August 5, 2026

SpaceX Has Bought $329M Worth of Tesla Megapacks So Far This Year (Source: Tech Crunch)
SpaceX has ramped up purchases of Tesla Megapack, spending $295 million on the battery storage devices in the second quarter and $329 million so far this year, according to the company’s earnings report released on Tuesday. The purchase illustrates just how interconnected Elon Musk’s universe of companies are. Musk, who is the CEO and largest shareholder of SpaceX, also runs Tesla. Musk’s artificial intelligence business xAI acquired his social media platform, X, in 2025. Earlier this year, SpaceX gobbled up xAI. (8/4)

Northrop Grumman Opens 300,000-Square-Foot Florida Space Coast Engineering Center (Source: Defense Industry Europe)
Northrop Grumman has opened a 300,000-square-foot engineering facility at its Melbourne campus in Florida. The site will support sixth-generation aircraft design and development for U.S. defense programs. The new building provides space for more than 1,200 engineers and includes 17 secure laboratories. It expands the company’s capacity for advanced aerospace research, engineering and program work. (8/3)

South Korea to Send Up Space Solar Probe in 2031, Seeks More International Space Tie-Ups (Source: Yonhap)
South Korea is set to send a research probe to the region of space between Earth and the Moon in 2031 to observe solar activity, the country's space agency said Tuesday. The Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) said it plans to hold one-on-one meetings with space agencies from other countries, including the United States' NASA and Europe's ESA, and discuss cooperation in areas including lunar exploration, space telescopes and space sciences.(8/4)

Telesat Secures $2.3 Billion Arctic Military Satcom Contract, Expanding Telesat Lightspeed Network and Capacity by 44% (Source: Space News)
Canadian satellite operator Telesat has signed the largest contract in its history. Telesat announced Tuesday a $1.63 billion contract with Canada's Defense Investment Agency for military Ka-band services in the Arctic beginning in 2028. The deal includes two five-year options valued at about $142 million each. Those services would be provided by Telesat's upcoming Lightspeed low Earth orbit constellation. The contract gives Telesat an anchor defense customer before Lightspeed begins service. It also supplies funding to increase the number of fully financed satellites in the low Earth orbit constellation from 156 to 225. Telesat already had a contract with MDA Space for 198 satellites, and added 27 satellites to the contract with this agreement.  (8/4)

Starship to Deploy Working Payloads on Next Test Flight (Source: Space News)
SpaceX plans to begin deploying payloads in orbit on its next Starship flight. The company announced during its earnings call Tuesday that Flight 14, the next Starship mission, will deploy Starlink V3 satellites into operational orbits. All Starship test flights to date have been suborbital missions, including Flight 13 last month that deployed Starlink V3 satellites for brief in-space tests before the satellites reentered. Flight 14 is tentatively scheduled for the end of this month. SpaceX also intends to recover the Starship upper stage on that flight back at the launch site with a tower catch, pending regulatory approval. In the earnings call, the first since the company went public in June, SpaceX reported a net loss of $541 million on revenue of $7.8 billion in the second quarter. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk made bold predictions about the company's growth in the call, including that it would reach $1 trillion in annual revenue in 2030, but SpaceX shares fell in after-hours trading because of concerns about current AI spending. (8/5)

SpaceX's Satellite Ambitions Squeeze Out Rivals Reliant on its Rockets (Source: Reuters)
SpaceX is increasingly reserving space on its rockets to launch its own Starlink satellites, crowding out rival space companies that have long depended on Elon Musk's company to get their payloads into ​orbit. Starlink's share of SpaceX missions has grown year after year, rising from 54% of the Falcon 9 rocket's manifest in 2020 to about 79% so far in 2026. In recent months, at least seven spacecraft companies have been told that Falcon 9 is fully booked for all types of missions until 2028 or 2029, eight sources told Reuters. They added that the bottleneck is driven by SpaceX's plans to transition to the new Starship rocket, designed to be fully reusable and cheaper than Falcon 9.

Starlink's growing percentage of SpaceX launches reflects an economic reality. Analysts estimate that a single Starlink mission using Starship could bring in tens of millions of dollars more in revenue for SpaceX than launching a commercial customer's payload ​to space. That calculation is based on the expected returns of adding more satellites to Starlink's network. (8/4)

Rocket Lab Among Three Winners in Space Force Project for Threat Tracking Satellites (Source: Space News)
Rocket Lab is among three companies to win Space Force contracts to develop technologies for a satellite network intended to track aircraft and missile threats from orbit. The Space Force announced Tuesday $615 million in contracts to Rocket Lab, Systems & Technology Research and an undisclosed third company for the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator, or SB-AMTI, program. It will provide the military with persistent tracking from space over areas where surveillance aircraft may be unable to operate safely. The Space Force did not say how the funding would be allocated among the three companies but Rocket Lab said its share is worth $397 million, funding production and launch of "Flatellites" for the constellation. The new contracts follow a $4.16 billion award to SpaceX to build the initial AMTI satellite constellation. (8/5)

Portugal's Neuraspace Raises $18 Million for Space Traffic Management (Source: Space News)
Space traffic management startup Neuraspace raised an additional $18 million. The Portuguese company announced the new funding Wednesday, consisting of €6 million ($6.9 million) in Series B venture funding and €9.6 million from Portugal's Recovery and Resilience Plan. The funding will support the company's work on NeuraspaceDEF, an AI-powered space domain awareness platform for civil and defense users. The platform combines data from public databases, ground-based telescopes and its own optical sensors to improve satellite tracking. It monitors more than 600 satellites for customers such as Spire Global and the European Space Agency. (8/5)

Voyager Seeks Eased NASA Requirements for Commercial Stations (Source: Space News)
Voyager Technologies would like to see NASA reduce some of the proposed requirements for the next phase of a commercial space station program. In an earnings call Tuesday, Voyager executives were upbeat about the prospects for Starlab, the commercial space station being developed by the Starlab Space joint venture where Voyager is the majority owner. That includes competing for the next phase of NASA's Commercial LEO Destinations program, for which NASA released a draft RFP last month. Voyager said it was concerned that the requirements NASA imposed on companies in the draft RFP were too robust, and urged NASA to relax them. Voyager expects the final RFP to be released "shortly" with NASA making awards by early next year. (8/5)

SpaceX Positions Starfall Against Multiple US, European, and Asian Startups (Source: Space News)
SpaceX's Starfall reentry vehicle is a validation of the market for companies developing their own vehicles as well as a stiff competitor. SpaceX flew its first Starfall test flight in June, demonstrating a vehicle that can return about one ton from orbit. Starfall comes as many startups in the United States, Europe and Asia pursue their own vehicles, seeking to tap into demand for pharmaceutical research and space manufacturing. Those companies said that SpaceX's entry into the field with Starfall demonstrates the strong potential of the market, but acknowledged they will have to work to differentiate themselves. (8/5)

SpaceX Launches AST and Starlink Satellites on Tuesday From Florida and California (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launched Starlink and BlueBird satellites on separate missions less than 24 hours apart. One Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 1:05 p.m. Eastern Tuesday, putting 24 Starlink satellites into orbit, adding to a constellation of now about 10,800 satellites. Another Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 3:49 a.m. Eastern Wednesday, carrying three BlueBird direct-to-device satellites for AST SpaceMobile. That company, a competitor to SpaceX, has been forced to rely on SpaceX for launches with Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket out of service. (8/5)

China Launches Broadband Constellation Satellites on Long March 8A and Jielong-3 Rockets (Source: Xinhua)
China launched another set of broadband satellites Tuesday. A Long March 8A lifted off from the Wenchang commercial launch site. It placed into orbit a set of satellites for the Guowang constellation. Separately, a Jielong-3 (Smart Dragon-3) lifted off Tuesday from a ship offshore from Haiyang, China. The rocket placed into orbit two hyperspectral imaging satellites. (8/5)

European Policy Institute Warns of Space Lag (Source: Space News)
A new study warns Europe risks falling behind China and the United States in the race to develop orbital data centers. The study released Wednesday by the European Space Policy Institute noted that Chinese companies have already deployed satellites to serve as orbital data centers following a top-down approach with government backing, while American companies are pursuing more commercially driven approaches. Europe, though, continues to focus on research and small-scale technology demonstrations, and the study recommended the European Union identify orbital data centers as an emerging pillar of technological sovereignty and coordinate policy, investment and regulation around their development. (8/5)

Rubicon Completes Nontoxic Thruster Tests (Source: Space News)
Rubicon Space Systems has completed testing of a spacecraft thruster that uses a nontoxic alternative to hydrazine. The company said tests showed its Velox thruster, which produces five newtons of thrust, exceeded design objectives in tests and is ready to go into production. Velox uses ASCENT, a green propellant developed as an alternative to hydrazine. Rubicon has three customers so far for Velox, with deliveries to the first customer scheduled for early 2027. (8/5)

SpaceX Partners With Nvidia On Starmind AI1 Compute Payload (Source: Mach 33)
SpaceX is partnering with Nvidia to design the Starmind AI1 satellite compute payload, which will include Nvidia Rubin GPUs and Vera CPUs for what the company calls datacenter class space compute. (8/4)

ESA and Pokémon Team to Celebrate World Space Week (Source: ESA)
The European Space Agency (ESA) and The Pokémon Company International (TPCi) are teaming up to celebrate World Space Week from 4–10 October 2026. This unique, limited-time collaboration brings together two worlds united by curiosity, exploration and imagination. For decades, space has inspired people to dream and look beyond the horizon. ESA has turned that sense of wonder into exploration, uncovering more about the Universe and sharing this journey of discovery with people on Earth. Pokémon has sparked that same spirit of adventure for generations, inviting fans around the world to discover, learn and explore through play. (8/4)

Hunt On for Private Overseas Investment in New Zealand's Second Launch Pad (Source: RNZ)
The National Aerospace Center says it expects to tap intense global demand for rocket launches to get private investment for the country's second launch pad. Tāwhaki says it has several European companies interested in a spaceport at Kaitorete Spit south of Christchurch. Plans "just need commercial ignition", said acting chief executive John Holt. The government has all but ruled out any further capital investment in the near term due to fiscal constraints, and an official briefing said the lack of subsidies for launch pads was a "key challenge". (8/5)

SaxaVord Spaceport Submits Revised Staff Accommodation Plans (Source: Shetland Times)
Spaceport staff accommodation plans have been scaled back from 80 modules to 32, according to new documents. SaxaVord Spaceport recently submitted revised proposals for its temporary accommodation required for launch staff through two separate planning applications. They have been lodged at a key time for the spaceport as it gears up for its first launch, which could potentially happen as soon as next week. (8/5)

SpaceX Needs to Make Its Bigger Rockets Work (Source: Wall Street Journal)
SpaceX’s stock has fallen hard since the company’s IPO in June. But Elon Musk still needs a lot to go right to justify the company’s out-of-this-world valuation. Pretty much all of SpaceX’s most promising ambitions hinge on carrying larger payload capacity at lower cost than today’s rockets. And that means the company can little afford continued hiccups with Starship, the successor to SpaceX’s tried and tested Falcon 9 rockets. (8/5)

NASA To Ramp Up ISS Mission Cadence To Hasten Rotation Rate (Source: Aviation Week)
NASA plans to move up the launch of four crewmembers to the International Space Station (ISS) to help hasten the crew rotation rate as the seven-person orbital lab approaches a planned 2030 deorbit. (8/3)

August 4, 2026

NOAA Extends $3 Million Contract to Evaluate Spire’s Hyperspectral Microwave Sounder Data (Source: Space News)
NOAA will continue evaluating data from Spire Global’s Hyperspectral Microwave Sounder under a $3 million contract extension announced Aug. 4. The agreement extends the agency’s assessment of Spire’s commercial data for potential use in NOAA’s meteorological and environmental observation activities. (8/4)

Military Demand Shapes Market for Satellite Propulsion (Source: Space News)
An increasingly competitive market is forming around a capability military satellites have historically used sparingly: propulsion after launch. Startups and established spacecraft manufacturers are investing in engines designed to give small satellites more freedom to change orbit, maintain lower altitudes and respond to changing conditions in space. Recent tests, product launches and acquisitions suggest that companies see an opening in national security programs focused on what the military calls dynamic space operations — the ability to move spacecraft as part of an operational mission rather than simply keep them in a predetermined orbit.

The development of the market is in its early stages. Many of the systems are still in ground testing, flight demonstration or initial production. The Space Force is also working through how frequently satellites would maneuver, which missions would benefit and what supporting technologies would be required. The trend is closely tied to the military’s adoption of smaller satellites. Most propulsion systems are intended to perform routine station keeping or minor collision avoidance maneuvers, but not the larger or more frequent orbital changes envisioned in emerging military concepts. (8/4)

Starship Launch 13 Exposed Its Fatal Achilles Heel (Source: Medium)
Starship’s flight test 13 wasn’t the huge leap forward SpaceX needed. But this launch demonstrated something crucial that the media has barely even noticed, let alone discussed: a major flaw with Starship’s promised future. A fundamental problem so catastrophic, we will look back and wonder why anyone thought this launch vehicle would ever work.

Orbital refueling is arguably the single most important remaining capability because both NASA's Artemis program and Mars missions depend on it. And booster landing reliability still needs improvement. Starship is making progress, but the remaining challenges are so numerous and interconnected that schedule promises are becoming increasingly difficult to meet. (8/2)

L3Harris Confirms Successful Deployment for First Perimeter Truss Reflector on ViaSat-3 (Source: Via Satellite)
L3Harris Technologies confirmed a successful deployment for its first perimeter truss reflector onboard the ViaSat-3 Flight 3 satellite. SpaceX launched the satellite in late April, the third deployment in Viasat’s trio of high-capacity Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellites. The satellite will be positioned over the Asia-Pacific region.

L3Harris builds large, deployable mesh reflector apertures and antenna systems for UHF-Band through Ka-Band. Its perimeter truss reflectors have a reflective mesh surface designed to maximize antenna gain and improve performance for advanced communications services. (8/4)

Endeavor Optical Networks Emerges From Stealth with Plans for an Optical MEO Data-Transfer Network (Source: Via Satellite)
Startup Endeavor Optical Networks has emerged from stealth with plans to build an optical satellite network in medium Earth orbit for space-based data transfer. The company’s announcement adds a new entrant to the developing market for high-capacity intersatellite and space-based communications infrastructure. (8/4)

EchoStar’s Hughes Wins Court Approval to Use Lender Cash During Bankruptcy (Source: Bloomberg)
A judge has authorized Hughes Satellite Systems Corp. to access noteholders’ cash for the next four weeks, following a two-day court dispute over how the company will fund operations and pay bills while proceeding through bankruptcy. (8/4)

NASA Selects Lunar Outpost to Advance Starweave Autonomous Robotic Swarm Software (Source: Spacewatch Global)
NASA selected Lunar Outpost’s proposal to advance Starweave, an autonomous robotic swarm software platform, under the agency’s Announcement of Collaboration Opportunity. The effort adds to NASA’s work on coordinated robotic systems for future lunar operations, though the announcement provides no details on funding, schedule or mission assignment. (8/4)

Jupiter's Moon Europa May Have Signs of Life in its Buried Ocean, But Can Our Sensors See Them? (Source: Space.com)
A new study suggests any shallow water the Europa Clipper detects may not necessarily be a direct window into the moon's ocean after all. Research indicates that Europa's icy shell acts as a far more formidable barrier than previously assumed. Computer simulations modeling the physics of water traveling through fractures in the ice reveal that liquid rising from the ocean would move turbulently, shed heat rapidly and freeze the cracks shut — often in a matter of hours — long before reaching shallow depths. (8/3)

Leidos to Equip Golden Dome Satellites With Infrared Sensors (Source: Defense Post)
Leidos will provide flight-proven infrared sensors for 18 missile defense satellites being built by Sierra Space, expanding the space-based tracking network supporting the US Golden Dome missile defense initiative. Sierra Space selected Leidos to supply the sensing payloads for satellites designed to detect and track hypersonic and other advanced missile threats from low Earth orbit. The satellites are part of the Advanced Missile Detection and Tracking Tranche 3 program. Sierra Space will integrate the payloads into the satellite constellation, while Leidos will supply ground support equipment, mission expertise, operational support, and sustainment. (8/4)

Rocketdyne Reemerges as Standalone Space Company (Source: Space News)
Rocketdyne is returning as an independent company as AE Industrial Partners completes its purchase of L3Harris Technologies’ space propulsion, power and electronics units, separating a 1,300-person space supplier from the missile businesses L3Harris plans to keep. AE Industrial said AJupiter's Moon Europa May Have Signs of Life in its Buried Ocean, But Can Our Sensors See Them? (Source: Space.com)
A new study suggests any shallow water the Europa Clipper detects may not necessarily be a direct window into the moon's ocean after all. Research indicates that Europa's icy shell acts as a far more formidable barrier than previously assumed. Computer simulations modeling the physics of water traveling through fractures in the ice reveal that liquid rising from the ocean would move turbulently, shed heat rapidly and freeze the cracks shut — often in a matter of hours — long before reaching shallow depths. (8/3)

ISRO Conducts Gaganyaan Parachute, Crew Module & Engine Tests (Source: Douglas Messier)
ISRO has been making steady progress toward the first uncrewed flight test of its Gaganyaan crew vehicle. The Indian space agency published the following update on its pre-flight testing. ISRO has successfully conducted a critical Integrated Main parachute Airdrop Test (IMAT) for the Gaganyaan missions. Recently ISRO also successfully accomplished three major qualification tests for Crew Module (CM) systems of Gaganyaan, as well as the Crew Module Up-righting System (CMUS) for ensuring up-right position for Crew Module after splashdown. (8/4)

Crew Dragon's Long-Term Future Uncertain (Source: Space News)
While SpaceX's Crew Dragon has become a workhorse for NASA and commercial human spaceflight, its long-term future remains uncertain. The upcoming Crew-13 mission to the ISS, scheduled for launch next month, with be the 18th SpaceX crewed mission to the station. At a briefing Monday, SpaceX said there is a "significant" amount of life left in its fleet of five Crew Dragon spacecraft to support NASA and commercial missions to the ISS. However, the spacecraft's long-term future, including its availability for commercial stations that will succeed the station, is in question as SpaceX moves to shift to Starship. SpaceX declined to confirm if the company was continuing to sell Crew Dragon missions beyond those already under contract to NASA and others. (8/4)

Spain's Kreios Space Developing VLEO Propulsion System (Source: Space News)
Spanish startup Kreios Space will fly a spacecraft in very low Earth orbit (VLEO) to test an air-breathing electric propulsion system. Kreios said Tuesday it signed an agreement with smallsat manufacturer Kongsberg NanoAvionics for a microsatellite bus for that mission, scheduled for 2027. The mission will test an electric thruster that uses the tenuous atmosphere in VLEO as propellant. A second mission is planned for 2028. (8/4)

Western Militaries Concerned About Launch Site Shortage (Source: Aviation Week)
Western military leaders are increasingly concerned about range infrastructure as they seek to launch spacecraft quickly during crises, with Germany exploring the possibility of securing a space launch facility to address this issue. Sweden is upgrading the Esrange Space Center to support orbital launches starting in 2028. (8/4)

Upper-Stage Lunar Crash Drives Discussion of Future Mitigation Approaches (Source: Space News)
The unintentional collision of a Falcon 9 upper stage with the moon is prompting SpaceX and others to study ways to avoid similar situations in the future. The upper stage, used for the January 2025 launch of two commercial lunar landers, will hit the moon at 2:35 a.m. Eastern Wednesday near the western limb. The impact itself may not be visible from the ground but the plume it creates may be seen in telescopes. SpaceX said Monday that "a mixture of solar activity and gravity forces" pushed the upper stage from its disposal orbit onto a lunar impact trajectory. The company said it is talking with NASA and others on the best disposal approaches for upper stages on similar missions in the future. (8/4)

SpaceX Working to Retrieve Floating Starship (Source: CNN)
Satellite images have captured SpaceX's efforts to retrieve the Starship upper stage floating in the Indian Ocean after its latest test flight. Unlike previous flights, the Starship upper stage, designated Ship 40, remained intact after splashdown, floating in the ocean west of Australia. SpaceX said it would attempt to recover Ship 40 but has provided few updates on those efforts. Recent satellite images showed two vessels in the vicinity of Ship 40, working to tow the vessel to shore. (8/3)

Google Removes Tool on Google Earth for Manipulating Imagery (Source: NPR)
Google has pulled back a tool that allowed for AI manipulation of satellite images after concerns they could be used to generate deepfakes. The update to Google Earth last week allowed people to manipulate satellite imagery in Google Earth with a simple prompt. Analysts warned that this could result in a flood of fake imagery, such as depictions of explosions and other catastrophes, with nothing in the product to prevent that. They warned it could also undermine trust in real satellite imagery. Google rolled back the AI tool after a day, saying it would work on "implementing stronger guardrails." (8/4)

Air Show Planned at KSC (Source: Florida Today)
NASA appears to be planning an air show at the Kennedy Space Center this fall. The agency announced Friday it would hold a briefing at KSC on Aug. 14 about an upcoming event at the center "showcasing American leadership in aviation, space exploration, and emerging technologies." NASA did not provide details about the event, but local officials said they have been told NASA is planning an air show at KSC and are starting preparations for aspects of it, like dealing with traffic. An updated schedule for the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds team includes appearances at KSC on Nov. 7 and 8. (8/4)

Florida Legislative Aerospace Group Plans Spaceport Tours (Source: SPACErePORT)
A group of Florida legislators and staffers plans an August-September tour across the state's various spaceport sites and space-focused companies, beginning on August 23-24 at Jacksonville's Cecil Spaceport. August 27-28 will feature a visit to the Homestead Spaceport near Miami. September 2-4 will include the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. (8/3)

Google Removes Tool on Google Earth for Manipulating Imagery (Source: NPR)
Google has pulled back a tool that allowed for AI manipulation of satellite images after concerns they could be used to generate deepfakes. The update to Google Earth last week allowed people to manipulate satellite imagery in Google Earth with a simple prompt. Analysts warned that this could result in a flood of fake imagery, such as depictions of explosions and other catastrophes, with nothing in the product to prevent that. They warned it could also undermine trust in real satellite imagery. Google rolled back the AI tool after a day, saying it would work on "implementing stronger guardrails." (8/4)

August 3, 2026

Stratolaunch Achieves 10+ Flights of Hypersonic Reusable Testbed (Source: Stratolaunch)
Stratolaunch announced the completion of more than 10 successful hypersonic flights with its Talon-A in July. Talon-A is a reusable, fully autonomous air-launched hypersonic aircraft. The Talon-A is a testbed designed to accelerate the development of hypersonic technologies. Capable of reaching speeds exceeding Mach 5, Talon-A is air-launched from Stratolaunch's carrier fleet and operates with no onboard crew throughout its mission. After completing its high-speed flight profile, Talon-A returns safely, landing on a standard runway, for recovery refurbishment and reuse, dramatically reducing the turnaround time and cost per flight. (7/21)

4th Space Launch Squadron Reactivation Marks New Era at Vandenberg Space Force Base (Source: KSBY)
As Vandenberg Space Force Base looks to build the "Spaceport of the Future," it's bringing back a squadron that was deactivated in 2018. The 4th Space Launch Squadron was first activated in 1994 and oversaw Titan, Delta and Atlas rocket launches before it was deactivated. According to Colonel James T. Horne III, Space Launch Delta 30 commander, the squadron's reactivation is part of Vandenberg's efforts to transform the base into a more efficient spaceport capable of supporting rapidly growing launch activity. (7/31)

Lemons to Bitter Lemonade: From the Samos E-5 to the LANYARD Reconnaissance Satellite (Source: Space Review)
When the NRO decided to cancel a classified satellite reconnaissance program in the early 1960s, engineers with the company that designed its camera sought to salvage that work. Dwayne Day examines how that led to an alternative satellite program called LANYARD. Click here. (8/3)
 
The Roads to the Moon (Source: Space Review)
NASA has announced plans for a lunar base starting with its current Artemis architecture. Ernesto Gabriel Arias discusses an alternative approach better suited for lunar permanence. Click here. (8/3)
 
Price it Like a Tomahawk, Not a Falcon 9: the Case for Sovereign Microlaunch as Deterrence (Source: Space Review)
Very small launch vehicles are at an economic disadvantage to larger vehicles. However, Evangelos Dimitriou describes how they could provide a strategic capability for some spacefaring nations. Click here. (8/3)
 
Government Funding Before VC: the Inverted Capital Stack for Space Startups (Source: Space Review)
Many space startups seek, and often struggle to raise, venture capital to scale their businesses. Samson Williams argues companies are better off first working with the government to develop technologies and secure funding before going to VCs. Click here. (8/3)

Grieving Pet Dad Launches Dog’s Ashes (Source: New York Post)
A dog’s ashes were launched 119,000 feet and scattered in space. Oscar, a six-year-old French bulldog who died suddenly from a brain tumor earlier this year, has been given one final adventure after his ashes were sent to the edge of the atmosphere in a weather balloon. His favorite Toy Story alien plush and a pet GPS tracker traveled to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere in a weather balloon tribute on May 7, 2026. His owner, Jacob Battersby, 26, from Stockport, and friend Callum King, 26, from Rugby, launched the balloon from Rugby, Warwickshire. (8/2)

NASA Boss Balks at Billion-Dollar Estimate for Recycled Moon Rover (Source: The Register)
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has stated "we simply will not fly it" if claims about the costs of the repurposed Mars rover engineering model prove anywhere near accurate. Isaacman was responding to the Planetary Society's chief of space policy, Casey Dreier, who had run the numbers on his plan to send a robot to the Moon, built from parts of engineering models of the successful Mars rovers Perseverance and Curiosity. (8/3)

Federal Workers Sour on Government Work, Decrying Eroding Job Security (Source: CBS)
Nearly two-thirds of U.S. federal workers said they wouldn't enter public service again, citing eroding job security and benefits, according to a recent poll of active and retired government employees. Respondents' views overwhelmingly reflected concerns about the current federal climate, rather than regret over having chosen careers in government, the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) found in a July survey. (8/3)

Canada Rocket Company Plans to Fill a Void Left by SpaceX (Source: Financial Post)
A Toronto-based space-launch startup is racing to show that it can make rockets that could one day rival those of SpaceX as businesses around the world scramble to hitch a ride to orbit amid a crunch in space launch access. Canada Rocket Company is developing a medium-lift launch vehicle powered by methane and liquid oxygen — also known as methalox — capable of taking a 12,000 kilogram payload into low-Earth orbit, a strategy that it hopes will make it the Canadian alternative to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. The Falcon 9 has long been the primary carrier of medium-lift payloads, but has stopped taking launch bookings past 2028 as SpaceX focuses on its next-generation Starship rocket. (8/3)

AI is Ready to Run Spacecraft. Is the Space Industry Ready for It? (Source: Space.com)
As satellite constellations grow, it will become increasingly difficult for human operators to run them. A network of a few satellites can be managed from the ground; a network of hundreds, or even thousands, cannot be managed in the same way. These satellites must share data, avoid interfering with one another, meet changes in customer demand, and deal with technical problems. Some decisions must be made in seconds, without waiting for instructions from Earth. This is why onboard processing, automation and artificial intelligence are becoming all-important. Satellites will need to sift through and analyze more information in orbit, then act within clear limits set by human operators.

Most laws, contracts, insurance policies and operating rules were written for systems controlled by people. They assume that a named person makes each important decision. AI makes responsibility less clear. If an AI system points a beam at the wrong place, disrupts another service or causes damage, it may be difficult to decide who is at fault: the satellite operator, the manufacturer or the software company. Operators must also decide how much control they are willing to give to AI. Many are happy for AI to offer advice. Fewer are ready to let it change a network or move capacity without human approval. (8/3)

Xona Wins Federal Approval to Broadcast Signals From Planned 250-Plus-Satellite Navigation Constellation (Source: Via Satellite)
Xona Space Systems has received federal approval to broadcast commercial navigation signals from a planned constellation of more than 250 satellites, removing a key regulatory hurdle as the startup prepares to begin deployment. The authorization advances Xona’s effort to develop a commercial space-based navigation network. (8/3)

ArianeGroup Keeps MaiaSpace Operating Despite Negative Equity (Source: European Spaceflight)
ArianeGroup has decided against dissolving MaiaSpace after the company posted a €37.5 million loss for 2025, pushing its shareholders’ equity below zero. According to the company’s 2025 annual accounts, filed on 22 July 2026, MaiaSpace ended the year with €114.2 million in cash. Despite that seemingly healthy cash position, its shareholders’ equity fell from a positive €35.82 million at the end of 2024 to negative €823,375. Shareholders’ equity is what remains after the company has paid all its liabilities. A negative figure means it owes more than it owns. (8/3)

The Exploration Company Picks Siemens Software for Nyx Spacecraft (Source: AeroTime)
Siemens announced that The Exploration Company has adopted software from its Xcelerator portfolio to support development of Nyx, the reusable cargo capsule the Franco-German startup is building for low Earth orbit and, eventually, lunar destinations. The Exploration Company is using Siemens Designcenter for mechanical design, Simcenter for engineering simulation, Capital for electrical systems design, and Teamcenter for product lifecycle management. 

Siemens said the combination gives the company a single environment in which a change made in one discipline propagates across the others, with Teamcenter serving as a consistent data layer across the vehicle lifecycle. (7/30)

$800K ‘Boom Prize’ Challenges Amateurs to Build Supersonic Airplanes (Source: Flying)
Boom Supersonic CEO Blake Scholl last week announced the “Boom Prize,” challenging armchair engineers to build a radio-controlled airplane that exceeds Mach 1. The winner will receive $750,000 in prize money and $50,000 in the company’s stock. Judges include NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and popular science YouTuber Scott Manley. (7/17)

Karman Space & Defense to Acquire UKs Walker Precision Engineering (Source: Karman Space & Defense)
Karman Space & Defense has agreed to acquire Glasgow-based Walker Precision Engineering for approximately $94 million (£70 million), expanding the company's presence in the European defense and space market. Walker specializes in precision manufacturing, advanced materials, electroplating, electromechanical assemblies, and engineering services that support more than 25 European tactical missile, guidance, and defense programs. Its capabilities serve major aerospace and defense prime contractors across Europe.

Karman said the acquisition will establish its first European manufacturing footprint, complementing its existing network of 17 facilities across eight U.S. states. The company expects the transaction to expand its addressable market, strengthen relationships with European defense customers, and create opportunities for technology collaboration and cross-selling. (8/3)

Spain to Purchase GEO Replacement Satellite From Airbus (Source: Space News)
Spain is also buying a replacement GEO military communications satellite. Airbus Defence and Space announced Friday it won a contract to be the prime contractor for SpainSat NG 3, scheduled to enter service by early 2031. The satellite will provide services over the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Thales Alenia Space will provide part of the spacecraft's communications payload. SpainSat NG 3 is a replacement for SpainSat NG 2, which was disabled by a "space particle" strike early this year while still in its transfer orbit. Airbus and Thales are two of the three partners on the Project Bromo space joint venture, along with Leonardo. In recent earnings calls only Leonardo executives discussed Bromo in detail, stating that the companies were working on an antitrust filing with the EU. (8/3)

Space Force Association Aims to Improve Congressional Outreach (Source: Space News)
The Space Force Association is working to better demonstrate military space activities to members of Congress. The group led the development of the National Spacepower Center, an industry-backed education and simulation center. Its developers are building an unclassified digital environment that combines orbital tracking data, spacecraft engineering models, command-and-control software and immersive displays to illustrate how satellites operate and how they affect military operations on land, sea and air. The center is intended to allow officials to experience simulated military space scenarios in a setting that presents orbital activity alongside its effects on terrestrial operations. (8/3)

Converting Mars Rover Into Lunar Rover Could Cost $1 Billion (Source: Space News)
Converting an engineering model of a Mars rover into an actual lunar rover could cost NASA more than $1 billion. NASA announced at the end of June it was studying turning an engineering model of the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers into PROMISE, or Polar Rover for Observation, Mapping and In-Situ Exploration, to be sent to the south polar region of the moon. NASA billed it as a potentially low-cost way to reuse existing hardware to support its lunar base effort.

However, an analysis published last week by The Planetary Society estimated that turning that engineering rover into PROMISE could cost between $723 million and $1.33 billion. The engineering rover would need modifications to operate on the moon as well as new instruments and a RTG nuclear power source. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman pushed back against the cost estimate on social media, stating that "if PROMISE costs even 20% of your low-end estimate, we simply will not fly it." (8/3)

Hughes Files for Bankruptcy After GEO Business Loses Ground to Starlink (Source: Space News)
EchoStar’s Hughes geostationary satellite broadband business has filed for bankruptcy in the United States after years of mounting competition from SpaceX’s Starlink constellation. The company said Aug. 3 that Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection will enable Hughes to restructure debt as it refocuses on enterprise, government and defense customers following heavy losses in its legacy consumer internet market. (8/3)

August 2, 2026

Space Force Awards K2 Space $22.9 Million for Laser Communications Demonstration (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force will use K2 Space-built satellites to evaluate a key, previously unresolved element for future missile-defense systems: moving large volumes of data quickly between spacecraft and down to Earth via laser communications. Separately, the Space Force’s Laser Crosslink program has cleared independent verification and entered Phase 3 development toward flight hardware production. (8/1)

Poland Plans to Establish a Space Command (Source: Defence 24)
As part of a major reform of the Polish Armed Forces’ command structure, the Ministry of National Defence intends to establish a dedicated space command responsible for coordinating operations in the space domain. The planned changes were outlined by Lieutenant General Krzysztof Król, the Chief of the General Staff’s representative for the development of Poland’s wartime command system, in an interview with Defence24.pl Editor-in-Chief Jędrzej Graf. As he stressed, the development of space capabilities is essential for conducting modern multidomain operations. (8/1)

Elon Musk’s Fortune Slumps to Pre-SpaceX IPO Levels After Rout (Source: Bloomberg)
SpaceX pulled off a successful launch last Friday evening at its Starbase facility in South Texas, sending its Starship rocket into orbit. It hasn’t stopped Elon Musk’s fortune from falling back to Earth. The world’s first trillionaire is now poorer than he was before SpaceX’s initial public offering priced last month, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. (7/31)

Byron Donalds Launches ‘Space Race’ Policy Rocket (Source: Florida Politics)
Trump-backed Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds has a plan to “make Florida the world’s headquarters for space exploration” and ensure “every Floridian” can be a part of the mission. Donalds wants to “permit at warp speed” starting in his first year as Governor, identifying 10 areas in Florida as “strategic development sites” for space manufacturing, and ensure companies get a “yes” when submitting plans.

Workforce readiness is also key, he said, with “zero-tuition training programs in conjunction with commercial companies.” Welders, machinists and construction crews are as needed as scientists, he said. To that end, Donalds will house an Office for Space Industry within the Governor’s Office in his first year. A Space Race Summit will also be an early priority as a recruitment tool, to make it clear that “Florida is the center of the space economy.”

He will also facilitate collaboration between the state and its dedicated agency, Space Florida, with commercial and academic partners. By his second year in office, the Space Florida Academy will play a central role in this initiative. Additionally, he seeks to have Space Force training in the state, and to relocate NASA headquarters to the state. (7/31)

ISRO Calls for Stronger Academia-Industry Partnership to Power Future Space Missions (Source: The Hindu)
ISRO Chairman and Secretary, Department of Space, V. Narayanan, on Friday called for closer collaboration between academia, industry and research institutions to help realize India’s ambitious space program, including plans to establish an indigenous space station by 2035 and land Indians on the Moon by 2040. Narayanan said the century-old Andhra University had made significant contributions to the nation by producing scientists, academicians and administrators, making it an ideal partner for advancing research and innovation. (8/1)

Scientists Use Moonquakes to Locate Lunar Ice (Source: University of Maryland)
By studying how seismic waves travel through frozen soil on Earth, a University of Maryland geophysicist helped develop a better way to detect water ice on the moon—a critical resource for future astronauts and extended lunar missions. “We can use seismic waves to not just see whether ice is present but also roughly how much of it there is.” (7/31)

NASA Langley Research Center Opens First Wind Tunnel in More Than 40 Years (Source: Virginian-Pilot)
NASA officials and state leadership cut the ribbon Friday on the agency’s first new wind tunnel in more than 40 years as the agency undergoes a wave of consolidation. The Flight Dynamics Research Facility at Langley Research Center is a 25,000-square-foot facility that aims to play a major role in providing research for flight vehicles and drones, as well as support the development of technology for missions like returning from the moon and Mars, exploration of Venus and Saturn’s moon Titan.

One of the building’s main features is a 20-foot-wide, 24-foot-tall vertical wind tunnel that operates similar to an indoor skydiving park. The facility will be used to advance space exploration and aeronautics through free flight and oscillation testing, along with other simulations.

The U.S. General Services Administration awarded the design-build construction contract for the facility to developer BL Harbert in 2021, and construction began in 2022. The total cost of the facility was roughly $57 million. That price tag awarded Langley a tunnel six to eight feet wider than most others in the world, more than double the wind speed and five times the forced power of existing wind tunnels. The larger capacity means some NASA projects will move to Langley, , including a device headed for Venus and research on the X-59 supersonic aircraft. Another one of those projects is RAVEN, a 1,000-pound unmanned aircraft. (7/31)

CEZA Backs Philippines Spaceport Effort (Source: Manila Times)
The Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) said the announcement of a planned spaceport in Cagayan and the country’s first sounding rocket launch with South Korea is the result of years of coordinated work among government agencies and private partners. In a statement issued after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. cited the project in his 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA), CEZA Chief Executive Officer Katrina Ponce Enrile described the development as a milestone for the agency and its partners. (8/1)

Oman Achieves Landmark Rocket Motor Test at Etlaq Spaceport (Source: Oman Observer)
British-Omani aerospace startup Advanced Rocket Technologies (ART) has conducted the first static fire test of what is described as Oman's first commercially built solid rocket motor, marking a milestone in the Sultanate of Oman's drive to establish indigenous space launch capabilities and a sovereign aerospace industry. The test was conducted at Duqm's Etlaq Spaceport in collaboration with Omani propulsion specialist Aqtar Space Technologies. (7/30)

The High-Stakes Battle for Invisible Real Estate in Space (Source: New York Times)
As radio spectrum becomes more scarce and strategically valuable, private operators including SpaceX are competing with governments for greater control of the frequencies that enable satellite communications. The contest is turning access to invisible orbital real estate into a critical commercial and policy battleground. (7/31)

Engineers Develop Plan to Rescue Satellite Supporting NASA’s Swift Mission (Source: Ars Technica)
The spacecraft, named Link, was rotating on multiple axes, rendering it unable to maintain a reliable communications link with the ground and complicating efforts to arrest the spin. Two of the satellite’s three reaction wheels, used for pointing, also stopped working. Through sporadic radio contact, engineers discovered a problem with some of the spacecraft’s cold gas thrusters used for finer attitude control.

The Link satellite is built, owned, and operated by Katalyst Space Technologies, a satellite servicing startup that won a $30 million contract from NASA to fly up to the Swift observatory, grab onto it, and boost its orbit before succumbing to aerodynamic drag and burning up int he atmosphere. The clock is ticking. In a few months, Swift will be too low for Katalyst to complete the rescue.

The company’s ground team is working to stabilize the spacecraft. The first step involves using the satellite’s plasma engines to gradually slow the spin. The engines are primarily designed for orbit-raising, but they’re also suitable for attitude control because they can vector their thrust with a two-axis gimbal. As of Friday, the spacecraft had cut its spin rate in half, from about 9 degrees per second to approximately 4 degrees per second. Officials hope to further reduce the spin rate, allowing Katalyst to improve communications with the spacecraft. (7/31)

China Launches Secretive TJS-27 Pair, Orbits Next-Gen Tianlian Relay Sat (Source: Space News)
China sent a new pair of secretive satellites into a programmatically new orbit Wednesday, while also upgrading its on-orbit communications relay capabilities. A Long March 6A rocket lifted off at 9:00 p.m. Eastern July 29 (0100 UTC, July 30) from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced launch success, revealing the payloads to be the communication technology test satellites 27A and 27B (TJS-27A and 27B.

CASC stated that the satellites are mainly to be used for satellite communication, broadcasting and television, data transmission and other services, and to carry out related technology experiments and verifications, providing no further details. CASC’s China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) respectively developed TJS-27A and TJS-27B. (8/1)

Contractors File Liens, Complaining SpaceXAI Not Paying for Data Center Construction (Source: Action News 5)
A mechanical contractor who helped build Elon Musk’s Memphis-area data centers at breakneck speed says SpaceXAI is dragging its feet on paying his company for work performed since 2024. Darrell Cuttell, owner of Ohio-based Darana Hybrid, said SpaceXAI owes his company more than $136 million.

Dima Amro, the real estate and economic development reporter for the Memphis Business Journal, broke the story Friday. Cuttell’s company is one of several with liens filed against SpaceXAI for failing to pay for services rendered. “The contractors are alleging they haven’t been paid for years of construction work,” she told Action News 5. (7/31)

India's Space Law Vacuum (Source: LiveLaw)
With Skyroot Aerospace's successful Vikram-1 rocket launch, India has become the third nation where a private entity has independently developed and successfully launched an orbital rocket into the outer space. An equally significant story lies behind the launch, which is the legal framework that allows private participation in India's space sector. At present, in absence of a comprehensive statutory enactment, the India's Space sector is only regulated by a collection of executive policies, norms and guidelines. (8/2)
 
Details Emerge on a Potential SpaceX Spaceport in Coastal Louisiana (Source: NOLA.com)
Louisiana is in the final stages of a deal to bring Elon Musk’s SpaceX to coastal Vermilion Parish, where the aerospace giant is planning to build a new spaceport that will launch rockets into orbit from an 18-mile stretch of marshland about 45 miles southwest of Lafayette. The prospective deal, which has been rumored for months, would forever transform the remote area by bringing potentially thousands of jobs and a massive influx of aerospace and other commercial activity to the remote coastal community. The site for the planned facility, known as Pecan Island, is at the center of a complex settlement agreement resolving dozens of coastal lawsuits that blame ExxonMobil for pollution and land loss.

According to a source with firsthand knowledge, a settlement will involve SpaceX receiving control of the land, some 130,000 acres in all, whether through a sale, long-term lease or other type of arrangement. Gov. Landry has declined to comment on the SpaceX deal, though he previously confirmed a settlement in the coastal suits. Earlier this spring, the Louisiana Legislature passed a package of incentives designed to attract aerospace companies to the state. The far-reaching bills, since signed into law by Landry, would shield aerospace companies from liability and would block local governments and individuals from suing for damages.

Landry and his economic development officials have said the incentives are necessary to make Louisiana competitive for aerospace companies that create good-paying jobs. Experts say Pecan Island, with a permanent population of about 100, would be attractive to SpaceX because it is sparsely populated, is close to the Gulf and the Intracoastal Waterway with deep-water access that could accommodate heavy rockets on barges, and is midway between SpaceX facilities in Texas and Florida. It also has an abundance of natural gas, a needed fuel source. (8/2)

China's Observatory Discovers Powerful Cosmic Particle Accelerator (Source: Xinhua)
Scientists using China's Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) recently found that a remarkable binary system in the constellation Cygnus, Cygnus X-3, is the most powerful particle accelerator discovered to date, according to the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Cygnus X-3 is a binary system composed of a compact object (either a black hole or a neutron star) and a massive companion star. As the compact object voraciously accretes material from the intense stellar wind of its companion, it accelerates particles to extremely high energies. However, previous mainstream theories held that charged particles within the Milky Way could reach energies of about 1 PeV (peta-electron volt), scientists said. (8/2)

Air Force Expands Blue Origin Point-to-Point Rocket Cargo Contract (Source: Space News)
The Air Force Research Laboratory has added $11.7 million to a Blue Origin contract aimed at exploring how commercial rockets could be used to transport military supplies around the world, expanding the agreement to about $13 million. Blue Origin will assess how its space vehicles could be adapted for “point-to-point” transport. The effort is part of AFRL’s broader rocket cargo initiative, which envisions using commercial launch systems like airlines are used today — on-demand, service-based contracts that could deliver military cargo anywhere on Earth in under an hour. (8/2)

NASA's New KSC Chief Tackles Artemis Deadlines, Aging Infrastructure (Source: Florida Today)
Calling his job "a dream come true," Brian Hughes is settling into his role as director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center with praise for the workforce as preparations continue for Artemis III, critical infrastructure upgrades and ever-escalating commercial launches. (8/2)

Redwire Opens Indiana Facility for Space-Enabled Biomedical R&D and Manufacturing (Source: RedWire)
Jacksonville-based Redwire Corp. has opened its new 30,000 square foot state-of-the-art, vertically-integrated research and microgravity payload development facility in Georgetown, Indiana. The facility will serve as a global hub supporting accelerated demand as the company continues to expand its leadership in space-enabled research, development, and manufacturing with a focus on pharmaceutical/biotech innovation. (7/21)

Mars on Earth Reactivated: 2026 Advance Team Returns from Devon Island (Source: Mars Society)
The Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) sits at 75°N on Devon Island, Nunavut, The Mars Society analog habitat on the world's largest uninhabited island. I spent July 6–13 there as crew engineer along with Terry Trevino, Laura Thomas, PsychD, and Raleigh Swick.  Our job: assess, repair, and reactivate the station after another harsh Arctic winter. We left it in better shape than we found it, but the battle was real at times. Here's a quick summary of what we did. (7/21)

UCF to Review Space Ideation Challenge Concepts (Source: UCF)
The Space Ideation Challenge seeks innovative policy concepts that use market-shaping and “pay-for-success” approaches—such as incentive prizes, milestone payments, and advance market commitments—to accelerate space innovation, strengthen national security, grow the space economy, and advance science and technology. It includes a $125K prize purse, awarded after the review of 3-5-page white papers focusing on market-shaping space policy initiatives. Papers were due on July 31 and judging will be complete by Aug. 15. Click here. (8/2)

Guidance Published for UAP Disclosure (Source: Douglas Messier)
The world could soon learn whether claims that Earth is being visited by aliens (aka, non-human intelligence) from other worlds are true or not. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has issued preliminary guidance for the waiving of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that have prevented current and former government officials and contractors from disclosing what they know about unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs).

The memorandum said those with information about UAPs will have their NDAs waived when speaking to authorized representatives of the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE) Task Force or the Department of War’s (DoW) All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office. (8/2)

August 1, 2026

Space Shuttle Astronaut Adds Missing Signature to Dollar Bill Signed by Fellow Crew in Florida (Source: WESH)
Plenty of dollar bills pass through the register at Burger Rob's in Titusville, but one bill caught the attention of the co-owners about a year ago. It was covered in signatures. "The next day he was counting it and happened to see it and he's like, 'Hey, there's more signatures on here,' and he's like looking at them and he's, like, Googling them, and all of a sudden it's like, 'This is astronauts' signatures,'" said Shelby Buffaloe, co-owner of Burger Rob's.

The signatures belonged to the astronauts from the 1988 STS-27 mission, but one was missing: Guy Gardner. "Literally last night he reached out and said, 'Hey, I'm going to be at Kennedy Space Center. I would love to come by and complete your mission of getting this dollar bill done,'" said Rob Buffaloe, co-owner of Burger Rob's. (7/30)

Space Force Picks 15 Companies for $981 Million Training Range Contract (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force selected 15 companies to compete for as much as $981 million in orders to build satellites, sensors and other systems intended to make military space training more realistic. The six-year contracting vehicle, known as NITE-STAR, will support development of the National Space Test and Training Complex, a network of physical ranges and simulated environments where operators can practice responding to threats against U.S. satellites.

The $981 million represents the maximum value of task orders that can be issued across all 15 companies through July 2032, rather than an immediate award. The contract has a five-year base period and a one-year option, Space Systems Command said in a July 30 announcement. The selected vendors are Amentum, BAE Systems, Boeing, CACI, Firefly Aerospace, L3Harris Technologies, Lockheed Martin Space, Northrop Grumman, Pacific Crest Alliance, Parsons Government Services, Redwire, Rocket Lab, Sierra Space, Viasat and York Space Systems. (7/31)

Massive US Tungsten Discovery Could Run Into NASA Roadblock (Source: Traders Union)
A potential new domestic source of tungsten is emerging in Nevada as the U.S. looks to reduce reliance on Chinese-controlled supplies of the strategic metal. The find could reshape the country's critical minerals pipeline, but a federal land restriction tied to NASA operations is limiting access to part of the project area.

 The development dispute centers on a 17-square-mile area that is subject to a 20-year federal prohibition on mining and exploration imposed in 2023 by the Bureau of Land Management at NASA's request. NASA says roughly a third of the company's claim covers a unique zone used to calibrate satellite instruments and track signals sent back to Earth, and that mining would threaten those operations. (7/31)

US Relearning How to Produce Plutonium for Space Missions (Source: Space Daily)
Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Ulysses, Cassini and New Horizons all depended on the heat released by this isotope. Yet plutonium-238 is not something a mining company can extract from the ground. It has to be manufactured in reactors, chemically separated, turned into a ceramic and sealed into heat-source modules through a chain of specialized facilities. When the United States stopped making it in 1988, that chain disappeared.

NASA and the Department of Energy spent the following years drawing down inherited stock and buying additional material from Russia. Then, in December 2015, Oak Ridge National Laboratory announced that it had produced 50 grams. Fifty grams sounds almost absurdly small beside a planet-sized mission. It was. But the point was not the quantity. The point was that, after nearly three decades, the United States had remembered how to make it. (7/29)

Iran is Plinking Amazon Data Centers Like Tin Cans on a Fence (Source: Futurism)
There’s data center activism, fought with Facebook groups and petitions, and then there’s data center annihilation, fought with guided missile and suicide drones. Recently, the Iranian military announced it had hit and damaged two Amazon data centers in the island country of Bahrain with a volley of cruise missiles. (7/31)

Planet Agrees to Restrict Wartime Access to Some Imagery (Source: The Independent)
A San Francisco-based satellite company says it temporarily restricted access to its widely used images during the Iran war, at the request of the Trump administration. Planet has limited access because the government expressed concerns about the “potential misuse” of its ultra-high-definition images. Planet is “temporarily reinstating a delay on publishing of images” over Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan as the Iran war has ratcheted back up. (7/30)

AI in Orbit is a Double-Edged Sword (Source: Space News)
Stability in space requires global communication, trust and flexibility. And while artificial intelligence can be a useful cost-saving or coordination tool, especially for countries with smaller space budgets, it also poses a significant threat as technology outpaces regulations and militaries ramp up operations in orbit, argues Lt. Col. Mihail Istvanovics Várdai, head of the Hungarian Ministry of Defense.

He offers two main recommendations for making sure AI use doesn't jeopardize space security. One is to keep international frameworks and agreements flexible, so that treaties don't lock nations into certain rules based on an outdated understanding of technology that's being advanced at a rapid pace. And the second is to ensure that responsibility for the actions of autonomous weaponry stays squarely on the shoulders of those building and deploying the technology, so that errors and misuse aren't shrugged off as the AI system's fault. (7/31)

Campaigning for Governor, Byron Donalds Pitches Florida-Based NASA Headquarters (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, the Republican front-runner for governor, unveiled his plans for the state’s space industry Friday, pledging that if elected he would fast-track permitting for aerospace projects, expand training in space-related trades and lobby the federal government to move NASA’s headquarters to Florida.

Donalds, 47, of Naples, has led the GOP primary field by double digits since entering the race in early 2025 with President Donald Trump’s endorsement. The primary is Aug. 18. He rolled out his plan at the University of Central Florida after a tour of its Florida Space Institute lab, which is developing simulated lunar soil. Donalds said his plan would create high-wage jobs, which in turn would help make the state more affordable and address “the number one issue impacting Florida today.” (7/31)

NASA, SpaceX Advance Wind Tunnel Tests for Starship Rocket (Source: NASA)
NASA and its industry partners are preparing for next year’s Artemis III demonstration mission by completing new wind tunnel tests on SpaceX’s Super Heavy Version 3 rocket booster. The tests, conducted at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, focused on better understanding the extreme aerodynamic forces the rocket can experience during re-entry. The recent test series builds on previous testing completed at NASA Ames in 2024.

NASA is working with SpaceX to develop the company’s Starship Human Landing System (HLS) to safely carry astronauts from lunar orbit to the Moon’s surface and back. The upgraded Super Heavy rocket booster is part of SpaceX’s Starship launch system. Version 3 of Starship and Super Heavy is expected to be the basis for the Starship HLS for Artemis III in 2027 and a later crewed lunar landing in 2028. (7/31)

Musk Updates the SpaceX Timeline for Mars (Source: Teslarati)
Musk has said several times he hopes to die on Mars, and not by impact. Musk now believes that people will be on Mars in “roughly 5 to 7 years.” He said that a Mars lander will get there “a few years sooner.” The response from Musk comes after NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said that SpaceX’s biggest priority is the Moon and not Mars. Because of this, Isaacman conceded that he believes nuclear power and propulsion investments will provide “potentially the pathway with the fewest miracles required to put four people on Mars in the next 10 to 15 years.”

Of course, this is what NASA can do through taxpayer funding and nuclear investments, he added. Musk’s grand ambitions are much more optimistic than most, and it is certainly a double-edged sword. This is not the first time timelines for Mars have been somewhat lofty, especially to those normal thinkers like you and me, not super geniuses like Musk.

The range has varied, and it’s anyone’s guess when we’ll get there. This latest adjustment to the timeline is typical of Musk, and while the Moon has seemingly taken priority over Mars, it is still worth mentioning that the ultimate goal is to make life multiplanetary, and it starts potentially with the Red Planet. (7/29)

Spacewalk Preps Top Station Schedule (Source: NASA)
Expedition 75 is gearing up for a busy August with three spacewalks planned at the International Space Station. The orbital residents are also printing living cells and tissues and studying how to increase the effectiveness of exercising in space. Mission managers discussed a series of spacewalks and their associated tasks during a news conference on Thursday. NASA flight engineers Jessica Meir and Anil Menon will conduct the first spacewalk on August 6 for solar array work. NASA will soon announce the astronauts who will participate in the spacewalks scheduled on Aug. 13 and 25 for communications and electronics maintenance. All three spacewalks will be broadcast live on NASA+ and a variety of platforms. (7/30)

Aerospace Industry Boom Brings New Career Training to South Florida High Schools (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Florida’s space industry push isn’t just at Cape Canaveral anymore. As the sector grows, the promise of lucrative careers — the median aerospace engineer in Florida earns $134,830 a year — is driving a new push to get South Florida high schoolers into the industry before they even graduate. More space and aerospace companies are setting up shop in South Florida, and the state’s aerospace agency, along with local school districts, is trying to make sure the workforce is ready to meet the demand.

In the upcoming school year, 951 students across nine Broward County high schools will be the first in the new Space Florida Academy, a partnership between Space Florida — the state agency tasked with growing Florida’s aerospace and space industry — and Broward County Public Schools. The nine participating high schools already have aerospace and engineering programs in place. What the academy adds is more industry experience, the chance for students to test for an industry certificate, and access to a job portal called Orbit, which companies in these fields use to hire graduates. (7/23)

Delivering Launch at the Speed of Need (Source: SFA)
Earlier this year, a finished GPS satellite was sitting in Florida ready to fly. The rocket assigned to it needed more time. The warfighters waiting on that satellite could not. So System Delta 80 moved it. Different rocket. Full recertification. On orbit in about six weeks. What normally takes two years happened in a month and a half, and it was the fourth time the team had pulled off something like it. Click here. (7/31)

Blue Origin Continues Rebuilding LC-36, Prepares Testing Alternatives for New Glenn Second Stage (Source: NSF)
Two months after losing a New Glenn rocket on the pad, Blue Origin is racing to return the vehicle to flight before 2026 ends. The company is rebuilding its Florida launch site around an entirely new concept of operations, and CEO Dave Limp is posting construction updates regularly as the clock ticks toward a self-imposed end-of-2026 return-to-flight.

Limp announced Monday that crews had finished destacking the Vehicle Access Tower at Launch Complex 36, explaining that the top six modules were removed so teams can begin integrating fluids and controls as part of the new concept of operations, including cryogenic systems, pneumatics, and mechanisms. Before restacking the tower begins, access floors will be added, giving technicians platforms to work from during the fluids and controls integration phase of the project. Limp said new doors are going up on the Integration Facility. Six panels on the building’s north side, each 27 m tall and massing about 18,143 kg, will combine for a door opening roughly 60 m wide once installed.

Under the new plan, first and second stages will continue to be mated horizontally inside the integration facility. The combined stack then moves to the pad on a simplified transporter, where a conventional crane lifts it into vertical position and lowers it onto the launch mount, a maneuver Blue Origin has described as the reverse of the operation it already uses to offload boosters from its recovery ship, Jacklyn, after landing. Because the old transporter erector carried the launch mount’s umbilical connections, the rebuild also calls for a new launch mount mounted to the repaired tower. (7/31)

Spain Offers €1 billion to Move Thirty Meter Telescope From Hawaii to La Palma (Source: European Spaceflight)
Spain has offered a package worth up to €1 billion to support the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on La Palma in the Canary Islands. The Spanish site is currently the project’s designated alternative, with Mauna Kea in Hawaii remaining the preferred location.

Announced on 29 July, the package includes a €400 million contribution from Spain’s Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology and Innovation (CDTI), matching an initial offer made by the government in July 2025. That proposed contribution will now be supplemented by a €300 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). (7/31)

Lessons From the Ukraine-Russia War (Source: Space News)
What have the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East taught us about the role of space in modern warfare? The central lesson is clear: Space has become even more consequential to the U.S., its allies and its adversaries. To operate effectively in this increasingly contested environment, the U.S. and its allies must strengthen coordination with the commercial space sector, protect their space systems and the data they provide and develop the means to deny adversaries the effective use of space.

Russia's objective was clear: to blind Ukrainian forces, disrupt their ability to coordinate military operations and prevent them from mounting an effective defense. Yet Russia failed to achieve that objective. A major reason was Starlink. The Ukrainian government and armed forces were able to preserve essential communications, coordinate military operations, and maintain command and control even as Russia attacked Ukraine’s conventional telecommunications networks. Ukraine’s early access to Starlink should therefore be regarded as one of the most consequential uses of commercial space capabilities in modern warfare. (7/31)

July 31, 2026

Trump Waives NDAs on UAP Disclosure (Source: Douglas Messier)
President Trump recently directed the Department of War and the intelligence community to allow former government employees or contractors, that have relevant information about the disclosure of UAP, to come forward to meet with designated government representatives — AARO or the President’s UAP taskforce, ‘PURSUE’ — and have their prior NDAs abrogated,” a senior administration official said, with AARO referring to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, the Pentagon office established to investigate UFOs and other unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs). A senior administration official emphasized the move was not a “declassification directive” and only allowed employees to come forward through government channels. (7/30)

NASA Funds Research Project on Sampling Saturn's Rings (Source: Douglas Messier)
NASA has provided grants for two early-stage research projects focused on sampling the rings of Saturn for the first time and using thousands of ultra-miniature spacecraft to conduct an in-depth study of the giant gaseous planet. Marco Quadrelli of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California has received funding for the Planetary Rings Autonomous EXploration with In-situ Sampling (PRAXIS) project under the NASA Innovative Advanced Projects (NIAC) program. (7/31)

Astro Digital Selects Everspin for Raven Bus Geosynchronous Satellite Program (Source: SatNews)
Semiconductor manufacturer Everspin Technologies, Inc. announced on July 29, 2026, that satellite manufacturer Astro Digital has selected its PERSYST 64Mb Spin-Transfer Torque Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (STT-MRAM) for an upcoming Raven bus geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) satellite mission. Astro Digital will integrate Everspin’s device into its proprietary Raven spacecraft bus architecture as the primary fail-safe memory for the system boot process. In satellite avionics systems, boot memory stores the core instruction code required to initialize electronic subsystems, manage system recovery procedures, and record critical telemetry log data. (7/29)

HawkEye 360 Uses Space-Based RF to Locate NOAA Transmitter (Source: Military Aerospace)
HawkEye 360 used orbiting satellites to geolocate a hidden environmental transmitter broadcasting for only 1.9 seconds on a narrow channel. The successful identification allowed NOAA to verify, remove, and reassign the uplink position, restoring essential environmental data collection capabilities. The operation uncovered additional dormant transmitters, enabling their refurbishment for future environmental monitoring efforts. (7/31)

India Issues New Guidelines for Private Space Firms, Sets 1-in-10,000 Casualty Rate (Source: The Print)
The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) in its new guidelines has stated that private space companies must limit the casualty risk of any planned space object re-entry to less than 1 in 10,000. IN-SPACe, the single-window agency for all space-sector activities undertaken by private entities, has also mandated that any Indian entity planning the re-entry of a space object, whether within or outside Indian territory, needs its authorization. The new guidelines, ‘Norms, Guidelines and Procedures for Implementation of Indian Space Policy-2023 in respect of Authorization for Undertaking Planned Re-entry of Space Objects’, were issued on July 23 and made public on Wednesday. (7/30)

Free ISRO From Bureaucratic Control. The Public-Private Space Model Needs It (Source: The Print)
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi said earlier this month, the successful orbital launch of Vikram-1, India’s first privately developed launch vehicle, is “a historic new frontier for India’s space journey”. This milestone signals a new chapter in India’s space program, based on the foundation laid by ISRO but with fewer bureaucratic constraints and more room for private enterprise. Before looking at how India can build on this momentum, it is worth revisiting the country’s space journey over the past several decades. (7/31)

Triumph to Tragedy: Columbia’s Silent Warning (Source: Flying)
The proximate cause was brutal in its simplicity. At 81.9 seconds into ascent, a 1.2-pound piece of foam separated from the external tank’s bipod ramp.  Though light, it traveled at nearly 500 mph and struck Columbia’s reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) wing leading edge. The impact created a breach invisible to the naked eye but large enough for disaster. Sixteen days later, during reentry, superheated plasma at 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit exploited the weakness. The wing’s internal aluminum structure melted, sensors failed in sequence, and Columbia tore apart at Mach 18

Sociologists call this phenomenon the “normalization of deviance”—when small anomalies, tolerated repeatedly, become the “new normal.” In NASA’s case, foam loss went from red flag to background noise. Success after success reinforced the illusion of safety, until disaster broke the spell. The CAIB concluded that Columbia was not just lost because of foam. It was lost because of organizational blindness, bureaucratic inertia, and cultural complacency. GA is not immune. Owner-pilots often defer maintenance because “it flew fine last time.” Flying clubs may pass along squawks casually rather than with urgency. Instructors sometimes downplay student errors to keep lessons moving. Just as at NASA, cultures of corner cutting or silence can prove lethal. (7/31)

Space Force Seeks $71B to Bolster Space Warfare Capabilities (Source: Christian Science Monitor)
The US Space Force is preparing for the next frontier of warfare with a proposed budget of $71 billion for 2027, more than double its current funding. The increase comes as the Space Force has been actively involved in real-world operations, such as last year's potential conflict with Iran and ongoing electromagnetic warfare. The budget boost reflects the growing importance of space in national defense, especially as China and Russia advance their space capabilities. (7/30)

The Nimble U.S. Space Force Presses Its Advantage (Source: Wall Street Journal)
With Washington and the world consumed by wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as tumult in Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon, it is nice to see some good news from the Defense Department, as I did this week on a trip to three Space Force facilities in Colorado.

The Space Force was created in 2019 to give greater emphasis to humanity’s “last frontier” than seemed possible within the traditional military services. It is still finding its footing. The Space Force is far smaller than the Marine Corps or Coast Guard, with only about 10,000 uniformed personnel. For that reason, I was skeptical initially, believing it likely would be too small to compete with the big hitters at the Defense Department or to run itself efficiently. I am quickly reassessing. (7/30)

Payload Field Guide: European Launchers (Source: Payload)
Europe is firing on all fronts to stand up new launch capabilities, but the continent isn’t moving as fast as it might hope. Across the region, a slew of relatively young launch startups are making headway developing their new launch vehicles, with many projecting debut launches in the coming year. Even outside of Europe, rocket progress is rarely linear. You have to crawl before you can walk, and despite progress, “crawl” best describes the current pace. Here’s where Europe’s launch capabilities stand. (7/31)

Spain Commits Up to $2.3 Billion for National Military Communications for IRIS (Source: Space News)
The Spanish government announced it will allocate between 1.6 billion and 2 billion euros ($1.8 to $2.3 billion) to develop a national military satellite communications constellation that could be integrated into the planned IRIS² multi-orbit satellite internet constellation. (7/31)

Texas' Exos Offers Wet Leases for Reusable Suborbital Rockets (Source: Exos)
A traditional launch service gets a payload to a destination. A wet lease rocket model is broader. It supports the customer’s ability to develop, operate, and grow launch capability as part of a larger program. A national space program may begin with suborbital research, payload testing, workforce development, and a practical path toward orbital readiness. A defense or government customer may use the model for flight testing, technology validation, and allied access to launch capability. A commercial team may use it to test hardware, develop operations experience, and reduce risk before a larger mission. (7/9)

FAA Offers Video Tutorials for Launch Licensing (Source: FAA)
As new commercial space operators continue to enter the industry, the FAA is launching Space Place, its how-to video series guide to help companies obtain a launch, reentry, or spaceport license. The first video explains the role of the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation and the overall process for vehicle and site licensing. Future video installments and information fact sheets will cover applicant expectations and key elements of the regulations such as policy, payload, safety, financial responsibility, and environmental impacts. The goal is for submitted license applications to be complete and clearly spell out how the company will achieve regulatory compliance to help avoid undue delay.

The FAA also recently issued two draft commercial space license advisory circulars. The first, AC 413.5-1: Pre-Application Consultation and Lifecycle Overview for Licenses and Permits, provides a high-level overview of the licensing process lifecycle, including pre-application consultation; application submission, evaluation, and determination; and compliance monitoring and license modification. Click here. (7/31)

K2 Space Raises $500 Million for Satellite Development (Source: Space News)
Satellite manufacturer K2 Space has raised $500 million to expand production for commercial and government customers. The Series D round, led by Kleiner Perkins and ICONIQ, values the company at $6.8 billion, the company announced Thursday. K2's valuation has more than doubled since it raised a $250 million Series C at a $3 billion valuation last December. The new financing gives K2 the resources to expand production as it works toward the capacity to build as many as 100 large satellites a year. The company is working on defense programs including those linked to Golden Dome, while its largest disclosed commercial project is tied to a planned SES communications network in medium Earth orbit. (7/31)

Rules Needed for Data Center Constellations (Source: Space News)
Now is the time to start developing rules of the road for giant constellations of orbital data center satellites. At a panel discussion this week, government and industry officials said proposals for constellations of up to 1 million satellites require thinking about adapting best practices from existing satellite constellations such as Starlink. One issue is that most proposed orbital data center constellations plan to use a special orbit, a dawn-dusk sun-synchronous orbit, to maximize solar power. That can mitigate concerns about high numbers of conjunctions among those satellites, provided operators agree to fly their satellites in the same direction in those orbits to avoid risks of head-on collisions. (7/31)

Roman Telescope Fueled for Aug. 30 Launch From Florida on Falcon Heavy (Source: Space News)
NASA's Roman Space Telescope is on track for launch in a month. At a briefing Wednesday, NASA officials said preparations were going as planned for Roman, set to launch Aug. 30 on a Falcon Heavy from the Kennedy Space Center. Once launched, Roman will take about 100 days to reach the Earth-Sun L-2 Lagrange point, and during that time engineers will work to calibrate the telescope and its instruments. Roman is on track to launch nine months early, which project officials previously credited to careful planning as well as adherence to a cost cap. (7/31)

NASA Considering, But Not Yet Scheduling, a Cargo-Only Starliner Flight to ISS (Source: Space News)
NASA is not ready yet to set a date for the next Boeing CST-100 Starliner flight. At a briefing Thursday about upcoming ISS spacewalks, the agency said they are working with Boeing to correct problems with Starliner and making "good progress." However, the next Starliner flight, a cargo-only mission called Starliner-1, was not included in a list of missions planned through the end of the year to the station. NASA said only it will schedule Starliner-1 "when it's ready to go and when we have a spot for it on ISS." On Tuesday, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg suggested the main issue for Starliner was working with NASA to schedule a date for Starliner-1. (7/31)

Thales Alenia to Develop EO Satellite for Italy (Source: Thales Alenia)
Thales Alenia Space won a contract to build an Earth observation satellite for the Italian space agency ASI. Thales Alenia announced this week that it was selected by prime contractor OHB Italia to provide the spacecraft for the PRISMA Second Generation mission, which will carry a hyperspectral instrument. The spacecraft will use Thales Alenia's PRIMA-S bus designed for Earth observation missions. It is scheduled for launch in 2031. (7/31)

Interlune and Vermeer Partner on Lunar Helium-3 Extraction (Source: Geekwire)
Interlune is expanding its partnership with an industrial equipment manufacturer to explore ways to support NASA's lunar base plans. Interlune announced last year it was working with Vermeer Corp. on developing equipment that could extract helium-3 from lunar regolith. On Thursday, the companies said they are now examining how to use similar systems for work that will likely be needed for a lunar base, including building roads and digging trenches. The companies said they will work on a tool that could be sent to the moon by the end of the decade to test site preparation work. (7/31)

SpaceX-Tesla Merger Reports Denied by Musk (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Elon Musk is denying reports Tesla is preparing to spin off its operations with China to prepare for a merger with SpaceX. Sources said Tesla executives have been told to prepare to spin off or sell its China business, a move intended to enable a merger between Tesla and SpaceX. Musk said in a Tesla earnings call last week that he could not discuss combining the two companies. He responded to the report about the potential Tesla China spinoff as "fake news" and that the company has never discussed getting rid of its China business. SpaceX is scheduled to hold its first earnings call as a public company on Tuesday. (7/31)

Three-Headed Asteroid (Source: Space.com)
Planetary scientists have discovered the first "three-headed" asteroid. Observations of the main-belt asteroid 44 Nysa taken with telescopes in Arizona and Chile indicate the asteroid likely is a "trinary", or three lobes connected together. While many two-lobed asteroids have been found, Nysa would be the first three-lobed asteroid. The images also revealed Nysa has a small moon, about a kilometer across, orbiting it at a distance of 170 kilometers. (7/31)

FAA Rule Changes on Aerospace Development Could Impact Louisiana Coast (Source: Nola.com)
The FAA is proposing sweeping rule changes that would allow aerospace companies seeking to launch rockets and build launch sites to bypass more than a dozen environmental protection laws — a change with potentially extraordinary consequences for south Louisiana. The proposed changes would waive 13 laws governing commercial rocket launch and reentry licenses, effectively doing away with protections under the National Environmental Protection Act, Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act and the National Historic Preservation Act, as well as coastal and marine mammal protections.

An  Vermilion Parish known as Pecan Island is in play as a launch site for Elon Musk’s SpaceX and its Starship rockets, according to multiple sources. The unincorporated 18-mile stretch of coastal Vermilion Parish community, known as Pecan Island, is believed to be a potential location for the construction of a massive SpaceX spaceport. The community has a population of about 100 people along Louisiana Highway 82. (7/31)

Environmentalists Condemn ‘Obscene’ FAA Space Licensing Proposal (Source: Flying)
Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), told FLYING in a statement that the White House “wants to gut even the most basic environmental safeguards to enrich some of the world’s wealthiest people.” SpaceX is owned by Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, and has engaged in public spats with the FAA regarding its licensing process. "We’ve seen real environmental damage from the exploding rocket toys of the super-rich,” Hartl said. “You can be damn sure we’ll fight this obscene giveaway to special interests.”

The concerns with rising commercial space activity are more than environmental. The FAA in 2025 warned pilots to be vigilant to “catastrophic” spaceflight mishaps that could produce falling debris as activity increases. SpaceX has reportedly failed to alert the agency to mishaps—including Starship explosions that forced disruptions—in a timely fashion. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) has criticized the reporting mechanism as ineffective.

The DOT is required under 51 U.S.C. 50905(b)(2)(C) to consult with the head of the appropriate agency before waiving environmental requirements, which the FAA plans to do, per the NPRM. The Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and other laws proposed to be waived fall under Environmental Protection Agency oversight. However, NEPA is implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality within the Executive Office of the President, which has less independence from the White House. (7/30)

Spacecraft Will Swarm Asteroid Apophis During Fateful 2029 Earth Flyby (Source: Scientific American)
Apophis’s close approach in 2029 will still offer “a once-per-millennium natural experiment,” said MIT planetary scientist Richard Binzel. After years of uncertainty about how a near miss with a near-Earth asteroid actually plays out, major space agencies are now ready to watch, listen and learn with multiple missions to monitor the event. Three major missions are now set to get up close and personal with Apophis—one from NASA, another from ESA and a third from the Japan's JAXA. Coordinated with and complementing one another, the trio of missions will be an international relay at the asteroid—and they could be joined by a smaller, student-led Chinese CubeSat mission bound for Apophis as well. (7/30)

Hop Aero Wants to Deliver Cargo via Rocket (Source: Payload)
Shipping freight fast is a frustrating problem. Hop Aero wants to solve it using Rook–an autonomous suborbital rocket meant to launch and land cargo hundreds of kilometers away in minutes. The company launched on Y Combinator this week with a rendered video of a small launcher capable of flying a 15-minute delivery route between Okinawa and Taiwan. Rook is designed to launch from a standard 12-m shipping container, fly a suborbital arc, fly in at low hypersonic speeds, and land on unprepared surfaces, including in contested environments. Since Hop’s founding in 2024, the company has hot-fire-tested its engine and ignition system, and flown one piece of hardware: a tether test of a ~3 m prototype at Infinity One Oklahoma Spaceport, roughly two hours west of Oklahoma City. (7/30)

Europe Wants to Be a Strong Partner of the US in the Moon Race, ESA Astronaut Says (Source: Euro News)
Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano will pilot the Artemis III mission, NASA's next step towards its first Moon landing in decades. He tells Euronews how he is preparing, his thoughts on the space race and what European aspects he’ll bring into orbit. “We as Europeans, we as Italians, we want to be strong partners of the United States in this race,” astronaut Luca Parmitano told Euronews, talking about the current frontier in space exploration: returning to the Moon. (7/30)

K2 Space Raises $500 Million for Commercial, Defense Satellite Expansion (Source: Space News)
K2 Space has raised $500 million in new funding, more than doubling its valuation in seven months as the satellite manufacturer prepares to move from orbital demonstrations to large commercial and military orders. The investment has valued the company at $6.8 billion, as the company prepares to ‌increase production of large, high-power satellites. (7/30)

China Builds 500+ Spy Satellites as US Space Lead Shrinks (Source: WION)
China’s ambitions in space are increasingly becoming a military concern for the United States. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission says China's space capabilities have improved its ability to coordinate military operations while maintaining persistent surveillance of US forces. A CSIS-led report ranked Chinese commercial remote-sensing systems among the top ones. (7/30)

SpaceX Begins Recovery Of First Flown Starship V3 (Source: Aviation Week)
SpaceX is recovering the Starship Version 3 (V3) spacecraft that completed a 65-min. suborbital flight test on July 24, giving the company its first opportunity to analyze a flown Starship. “The ship’s landing was precise, meaning it would have been caught by the tower arms,” SpaceX's CEO said. The spacecraft splashed down in the Indian Ocean and has remained afloat instead of sinking, as previous Starships had done. (7/30)

Space Force Eyes ‘Usable’ Airborne Target Tracking by ’28, More Capability to Follow (Source: Air and Space Forces)
The Space Force expects its nascent airborne moving target indicator program will have a “usable capability” in the next few years—but the official in charge of the program says there’s more work to be done beyond that to refine the sensing, data processing, and orchestration needed to deliver a global targeting capability from space.

The Space Force in April announced it had established an initial pool of vendors to compete for Space-Based AMTI contracts, and then in late May awarded SpaceX a $4.2 billion contract to begin building out the constellation, which will track aerial targets. The service plans to start launching those satellites over the next 18 months and have an initial capability on orbit by 2028. (7/30)

NASA Awards 2026 Innovative Technology Concepts (Source: NASA)
The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program has created 18 new awards to support visionary ideas to improve aerospace technologies in areas ranging from the exploration of the solar system to understanding the universe. The 18 NIAC Phase I awards total $3.2 million. Each award provides up to $175,000 for a nine-month initial investigation. The NIAC projects are about early-stage concept development and are not considered official NASA missions. Included among the 18 is one from the University of Central Florida, for "PS21: Transforming Submillimeter Space Interferometry with Photonic Technologies." Click here. (7/29)

Florida Universities Aim to Develop Florida-Owned Space Station Research Module (Source: SPACErePORT)
Florida Space Research Consortium and Florida Space Institute Director Alain Berinstain, during a presentation in Melbourne on Thursday, revealed plans for Florida universities to have dedicated access to an orbiting laboratory module as part of a future space station. He envisions Florida-developed payloads and Florida university researchers as frequent users of the orbital lab. (7/30)

SpaceX Looks to Compete with the Carriers (Source: Semafor)
Elon Musk is coming for your cell phone network. SpaceX, which is trying to fill a hole in its airwaves crucial for a full-service wireless network, has been hunting for spectrum that works well in cities and dense areas, according to people familiar with the matter. The company is considering buying competitors to acquire the spectrum or competing at a government auction set for next year, the people said.

It is the most recent sign that Musk’s Starlink plans to compete directly with AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Musk’s SpaceX has taken other steps into the conventional telecommunications business. President Gwynne Shotwell demonstrated a prototype mobile handset to some investors earlier this year. (7/29)

Vandenberg Leaders Outline Vision for 'Spaceport of the Future' (Source: KSBY)
As demand for commercial and national security launches continues to increase, leaders at Vandenberg Space Force Base say the installation must modernize its infrastructure to keep pace with the future of space operations. On Wednesday, Space Launch Delta 30 hosted its inaugural “Spaceport of the Future” Industry Day, bringing together government officials, contractors and private industry representatives to discuss a large-scale effort to transform Vandenberg into a higher-capacity spaceport. (7/29)

India's Gaganyaan Races to Meet Launch Target (Source: India Today)
India's ambitious Gaganyaan program, which aims to send Indian astronauts into space aboard an indigenous spacecraft, has entered its final phase, with most critical technologies now tested and validated for maiden uncrewed launch, the Centre informed during the Monsoon Session of the Parliament on July 29. Responding to a question in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Space Dr Jitendra Singh replied that the development and ground testing of the human-rated launch vehicle have been completed. (7/30)

NASA Sees South Korea as Key Partner in Building Moon Base (Source: UPI)
NASA is considering cooperation with South Korea in satellite communications, robotics and mobility as the U.S. space agency works to establish a permanently occupied base on the moon in the 2030s. Carlos García-Galán, manager of NASA's Moon Base program, said Wednesday that international cooperation would be essential to accomplishing the nearly impossible task of establishing a sustainable human presence on the lunar surface. (7/29)

Seattle Tech Week Highlights How Unorthodox Routes Can Lead to Careers on the Space Frontier (Source: Geekwire)
The road to space isn’t always a straight line. Sometimes, the itinerary for a career in the space industry begins with years of experience in other tech fields. And sometimes, it starts at an espresso stand. “I actually started as a barista at SpaceX, and I somehow got recruited to go build Starlink satellites,” Kayla VanderPutten, a technical recruiter at Anduril Industries, said Monday at a downtown Seattle Tech Week session. “I don’t know why they let me do that, but I was there for the first 500 satellites before I transitioned into recruiting.”

Over the course of 25 years, Joydeep Hazra’s career path took him through a series of jobs in telecommunications and network engineering, including management positions at Nokia, Mavenir and TRIDENTX. Now he’s the manager of a federally funded program focusing on electric vehicles at South Seattle College — and he’s getting involved in aerospace as well. Last week, South Seattle College and the nonprofit Mars Society announced a partnership to build a space research station on campus, complete with a habitat that can be used for simulating missions on the moon or Mars.

The electric vehicle program could help students prepare for careers building Mars rovers, like the Chinese-built prototype rover that Hazra displayed during the Seattle Tech Week session. “When you’re building a lunar habitat, there are a lot more things to do than just going up and down in the rocket, and that’s where all of us count,” Hazra said. “Interoperability, frequencies, microgrids, plumbing, psychology, cooking — everything is going to be super-important, because without that, the lunar habitat would only have robots from China, and not our astronauts.” (7/29)

How Sentinel-1 Measured Movement of Venezuela Quakes (Source: ESA)
More than one month on from the catastrophic twin earthquakes in northern Venezuela on 24 June 2026, satellite data show the ground displacement was greater than first estimated. As a satellite passes overhead, it sends out radar pulses (radio waves travelling at the speed of light). These are directed towards the ground at a diagonal angle (rather than vertically), hitting the ground to the side of the satellite’s orbital path over Earth. The radar wave is reflected off the ground and the satellite measures the length of the returning wave.

This gives very accurate information on ground level, to within a millimetre, although ground covered by vegetation will give less accurate readings. The measurements taken on 24 and 25 June, compared with measurements on 18 June, show an upwards displacement of 65 cm around Caracas, La Guaira and Caraballeda, with some downwards displacement north of the Boconó fault line. (7/28)