring and characterizing objects in orbit. (8/27)
SpaceX Shares are Doing Something Very Unusual. Options Traders are Taking Note (Source: CNBC)
After an explosive debut and equally impressive crash, SpaceX shares are now, well, hovering in midair. After debuting as the most volatile stock among its large-cap peers, Elon Musk’s astronomic equity hasn’t moved in three weeks, with shares trading in a $10 range around the $140 level. Implied volatility, a rough measure of the costs of options, in SpaceX is now 57, down from over 120 before to its earnings report, ThinkOrSwim data shows. On its debut, it would have been the most volatile stock in the S&P 500. Today, it wouldn’t crack the top 25. (8/27)
Could the Delay to China’s Moon Mission Ease Pressure on NASA? (Source: SCMP)
China’s delay of a high-stakes mission to hunt for water ice near the moon’s south pole may slow its lunar ambitions, but is unlikely to change the bigger contest with the United States over who can build a lasting presence on the moon, according to space experts. “The same variables that caused the Chang’e-7 postponement can just as easily happen – and have happened – to US lunar missions,” said analyst John Sheldon.
However, politically it could ease some pressure on Nasa, Sheldon said. A later Chang’e-7 launch pushed back the prospect of another successful Chinese moon landing, avoiding – for now – some of the “media and political angst” that could generate in Washington.
Svetla Ben-Itzhak, a space security researcher, said she was not particularly surprised by the delay, because “space is hard”. While all lunar missions were complex, Chang’e-7 was “especially ambitious”, Ben-Itzhak said, with its combination of orbiter, lander, rover and a hopper designed to investigate permanently shadowed regions. (8/26)
Arkansas Lawmakers Meet with NASA Officials on Artemis Opportunities (Source: KATV)
NASA officials met with Arkansas lawmakers Wednesday to discuss the Artemis program and how businesses and universities in the state could benefit from the growing space economy. The meeting included U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-AR, who said Arkansas should continue recruiting businesses that could become part of NASA's supply chain. "The future is to follow the same approach that we've taken under Governor Hutchinson and Governor Sanders, where we invest in recruiting businesses that are in that supply chain," Hill said. (8/26)
Leaf Space Activates Ground Station at Spaceport Nova Scotia (Source: SpaceQ)
Leaf Space has completed its first ground station in Canada at Spaceport Nova Scotia near Canso, N.S. in partnership with Maritime Launch Services. The station handles S- and X-band signals, the radio frequencies commercial satellites commonly use for high-speed data downloads. The antenna, radome and supporting electronics are installed and active, Leaf Space said, and the site is now licensed and open to paying satellite customers following clearance from Canadian regulators. (8/26)
15,000 Years of Solar Wind in Four Hours? A Seattle Company Gives it a Go (Source: Ars Technica)
A handful of companies, including a Seattle-based firm called Interlune, have been interested in potentially mining the helium-3 on the Moon. But before any company can send a full-scale extractor to the Moon to attempt to sift through regolith and collect helium-3, someone should probably attempt to determine whether this is physically practical.
Inside a vacuum chamber at the company’s offices, ionized helium was accelerated into lunar regolith. This process mimicked the solar wind, delivering equivalent helium-ion exposure at a far higher rate. Over the course of four hours, 15,000 years of solar wind was implanted into the lunar regolith. The helium implanted into the lunar regolith was released at the same temperatures that scientists have observed helium-3 being released from rocks returned by Apollo astronauts. This gave confidence that the simulant accurately mimicked lunar conditions.
Interlune plans to use its new simulant to test the hardware it is developing to extract and process helium-3 on the Moon and will also offer it for sale to other lunar mining companies. The goal, when the company sends a prototype mission on a lunar lander later this decade, is to test everything on Earth in conditions similar to those on the Moon. (8/26)
Louisiana Governor ‘Not Concerned’ About Environmental Impact of Gulf Coast SpaceX Facility (Source: The Hill)
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) brushed aside fears Wednesday morning about possible negative environmental impacts from SpaceX’s planned $100 billion launch facility in the state. He said he was “not concerned about the environmental impact” of the new spaceport, which will be constructed along the Gulf Coast on a former Exxon property in Vermilion Parish. SpaceX got into hot water over its operations at its first launch site in Boca Chica, Texas.
In 2024, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality found that the company violated environmental regulations by repeatedly releasing pollutants into nearby bodies of water. This followed an earlier warning by the Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 office, which oversees Texas, that SpaceX violated the Clean Water Act with these actions. (8/26)
NBN Plans Delayed by Amazon Leo Service (Source: Whistle Out)
NBN Co today confirmed that its next-generation satellite internet plans won't be available until after the middle of 2027, despite initially planning a full launch in quarter four of this year. While NBN Co will be using similar Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite technology to Starlink, NBN Co's service will be backed by Amazon Leo instead. WhistleOut understands that the delay is at least partially due to Amazon running behind schedule. The company was meant to have 1,618 satellites in orbit by the end of July, but currently only has around 400. (8/27)
Can Humans Get Pregnant in Space (Source: NatGeo)
Space is a hostile environment for adult astronauts, let alone babies or pregnant people. Without pressurized spacecraft or spacesuits, astronauts can lose consciousness and die within seconds. Solar flares and galactic outbursts can release high-energy cosmic rays that cause DNA damage and cellular dysfunction. The lack of gravity can also lead to muscle and bone loss, increased cardiovascular risks, immune system dysfunction, and neurological issues. The question might seem far-fetched, more sci-fi fantasy than biological reality.
But as humans push the limits of living beyond Earth and prepare for long-term space missions to the moon and Mars, some scientists see human reproduction in space as inevitable. Despite the enormous risks, researchers are exploring how reproduction might work beyond Earth. They are testing pregnancy in model organisms, launching embryos in satellites and spaceships, running spaceflight simulations, and building new tools to understand how microgravity, radiation, isolation, and stress could affect fertility, fetal development, and long-term health. (8/26)
SpaceX Sends Starlink Satellites to Orbit on Predawn Launch From California (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX launched 27 more of its Starlink broadband satellites to orbit on Aug. 26 in a predawn Falcon 9 liftoff from California's central coast. The rocket's first stage came back to Earth as planned about 8.5 minutes later, landing atop the SpaceX droneship "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Pacific Ocean. It was the 24th flight for this particular booster. (8/26)
NorthStar to Deploy Optical Sensors on Kepler Relay Satellites (Source: Space News)
NorthStar Earth & Space plans to place 11 optical space-domain-awareness sensors on Kepler Communications data-relay satellites in 2028, shifting its orbital-tracking architecture after the failure of its first four spacecraft. The deployment would expand NorthStar’s planned ability to monitor objects in orbit without relying solely on dedicated tracking satellites. (8/27)
Infleqtion Wins $20 Million NASA Contract to Advance Space-Based Quantum Gravity Sensor (Source: Space News)
Colorado-based quantum technology company Infleqtion will continue developing a mission to launch what NASA describes as the world’s first space-based quantum gravity sensor under a $20 million contract. The work advances quantum sensing for space applications, with the mission’s objective and launch timing not disclosed. (8/27)
StarFighters Space in Litigation with Ex-CEO, Aerovision (Source: Aviation Week)
Starfighters Space is in litigation with its founder and former CEO, Rick Svetkoff, and his wife for allegedly removing millions of dollars of the company’s funds without board authorization. Svetkoff suddenly left the company in February. At the time, Starfighters did not mention any disagreements, and its announcement praised him and his wife, who also resigned as secretary. Svetkoff has filed a counter-suit seeking millions of dollars in payments. In separate litigation, the company is suing Aerovision LLC over an aircraft acquisition deal, seeking the return of $5 million for undelivered jets. (8/20)
ESA Funds More Projects Under Launcher Challenge (Source: Astrospace)
The European Space Agency has signed the first three operational contracts for the European Launcher Challenge, the program through which it supports the development of new European launchers to increase the number of operators capable of offering space access services. The contracts were signed with the German companies Rocket Factory Augsburg and Isar Aerospace and the Spanish company PLD Space , for a total value of approximately €544 million.
The highest amount, €197.8 million, was awarded to Isar Aerospace for the development of Spectrum. Rocket Factory Augsburg will receive €186.9 million for the RFA ONE rocket, while PLD Space's contract is worth €158.9 million for the development of Miura 5. Funding comes primarily from the Member States supporting each project and will be made available upon achievement of the contract objectives. A fourth company, the French company MaiaSpace , had been selected along with the other three for this phase of the program. However, the contract signing process has not yet been completed and should resume in the coming weeks. (8/27)
City Labs Plans Second Nuclear Demo (Source: Payload)
One nuclear satellite does not a nuclear space age make. Two though? Now we’re talking. Following the success of City Labs’ first nuclear-powered payload demo—BOHR, which launched on SpaceX’s Transporter-17 rideshare in July—City Labs is planning a second, higher-power nuclear demo flight as early as next year, according to CEO Peter Cabauy.
BOHR demonstrated City Labs’ Tritium-powered betavoltaic battery, which is designed to provide payloads with a source of energy independent of solar power. The second demo will test the company’s Tritium-powered radioisotope heating unit (RHU), which will provide payloads with a source of heat. Ultimately, the technology is intended to help lunar payloads continue operating throughout the epicly frigid lunar night. (8/26)
TraCSS Traffic Coordination System Remains in Pilot Mode Due to Budget ‘Uncertainty’ (Source: Via Satellite)
The Office of Space Commerce’s space traffic management system, known as TraCSS, has onboarded more than 70 satellite owners and operators and more than 10 nations — but remains in the pilot phase due to budget “uncertainty,” an OSC official said Wednesday during the Small Satellite Conference.
TraCSS is part of a years-long effort for OSC to take over space situational awareness (SSA) services from the U.S. Department of Defense, which maintains spacetrack.org. The effort began in 2018 with Space Policy Directive-3. After a beta launch in late 2024, OSC released the TraCSS production environment in March of this year with 17 users, kicking off the pilot period. Registration is now open for all spacecraft owner/operators and national governments. (8/26)
From Spy Satellite to Space Telescope: The Unlikely Origins of NASA's Roman Space Telescope (Source: Space.com)
NASA took the guts out of old spy satellites to build the groundbreaking Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. At the core of the observatory lies the Optical Telescope Assembly. This houses the telescope's primary mirror, its main mechanism through which it surveys the cosmos, nine additional mirrors, supporting structures and various sorts of electronics. This tech came from National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
In 1999, the NRO stood up the multibillion-dollar "Future Imagery Architecture" program, which contracted out new spy satellites. The NRO contracted Boeing for the project, having the company design a whole suite of new optical and radar imaging reconnaissance satellites. In 2012 the NRO donated two unused space telescopes from this program to NASA, with optics said to be similar to the Hubble Space Telescope's. (8/26)
Infleqtion Wins $20 Million NASA Contract to Advance Space-Based Quantum Gravity Sensor (Source: Seeking Alpha)
Colorado-based quantum technology company Infleqtion will continue developing a mission to launch what NASA describes as the world’s first space-based quantum gravity sensor under a $20 million contract. The work advances quantum sensing for space applications, with the mission’s objective and launch timing not disclosed in the article. (8/27)
Solar Storm Losses Forecast to Reach $44.27B Annually by 2035 (Source: Payload)
A Mission Space report estimates that solar storms will generate $20.65 billion in losses in 2026, with annual costs more than doubling to $44.27 billion by 2035. The forecast underscores the growing economic exposure of space-based and terrestrial systems to severe space-weather events. (8/27)
SpaceX Sets Rocket-Reuse Record on 100th Falcon 9 Launch of 2026 (Source: Space.com)
Starlink launches may have become commonplace, but this one was definitely worth staying up for. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with 29 Starlink internet satellites lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday (Aug. 25). It was the 100th Falcon 9 flight of 2026 and the record-breaking 37th mission for this rocket's first stage. (8/24)
Launches of the additional missile tracking satellites the U.S. Space Development Agency contracted in July are slated to begin at the end of the year. The effort is meant to accelerate the use of a technology expected to play a major role in tracking advanced threats from space: infrared sensor payloads. (8/28)
Space Force Plans ‘Scorecard’ to Evaluate Programs’ Commercial Integration and More (Source: Air & Space Forces)
The Space Force is exploring ways to incentivize acquisition leaders to leverage more commercial innovation across their programs, including a new “scorecard” to quantify their efforts. The service is making sweeping reforms to its acquisition enterprise in response to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s call for “acquisition transformation.” That includes changing the way it sets requirements, manages programs, and fields capabilities. In June, the Space Force announced nine portfolio acquisition executives who will manage programs by mission areas, and officials are now working to put the authorities and structures in place to support those PAEs. (8/26)
Trump Officially Plans for Civilian Federal Pay Freeze in 2027 (Source: FNN)
"I have determined that for 2027, base pay and locality pay for civilian federal employees will not change from the 2026 rates," Trump wrote in his alternative pay plan letter, quietly transmitted to Congress on Wednesday. "This decision will maintain fiscal responsibility without harming the government's ability to recruit and retain well qualified employees." (8/28)
Trump Directs Government to Establish US Space Academy (Source: SPACErePORT)
President Trump has established a commission aimed at creating a US Space Academy. The commission will be chaired by the NASA Administrator, with presidential assistants for science/technology and economic policy serving as vice chairs. Membership will also include the Secretary of War, Secretary of the Air Force, and others. The commission will guide the creation of "a NASA-led Federal academy dedicated to combining rigorous technical education with leadership development, discipline, and a durable commitment to public service."
At first glance, this doesn't appear to be a new military academy, serving the Space Force alongside others for the Army, Navy, and Air Force. But that might depend on what the commission ultimately recommends. Maybe it's more like the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York. The USMMA is tied to the US Department of Transportation and, like the military academies, requires a post-graduation commitment to service (including with the Navy or Coast Guard). Also like the military academies, USMMA is highly selective, with a system for accepting Congressionally nominated candidates.
The existing academies are expensive. We can expect a huge startup cost for a new Space Academy's capital facility development, added to annual operating cost in the hundreds of millions. Each of the academies already operating are seeking FY-2027 operating/maintenance appropriations of between $250M and $380M. (8/28)
After This Week's Baltic GPS Jamming - is it Possible to Have Precision Without Satellites? (Source: Aktyvus Photonics)
This week's GPS blackouts across Poland and NATO's confirmation that the minehunter ORP Albatros was jammed in the Baltic on 21 August make one thing clear. NATO's eastern flank can no longer depend on satellite navigation. Yet much of the precision-strike toolkit still quietly depends on it. Laurynas Šatas of Aktyvus Photonics believes laser designation is a better solution in today’s situation.
“The signal can be degraded or switched off across an entire region, and increasingly is. The lesson is that our precision can't keep depending on a single signal someone else can take away. Laser designation is built for exactly this. The capability exists, it's standardized, and much of it can be built in Europe rather than licensed from outside it. So there is no need to put all the trust in the satellites anymore.”
Editor's Note: "GPS jamming" is a misnomer. It's GNSS jamming, because Galileo's and BeiDou's signals are interoperable with GPS, making them vulnerable to the same interference. GLONASS is a partial exception because it operates at a higher frequency that can escape jamming from narrow-band emitters. (8/28)
A Power Grid on the Moon (Source: SpaceCom)
Future lunar operations may include scientific stations separated by kilometers, autonomous mining equipment operating in permanently shadowed regions, mobile robots exploring new terrain, and commercial facilities manufacturing products on the Moon. Each will have different energy demands and operating schedules.
Astrobotic envisions a flexible network capable of routing electricity where it is needed while supporting mobile charging stations, wireless power transfer, and standardized connections that simplify how future systems work together.
That approach reduces duplication, improves reliability, and lowers the cost of expanding operations. Instead of every mission solving the same power challenges independently, new customers can build upon infrastructure already in place. (8/27)
A SPAC Resurgence (Source: Space News)
Another space company is going public through a SPAC deal. Singapore-based Astrum Space announced plans Thursday to merge with a publicly listed blank-check company in a deal valuing the satellite direct-to-device (D2D) venture at about $1 billion. The transaction would combine Astrum with Black Spade Acquisition III Co., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by Black Spade Capital, the private investment arm of casino magnate Lawrence Ho.
The SPAC has $172.5 million in trust. Chinese property investor and Astrum founder Zhou Qingzhi has separately committed up to $168 million to support the company, according to regulatory filings, including development and launch of Neastar-1, the small geostationary satellite ordered last year from Swissto12. Neastar-1 would use L-band spectrum to provide low-bandwidth multimedia and mass notification services across Asia, in addition to basic connectivity for remote networks, with a launch planned by early 2029. (8/28)
European Court Annuls Italian Defense Contract (Source: Space News)
A European court has annulled a decision by the European Defence Agency (EDA) to award a contract for satellite communications to Telespazio, while leaving the contract itself intact . The European Union's General Court ordered EDA, the European organization that coordinates defense across member nations, to pay 4.32 million euros in damages to Airbus Defence and Space and Marlink Events, the consortium partners behind a rejected bid that brought the case against the agency. That amount is the estimated profit on the contract.
The ruling was based on the court's assessment that the consortium would have had a 95% chance of winning the 2023 contract over Telespazio had the procurement been handled correctly, as Telespazio's original bid didn't meet specific requirements. However, the contract remains in force and EDA can continue placing orders with Telespazio under it. An EDA spokesperson said the agency is evaluating how to respond to the judgment. (8/28)
Golden Dome Live-Fire Exercises Tests Industry-Supplied Tech (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon is testing technologies outside established military programs in Golden Dome live-fire exercises. Army Lt. Gen. Brian Gibson, the deputy head of Golden Dome, said at a conference this week that two live-fire tests conducted at different locations in the United States over the past eight months included technologies supplied by industry that were not part of existing Pentagon programs of record. That illustrates how the program is trying to combine established missile defenses with technologies that have not gone through the military's traditional acquisition process. Gibson said the exercises were designed to validate software and new links between sensors that detect and track threats and the weapons assigned to engage them. (8/28)
Space Force Makes Use of Commercial Data Marketplace (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force spent nearly $124 million through its commercial data marketplace in less than three years. A GAO study released Thursday said the purchases through the Global Data Marketplace from January 2023 to September 2025 supported missions ranging from tracking satellites in orbit to detecting GPS interference and supplying commercial imagery and analysis to combatant commands.
More than half of the purchases were by the Joint Commercial Operations Cell, which uses unclassified commercial data and analysis to augment military sensors and provide information that can be more easily shared with allies and other partners. The report found that the Pentagon has yet to fully organize how it buys, shares and reuses commercial data, with some concerns within the Space Force about data rights and long-term access. (8/28)
NorthStar Earth and Space to Add Tracking Sensors to Kepler Data-Relay Satellites (Source: Space News)
Northstar Earth and Space will install space tracking sensors on Kepler Communications data-relay satellites. The two Canadian companies announced an agreement Thursday where Northstar will add 11 optical space domain awareness sensors on future Kepler spacecraft. NorthStar plans to announce a manufacturer later for the payload sensors that are slated to deploy across two separate launches in 2028 for Kepler's next-generation relay spacecraft. The sensors will replace four Northstar spacecraft launched in 2024 that later failed in orbit. (8/28)
Ariane 6 Launches Weather Satellite on Thursday (Source: Space News)
An Ariane 6 launched a European weather satellite Thursday. An Ariane 62 lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, deploying the MTG-I2 satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit 36 minutes later. MTG-I2 is the third satellite in the Meteosat Third Generation program developed by ESA and Eumetsat, and will provide images of Europe and North Africa every 2.5 minutes to aid weather forecasting. The launch was the fourth launch of an Ariane 6 so far this year. At a prelaunch briefing last week an Arianespace executive said the company still expected to perform seven to eight launches this year. (8/28)
China Developing Wharf to Support Sea-Launch Operations (Source: Space News)
Shanghai has begun construction on a wharf intended to connect a planned commercial rocket manufacturing hub to sea-launch operations. The Linzang Road wharf in Shanghai's Minhang district will handle rocket rollout, dockside loading and river-sea transfer once complete in 2027. The development is a piece of Minhang's planned "Rocket Star City," a 9.3-square-kilometer commercial space cluster announced in January. The plan targets 80 rockets and 200 satellites in annual production by 2027, rising to 150 rockets and 500 satellites by 2030. The facility will allow companies to build rockets there and ship them either to other spaceports or for launch from offshore facilities. (8/28)
Jonny Kim to Leave Astronaut Corps (Source: NASA)
NASA astronaut Jonny Kim is leaving the agency to return to military service. Thursday was the last day in the astronaut corps for Kim, who was part of the agency's 2017 astronaut class. He spent eight months on the International Space Station in 2025. Kim, a U.S. Navy lieutenant commander who served as both a Navy SEAL and doctor, is returning to the Navy to complete his military career in naval aviation training. (8/28)
Air Force Also Has a "Starbase Louisiana" (Source: KATC)
It turns out there is another Starbase in Louisiana. On Tuesday, SpaceX and the state government announced plans to develop a massive spaceport for SpaceX's Starship launch vehicle that the company called "Starbase Louisiana." The announcement prompted a statement from the U.S. Air Force, noting it has a program called "STARBASE Louisiana" that is a STEM learning initiative. The Air Force said it was "aware of recent inquiries regarding a potential affiliation" between its program and the spaceport. "The operations and planning for Starbase Louisiana by SpaceX are not affiliated with STARBASE Louisiana," it added. (8/28)
Blue Origin Expands at Space Coast Airport, Potentially Into Space Perspective Building (Source: Talk of Titusville)
Blue Origin is establishing a foothold at Space Coast Regional Airport as the private company continues rebuilding its New Glenn launch complex at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport and expanding its massive manufacturing facilities there. According to Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority records, the airport entered into a temporary nine-acre space use agreement along Challenger Avenue with Blue Origin to accommodate the influx of contractor activity. The company is paying $16,880 a month under an agreement running through June 30, 2027.
Airport Director Kevin Daugherty announced that a pending agreement will see Blue Origin lease space at the airport’s former terminal building at 1 Bristow Way, where the company plans to make property improvements and move in. Daugherty also noted that Blue Origin has evaluated Space Perspective’s former balloon factory—a massive white 700-foot-long tent structure near the old terminal—as a potential option for future light manufacturing or logistics. (8/26)
Astrum Space Plans $1 Billion SPAC Merger to Advance Satellite Direct-to-Device Venture (Source: Space News)
Singapore-based Astrum Space plans to merge with a publicly listed blank-check company in a transaction valuing the direct-to-device satellite venture at about $1 billion. The deal places Astrum among space startups using public-market combinations to fund connectivity ambitions and potentially expand investor access. (8/27)
Kepler and NorthStar Partner on Optical Data Relay and Space Domain Awareness (Source: Via Satellite)
Kepler Communications will combine its optical data relay infrastructure with NorthStar’s space domain awareness services under a strategic partnership. The agreement also includes a hosted payload arrangement, linking high-speed space-based communications infrastructure with capabilities for monitoring and characterizing objects in orbit. (8/27)
SpaceX Shares are Doing Something Very Unusual. Options Traders are Taking Note (Source: CNBC)
After an explosive debut and equally impressive crash, SpaceX shares are now, well, hovering in midair. After debuting as the most volatile stock among its large-cap peers, Elon Musk’s astronomic equity hasn’t moved in three weeks, with shares trading in a $10 range around the $140 level. Implied volatility, a rough measure of the costs of options, in SpaceX is now 57, down from over 120 before to its earnings report, ThinkOrSwim data shows. On its debut, it would have been the most volatile stock in the S&P 500. Today, it wouldn’t crack the top 25. (8/27)
Could the Delay to China’s Moon Mission Ease Pressure on NASA? (Source: SCMP)
China’s delay of a high-stakes mission to hunt for water ice near the moon’s south pole may slow its lunar ambitions, but is unlikely to change the bigger contest with the United States over who can build a lasting presence on the moon, according to space experts. “The same variables that caused the Chang’e-7 postponement can just as easily happen – and have happened – to US lunar missions,” said analyst John Sheldon.
However, politically it could ease some pressure on Nasa, Sheldon said. A later Chang’e-7 launch pushed back the prospect of another successful Chinese moon landing, avoiding – for now – some of the “media and political angst” that could generate in Washington.
Svetla Ben-Itzhak, a space security researcher, said she was not particularly surprised by the delay, because “space is hard”. While all lunar missions were complex, Chang’e-7 was “especially ambitious”, Ben-Itzhak said, with its combination of orbiter, lander, rover and a hopper designed to investigate permanently shadowed regions. (8/26)
Arkansas Lawmakers Meet with NASA Officials on Artemis Opportunities (Source: KATV)
NASA officials met with Arkansas lawmakers Wednesday to discuss the Artemis program and how businesses and universities in the state could benefit from the growing space economy. The meeting included U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-AR, who said Arkansas should continue recruiting businesses that could become part of NASA's supply chain. "The future is to follow the same approach that we've taken under Governor Hutchinson and Governor Sanders, where we invest in recruiting businesses that are in that supply chain," Hill said. (8/26)
Leaf Space Activates Ground Station at Spaceport Nova Scotia (Source: SpaceQ)
Leaf Space has completed its first ground station in Canada at Spaceport Nova Scotia near Canso, N.S. in partnership with Maritime Launch Services. The station handles S- and X-band signals, the radio frequencies commercial satellites commonly use for high-speed data downloads. The antenna, radome and supporting electronics are installed and active, Leaf Space said, and the site is now licensed and open to paying satellite customers following clearance from Canadian regulators. (8/26)
15,000 Years of Solar Wind in Four Hours? A Seattle Company Gives it a Go (Source: Ars Technica)
A handful of companies, including a Seattle-based firm called Interlune, have been interested in potentially mining the helium-3 on the Moon. But before any company can send a full-scale extractor to the Moon to attempt to sift through regolith and collect helium-3, someone should probably attempt to determine whether this is physically practical.
Inside a vacuum chamber at the company’s offices, ionized helium was accelerated into lunar regolith. This process mimicked the solar wind, delivering equivalent helium-ion exposure at a far higher rate. Over the course of four hours, 15,000 years of solar wind was implanted into the lunar regolith. The helium implanted into the lunar regolith was released at the same temperatures that scientists have observed helium-3 being released from rocks returned by Apollo astronauts. This gave confidence that the simulant accurately mimicked lunar conditions.
Interlune plans to use its new simulant to test the hardware it is developing to extract and process helium-3 on the Moon and will also offer it for sale to other lunar mining companies. The goal, when the company sends a prototype mission on a lunar lander later this decade, is to test everything on Earth in conditions similar to those on the Moon. (8/26)
Louisiana Governor ‘Not Concerned’ About Environmental Impact of Gulf Coast SpaceX Facility (Source: The Hill)
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) brushed aside fears Wednesday morning about possible negative environmental impacts from SpaceX’s planned $100 billion launch facility in the state. He said he was “not concerned about the environmental impact” of the new spaceport, which will be constructed along the Gulf Coast on a former Exxon property in Vermilion Parish. SpaceX got into hot water over its operations at its first launch site in Boca Chica, Texas.
In 2024, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality found that the company violated environmental regulations by repeatedly releasing pollutants into nearby bodies of water. This followed an earlier warning by the Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 office, which oversees Texas, that SpaceX violated the Clean Water Act with these actions. (8/26)
NBN Plans Delayed by Amazon Leo Service (Source: Whistle Out)
NBN Co today confirmed that its next-generation satellite internet plans won't be available until after the middle of 2027, despite initially planning a full launch in quarter four of this year. While NBN Co will be using similar Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite technology to Starlink, NBN Co's service will be backed by Amazon Leo instead. WhistleOut understands that the delay is at least partially due to Amazon running behind schedule. The company was meant to have 1,618 satellites in orbit by the end of July, but currently only has around 400. (8/27)
Can Humans Get Pregnant in Space (Source: NatGeo)
Space is a hostile environment for adult astronauts, let alone babies or pregnant people. Without pressurized spacecraft or spacesuits, astronauts can lose consciousness and die within seconds. Solar flares and galactic outbursts can release high-energy cosmic rays that cause DNA damage and cellular dysfunction. The lack of gravity can also lead to muscle and bone loss, increased cardiovascular risks, immune system dysfunction, and neurological issues. The question might seem far-fetched, more sci-fi fantasy than biological reality.
But as humans push the limits of living beyond Earth and prepare for long-term space missions to the moon and Mars, some scientists see human reproduction in space as inevitable. Despite the enormous risks, researchers are exploring how reproduction might work beyond Earth. They are testing pregnancy in model organisms, launching embryos in satellites and spaceships, running spaceflight simulations, and building new tools to understand how microgravity, radiation, isolation, and stress could affect fertility, fetal development, and long-term health. (8/26)
SpaceX Sends Starlink Satellites to Orbit on Predawn Launch From California (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX launched 27 more of its Starlink broadband satellites to orbit on Aug. 26 in a predawn Falcon 9 liftoff from California's central coast. The rocket's first stage came back to Earth as planned about 8.5 minutes later, landing atop the SpaceX droneship "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Pacific Ocean. It was the 24th flight for this particular booster. (8/26)
NorthStar to Deploy Optical Sensors on Kepler Relay Satellites (Source: Space News)
NorthStar Earth & Space plans to place 11 optical space-domain-awareness sensors on Kepler Communications data-relay satellites in 2028, shifting its orbital-tracking architecture after the failure of its first four spacecraft. The deployment would expand NorthStar’s planned ability to monitor objects in orbit without relying solely on dedicated tracking satellites. (8/27)
Infleqtion Wins $20 Million NASA Contract to Advance Space-Based Quantum Gravity Sensor (Source: Space News)
Colorado-based quantum technology company Infleqtion will continue developing a mission to launch what NASA describes as the world’s first space-based quantum gravity sensor under a $20 million contract. The work advances quantum sensing for space applications, with the mission’s objective and launch timing not disclosed. (8/27)
StarFighters Space in Litigation with Ex-CEO, Aerovision (Source: Aviation Week)
Starfighters Space is in litigation with its founder and former CEO, Rick Svetkoff, and his wife for allegedly removing millions of dollars of the company’s funds without board authorization. Svetkoff suddenly left the company in February. At the time, Starfighters did not mention any disagreements, and its announcement praised him and his wife, who also resigned as secretary. Svetkoff has filed a counter-suit seeking millions of dollars in payments. In separate litigation, the company is suing Aerovision LLC over an aircraft acquisition deal, seeking the return of $5 million for undelivered jets. (8/20)
ESA Funds More Projects Under Launcher Challenge (Source: Astrospace)
The European Space Agency has signed the first three operational contracts for the European Launcher Challenge, the program through which it supports the development of new European launchers to increase the number of operators capable of offering space access services. The contracts were signed with the German companies Rocket Factory Augsburg and Isar Aerospace and the Spanish company PLD Space , for a total value of approximately €544 million.
The highest amount, €197.8 million, was awarded to Isar Aerospace for the development of Spectrum. Rocket Factory Augsburg will receive €186.9 million for the RFA ONE rocket, while PLD Space's contract is worth €158.9 million for the development of Miura 5. Funding comes primarily from the Member States supporting each project and will be made available upon achievement of the contract objectives. A fourth company, the French company MaiaSpace , had been selected along with the other three for this phase of the program. However, the contract signing process has not yet been completed and should resume in the coming weeks. (8/27)
City Labs Plans Second Nuclear Demo (Source: Payload)
One nuclear satellite does not a nuclear space age make. Two though? Now we’re talking. Following the success of City Labs’ first nuclear-powered payload demo—BOHR, which launched on SpaceX’s Transporter-17 rideshare in July—City Labs is planning a second, higher-power nuclear demo flight as early as next year, according to CEO Peter Cabauy.
BOHR demonstrated City Labs’ Tritium-powered betavoltaic battery, which is designed to provide payloads with a source of energy independent of solar power. The second demo will test the company’s Tritium-powered radioisotope heating unit (RHU), which will provide payloads with a source of heat. Ultimately, the technology is intended to help lunar payloads continue operating throughout the epicly frigid lunar night. (8/26)
TraCSS Traffic Coordination System Remains in Pilot Mode Due to Budget ‘Uncertainty’ (Source: Via Satellite)
The Office of Space Commerce’s space traffic management system, known as TraCSS, has onboarded more than 70 satellite owners and operators and more than 10 nations — but remains in the pilot phase due to budget “uncertainty,” an OSC official said Wednesday during the Small Satellite Conference.
TraCSS is part of a years-long effort for OSC to take over space situational awareness (SSA) services from the U.S. Department of Defense, which maintains spacetrack.org. The effort began in 2018 with Space Policy Directive-3. After a beta launch in late 2024, OSC released the TraCSS production environment in March of this year with 17 users, kicking off the pilot period. Registration is now open for all spacecraft owner/operators and national governments. (8/26)
From Spy Satellite to Space Telescope: The Unlikely Origins of NASA's Roman Space Telescope (Source: Space.com)
NASA took the guts out of old spy satellites to build the groundbreaking Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. At the core of the observatory lies the Optical Telescope Assembly. This houses the telescope's primary mirror, its main mechanism through which it surveys the cosmos, nine additional mirrors, supporting structures and various sorts of electronics. This tech came from National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
In 1999, the NRO stood up the multibillion-dollar "Future Imagery Architecture" program, which contracted out new spy satellites. The NRO contracted Boeing for the project, having the company design a whole suite of new optical and radar imaging reconnaissance satellites. In 2012 the NRO donated two unused space telescopes from this program to NASA, with optics said to be similar to the Hubble Space Telescope's. (8/26)
Infleqtion Wins $20 Million NASA Contract to Advance Space-Based Quantum Gravity Sensor (Source: Seeking Alpha)
Colorado-based quantum technology company Infleqtion will continue developing a mission to launch what NASA describes as the world’s first space-based quantum gravity sensor under a $20 million contract. The work advances quantum sensing for space applications, with the mission’s objective and launch timing not disclosed in the article. (8/27)
Solar Storm Losses Forecast to Reach $44.27B Annually by 2035 (Source: Payload)
A Mission Space report estimates that solar storms will generate $20.65 billion in losses in 2026, with annual costs more than doubling to $44.27 billion by 2035. The forecast underscores the growing economic exposure of space-based and terrestrial systems to severe space-weather events. (8/27)
SpaceX Sets Rocket-Reuse Record on 100th Falcon 9 Launch of 2026 (Source: Space.com)
Starlink launches may have become commonplace, but this one was definitely worth staying up for. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with 29 Starlink internet satellites lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday (Aug. 25). It was the 100th Falcon 9 flight of 2026 and the record-breaking 37th mission for this rocket's first stage. (8/24)
August 27, 2026
SkyFi Unveils Rowan AI Imagery Tool (Source:
Space News)
Geospatial data and analytics provider SkyFi unveiled a new AI tool for imagery. With the AI navigator, called Rowan, users can search among the datasets of SkyFi partners, using natural language queries to find images from more than 300 sources. In July, SkyFi announced the release of a model context protocol to enable customers to use Claude, ChatGPT and other AI agents to search its geospatial imagery archives, task satellites, place recurring orders and run analytics. (8/27)
Space Force to Expand Starshield Use on Military Aircraft (Source: Space News)
The Space Force is expanding its use of SpaceX's Starshield constellation by military aircraft. The Space Force's Commercial Space Office posted an award notice this week for "Starshield Custom Fleet Aviation Services" that includes antennas and subscriptions. The value of the award was redacted. An acquisition document showed that U.S. government organizations have already funded development and qualification of ruggedized Starshield terminals for a range of military aircraft, including cargo planes and tactical fighter jets, and that additional installations are planned. While other companies are part of the Space Force's Proliferated Low Earth Orbit Satellite-Based Services contract, SpaceX has dominated task-order awards and the Space Force concluded that SpaceX was the only provider currently able to meet its needs for this latest award. (8/27)
LeoLabs Wins $20 Million From Space Force for Scout Tracking Radar (Source: Space News)
LeoLabs won a Space Force contract worth more than $20 million for a version of its Scout radar. The $20.68 million award, in the form of a prototype Other Transaction Agreement, calls for LeoLabs to provide a Scout system for a new defense mission. LeoLabs developed Scout as a transportable radar for tracking satellites and debris in orbit. The company said it could not disclose the specific program or test activity the radar would support under the new award. LeoLabs, founded a decade ago to provide space tracking services, is now moving further into defense hardware, looking to sell radar systems and related sensing technology directly to U.S. and allied government customers. (8/27)
Katalyst Repurposes Link Spacecraft After Swift Mission Halted (Source: Space News)
Katalyst Space is continuing to operate its Link spacecraft even after calling off an effort to reboost NASA's Swift spacecraft. NASA and Katalyst said last week that attitude-control problems with the company's Link spacecraft meant that it could no longer carry out its original mission to grapple Swift and raise its orbit. In an interview Wednesday, Katalyst Space CEO Ghonhee Lee said the company is continuing to operate Link and maneuvering it to the vicinity of Swift, with the goal of getting close enough to image it. The attitude-control problems with Link were caused by heating issues that burned out electronics used to operate two reaction wheels. He said the lessons from Link will inform its future satellite servicing missions. (8/27)
China's Galactic Energy Schedules Pallas-1 Rocket Launch on Sep. 1 (Source: Space News)
Chinese launch company Galactic Energy has scheduled the first launch of its Pallas-1 rocket. The company is expected to attempt a launch Sep. 1, from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Test Zone at Jiuquan spaceport, based on airspace closure notices. Pallas-1 is Galactic Energy's two-stage liquid launch vehicle, with an optional Eros upper stage for extended missions. It is designed to place up to 7,000 kilograms into low Earth orbit and its booster is designed to be reusable, although no recovery attempt of the first stage is expected for the first flight. The company has not announced any payloads for the upcoming launch. (8/27)
China Rolls Back Long March 5, Marking Significant Delay of Chang'e-7 Lunar Mission (Source: Space News)
The Long March 5 that was to launch China's Chang'e-7 lunar mission has rolled back to its assembly building. The mission was scheduled to launch last Sunday but was abruptly postponed less than 24 hours before liftoff. The mission is expected to be delayed into 2027, and potentially to a similar window this time next year. A likely explanation is that the tropical depression Narra threatened Hainan island during the short, usually once-a-month lunar launch window. The knock-on effect for Chang'e-7 is that there are no later launch windows due to the mission's landing site selection and solar illumination constraints. (8/27)
Japan's Sarmony to Launch Satellite on Kairos Rocket in 2028 (Source: Space News)
A Japanese radar-imaging company plans to launch its first demonstration satellite on a Kairos rocket. Sarmony announced this week it signed an agreement with Space One for the launch of its first SAR DiskSat satellite on a Kairos rocket in 2028. Sarmony plans a second demonstration mission in 2030 before deploying an initial constellation of 48 satellites, which will operate in very low Earth orbit. Kairos has launched three times to date, and in all three cases failed to reach orbit. Space One said it is completing the investigation into the most recent failure in March but has not set a date for the rocket's next flight. (8/27)
ISS Spacewalk Planned to Replace Docking Port Retroreflector (Source: NASA)
NASA has scheduled another International Space Station spacewalk for next week. The agency said Wednesday that NASA's Jessica Meir and ESA's Sophie Adenot will carry out a spacewalk next Tuesday to replace a retroreflector on a docking port and other maintenance work. Those tasks were originally scheduled for a spacewalk carried out Tuesday by Adenot and NASA's Anil Menon, but that spacewalk was instead used to install a new antenna. This will be the fourth ISS spacewalk in the last month. (8/27)
France's Miratlas Courts Investors for Atmospheric Modeling (Source: Space News)
A French startup is raising money to provide services to assist optical communications companies. Miratlas is seeking investors to expand atmospheric-monitoring technology that helps operators find the best sites for their weather-sensitive optical ground stations. The company is aiming to raise 20 million euros ($23 million) to grow its network of Sky Monitor sensors from roughly 60 sites worldwide to more than 150. Each site hosts a mix of imaging, weather and astronomy-based instruments to measure cloud cover and atmospheric turbulence, two key obstacles for laser links between satellites and the ground. U.S. satellite broadband operator Viasat and French telecoms giant Orange are among the venture's largest customers that can be disclosed. (8/27)
Alleged Chinese Hackers Targeted NASA (Source: CNN)
NASA was among the targets of an alleged Chinese hacker group. The Justice Department said it has disrupted the group, which reportedly compromised computer systems at NASA and other agencies as well as at the U.S. Senate, power companies and hospitals. The attacks started in 2018 and were only recently halted, officials said. It was unclear what information the hackers had access to and what other impacts their activities had. (8/27)
NASA Completes Astronaut-Deployed Science Instrument for Lunar Surface (Source: Douglas Messier)
ASA has declared “wrenches down” on the first completed payload designed for Artemis astronauts to deploy on the Moon’s surface. Engineers working on NASA’s Lunar Environment Monitoring Station, or LEMS, have completed hardware development and testing and the payload is ready for its permanent home near the lunar South Pole. With the hardware complete, LEMS is ready to support one of the Artemis program’s core goals: enabling sustained lunar science and exploration.
The LEMS instrument package contains two highly sensitive seismometers that will monitor ground vibrations from moonquakes and meteorite impacts, providing scientists with insights into the Moon’s interior and the seismic hazards astronauts might encounter at the surface. Its modular design allows the system to be adapted or expanded to host new instruments in the future, creating a reusable platform that can evolve as scientific priorities grow. The payload will remain in a clean room at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, where it was built, until it is assigned to an Artemis mission for deployment to the lunar surface. (8/27)
Smaller Space Companies Want To See Programs Of Record For Their Investments (Source: Defense Daily)
Smaller space companies want to see how the "commercial first" mantra of Pentagon acquisition reform translates into programs of record. The Space Force contends that its nine, new program acquisition executives (PAEs) will lead to more opportunities for smaller companies trying to get their foot in the door, as military forces in the field press the PAEs for more commercial technology. "These PAEs will enjoy an unprecedented high level of authority--acquisition authorities being pushed down to a very low level. (8/26)
TraCSS Remains in Pilot Phase as Budget Uncertainty Slows U.S. Space Traffic Management Rollout (Source: Via Satellite)
The Office of Space Commerce’s TraCSS system has onboarded more than 70 satellite owners and operators across more than 10 nations, but remains in pilot mode because of budget uncertainty. The status underscores the gap between growing demand for space traffic coordination and operationalizing the U.S. system. (8/26)
NOAA Awards Muon Space, Weather Stream and Spire Contracts for TMATE Weather-Satellite Instruments (Source: Via Satellite)
NOAA has selected Muon Space, Orbital Micro Systems—doing business as Weather Stream—and Spire Global to develop weather satellite instruments for the Temperature and Moisture Advanced Technology Evolution project, advancing a multi-company effort to strengthen future temperature and moisture measurement capabilities. (8/26)
Small-Satellite Market Moves Toward Larger, More Capable Platforms and Space-Based Sensing (Source: SpaceQ)
New spacecraft developments span 500-kilogram modular buses, thermal-imaging constellation expansion, spectrum monitoring for electronic-threat detection and a military satellite launch from Plesetsk. Together, the activity highlights growing demand for microsatellites that combine greater payload capacity with specialized sensing and defense applications. (8/26)
Kratos’ Space Revenue Rises 22% Organically in Q2, with Orbit and Nomad Acquisitions Adding Momentum (Source: Space Intel Report)
Kratos Defense and Security Solutions said its space business delivered 22% organic revenue growth in the second quarter, supported by its Orbit and Nomad acquisitions. The company said demand is expanding at the expected high rate, though classified contracts make its growth difficult to assess externally. (8/26)
Is 1000 US Launches Per Year Realistic? (Source: Space News)
In 2025, there were 181 American launches (165 of which used the Falcon 9), and there were 144 in 2024. “I think [1000] is at the upper limit but not totally unreasonable,” Todd Harrison said. “If you look at the rate of growth in U.S. launches from 2020 through 2025, the compound annual growth rate was a little over 37%. If you extrapolate that exponential growth rate through 2030, it puts you at around 900 launches per year.”
However, he thought that the number may be “far-fetched,” given that newer and upcoming launch vehicles have higher payload capacity than their predecessors, suggesting that there may be fewer launches of more heavily-laden spacecraft in the next few years. Ultimately, the number may not prove realistic. But that’s not the end of the world, Harrison said, since the stakes of a general policy document making an incorrect projection are fairly inconsequential.
“If it is used for budgeting, setting staffing levels, or building facilities, I would want something that accounts for projected satellite launches, new launch vehicles coming online and other factors to make it more bounded and realistic,” he said. (8/26)
Spire Wins $28 Million NOAA Contract to Advance Hyperspectral Microwave Sounding Technology (Source: Space News)
Spire Global won a $28 million NASA contract to build and flight qualify a satellite and hyperspectral microwave sounder for operational weather forecasting. The system will be designed to support NOAA weather-forecasting needs and to help the agency analyze the impact of hyperspectral microwave observations on numerical weather prediction. The latest award is a two-year contract to advance “the technology beyond on-orbit demonstration and toward the scale required for operational weather observations,” Spire said. (8/26)
Friends in High Places: Louisiana Spaceport Project Comes a Week After FAA Announces Plans to Waive Environmental Regulations for Launchers (Source: SPACErePORT)
SpaceX's announcement of its mega-spaceport project--to be located on an environmentally sensitive coastline in Louisiana--came only a week after the FAA announced the proposed waiver of key environmental permitting regulations for commercial space projects. (8/26)
Panel Warns of Growing Threats to Smallsat Constellations (Source: Space News)
Small satellites face growing threats because potential adversaries recognize their expanding role in providing communication, Earth observation and navigation services, a panel of satellite and cybersecurity experts said at the 2026 Small Satellite Conference. (8/26)
Sarmony to Launch SAR Demonstration Satellite on Kairos (Source: Space News)
Space One and Sarmony announced Aug. 25 that they signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the launch of Sarmony’s first SAR DiskSat spacecraft on a Kairos rocket in 2028. The satellite will test technologies that Sarmony plans to deploy on a constellation of satellites with synthetic aperture radar payloads. (8/26)
Miratlas Seeks Funds to Expand Optical Ground Station Mapping Technology (Source: Space News)
French startup Miratlas is seeking investors to expand atmospheric-monitoring technology that helps operators find the best sites for their weather-sensitive optical ground stations. The company is aiming to raise 20 million euros ($23 million) to grow its network of Sky Monitor sensors from roughly 60 sites worldwide to more than 150. (8/26)
SkyFi Unveils AI Navigator for Geospatial Platform (Source: Space News)
U.S. geospatial data and analytics provider SkyFi unveiled an artificial intelligence navigator Aug. 26 compares availability, resolution and price across more than 300 sources. (8/26)
Ukraine Honors Elon Musk as Kyiv Seeks Expanded Starlink Access for Drone Operations (Source: The Independent)
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded Elon Musk Ukraine’s Order of Freedom, citing his contributions to protecting life and freedom, as Kyiv seeks broader access to SpaceX’s Starlink terminals for battlefield communications and potentially drone strikes deep inside Russia—an expansion Musk has been reluctant to approve. (8/26)
Canada Backs Telesat’s Lightspeed Constellation in Push for Sovereign Space Defense (Source: Space News)
The Canadian government is providing a major financial lifeline to Telesat Canada to support its planned Lightspeed telecommunications satellite constellation. The move underscores Ottawa’s effort to build sovereign space capabilities and strengthen the project’s prospects amid rising defense and strategic reliance on space-based connectivity. (8/26)
RTX’s Blue Canyon Technologies Unveils FleXbus Spacecraft Subsystem (Source: Space News)
Blue Canyon Technologies, the small-satellite manufacturer and mission-services provider within RTX’s Raytheon business, has introduced FleXbus, a new spacecraft subsystem. The company describes the product as a mission enabler, adding another offering to its portfolio for small-satellite platforms and space missions. (8/26)
Satellites Reveal War Damage to US Facilities in Middle East (Source: Space News)
On May 6, the Washington Post published the most complete public account of what Iran’s missiles had done to American bases in the Gulf. At least 228 structures and pieces of equipment were damaged or destroyed across 15 sites in six countries. Hangars, barracks, fuel bladders, a power plant at Camp Buehring, Patriot and THAAD equipment, an E-3 Sentry at Prince Sultan. Damage at the Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain severe enough that officials told the Post operations might shift to MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.
The Pentagon had acknowledged a only fraction of the damage. Reporters had to geolocate 128 satellite images published by Iranian state-affiliated media, then verified 109 of them against Sentinel-2 imagery from Copernicus, the European Union’s civil earth observation program, using high-resolution Planet imagery where it was still available. Nineteen images were discarded as inconclusive. None showed signs of manipulation. The adversary supplied the pictures. A European civil satellite adjudicated them. That is the story the commercial imagery sector should be arguing about, and it is not principally a story about journalism. (8/26)
Lunar Test Facility Prepares Artemis Hardware for Moon (Source: Douglas Messier)
Before astronauts return to the Moon’s surface through NASA’s Artemis program, the hardware they depend on must first prove it can survive the unforgiving lunar environment. At NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, engineers at the Lunar Development and Test Facility are tackling one of exploration’s biggest challenges: Moon dust.
Unlike sand on Earth, lunar dust is sharp, abrasive, and clings to nearly everything. Without mitigation, lunar dust could damage equipment and spacesuits while posing health risks to astronauts. Understanding and mitigating the effects of lunar dust is essential as astronauts prepare to live and work on the surface of the Moon.
Located within the Energy Systems Test Area and managed by NASA engineers, the Lunar Development and Test Facility supports the development and testing of hardware in simulated lunar conditions. Engineers evaluate systems and subsystems inside vacuum chambers using lunar regolith simulant to better understand how spacesuits, spacecraft components, and mechanisms with moving parts and joints will perform during future Artemis missions. (8/26)
‘It Seems Crazy’: SpaceX’s Orbital Data Center Bet Tests Physics and Finance (Source: Financial Times)
SpaceX has sold investors on a trillion-dollar vision of millions of solar-powered satellites in orbit, packed with the chips needed to power AI. SpaceX expects to begin launching orbital data centers into space as soon as next year. Its 407ft-tall rocket known as Starship is central to this plan. “This is not some sort of far-future, distant thing,” Musk told investors this month.
But company filings, technical documents and interviews with aerospace engineers suggest the company needs to solve three significant interlocking problems to achieve this at scale: how to launch rockets cheaply at unprecedented cadence, cool power-hungry computers in a vacuum, and regularly replace them with the latest chip technology.
The company’s own IPO filing makes clear how speculative its bet remains. “Many of our initiatives . . . including those to develop orbital AI compute at scale . . . involve significant technical complexity, unproven technologies or technologies that do not exist, and such initiatives may not achieve commercial viability,” it wrote. (8/25)
A New NASA Design Turbocharges Nuclear Spacecraft (Source: IEEE Spectrum)
We want to make it possible to dramatically reduce the length of time crews must spend in space—down to just 335 days in transit or less. This will both simplify many engineering challenges and keep astronauts healthier and safer. Some engineers would suggest we build two separate systems—one reactor for thermal propulsion and another reactor for power and electric propulsion. But since at least the 1990s, it has been the dream of many engineers to combine nuclear thermal and nuclear electric in one package, with one reactor: the bimodal nuclear rocket. Click here. (8/26)
CAPSTONE 02 Mission Includes Two Lunar Smallsats (Source: Space News)
A lunar smallsat mission will pick up where a cubesat mission left off. NASA and Advanced Space announced last month the CAPSTONE 02 mission, which will fly a pair of smallsats in lunar orbit to test rendezvous and proximity operations. The mission will build upon the CAPSTONE cubesat mission launched in 2022 to study operations in a near-rectilinear halo orbit around the moon. While Advanced Space and NASA had been talking about a follow-on to CAPSTONE for a year and a half, NASA's announcement in March that it will develop a lunar base, requiring dozens of missions, helped crystallize plans for CAPSTONE 02. NASA said CAPSTONE 02 will cost just under $100 million, excluding launch. (8/26)
TrustPoint to Use C-Band Signals for Navigation (Source: Space News)
TrustPoint has tested C-band signals it plans to use for navigation services. The company said Tuesday a NovAtel receiver from Swedish company Hexagon acquired and tracked a live C-band signal from a TrustPoint satellite, while a separate laboratory test evaluated a combined L-band and C-band receiver under simulated jamming. The company said a main goal of the test was to show that C-band capability could be added to established satellite navigation receiver technology and used alongside conventional L-band signals, helping reduce the effects of GPS signal jamming. (8/26)
UK's Odin Space Extends Arkisys Collaboration for Debris Detection (Source: Space News)
Odin Space, a British startup focused on addressing lethal, non-trackable space debris, has extended its agreement to fly its Black Box on Arkisys Cutter spacecraft. The companies said Tuesday that four additional Odin Black Boxes will launch on Arkisys Cutter small spacecraft. Those payloads are designed to help detect debris too small to be tracked from the ground. Under the agreement, evidence-based collision insurance, underwritten through Lloyd's of London, will become a standard offering for Cutter hosted payloads. (8/26)
Astronauts Install New ISS Antenna (Source: Space.com)
Two astronauts installed a new antenna on the ISS during a spacewalk Tuesday. NASA's Anil Menon and ESA's Sophie Adenot spent six and a half hours outside the station on a spacewalk that concluded at 2:57 p.m. Eastern. The two successfully installed a space-to-ground antenna, replacing one that had malfunctioned. The antenna was originally scheduled to be installed on a spacewalk last week, but it took astronauts longer than expected to remove the old antenna. This was the third of three spacewalks conducted from the station this month, although NASA said last week it was considering adding a fourth in early September for additional ISS maintenance work. (8/26)
SpaceX Launches California Starlink Mission on Wednesday (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites from California early this morning. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 5:35 a.m. Eastern, putting 27 Starlink satellites into orbit. The booster for this mission completed its 24th flight. (8/26)
CesiumAstro Raising More Money for Acquisitions (Source: Space News)
CesiumAstro is raising more money as it continues to acquire other companies. CesiumAstro said Tuesday it acquired mission software specialist 1Aardvark, the third such deal in less than a year to bring more capabilities in house. While CesiumAstro has not disclosed its valuation, which a source previously said crossed the $1 billion threshold with a $270 million Series C disclosed in February, the company said an ongoing Series D round will raise it from its current level. CesiumAstro is preparing to deploy the first Element spacecraft in October as a precursor to Synchronicity, a proposed constellation of 737 satellites to provide connectivity for enterprise and government users. (8/26)
Workforce Crunch Impacting Space Industry Growth (Source: Space News)
As the space industry grows, it is facing a hiring crunch. Businesses and government agencies are struggling to find the engineers, cleared workers and mid-career managers needed to turn surging investment and demand into spacecraft and services. The industry has long bemoaned the struggle to attract enough engineering talent, but the issue has become even more acute in recent years. That includes, in the government, both scaling up of missions but a loss of experienced civil-service personnel. (8/26)
Impulse Space Ramps Up Rideshare Plans (Source: Space News)
Impulse Space is ramping up a GEO rideshare program because of high demand. The company announced two years ago it would pursue a program using its Helios kick stage that can deliver several tons of payload to GEO when launched on vehicles like the Falcon 9. Last year, Impulse Space said it expected to run one such rideshare mission a year, but the company said it would now seek to fly at least two such missions a year. The manifest for the first mission, scheduled for the first half of 2027, is now closed, and the company is opening waitlists for missions scheduled for 2028. (8/26)
High Demand for Rideshares Prompts Concerns and Creativity (Source: Space News)
High demand and uncertainty about the future of SpaceX's rideshare program have led companies to get creative about providing such services. One launch service provider, SEOPS, converted a planned GEO rideshare mission on a Falcon 9 to a mid-inclination LEO mission, seeing high demand from LEO customers. Portal Space Systems, which bought a Falcon 9 for its first Supernova satellite launch, is working with Maverick Space Systems to sell excess capacity on the launch for rideshares. The moves come amid industry concern that SpaceX will end its rideshare missions in the next few years. (8/26)
Simera Sense Aims for Smaller Hyperspectral Imagers (Source: Space News)
Simera Sense, a developer of imaging payloads for spacecraft, is pushing to expand imaging capabilities for smaller spacecraft. Simera Sense has supplied 10 hyperspectral imagers to U.S. satellite services provider Loft Orbital over the past year, it announced Wednesday. Loft integrates the imagers on standardized satellite buses it orders in batches, mainly from Airbus, to host customer payloads and operate the spacecraft on their behalf. According to Simera Sense, more than 15 of its HyperScape100 imagers for other customers have been deployed to date and are all operating successfully in orbit. (8/26)
Geospatial data and analytics provider SkyFi unveiled a new AI tool for imagery. With the AI navigator, called Rowan, users can search among the datasets of SkyFi partners, using natural language queries to find images from more than 300 sources. In July, SkyFi announced the release of a model context protocol to enable customers to use Claude, ChatGPT and other AI agents to search its geospatial imagery archives, task satellites, place recurring orders and run analytics. (8/27)
Space Force to Expand Starshield Use on Military Aircraft (Source: Space News)
The Space Force is expanding its use of SpaceX's Starshield constellation by military aircraft. The Space Force's Commercial Space Office posted an award notice this week for "Starshield Custom Fleet Aviation Services" that includes antennas and subscriptions. The value of the award was redacted. An acquisition document showed that U.S. government organizations have already funded development and qualification of ruggedized Starshield terminals for a range of military aircraft, including cargo planes and tactical fighter jets, and that additional installations are planned. While other companies are part of the Space Force's Proliferated Low Earth Orbit Satellite-Based Services contract, SpaceX has dominated task-order awards and the Space Force concluded that SpaceX was the only provider currently able to meet its needs for this latest award. (8/27)
LeoLabs Wins $20 Million From Space Force for Scout Tracking Radar (Source: Space News)
LeoLabs won a Space Force contract worth more than $20 million for a version of its Scout radar. The $20.68 million award, in the form of a prototype Other Transaction Agreement, calls for LeoLabs to provide a Scout system for a new defense mission. LeoLabs developed Scout as a transportable radar for tracking satellites and debris in orbit. The company said it could not disclose the specific program or test activity the radar would support under the new award. LeoLabs, founded a decade ago to provide space tracking services, is now moving further into defense hardware, looking to sell radar systems and related sensing technology directly to U.S. and allied government customers. (8/27)
Katalyst Repurposes Link Spacecraft After Swift Mission Halted (Source: Space News)
Katalyst Space is continuing to operate its Link spacecraft even after calling off an effort to reboost NASA's Swift spacecraft. NASA and Katalyst said last week that attitude-control problems with the company's Link spacecraft meant that it could no longer carry out its original mission to grapple Swift and raise its orbit. In an interview Wednesday, Katalyst Space CEO Ghonhee Lee said the company is continuing to operate Link and maneuvering it to the vicinity of Swift, with the goal of getting close enough to image it. The attitude-control problems with Link were caused by heating issues that burned out electronics used to operate two reaction wheels. He said the lessons from Link will inform its future satellite servicing missions. (8/27)
China's Galactic Energy Schedules Pallas-1 Rocket Launch on Sep. 1 (Source: Space News)
Chinese launch company Galactic Energy has scheduled the first launch of its Pallas-1 rocket. The company is expected to attempt a launch Sep. 1, from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Test Zone at Jiuquan spaceport, based on airspace closure notices. Pallas-1 is Galactic Energy's two-stage liquid launch vehicle, with an optional Eros upper stage for extended missions. It is designed to place up to 7,000 kilograms into low Earth orbit and its booster is designed to be reusable, although no recovery attempt of the first stage is expected for the first flight. The company has not announced any payloads for the upcoming launch. (8/27)
China Rolls Back Long March 5, Marking Significant Delay of Chang'e-7 Lunar Mission (Source: Space News)
The Long March 5 that was to launch China's Chang'e-7 lunar mission has rolled back to its assembly building. The mission was scheduled to launch last Sunday but was abruptly postponed less than 24 hours before liftoff. The mission is expected to be delayed into 2027, and potentially to a similar window this time next year. A likely explanation is that the tropical depression Narra threatened Hainan island during the short, usually once-a-month lunar launch window. The knock-on effect for Chang'e-7 is that there are no later launch windows due to the mission's landing site selection and solar illumination constraints. (8/27)
Japan's Sarmony to Launch Satellite on Kairos Rocket in 2028 (Source: Space News)
A Japanese radar-imaging company plans to launch its first demonstration satellite on a Kairos rocket. Sarmony announced this week it signed an agreement with Space One for the launch of its first SAR DiskSat satellite on a Kairos rocket in 2028. Sarmony plans a second demonstration mission in 2030 before deploying an initial constellation of 48 satellites, which will operate in very low Earth orbit. Kairos has launched three times to date, and in all three cases failed to reach orbit. Space One said it is completing the investigation into the most recent failure in March but has not set a date for the rocket's next flight. (8/27)
ISS Spacewalk Planned to Replace Docking Port Retroreflector (Source: NASA)
NASA has scheduled another International Space Station spacewalk for next week. The agency said Wednesday that NASA's Jessica Meir and ESA's Sophie Adenot will carry out a spacewalk next Tuesday to replace a retroreflector on a docking port and other maintenance work. Those tasks were originally scheduled for a spacewalk carried out Tuesday by Adenot and NASA's Anil Menon, but that spacewalk was instead used to install a new antenna. This will be the fourth ISS spacewalk in the last month. (8/27)
France's Miratlas Courts Investors for Atmospheric Modeling (Source: Space News)
A French startup is raising money to provide services to assist optical communications companies. Miratlas is seeking investors to expand atmospheric-monitoring technology that helps operators find the best sites for their weather-sensitive optical ground stations. The company is aiming to raise 20 million euros ($23 million) to grow its network of Sky Monitor sensors from roughly 60 sites worldwide to more than 150. Each site hosts a mix of imaging, weather and astronomy-based instruments to measure cloud cover and atmospheric turbulence, two key obstacles for laser links between satellites and the ground. U.S. satellite broadband operator Viasat and French telecoms giant Orange are among the venture's largest customers that can be disclosed. (8/27)
Alleged Chinese Hackers Targeted NASA (Source: CNN)
NASA was among the targets of an alleged Chinese hacker group. The Justice Department said it has disrupted the group, which reportedly compromised computer systems at NASA and other agencies as well as at the U.S. Senate, power companies and hospitals. The attacks started in 2018 and were only recently halted, officials said. It was unclear what information the hackers had access to and what other impacts their activities had. (8/27)
NASA Completes Astronaut-Deployed Science Instrument for Lunar Surface (Source: Douglas Messier)
ASA has declared “wrenches down” on the first completed payload designed for Artemis astronauts to deploy on the Moon’s surface. Engineers working on NASA’s Lunar Environment Monitoring Station, or LEMS, have completed hardware development and testing and the payload is ready for its permanent home near the lunar South Pole. With the hardware complete, LEMS is ready to support one of the Artemis program’s core goals: enabling sustained lunar science and exploration.
The LEMS instrument package contains two highly sensitive seismometers that will monitor ground vibrations from moonquakes and meteorite impacts, providing scientists with insights into the Moon’s interior and the seismic hazards astronauts might encounter at the surface. Its modular design allows the system to be adapted or expanded to host new instruments in the future, creating a reusable platform that can evolve as scientific priorities grow. The payload will remain in a clean room at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, where it was built, until it is assigned to an Artemis mission for deployment to the lunar surface. (8/27)
Smaller Space Companies Want To See Programs Of Record For Their Investments (Source: Defense Daily)
Smaller space companies want to see how the "commercial first" mantra of Pentagon acquisition reform translates into programs of record. The Space Force contends that its nine, new program acquisition executives (PAEs) will lead to more opportunities for smaller companies trying to get their foot in the door, as military forces in the field press the PAEs for more commercial technology. "These PAEs will enjoy an unprecedented high level of authority--acquisition authorities being pushed down to a very low level. (8/26)
TraCSS Remains in Pilot Phase as Budget Uncertainty Slows U.S. Space Traffic Management Rollout (Source: Via Satellite)
The Office of Space Commerce’s TraCSS system has onboarded more than 70 satellite owners and operators across more than 10 nations, but remains in pilot mode because of budget uncertainty. The status underscores the gap between growing demand for space traffic coordination and operationalizing the U.S. system. (8/26)
NOAA Awards Muon Space, Weather Stream and Spire Contracts for TMATE Weather-Satellite Instruments (Source: Via Satellite)
NOAA has selected Muon Space, Orbital Micro Systems—doing business as Weather Stream—and Spire Global to develop weather satellite instruments for the Temperature and Moisture Advanced Technology Evolution project, advancing a multi-company effort to strengthen future temperature and moisture measurement capabilities. (8/26)
Small-Satellite Market Moves Toward Larger, More Capable Platforms and Space-Based Sensing (Source: SpaceQ)
New spacecraft developments span 500-kilogram modular buses, thermal-imaging constellation expansion, spectrum monitoring for electronic-threat detection and a military satellite launch from Plesetsk. Together, the activity highlights growing demand for microsatellites that combine greater payload capacity with specialized sensing and defense applications. (8/26)
Kratos’ Space Revenue Rises 22% Organically in Q2, with Orbit and Nomad Acquisitions Adding Momentum (Source: Space Intel Report)
Kratos Defense and Security Solutions said its space business delivered 22% organic revenue growth in the second quarter, supported by its Orbit and Nomad acquisitions. The company said demand is expanding at the expected high rate, though classified contracts make its growth difficult to assess externally. (8/26)
Is 1000 US Launches Per Year Realistic? (Source: Space News)
In 2025, there were 181 American launches (165 of which used the Falcon 9), and there were 144 in 2024. “I think [1000] is at the upper limit but not totally unreasonable,” Todd Harrison said. “If you look at the rate of growth in U.S. launches from 2020 through 2025, the compound annual growth rate was a little over 37%. If you extrapolate that exponential growth rate through 2030, it puts you at around 900 launches per year.”
However, he thought that the number may be “far-fetched,” given that newer and upcoming launch vehicles have higher payload capacity than their predecessors, suggesting that there may be fewer launches of more heavily-laden spacecraft in the next few years. Ultimately, the number may not prove realistic. But that’s not the end of the world, Harrison said, since the stakes of a general policy document making an incorrect projection are fairly inconsequential.
“If it is used for budgeting, setting staffing levels, or building facilities, I would want something that accounts for projected satellite launches, new launch vehicles coming online and other factors to make it more bounded and realistic,” he said. (8/26)
Spire Wins $28 Million NOAA Contract to Advance Hyperspectral Microwave Sounding Technology (Source: Space News)
Spire Global won a $28 million NASA contract to build and flight qualify a satellite and hyperspectral microwave sounder for operational weather forecasting. The system will be designed to support NOAA weather-forecasting needs and to help the agency analyze the impact of hyperspectral microwave observations on numerical weather prediction. The latest award is a two-year contract to advance “the technology beyond on-orbit demonstration and toward the scale required for operational weather observations,” Spire said. (8/26)
Friends in High Places: Louisiana Spaceport Project Comes a Week After FAA Announces Plans to Waive Environmental Regulations for Launchers (Source: SPACErePORT)
SpaceX's announcement of its mega-spaceport project--to be located on an environmentally sensitive coastline in Louisiana--came only a week after the FAA announced the proposed waiver of key environmental permitting regulations for commercial space projects. (8/26)
Panel Warns of Growing Threats to Smallsat Constellations (Source: Space News)
Small satellites face growing threats because potential adversaries recognize their expanding role in providing communication, Earth observation and navigation services, a panel of satellite and cybersecurity experts said at the 2026 Small Satellite Conference. (8/26)
Sarmony to Launch SAR Demonstration Satellite on Kairos (Source: Space News)
Space One and Sarmony announced Aug. 25 that they signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the launch of Sarmony’s first SAR DiskSat spacecraft on a Kairos rocket in 2028. The satellite will test technologies that Sarmony plans to deploy on a constellation of satellites with synthetic aperture radar payloads. (8/26)
Miratlas Seeks Funds to Expand Optical Ground Station Mapping Technology (Source: Space News)
French startup Miratlas is seeking investors to expand atmospheric-monitoring technology that helps operators find the best sites for their weather-sensitive optical ground stations. The company is aiming to raise 20 million euros ($23 million) to grow its network of Sky Monitor sensors from roughly 60 sites worldwide to more than 150. (8/26)
SkyFi Unveils AI Navigator for Geospatial Platform (Source: Space News)
U.S. geospatial data and analytics provider SkyFi unveiled an artificial intelligence navigator Aug. 26 compares availability, resolution and price across more than 300 sources. (8/26)
Ukraine Honors Elon Musk as Kyiv Seeks Expanded Starlink Access for Drone Operations (Source: The Independent)
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded Elon Musk Ukraine’s Order of Freedom, citing his contributions to protecting life and freedom, as Kyiv seeks broader access to SpaceX’s Starlink terminals for battlefield communications and potentially drone strikes deep inside Russia—an expansion Musk has been reluctant to approve. (8/26)
Canada Backs Telesat’s Lightspeed Constellation in Push for Sovereign Space Defense (Source: Space News)
The Canadian government is providing a major financial lifeline to Telesat Canada to support its planned Lightspeed telecommunications satellite constellation. The move underscores Ottawa’s effort to build sovereign space capabilities and strengthen the project’s prospects amid rising defense and strategic reliance on space-based connectivity. (8/26)
RTX’s Blue Canyon Technologies Unveils FleXbus Spacecraft Subsystem (Source: Space News)
Blue Canyon Technologies, the small-satellite manufacturer and mission-services provider within RTX’s Raytheon business, has introduced FleXbus, a new spacecraft subsystem. The company describes the product as a mission enabler, adding another offering to its portfolio for small-satellite platforms and space missions. (8/26)
Satellites Reveal War Damage to US Facilities in Middle East (Source: Space News)
On May 6, the Washington Post published the most complete public account of what Iran’s missiles had done to American bases in the Gulf. At least 228 structures and pieces of equipment were damaged or destroyed across 15 sites in six countries. Hangars, barracks, fuel bladders, a power plant at Camp Buehring, Patriot and THAAD equipment, an E-3 Sentry at Prince Sultan. Damage at the Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain severe enough that officials told the Post operations might shift to MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.
The Pentagon had acknowledged a only fraction of the damage. Reporters had to geolocate 128 satellite images published by Iranian state-affiliated media, then verified 109 of them against Sentinel-2 imagery from Copernicus, the European Union’s civil earth observation program, using high-resolution Planet imagery where it was still available. Nineteen images were discarded as inconclusive. None showed signs of manipulation. The adversary supplied the pictures. A European civil satellite adjudicated them. That is the story the commercial imagery sector should be arguing about, and it is not principally a story about journalism. (8/26)
Lunar Test Facility Prepares Artemis Hardware for Moon (Source: Douglas Messier)
Before astronauts return to the Moon’s surface through NASA’s Artemis program, the hardware they depend on must first prove it can survive the unforgiving lunar environment. At NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, engineers at the Lunar Development and Test Facility are tackling one of exploration’s biggest challenges: Moon dust.
Unlike sand on Earth, lunar dust is sharp, abrasive, and clings to nearly everything. Without mitigation, lunar dust could damage equipment and spacesuits while posing health risks to astronauts. Understanding and mitigating the effects of lunar dust is essential as astronauts prepare to live and work on the surface of the Moon.
Located within the Energy Systems Test Area and managed by NASA engineers, the Lunar Development and Test Facility supports the development and testing of hardware in simulated lunar conditions. Engineers evaluate systems and subsystems inside vacuum chambers using lunar regolith simulant to better understand how spacesuits, spacecraft components, and mechanisms with moving parts and joints will perform during future Artemis missions. (8/26)
‘It Seems Crazy’: SpaceX’s Orbital Data Center Bet Tests Physics and Finance (Source: Financial Times)
SpaceX has sold investors on a trillion-dollar vision of millions of solar-powered satellites in orbit, packed with the chips needed to power AI. SpaceX expects to begin launching orbital data centers into space as soon as next year. Its 407ft-tall rocket known as Starship is central to this plan. “This is not some sort of far-future, distant thing,” Musk told investors this month.
But company filings, technical documents and interviews with aerospace engineers suggest the company needs to solve three significant interlocking problems to achieve this at scale: how to launch rockets cheaply at unprecedented cadence, cool power-hungry computers in a vacuum, and regularly replace them with the latest chip technology.
The company’s own IPO filing makes clear how speculative its bet remains. “Many of our initiatives . . . including those to develop orbital AI compute at scale . . . involve significant technical complexity, unproven technologies or technologies that do not exist, and such initiatives may not achieve commercial viability,” it wrote. (8/25)
A New NASA Design Turbocharges Nuclear Spacecraft (Source: IEEE Spectrum)
We want to make it possible to dramatically reduce the length of time crews must spend in space—down to just 335 days in transit or less. This will both simplify many engineering challenges and keep astronauts healthier and safer. Some engineers would suggest we build two separate systems—one reactor for thermal propulsion and another reactor for power and electric propulsion. But since at least the 1990s, it has been the dream of many engineers to combine nuclear thermal and nuclear electric in one package, with one reactor: the bimodal nuclear rocket. Click here. (8/26)
CAPSTONE 02 Mission Includes Two Lunar Smallsats (Source: Space News)
A lunar smallsat mission will pick up where a cubesat mission left off. NASA and Advanced Space announced last month the CAPSTONE 02 mission, which will fly a pair of smallsats in lunar orbit to test rendezvous and proximity operations. The mission will build upon the CAPSTONE cubesat mission launched in 2022 to study operations in a near-rectilinear halo orbit around the moon. While Advanced Space and NASA had been talking about a follow-on to CAPSTONE for a year and a half, NASA's announcement in March that it will develop a lunar base, requiring dozens of missions, helped crystallize plans for CAPSTONE 02. NASA said CAPSTONE 02 will cost just under $100 million, excluding launch. (8/26)
TrustPoint to Use C-Band Signals for Navigation (Source: Space News)
TrustPoint has tested C-band signals it plans to use for navigation services. The company said Tuesday a NovAtel receiver from Swedish company Hexagon acquired and tracked a live C-band signal from a TrustPoint satellite, while a separate laboratory test evaluated a combined L-band and C-band receiver under simulated jamming. The company said a main goal of the test was to show that C-band capability could be added to established satellite navigation receiver technology and used alongside conventional L-band signals, helping reduce the effects of GPS signal jamming. (8/26)
UK's Odin Space Extends Arkisys Collaboration for Debris Detection (Source: Space News)
Odin Space, a British startup focused on addressing lethal, non-trackable space debris, has extended its agreement to fly its Black Box on Arkisys Cutter spacecraft. The companies said Tuesday that four additional Odin Black Boxes will launch on Arkisys Cutter small spacecraft. Those payloads are designed to help detect debris too small to be tracked from the ground. Under the agreement, evidence-based collision insurance, underwritten through Lloyd's of London, will become a standard offering for Cutter hosted payloads. (8/26)
Astronauts Install New ISS Antenna (Source: Space.com)
Two astronauts installed a new antenna on the ISS during a spacewalk Tuesday. NASA's Anil Menon and ESA's Sophie Adenot spent six and a half hours outside the station on a spacewalk that concluded at 2:57 p.m. Eastern. The two successfully installed a space-to-ground antenna, replacing one that had malfunctioned. The antenna was originally scheduled to be installed on a spacewalk last week, but it took astronauts longer than expected to remove the old antenna. This was the third of three spacewalks conducted from the station this month, although NASA said last week it was considering adding a fourth in early September for additional ISS maintenance work. (8/26)
SpaceX Launches California Starlink Mission on Wednesday (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites from California early this morning. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 5:35 a.m. Eastern, putting 27 Starlink satellites into orbit. The booster for this mission completed its 24th flight. (8/26)
CesiumAstro Raising More Money for Acquisitions (Source: Space News)
CesiumAstro is raising more money as it continues to acquire other companies. CesiumAstro said Tuesday it acquired mission software specialist 1Aardvark, the third such deal in less than a year to bring more capabilities in house. While CesiumAstro has not disclosed its valuation, which a source previously said crossed the $1 billion threshold with a $270 million Series C disclosed in February, the company said an ongoing Series D round will raise it from its current level. CesiumAstro is preparing to deploy the first Element spacecraft in October as a precursor to Synchronicity, a proposed constellation of 737 satellites to provide connectivity for enterprise and government users. (8/26)
Workforce Crunch Impacting Space Industry Growth (Source: Space News)
As the space industry grows, it is facing a hiring crunch. Businesses and government agencies are struggling to find the engineers, cleared workers and mid-career managers needed to turn surging investment and demand into spacecraft and services. The industry has long bemoaned the struggle to attract enough engineering talent, but the issue has become even more acute in recent years. That includes, in the government, both scaling up of missions but a loss of experienced civil-service personnel. (8/26)
Impulse Space Ramps Up Rideshare Plans (Source: Space News)
Impulse Space is ramping up a GEO rideshare program because of high demand. The company announced two years ago it would pursue a program using its Helios kick stage that can deliver several tons of payload to GEO when launched on vehicles like the Falcon 9. Last year, Impulse Space said it expected to run one such rideshare mission a year, but the company said it would now seek to fly at least two such missions a year. The manifest for the first mission, scheduled for the first half of 2027, is now closed, and the company is opening waitlists for missions scheduled for 2028. (8/26)
High Demand for Rideshares Prompts Concerns and Creativity (Source: Space News)
High demand and uncertainty about the future of SpaceX's rideshare program have led companies to get creative about providing such services. One launch service provider, SEOPS, converted a planned GEO rideshare mission on a Falcon 9 to a mid-inclination LEO mission, seeing high demand from LEO customers. Portal Space Systems, which bought a Falcon 9 for its first Supernova satellite launch, is working with Maverick Space Systems to sell excess capacity on the launch for rideshares. The moves come amid industry concern that SpaceX will end its rideshare missions in the next few years. (8/26)
Simera Sense Aims for Smaller Hyperspectral Imagers (Source: Space News)
Simera Sense, a developer of imaging payloads for spacecraft, is pushing to expand imaging capabilities for smaller spacecraft. Simera Sense has supplied 10 hyperspectral imagers to U.S. satellite services provider Loft Orbital over the past year, it announced Wednesday. Loft integrates the imagers on standardized satellite buses it orders in batches, mainly from Airbus, to host customer payloads and operate the spacecraft on their behalf. According to Simera Sense, more than 15 of its HyperScape100 imagers for other customers have been deployed to date and are all operating successfully in orbit. (8/26)
August 26, 2026
BlackVe Opens Satellite Manufacturing
Facility in New Mexico with $1M+ in Incentives (Source: EDNM)
BlackVe Inc., a defense and space technology company, celebrated the opening of its new satellite manufacturing facility at MaxQ with a ribbon cutting. Located at MaxQ@Kirtland, a high-tech commercial campus on Kirtland Air Force Base north of the base’s security fence, the new 30,000-square-foot facility will support BlackVe’s advanced spacecraft manufacturing operations as the company grows its Albuquerque workforce.
The State of New Mexico is investing $1 million through the Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) fund, with the City of Albuquerque contributing $250,000 in local LEDA funds to support BlackVe’s expansion, which is expected to create 152 high-paying jobs over the next 10 years. The expansion is projected to generate more than $228 million in total economic impact for the state. (8/25)
NASA Considers Bulk Launch Buys (Source: Aviation Week)
NASA is considering bulk buying launches through the Commercial Access to Space program. The agency might procure five to 20 launches in a single solicitation under the program and is setting up a headquarters office to oversee agencywide launch service procurements. (8/25)
Florida's Lonestar Picks Polish Startup Ares Shield to Protect Data Center Satellites with High-Power Microwave Weapons (Source: Space.com)
The final frontier is getting more and more contested, so satellite companies are investing in some self-defense. At least one of them is, anyway. Florida-based Lonestar Data Holdings announced today (Aug. 25) that it has contracted Polish startup Ares Shield to provide protection for its off-Earth data centers, in a deal worth up to $6 million.
Ares Shield's system will be able to detect and classify potential threats, such as approaching "inspector" satellites that may have designs on stealing the client's data. And the defense module can neutralize them via electronics-frying HPM emissions, knocking satellites out without creating a cloud of space debris. (8/26)
Lockheed Martin Ventures Open to ‘Defense-Specific Investments’ (Source: Aerospace America)
Lockheed Martin’s venture capital fund is increasingly interested in technology focused on defense, its general manager said today. “A lot of our investments, I’d say 90% plus, are still kind of dual-use,” Chris Moran, who heads Lockheed Martin Ventures, told reporters. “But in the last couple years, we’ve made a few defense-specific investments, which we probably wouldn’t have contemplated before.” (8/26)
Impulse Space Ramps up GEO Rideshare Program (Source: Space News)
Impulse Space will increase the cadence of its rideshare missions to geostationary orbit, citing strong commercial demand. During a side session at the Small Satellite Conference here Aug. 25, Joshua Rea, director of commercial sales at Impulse Space, said the company has closed bookings for its first Caravan rideshare mission, scheduled for the first half of 2027, using the company’s Helios kick stage to deliver payloads to GEO. (8/26)
SpaceX Moving All Starlink Launches to Vandenberg (Source: Space News)
As part of the company's shift in focus from Falcon 9 to Starship, SpaceX has decided to launch all Falcon 9 future Starlink missions to Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Starlink missions have been responsible for bringing Florida's launch cadence up to the 100+ per year level, though in 2026 the company has shifted more of them to California.
Moving all Falcon 9 Starlink missions to California will allow the company to focus on developing Starship infrastructure at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, while meeting the demand for non-Starlink missions in Florida. Future Starship missions from Florida are intended to carry Starlink satellites. (8/26)
India's OrbitAID to Launch RPO Demo in 2027 (Source: Payload)
OrbitAID Aerospace is aiming to prove it can gas up satellites in orbit as early as next year. The Indian company told Payload that it is expecting to conduct a demo life-extension mission in LEO in Q1 2027. During the demo, two satellites will launch to LEO—a chaser and a target. The mission seeks to prove out each step of the life-extension process for a target spacecraft. (8/25)
Impulse Space to Increase Cadence of Commercial GEO Rideshare Missions (Source: Space News)
Impulse Space plans to increase the cadence of rideshare missions to geostationary orbit, citing strong commercial demand. The expansion signals continued customer interest in dedicated orbital transfer and deployment services for GEO-bound payloads, while adding another demand indicator for the emerging commercial space transportation market. (8/25)
U.S. Trustee Seeks Investigation Into EchoStar’s $1.5 Billion Hughes Transactions (Source: Bloomberg)
The U.S. Trustee is urging a bankruptcy court to appoint an examiner to investigate $1.5 billion in alleged “unusual transactions” between EchoStar Corp. and its bankrupt subsidiary, Hughes Satellite Systems Corp. The request places EchoStar’s intercompany dealings and governance under heightened legal scrutiny. (8/25)
China Advances Orbital Data Centers as Europe Debates Its Space-Compute Strategy (Source: Spacewatch Global)
China is moving rapidly to develop orbital data centers, while the European Space Policy Institute warns Europe risks falling behind in space-based computing. The debate highlights the emerging strategic value of processing data in orbit and the policy, industrial and infrastructure choices needed to compete. (8/25)
MaiaSpace Adds RIDE! to Launch Ecosystem for Secondary Payloads Ahead of Maiden Flight (Source: Spacewatch Global)
MaiaSpace is partnering with RIDE! to offer compatible secondary payload opportunities alongside the company’s primary missions. The agreement expands MaiaSpace’s commercial launch ecosystem ahead of its launcher’s maiden mission, giving satellite customers another potential route to orbit while the new vehicle moves toward initial operations. (8/25)
TrustPoint Tests C-Band Navigation Signals on Hexagon’s NovAtel Receiver (Source: Space News)
TrustPoint has tested its C-band navigation signals on a receiver developed by Hexagon’s NovAtel, an early step toward compatibility with commercial navigation hardware. The demonstration advances the startup’s effort to develop an alternative to GPS using existing receiver technology. (8/25)
Rideshare Providers Get Creative to Meet Growing Demand (Source: Space News)
Companies who built their business arranging launches of smallsats on SpaceX’s rockets are now buying entire launches for themselves, a symbol of how tight the market for getting to orbit has become. Exolaunch and SEOPS, two companies that arrange rides to space for small-satellite operators, have each booked dedicated Falcon 9 launches as they seek more control over when and where their customers fly. Other launch-service companies are reshuffling missions and looking for additional capacity as the need to get to space outpaces the supply of available rides. “Demand is growing much faster than capacity,” Robert Sproles, chief executive of Exolaunch, said. (8/25)
Addressing the Space Industry’s Hiring Crunch (Source: Space News)
The space economy’s stellar growth is outstripping its workforce pipeline, even as advances in AI and automation boost productivity. Businesses and government agencies are struggling to find the engineers, cleared workers and mid-career managers needed to turn surging investment and demand into spacecraft and services. “The biggest need is clearable workforce,” said Heather Pringle, CEO of the non-profit Space Foundation. “That’s first and foremost — and that’s the hardest to get.”
“We know that there’s 25% of the workforce [that] is nearing retirement age and only 7% of the space workforce is under 25,” Pringle told SpaceNews. “That is not a sustainable path.” “It’s not just getting people in the pipeline,” Pringle said, “it’s keeping them,” with mid-management one of the critical layers that has become difficult to maintain. The industry has long bemoaned the struggle to attract enough engineering talent, but Pringle said the issue has become even more acute in recent years.
Meanwhile, China continues to far outpace the United States in the number of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduates. “If we don’t fill the workforce, we’re going to stop innovating,” Pringle warned, and “then we’re going to have to depend on others,” reducing options for economic growth and national security. (8/25)
Three Wires, Three Zeros: Three Failed Space-Tech Investments and the Warning Signs I Paid To Ignore (Source: Space Review)
Millions of dollars flow into space startups with the hope those companies will some day be worth billions. Florian Gutzwiller offers cautionary tales from his investments into three space companies that he had to write off. Click here. (8/25)
The Smoldering Dead End: A History of Solid Rocket Motors and Their Economic Scaling Limits (Source: Space Review)
Launch vehicles have used solid rocket motors for decades, although many new vehicles eschew them. Michael Puckett discusses the factors that led to adoption of solid motors on many early launch vehicles and why economics is pushing solids out of the market. Click here. (8/25)
At the Corner of No and Where: The Cold Cold War Mystery of Aspidnoye Airfield (Source: Space Review)
During the Cold War, US reconnaissance satellites monitored a Soviet airfield in the far north of the country. Harry Stranger and Dwayne Day examine the mystery of that airfield that even the best images from space could not unravel. Click here. (8/25)
Capability Before Prestige: A Realistic Astronomy and Space-Science Strategy for Bangladesh (Source: Space Review)
While space science programs are usually associated with major space powers, there are roles for emerging players as well. Shaikh Afnan Birahim discusses what Bangladesh can do in the field with only a limited investment. Click here. (8/25)
Goodbye, Falcon 9: SpaceX Planning to Retire Workhorse Launcher (Source: Space.com)
The rumors are true. SpaceX plans to retire its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket once the company's giant next-generation Starship begins regular operational flights. SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 for the first time in 2010, and the rocket soon chiseled itself a place in spaceflight history. The Falcon 9 has lifted off nearly 700 times to date, and it's the first orbital rocket ever to land and refly its first-stage booster. Russia's Soyuz rocket, which has been in operation since 1957, is the only launch vehicle with more missions under its belt, but the Falcon 9 is on track to pass it next year.
Editor's Note: It makes no sense for SpaceX to simply shut down the Falcon 9 program. If they're so confident that Starship will render Falcon 9 obsolete, why not sell the program or license production to ULA or Blue Origin? Or maybe sell the rockets to other 'spaceline' operators, like Boeing sells 737s to Delta Airlines. (8/24)
Policy Calls for Improved Integration of Space Transportation with Air Traffic Management (Source: Defense One)
To facilitate more space launches in U.S. airspace, the memo directs the Transportation Department—with the Pentagon and NASA—to “implement a plan to integrate space launch and reentry management into airspace and traffic control modernization efforts” and “designate priority airspace for critical space launch corridors” within 180 days of the policy’s release. Under Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration has been driving the administration’s effort to overhaul the nation’s outdated air traffic control systems.
It remains to be seen what steps will be needed to integrate the administration’s strategy with the air traffic control modernization effort, and whether or not this will have any impact on the project’s timeline. The FAA announced in December that it awarded Peraton a $1.5-billion contract to serve as the project’s prime integrator, although Politico reported on Thursday that officials within the agency were growing frustrated by the company’s management of the massive systems overhaul. (8/24)
Redwire to Manufacture Edge Aerospace Data Processors and Network Switches in U.S. Licensing Deal (Source: Via Satellite)
Redwire will manufacture data processing units and network switches for Luxembourg-based Edge Aerospace under a licensing agreement announced Aug. 25 at the Small Satellite Conference. The pact expands Edge Aerospace’s U.S. manufacturing footprint while adding space electronics production capacity through Redwire. (8/25)
ESA’s Draco Reentry Mission Passes Critical Design Review Ahead of 2027 Launch (Source: European Spaceflight)
The European Space Agency’s Draco reentry mission has completed its Critical Design Review, a major program milestone that authorizes the transition to manufacturing and testing. The mission remains scheduled for launch in 2027, advancing ESA’s work on controlled atmospheric reentry and spacecraft recovery technologies. (8/25)
NASA Satellites Prove GPS-Free Navigation in First “Lost-in-Space” Experiment (Source: Space.com)
A team of NASA satellites successfully demonstrated navigation without GPS in what NASA describes as the world’s first “lost-in-space” experiment. The result is enabling the satellites to extend their mission in orbit and validates alternative navigation methods for spacecraft operating beyond conventional GPS coverage. (8/25)
Space Policy's "Priority Airspace" Could Become an Inland Spaceport Range (Source: SPACErePORT)
The new policy calling for expansion of US orbital launch and reentry sites seeks input on potential "priority airspace" for such operations. This spells opportunity for proposed inland spaceports, especially in relation to ongoing FAA rulemaking for supersonic flight in the National Airspace System.
Stakeholders supporting supersonic flight have called for the FAA to create a supersonic/hypersonic flight test corridor somewhere over sparsely populated lands with uncrowded airspace. Extend this proposed test corridor above the Karman Line and you have a ready-made inland range for orbital launch and reentry.
Not coincidentally, some of the same vehicles being developed for supersonic and hypersonic flight are targeting air-launch operations, orbital access, and point-to-point spaceflight, so it doesn't take much imagination to combine the two concepts into one. (8/25)
NASA to Fly No Nubesat Secondary Payloads on Artemis 3 (Source: Space News)
NASA will omit cubesat secondary payloads from Artemis 3 after carrying small satellites on the first two Space Launch System missions. The change reduces the mission’s rideshare activity and underscores the evolving payload priorities for the next Artemis flight to the Moon. (8/25)
Arkisys Extends Agreement to Fly Odin Space’s Debris-Tracking Black Box on Cutter Spacecraft (Source: SatNews)
British startup Odin Space will continue flying its Black Box payload on Arkisys’ Cutter spacecraft under an extended agreement. The system is designed to address lethal, non-trackable space debris, adding another commercial effort focused on improving awareness of orbital hazards. (8/25)
Louisiana to Host SpaceX's High-Cadence Heavy-Lift Spaceport (Source: Louisiana Economic Development Department)
SpaceX has announced it will invest $100 billion to build its largest launch facility in Vermilion Parish, a spaceport designed to support thousands of launches annually and unlock spaceflight on an unprecedented scale. The historic project will establish Louisiana as a global hub for next-generation aerospace, with the capacity and infrastructure needed to dramatically increase launch frequency and expand access to space.
The company is expected to create 3,000 direct new jobs over the next 10 years, paying an average annual salary of $92,600, 192% above the Vermilion Parish average wage. Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project will generate more than 8,100 indirect new jobs for more than 11,100 new job opportunities in Acadiana. (8/25)
Billion-Dollar Hypersonic Testing Facility Breaks Ground in Minnesota (Source: Bring Me The News)
A $1 billion aerospace and hypersonic research and testing facility, billed as one of the most advanced in the nation, broke ground in Dakota County, Minnesota. Virginia-based North Wind said that over $1 billion will be invested in the complex now under construction. The facility “will provide the tools and test data needed to identify risks earlier, accelerate learning and advance technologies critical to U.S. national security.” (8/24)
Zelensky: Allowing Starlink Over Russia Could Shorten War (Source: Benzinga)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Elon Musk could reconsider his opposition to allowing Ukraine to use SpaceX's Starlink over Russian territory, even though the billionaire views the move as an escalation. "So far, (Elon Musk) has said that this constitutes an escalation," Zelensky told reporters. "However, he may change his mind once he sees further arguments." Zelensky said expanded coverage could weaken "precisely those capabilities that Russia is relying on to drag out the war." Kyiv wants Starlink-enabled drones to maintain reliable links during strikes against Russian military sites. (8/25)
Russian ‘Starlink’ Constellation Satellites Falling From Orbit (Source: Defence Blog)
Two satellites from Russia’s second Rassvet launch batch are heading toward reentry after never performing orbit-raising maneuvers, according to tracking data. The pair had fallen below 300 km in altitude as of late August and appeared to be on a decay path, the report said. It is the second time satellites from the Rassvet constellation have failed to reach a stable orbit. The Defence Blog reported in June that the first Rassvet satellite lost, designated Object 4, reentered the atmosphere on June 6 after never performing a single maneuver following its March 23 launch, the first confirmed casualty of the program. (8/25)
Utah School is Working with NASA to Train Aerospace Talent (Source: Deseret News)
Southern Utah University was one of seven institutions awarded a combined $10.5 million from NASA to support skilled training that prepares students for the aerospace workforce. Each state’s hub works with NASA to create a pathway for students to pursue highly skilled jobs in the aerospace industry. Using the awarded money, SUU will work with high school and college students to prepare them for an aerospace career. (8/25)
Ursa Major Plans SPAC Deal to Go Public (Source: Space News)
Ursa Major, a company that develops rocket engines and hypersonic missiles, is going public through a SPAC deal. The company announced Tuesday it will merge with Bleichroeder Acquisition Corp. III, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), that would value the merged company at $2.3 billion. The deal includes at least $350 million in committed financing for Ursa Major to expand production of missile propulsion systems, hypersonic missiles and spacecraft propulsion technology. Ursa Major originally built its business around supplying liquid-propellant rocket engines to launch companies, but has since moved deeper into defense as Pentagon demand for hypersonic systems and solid rocket motors has grown. Ursa Major said it expected the merger to close in the first quarter of 2027. (8/25)
SDA to Resume Tranche 1 Transport Layer Launches (Source: Space News)
The Space Development Agency (SDA) expects to soon resume launches of a military communications satellite system. After a months-long pause, SDA is filling out the Tranche 1 Transport Layer, the communications backbone of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). Two planes of York Space Systems satellites and one plane of Lockheed Martin spacecraft are currently in Tranche 1. Speaking at the Small Satellite Conference on Monday, SDA director GP Sandhoo said the first set of Northrop Grumman satellites for Tranche 1 could launch in the next couple of weeks. He said despite progress in deploying PWSA satellites, the agency is still seeing problems such as supply chain constraints that are hindering the overall effort. (8/25)
Kepler to Start In-Orbit Laser Links (Source: Space News)
Kepler Communications announced Monday the start of commercial in-orbit optical data relay services. The Canadian company said it had wrapped up commissioning for the first tranche of 10 satellites, weighing about 300 kilograms each, that SpaceX launched in January. The network uses intersatellite laser links to relay data between spacecraft, reducing the need for customers to wait for passes over ground stations to communicate with Earth. Kepler said it has a diverse mix of customers across commercial and government markets for its data relay network, including OroraTech, which operates satellites for wildfire monitoring. (8/25)
Lux Aeterna Pitches Reusable Spacecraft to Space Force (Source: Space News)
Lux Aeterna, a startup developing reusable spacecraft, is pitching such spacecraft to the Space Force. The company is working to convince the military that it is possible to treat some spacecraft more like aircraft: assets that can be deployed for a mission, brought back for maintenance or upgrades and returned to service. The argument is as much about lowering the cost of a satellite as it is about changing how the Space Force manages spacecraft over their lifetimes. Lux Aeterna is building its first satellite, Delphi-1, a roughly 200-kilogram vehicle designed to carry about 30 kilograms of payload. It is scheduled to launch early next year. (8/25)
Germany's Constellr Developing Thermal Imaging Constellation (Source: Space News)
Constellr, a German company developing a constellation of thermal-imaging satellites, has ordered two spacecraft from Danish smallsat manufacturer Space Inventor. The satellites, slated for launch in 2028, will provide thermal imagery at higher resolution than its current satellites, working toward a goal of sub-five-meter resolution. Constellr operates two SkyBee satellites, built by Kongsberg NanoAvionics, that provide thermal imagery at a resolution of 30 meters. A third SkyBee satellite is scheduled to launch next February. (8/25)
SpaceX Offers Free Use of Space Safety Platform (Source: Space News)
SpaceX is offering a free space safety platform for other satellite operators. The company discussed its space-safety.com system at the Small Satellite Conference on Monday. It uses data from its Stargaze SSA system announced earlier this year along with other data, such as ephemerides from satellite operators. SpaceX officials said its system can screen for potential conjunctions far more rapidly than other services, such as the Space Force's Space-Track system. SpaceX acknowledges it is motivated to improve space safety given it is by far the largest satellite operator, with more than 11,000 Starlink satellites in orbit. (8/25)
Aerospace Corp.'s DiskSat Tests Going Well (Source: Space News)
The Aerospace Corporation says tests of its first DiskSat satellites have gone well. Aerospace launched in December the first four DiskSat spacecraft, so named because of their disk-shaped form factor that is a departure from cubesats and other smallsats. Tests of the spacecraft show they are performing well despite a few issues, such as stray light affecting star trackers that had been modified to fit within the thin spacecraft. Several companies have expressed interest in licensing the DiskSat design for their own spacecraft. (8/25)
CesiumAstro Plans to Launch its First Element Spacecraft Later This Year (Source: Space News)
In a presentation at the Small Satellite Conference on Sunday, a company official said the Element-1 spacecraft is being shipped later this week for launch on a SpaceX rideshare mission in October. Element-1 is a 500-kilogram satellite that will test the company's L- and Ka-band phased-array antennas. The company has filed plans for a constellation of more than 700 satellites based on Element-1 but has said little about the services that constellation will provide. (8/25)
China Launches Long March 6C with Seven Satellites (Source: Xinhua)
A Chinese Long March 6C rocket launched seven satellites Monday night. The rocket lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 11:21 p.m. Eastern. The rocket's payload included two radar-imaging satellites for Chinese company GalaxySpace. That company also built GISTDA Cube Sat 1, which will provide Earth science data for Thailand's space agency. (8/25)
Russia Launches Soyuz Rocket From Plesetsk, After Earlier Drone Threats (Source: Russian Space Web)
Russia launched a military satellite from Plesetsk despite worries of an Ukrainian drone attack. A Soyuz-2.1b rocket lifted off from the spaceport in northern Russia at 10:30 p.m. Eastern Sunday, placing into orbit a classified Russian military satellite. The launch took place after reports of Ukrainian drone sightings in the region earlier Sunday, interpreted by some at an attempted attack on the spaceport. (8/25)
SpaceX Launches Tuesday Starlink Mission From Florida (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites Tuesday morning. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 5:33 a.m. Eastern, putting 29 Starlink satellites into orbit. The early morning launch created a "jellyfish" effect as the plume was backlit by the rising sun, making it visible across parts of the Eastern Seaboard. The booster used for the launch made its record-setting 37th flight. (8/25)
Finland's Kuva Space to Offer Daily Arctic Hyperspectral Imagery (Source: Space News)
Finnish hyperspectral startup Kuva Space expects to provide daily coverage of the Arctic by 2028. The company, which has two satellites in orbit today, is working on the six-satellite Hyperfield-2 constellation that will join them. Kuva Space expects that the full eight-satellite system will be able to provide daily hyperspectral coverage of the Arctic, from detecting stealth vessels to monitoring greenhouse gas emissions. (8/25)
Hyperspectral Imagery Market Picking Up (Source: Space News)
After years of effort, demand for hyperspectral imagery is finally emerging. Constellations of small satellites with hyperspectral imagers have promised global insights that are impossible to obtain with other systems, but have grappled with the complexity of calibrating hyperspectral sensors and turning the raw data into information customers value. However, industry officials say advances in AI are making it easier to process hyperspectral imagery and extract key insights. Governments are early customers for that data, using it to see through camouflage and detect decoys, but there is also commercial interest in agriculture and mining. (8/25)
Portal Space and Rebel Space to Fly Spectrum Monitors (Source: Space News)
Spacecraft developer Portal Space is working with Rebel Space to place spectrum monitoring technology aboard its vehicles. The companies are exploring several approaches that would allow Portal spacecraft to detect and characterize interference and other electronic threats in their immediate surroundings. The effort comes as government agencies and commercial satellite operators pay closer attention to the increasingly congested electromagnetic environment in space, where communications links can be disrupted by unintentional interference or deliberate jamming. (8/25)
Shield AI's Hivemind Flies on NOVI Satellite (Source: Space News)
Shield AI has flown its Hivemind autonomy software aboard a satellite for the first time. Shield AI, Sedaro and NOVI Space said Monday that Hivemind ran aboard a NOVI satellite in low Earth orbit during a series of experiments that combined artificial intelligence with onboard simulation software designed to check commands before they were carried out. The experiment went beyond using artificial intelligence for onboard data processing, testing whether software could make decisions across several mission demands. Shield AI is a San Diego-based defense technology company known for its AI autonomy software for aircraft. (8/25)
BlackVe Inc., a defense and space technology company, celebrated the opening of its new satellite manufacturing facility at MaxQ with a ribbon cutting. Located at MaxQ@Kirtland, a high-tech commercial campus on Kirtland Air Force Base north of the base’s security fence, the new 30,000-square-foot facility will support BlackVe’s advanced spacecraft manufacturing operations as the company grows its Albuquerque workforce.
The State of New Mexico is investing $1 million through the Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) fund, with the City of Albuquerque contributing $250,000 in local LEDA funds to support BlackVe’s expansion, which is expected to create 152 high-paying jobs over the next 10 years. The expansion is projected to generate more than $228 million in total economic impact for the state. (8/25)
NASA Considers Bulk Launch Buys (Source: Aviation Week)
NASA is considering bulk buying launches through the Commercial Access to Space program. The agency might procure five to 20 launches in a single solicitation under the program and is setting up a headquarters office to oversee agencywide launch service procurements. (8/25)
Florida's Lonestar Picks Polish Startup Ares Shield to Protect Data Center Satellites with High-Power Microwave Weapons (Source: Space.com)
The final frontier is getting more and more contested, so satellite companies are investing in some self-defense. At least one of them is, anyway. Florida-based Lonestar Data Holdings announced today (Aug. 25) that it has contracted Polish startup Ares Shield to provide protection for its off-Earth data centers, in a deal worth up to $6 million.
Ares Shield's system will be able to detect and classify potential threats, such as approaching "inspector" satellites that may have designs on stealing the client's data. And the defense module can neutralize them via electronics-frying HPM emissions, knocking satellites out without creating a cloud of space debris. (8/26)
Lockheed Martin Ventures Open to ‘Defense-Specific Investments’ (Source: Aerospace America)
Lockheed Martin’s venture capital fund is increasingly interested in technology focused on defense, its general manager said today. “A lot of our investments, I’d say 90% plus, are still kind of dual-use,” Chris Moran, who heads Lockheed Martin Ventures, told reporters. “But in the last couple years, we’ve made a few defense-specific investments, which we probably wouldn’t have contemplated before.” (8/26)
Impulse Space Ramps up GEO Rideshare Program (Source: Space News)
Impulse Space will increase the cadence of its rideshare missions to geostationary orbit, citing strong commercial demand. During a side session at the Small Satellite Conference here Aug. 25, Joshua Rea, director of commercial sales at Impulse Space, said the company has closed bookings for its first Caravan rideshare mission, scheduled for the first half of 2027, using the company’s Helios kick stage to deliver payloads to GEO. (8/26)
SpaceX Moving All Starlink Launches to Vandenberg (Source: Space News)
As part of the company's shift in focus from Falcon 9 to Starship, SpaceX has decided to launch all Falcon 9 future Starlink missions to Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Starlink missions have been responsible for bringing Florida's launch cadence up to the 100+ per year level, though in 2026 the company has shifted more of them to California.
Moving all Falcon 9 Starlink missions to California will allow the company to focus on developing Starship infrastructure at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, while meeting the demand for non-Starlink missions in Florida. Future Starship missions from Florida are intended to carry Starlink satellites. (8/26)
India's OrbitAID to Launch RPO Demo in 2027 (Source: Payload)
OrbitAID Aerospace is aiming to prove it can gas up satellites in orbit as early as next year. The Indian company told Payload that it is expecting to conduct a demo life-extension mission in LEO in Q1 2027. During the demo, two satellites will launch to LEO—a chaser and a target. The mission seeks to prove out each step of the life-extension process for a target spacecraft. (8/25)
Impulse Space to Increase Cadence of Commercial GEO Rideshare Missions (Source: Space News)
Impulse Space plans to increase the cadence of rideshare missions to geostationary orbit, citing strong commercial demand. The expansion signals continued customer interest in dedicated orbital transfer and deployment services for GEO-bound payloads, while adding another demand indicator for the emerging commercial space transportation market. (8/25)
U.S. Trustee Seeks Investigation Into EchoStar’s $1.5 Billion Hughes Transactions (Source: Bloomberg)
The U.S. Trustee is urging a bankruptcy court to appoint an examiner to investigate $1.5 billion in alleged “unusual transactions” between EchoStar Corp. and its bankrupt subsidiary, Hughes Satellite Systems Corp. The request places EchoStar’s intercompany dealings and governance under heightened legal scrutiny. (8/25)
China Advances Orbital Data Centers as Europe Debates Its Space-Compute Strategy (Source: Spacewatch Global)
China is moving rapidly to develop orbital data centers, while the European Space Policy Institute warns Europe risks falling behind in space-based computing. The debate highlights the emerging strategic value of processing data in orbit and the policy, industrial and infrastructure choices needed to compete. (8/25)
MaiaSpace Adds RIDE! to Launch Ecosystem for Secondary Payloads Ahead of Maiden Flight (Source: Spacewatch Global)
MaiaSpace is partnering with RIDE! to offer compatible secondary payload opportunities alongside the company’s primary missions. The agreement expands MaiaSpace’s commercial launch ecosystem ahead of its launcher’s maiden mission, giving satellite customers another potential route to orbit while the new vehicle moves toward initial operations. (8/25)
TrustPoint Tests C-Band Navigation Signals on Hexagon’s NovAtel Receiver (Source: Space News)
TrustPoint has tested its C-band navigation signals on a receiver developed by Hexagon’s NovAtel, an early step toward compatibility with commercial navigation hardware. The demonstration advances the startup’s effort to develop an alternative to GPS using existing receiver technology. (8/25)
Rideshare Providers Get Creative to Meet Growing Demand (Source: Space News)
Companies who built their business arranging launches of smallsats on SpaceX’s rockets are now buying entire launches for themselves, a symbol of how tight the market for getting to orbit has become. Exolaunch and SEOPS, two companies that arrange rides to space for small-satellite operators, have each booked dedicated Falcon 9 launches as they seek more control over when and where their customers fly. Other launch-service companies are reshuffling missions and looking for additional capacity as the need to get to space outpaces the supply of available rides. “Demand is growing much faster than capacity,” Robert Sproles, chief executive of Exolaunch, said. (8/25)
Addressing the Space Industry’s Hiring Crunch (Source: Space News)
The space economy’s stellar growth is outstripping its workforce pipeline, even as advances in AI and automation boost productivity. Businesses and government agencies are struggling to find the engineers, cleared workers and mid-career managers needed to turn surging investment and demand into spacecraft and services. “The biggest need is clearable workforce,” said Heather Pringle, CEO of the non-profit Space Foundation. “That’s first and foremost — and that’s the hardest to get.”
“We know that there’s 25% of the workforce [that] is nearing retirement age and only 7% of the space workforce is under 25,” Pringle told SpaceNews. “That is not a sustainable path.” “It’s not just getting people in the pipeline,” Pringle said, “it’s keeping them,” with mid-management one of the critical layers that has become difficult to maintain. The industry has long bemoaned the struggle to attract enough engineering talent, but Pringle said the issue has become even more acute in recent years.
Meanwhile, China continues to far outpace the United States in the number of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduates. “If we don’t fill the workforce, we’re going to stop innovating,” Pringle warned, and “then we’re going to have to depend on others,” reducing options for economic growth and national security. (8/25)
Three Wires, Three Zeros: Three Failed Space-Tech Investments and the Warning Signs I Paid To Ignore (Source: Space Review)
Millions of dollars flow into space startups with the hope those companies will some day be worth billions. Florian Gutzwiller offers cautionary tales from his investments into three space companies that he had to write off. Click here. (8/25)
The Smoldering Dead End: A History of Solid Rocket Motors and Their Economic Scaling Limits (Source: Space Review)
Launch vehicles have used solid rocket motors for decades, although many new vehicles eschew them. Michael Puckett discusses the factors that led to adoption of solid motors on many early launch vehicles and why economics is pushing solids out of the market. Click here. (8/25)
At the Corner of No and Where: The Cold Cold War Mystery of Aspidnoye Airfield (Source: Space Review)
During the Cold War, US reconnaissance satellites monitored a Soviet airfield in the far north of the country. Harry Stranger and Dwayne Day examine the mystery of that airfield that even the best images from space could not unravel. Click here. (8/25)
Capability Before Prestige: A Realistic Astronomy and Space-Science Strategy for Bangladesh (Source: Space Review)
While space science programs are usually associated with major space powers, there are roles for emerging players as well. Shaikh Afnan Birahim discusses what Bangladesh can do in the field with only a limited investment. Click here. (8/25)
Goodbye, Falcon 9: SpaceX Planning to Retire Workhorse Launcher (Source: Space.com)
The rumors are true. SpaceX plans to retire its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket once the company's giant next-generation Starship begins regular operational flights. SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 for the first time in 2010, and the rocket soon chiseled itself a place in spaceflight history. The Falcon 9 has lifted off nearly 700 times to date, and it's the first orbital rocket ever to land and refly its first-stage booster. Russia's Soyuz rocket, which has been in operation since 1957, is the only launch vehicle with more missions under its belt, but the Falcon 9 is on track to pass it next year.
Editor's Note: It makes no sense for SpaceX to simply shut down the Falcon 9 program. If they're so confident that Starship will render Falcon 9 obsolete, why not sell the program or license production to ULA or Blue Origin? Or maybe sell the rockets to other 'spaceline' operators, like Boeing sells 737s to Delta Airlines. (8/24)
Policy Calls for Improved Integration of Space Transportation with Air Traffic Management (Source: Defense One)
To facilitate more space launches in U.S. airspace, the memo directs the Transportation Department—with the Pentagon and NASA—to “implement a plan to integrate space launch and reentry management into airspace and traffic control modernization efforts” and “designate priority airspace for critical space launch corridors” within 180 days of the policy’s release. Under Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration has been driving the administration’s effort to overhaul the nation’s outdated air traffic control systems.
It remains to be seen what steps will be needed to integrate the administration’s strategy with the air traffic control modernization effort, and whether or not this will have any impact on the project’s timeline. The FAA announced in December that it awarded Peraton a $1.5-billion contract to serve as the project’s prime integrator, although Politico reported on Thursday that officials within the agency were growing frustrated by the company’s management of the massive systems overhaul. (8/24)
Redwire to Manufacture Edge Aerospace Data Processors and Network Switches in U.S. Licensing Deal (Source: Via Satellite)
Redwire will manufacture data processing units and network switches for Luxembourg-based Edge Aerospace under a licensing agreement announced Aug. 25 at the Small Satellite Conference. The pact expands Edge Aerospace’s U.S. manufacturing footprint while adding space electronics production capacity through Redwire. (8/25)
ESA’s Draco Reentry Mission Passes Critical Design Review Ahead of 2027 Launch (Source: European Spaceflight)
The European Space Agency’s Draco reentry mission has completed its Critical Design Review, a major program milestone that authorizes the transition to manufacturing and testing. The mission remains scheduled for launch in 2027, advancing ESA’s work on controlled atmospheric reentry and spacecraft recovery technologies. (8/25)
NASA Satellites Prove GPS-Free Navigation in First “Lost-in-Space” Experiment (Source: Space.com)
A team of NASA satellites successfully demonstrated navigation without GPS in what NASA describes as the world’s first “lost-in-space” experiment. The result is enabling the satellites to extend their mission in orbit and validates alternative navigation methods for spacecraft operating beyond conventional GPS coverage. (8/25)
Space Policy's "Priority Airspace" Could Become an Inland Spaceport Range (Source: SPACErePORT)
The new policy calling for expansion of US orbital launch and reentry sites seeks input on potential "priority airspace" for such operations. This spells opportunity for proposed inland spaceports, especially in relation to ongoing FAA rulemaking for supersonic flight in the National Airspace System.
Stakeholders supporting supersonic flight have called for the FAA to create a supersonic/hypersonic flight test corridor somewhere over sparsely populated lands with uncrowded airspace. Extend this proposed test corridor above the Karman Line and you have a ready-made inland range for orbital launch and reentry.
Not coincidentally, some of the same vehicles being developed for supersonic and hypersonic flight are targeting air-launch operations, orbital access, and point-to-point spaceflight, so it doesn't take much imagination to combine the two concepts into one. (8/25)
NASA to Fly No Nubesat Secondary Payloads on Artemis 3 (Source: Space News)
NASA will omit cubesat secondary payloads from Artemis 3 after carrying small satellites on the first two Space Launch System missions. The change reduces the mission’s rideshare activity and underscores the evolving payload priorities for the next Artemis flight to the Moon. (8/25)
Arkisys Extends Agreement to Fly Odin Space’s Debris-Tracking Black Box on Cutter Spacecraft (Source: SatNews)
British startup Odin Space will continue flying its Black Box payload on Arkisys’ Cutter spacecraft under an extended agreement. The system is designed to address lethal, non-trackable space debris, adding another commercial effort focused on improving awareness of orbital hazards. (8/25)
Louisiana to Host SpaceX's High-Cadence Heavy-Lift Spaceport (Source: Louisiana Economic Development Department)
SpaceX has announced it will invest $100 billion to build its largest launch facility in Vermilion Parish, a spaceport designed to support thousands of launches annually and unlock spaceflight on an unprecedented scale. The historic project will establish Louisiana as a global hub for next-generation aerospace, with the capacity and infrastructure needed to dramatically increase launch frequency and expand access to space.
The company is expected to create 3,000 direct new jobs over the next 10 years, paying an average annual salary of $92,600, 192% above the Vermilion Parish average wage. Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project will generate more than 8,100 indirect new jobs for more than 11,100 new job opportunities in Acadiana. (8/25)
Billion-Dollar Hypersonic Testing Facility Breaks Ground in Minnesota (Source: Bring Me The News)
A $1 billion aerospace and hypersonic research and testing facility, billed as one of the most advanced in the nation, broke ground in Dakota County, Minnesota. Virginia-based North Wind said that over $1 billion will be invested in the complex now under construction. The facility “will provide the tools and test data needed to identify risks earlier, accelerate learning and advance technologies critical to U.S. national security.” (8/24)
Zelensky: Allowing Starlink Over Russia Could Shorten War (Source: Benzinga)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Elon Musk could reconsider his opposition to allowing Ukraine to use SpaceX's Starlink over Russian territory, even though the billionaire views the move as an escalation. "So far, (Elon Musk) has said that this constitutes an escalation," Zelensky told reporters. "However, he may change his mind once he sees further arguments." Zelensky said expanded coverage could weaken "precisely those capabilities that Russia is relying on to drag out the war." Kyiv wants Starlink-enabled drones to maintain reliable links during strikes against Russian military sites. (8/25)
Russian ‘Starlink’ Constellation Satellites Falling From Orbit (Source: Defence Blog)
Two satellites from Russia’s second Rassvet launch batch are heading toward reentry after never performing orbit-raising maneuvers, according to tracking data. The pair had fallen below 300 km in altitude as of late August and appeared to be on a decay path, the report said. It is the second time satellites from the Rassvet constellation have failed to reach a stable orbit. The Defence Blog reported in June that the first Rassvet satellite lost, designated Object 4, reentered the atmosphere on June 6 after never performing a single maneuver following its March 23 launch, the first confirmed casualty of the program. (8/25)
Utah School is Working with NASA to Train Aerospace Talent (Source: Deseret News)
Southern Utah University was one of seven institutions awarded a combined $10.5 million from NASA to support skilled training that prepares students for the aerospace workforce. Each state’s hub works with NASA to create a pathway for students to pursue highly skilled jobs in the aerospace industry. Using the awarded money, SUU will work with high school and college students to prepare them for an aerospace career. (8/25)
Ursa Major Plans SPAC Deal to Go Public (Source: Space News)
Ursa Major, a company that develops rocket engines and hypersonic missiles, is going public through a SPAC deal. The company announced Tuesday it will merge with Bleichroeder Acquisition Corp. III, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), that would value the merged company at $2.3 billion. The deal includes at least $350 million in committed financing for Ursa Major to expand production of missile propulsion systems, hypersonic missiles and spacecraft propulsion technology. Ursa Major originally built its business around supplying liquid-propellant rocket engines to launch companies, but has since moved deeper into defense as Pentagon demand for hypersonic systems and solid rocket motors has grown. Ursa Major said it expected the merger to close in the first quarter of 2027. (8/25)
SDA to Resume Tranche 1 Transport Layer Launches (Source: Space News)
The Space Development Agency (SDA) expects to soon resume launches of a military communications satellite system. After a months-long pause, SDA is filling out the Tranche 1 Transport Layer, the communications backbone of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). Two planes of York Space Systems satellites and one plane of Lockheed Martin spacecraft are currently in Tranche 1. Speaking at the Small Satellite Conference on Monday, SDA director GP Sandhoo said the first set of Northrop Grumman satellites for Tranche 1 could launch in the next couple of weeks. He said despite progress in deploying PWSA satellites, the agency is still seeing problems such as supply chain constraints that are hindering the overall effort. (8/25)
Kepler to Start In-Orbit Laser Links (Source: Space News)
Kepler Communications announced Monday the start of commercial in-orbit optical data relay services. The Canadian company said it had wrapped up commissioning for the first tranche of 10 satellites, weighing about 300 kilograms each, that SpaceX launched in January. The network uses intersatellite laser links to relay data between spacecraft, reducing the need for customers to wait for passes over ground stations to communicate with Earth. Kepler said it has a diverse mix of customers across commercial and government markets for its data relay network, including OroraTech, which operates satellites for wildfire monitoring. (8/25)
Lux Aeterna Pitches Reusable Spacecraft to Space Force (Source: Space News)
Lux Aeterna, a startup developing reusable spacecraft, is pitching such spacecraft to the Space Force. The company is working to convince the military that it is possible to treat some spacecraft more like aircraft: assets that can be deployed for a mission, brought back for maintenance or upgrades and returned to service. The argument is as much about lowering the cost of a satellite as it is about changing how the Space Force manages spacecraft over their lifetimes. Lux Aeterna is building its first satellite, Delphi-1, a roughly 200-kilogram vehicle designed to carry about 30 kilograms of payload. It is scheduled to launch early next year. (8/25)
Germany's Constellr Developing Thermal Imaging Constellation (Source: Space News)
Constellr, a German company developing a constellation of thermal-imaging satellites, has ordered two spacecraft from Danish smallsat manufacturer Space Inventor. The satellites, slated for launch in 2028, will provide thermal imagery at higher resolution than its current satellites, working toward a goal of sub-five-meter resolution. Constellr operates two SkyBee satellites, built by Kongsberg NanoAvionics, that provide thermal imagery at a resolution of 30 meters. A third SkyBee satellite is scheduled to launch next February. (8/25)
SpaceX Offers Free Use of Space Safety Platform (Source: Space News)
SpaceX is offering a free space safety platform for other satellite operators. The company discussed its space-safety.com system at the Small Satellite Conference on Monday. It uses data from its Stargaze SSA system announced earlier this year along with other data, such as ephemerides from satellite operators. SpaceX officials said its system can screen for potential conjunctions far more rapidly than other services, such as the Space Force's Space-Track system. SpaceX acknowledges it is motivated to improve space safety given it is by far the largest satellite operator, with more than 11,000 Starlink satellites in orbit. (8/25)
Aerospace Corp.'s DiskSat Tests Going Well (Source: Space News)
The Aerospace Corporation says tests of its first DiskSat satellites have gone well. Aerospace launched in December the first four DiskSat spacecraft, so named because of their disk-shaped form factor that is a departure from cubesats and other smallsats. Tests of the spacecraft show they are performing well despite a few issues, such as stray light affecting star trackers that had been modified to fit within the thin spacecraft. Several companies have expressed interest in licensing the DiskSat design for their own spacecraft. (8/25)
CesiumAstro Plans to Launch its First Element Spacecraft Later This Year (Source: Space News)
In a presentation at the Small Satellite Conference on Sunday, a company official said the Element-1 spacecraft is being shipped later this week for launch on a SpaceX rideshare mission in October. Element-1 is a 500-kilogram satellite that will test the company's L- and Ka-band phased-array antennas. The company has filed plans for a constellation of more than 700 satellites based on Element-1 but has said little about the services that constellation will provide. (8/25)
China Launches Long March 6C with Seven Satellites (Source: Xinhua)
A Chinese Long March 6C rocket launched seven satellites Monday night. The rocket lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 11:21 p.m. Eastern. The rocket's payload included two radar-imaging satellites for Chinese company GalaxySpace. That company also built GISTDA Cube Sat 1, which will provide Earth science data for Thailand's space agency. (8/25)
Russia Launches Soyuz Rocket From Plesetsk, After Earlier Drone Threats (Source: Russian Space Web)
Russia launched a military satellite from Plesetsk despite worries of an Ukrainian drone attack. A Soyuz-2.1b rocket lifted off from the spaceport in northern Russia at 10:30 p.m. Eastern Sunday, placing into orbit a classified Russian military satellite. The launch took place after reports of Ukrainian drone sightings in the region earlier Sunday, interpreted by some at an attempted attack on the spaceport. (8/25)
SpaceX Launches Tuesday Starlink Mission From Florida (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites Tuesday morning. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 5:33 a.m. Eastern, putting 29 Starlink satellites into orbit. The early morning launch created a "jellyfish" effect as the plume was backlit by the rising sun, making it visible across parts of the Eastern Seaboard. The booster used for the launch made its record-setting 37th flight. (8/25)
Finland's Kuva Space to Offer Daily Arctic Hyperspectral Imagery (Source: Space News)
Finnish hyperspectral startup Kuva Space expects to provide daily coverage of the Arctic by 2028. The company, which has two satellites in orbit today, is working on the six-satellite Hyperfield-2 constellation that will join them. Kuva Space expects that the full eight-satellite system will be able to provide daily hyperspectral coverage of the Arctic, from detecting stealth vessels to monitoring greenhouse gas emissions. (8/25)
Hyperspectral Imagery Market Picking Up (Source: Space News)
After years of effort, demand for hyperspectral imagery is finally emerging. Constellations of small satellites with hyperspectral imagers have promised global insights that are impossible to obtain with other systems, but have grappled with the complexity of calibrating hyperspectral sensors and turning the raw data into information customers value. However, industry officials say advances in AI are making it easier to process hyperspectral imagery and extract key insights. Governments are early customers for that data, using it to see through camouflage and detect decoys, but there is also commercial interest in agriculture and mining. (8/25)
Portal Space and Rebel Space to Fly Spectrum Monitors (Source: Space News)
Spacecraft developer Portal Space is working with Rebel Space to place spectrum monitoring technology aboard its vehicles. The companies are exploring several approaches that would allow Portal spacecraft to detect and characterize interference and other electronic threats in their immediate surroundings. The effort comes as government agencies and commercial satellite operators pay closer attention to the increasingly congested electromagnetic environment in space, where communications links can be disrupted by unintentional interference or deliberate jamming. (8/25)
Shield AI's Hivemind Flies on NOVI Satellite (Source: Space News)
Shield AI has flown its Hivemind autonomy software aboard a satellite for the first time. Shield AI, Sedaro and NOVI Space said Monday that Hivemind ran aboard a NOVI satellite in low Earth orbit during a series of experiments that combined artificial intelligence with onboard simulation software designed to check commands before they were carried out. The experiment went beyond using artificial intelligence for onboard data processing, testing whether software could make decisions across several mission demands. Shield AI is a San Diego-based defense technology company known for its AI autonomy software for aircraft. (8/25)
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