May 1, 2026

SpaceX’s Starlink Revenue Per User Fell 18% As Customers Quadrupled (Source: The Information)
According to draft IPO documents, SpaceX’s Starlink quadrupled its subscriber base to 8.9 million between 2023 and 2025. However, the average revenue per user (ARPU) dropped 18% to roughly $81 per month, driven by lower-priced plans and global expansion. While the user base grew significantly (quadrupled), the decline in revenue per user indicates a shift toward a volume-driven model. (4/29)

Vast is Building the First Commercial Space Stations (Source: NBC)
Vast hopes to be the first U.S. company to put a commercial space station into orbit, eventually replacing the ISS with it's own, smaller stations. NBC News' Gadi Schwartz gets a tour of their factory in Long Beach, California, where the bulk of their stations are manufactured. Click here. (4/28)

Artemis Astronauts Make Uncomfortable Visit to Trump's Oval Office (Source: TNR)
The crew of NASA’s Artemis II visited the White House Wednesday to celebrate their successful mission around the moon, but they ended up roped into one of the president’s diatribes against NATO. The astronauts were visibly uncomfortable flanking Donald Trump behind the Resolute Desk as he tossed questions their way regarding the country’s participation in the strategic alliance. The astronauts appeared visibly tense and pained,, with some turning away.

During the same event, Trump made a remark about NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman's "beautiful ears," and boasted he would have been qualified to be an astronaut. The visit followed a previous viral, 63-second silent video call between the crew and Trump on April 6, 2026, during their mission, which he attributed to communication delays. (4/30)

California Company Plans to Protect Us From Dangerous Asteroids (Source: Space.com)
Southern California-based startup Exploration Labs' (ExLabs) has proposed what it bills as the first commercial deep space ride share mission, known as Apophis EX. ExLabs says the mission aims to rendezvous with asteroid Apophis before and after its 2029 Earth flyby and deliver unparalleled scientific data for planetary defense, resource prospecting and future deep-space exploration. (4/30)

U.S. Air Force, Space Force Make ‘Explicit Shift’ in RDT&E Funding (Source: Aerospace America)
The U.S. Air Force and Space Force would shift their research and development funding away from early-stage work and toward the end of the development pipeline under the fiscal 2027 budget request released this month. The Pentagon groups its research, development, test and evaluation funding into categories based on the type of work involved. New technologies generally move through six stages: basic research, applied research, advanced technology development, advanced component development and prototypes, system development and demonstration and, finally, operational system development. (4/30)

With Dragonfly Mission, NASA Faces Challenges Great and Small (Source: Aerospace America)
The $3.35 billion Dragonfly mission faces a tough set of challenges, as NASA is aiming for the craft to traverse Titan for at least three years, surveying the surface via a series of short flights resembling leapfrog hops. The agency’s interplanetary rotorcraft experience is limited to the Ingenuity helicopter, which completed 72 flights during its nearly three years on Mars, and Dragonfly will experience vastly different conditions. Titan is about eight times farther away than the red planet, and at their lowest, temperatures drop to about minus 180 Celsius — 100 degrees colder than Mars.

After years of testing rotors, instruments and materials for survival in these harsh conditions, NASA and lead contractor Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory are now building Dragonfly, in preparation for a launch in 2028. Integration tests began in early February, the first time all of the spacecraft’s components will be tested as a complete system. It’s impossible to replicate Titan’s atmosphere for testing on Earth, but the Dragonfly team has high confidence in its models, says Michael Wright, NASA’s Dragonfly entry descent and landing lead. Also, past tests have incorporated real data gained from Huygens. (4/30)

Arianespace Launches Another 32 Amazon LEO Satellites Aboard Ariane 6 (Source: European Spaceflight)
European launch services provider Arianespace has successfully launched a second mission for Amazon, deploying 32 satellites for the company’s Amazon LEO constellation aboard an Ariane 6 rocket. The rocket, launched in its Ariane 64 configuration that features four solid-fuel boosters, lifted off from the ELA-4 Launch Complex. The first of the 32 satellites was separated from the rocket’s upper stage just under an hour and a half after liftoff. All 32 satellites were deployed over 12 separation events lasting roughly 25 minutes in total. (4/27)

USSF 2027 Budget Forecasts Two New GPS III Sats Annually (Source: Aviation Week)
The U.S. Space Force’s fiscal 2027 budget request shows intent to award the next two GPS III Follow-On satellites—and to procure two more systems—over the next two years, with dual-satellite procurements forecast through 2031. The service has procured and awarded 12 satellites under the next-generation satellite program, with the latest two systems—known as space vehicles 21 and 22—awarded to longtime contractor Lockheed Martin in May 2025. (4/30)

Mining the Solar System to Build a New World (Source: Phys.org)
Building a colony on Mars is not just an engineering problem, it's a logistics one too. The logistics, unglamorous as it sound, may ultimately determine whether humanity becomes a multi-planetary species or stays firmly rooted on Earth. Think about what a Mars colony actually needs. Not just food and oxygen, but metal. Structural steel for habitats, aluminum for equipment, iron for tools and many of the components will wear out, break, and need replacing. Shipping all of that from Earth every time is not a serious long-term strategy.

A new study from researchers in Switzerland posted to the arXiv preprint server has now done the hard math on mining asteroids and delivering the metals directly to Mars. The solar system contains millions of asteroids, and the metallic ones, known as M-type asteroids, are essentially giant lumps of iron, nickel, and other valuable materials floating through space. The question is whether we can actually reach them, extract what we need, and get it to Mars efficiently enough to make it worthwhile. The answer, it turns out, is a careful yes but with conditions.

The results identify specific asteroids that sit within reach of current spacecraft technology, where the energy cost of getting there and back is low enough to make the mission viable. The team soon learned that selecting the right targets is everything. A poorly chosen asteroid could consume more fuel than the value of the metals it delivers. What makes this study significant is not that it solves the problem, because we are still a long way from the first asteroid mining operation. Instead it's that it demonstrates the problem is 100% solvable. (4/27)

Rocket Lab Infrastructure Set to Power Next-Gen Orbital Projects (Source: Simply Wall Street)
Rocket Lab is drawing fresh attention as it moves deeper into commercial orbital infrastructure, with its share price recently trading at $78.59. While Meta Platforms has recently signaled a major move into space-based solar power to fuel its data centers, the development highlights a growing market where Rocket Lab is strategically positioned to provide critical hardware and launch services. These moves into components and power applications broaden the story for Rocket Lab beyond pure launch services, reflecting its massive gains over the past year.

Rocket Lab has introduced a new High-Performance Star Tracker specifically aimed at long-duration missions in high-radiation orbits - the exact environments required for orbital power and data-center-focused satellites. This development points to broader vertical integration for the company, moving into key satellite subsystems that are essential for the ambitious orbital projects currently being explored by Big Tech. (4/29)

Astrobotic's RDRE Makes Big Thrust (Source: The Drive)
The Astrobotic Chakram Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) achieved more than 4,000 pounds of thrust in multiple tests at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. That’s remarkable considering how compact the engine is. And these tests focused largely on duration, to see how well everything operates for extended periods. Astrobotic says the Chakram could be introduced to its existing product lineup, which includes the Xogdor VTOL reusable rocket and two lunar landers. The company insists that the more efficient combustion could be a boon for taking more payload up higher or faster. (4/29)

Strange Little Red Dots May Really Be 'Black Hole Stars', X-Ray Data Suggests (Source: Space.com)
The discovery of an X-ray signal coinciding with the location of one of the mysterious 'little red dots' found by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has strengthened the theory that the dots are 'black hole stars' — huge, dense clumps of gas energized by the presence of a growing supermassive black hole within them. (4/29)

The Challenge of Celebrating Artemis II as NASA Cuts Loom (Source: Big Think)
With the successful Artemis II mission now complete, humanity has returned to the Moon, breaking the all-time distance record and adding four new astronauts, including the first black man and the first woman, to the list of people who’ve left low-Earth orbit. But contemporaneously with that remarkable achievement, the United States has just released their proposed FY2027 budget, and it’s a bloodbath for NASA science and the NSF: cutting the science budget by 50% in the country. For many astronomers, it’s hard to celebrate success even within your own field when it’s your own neck, and the necks of your projects, students, and collaborators, on the chopping block. (4/28)

Fee Approach Suggested by Trump Administration for FAA Air Traffic (Source: Bloomberg)
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy floated the idea of charging a fee to help the US Federal Aviation Administration modernize its air traffic control system on a more regular basis. “I would welcome an opportunity to think through, how could we have a small fee that went into allowing us to continually upgrade our systems,” Duffy said Wednesday at an event hosted by American Airlines Group Inc. (4/29)

Canada Proposes POET Mission to Hunt Earth-Sized Planets (Source: Universe Today)
Canada proposes a novel micro-satellite mission called POET (Photometric Observations of Exoplanet Transits), which is currently in development and will search for and identify Earth-sized and super-Earth exoplanets orbiting stars smaller and cooler than our Sun, which the researchers refer to as “ultracool dwarfs”. These consist of K-type, M-type, and brown dwarf stars, the last of which are designated as “failed stars” whose sizes range between gas giant planets and M-type stars. (4/29)

Space Force Proposes Canceling Polar Missile Warning Program (Source: Air and Space Forces)
The Space Force is proposing to cancel a $3.4 billion program intended to provide missile warning and tracking coverage of the northern polar region as part of its 2027 budget request.

Northrop Grumman is under contract to build two satellites for the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared Polar program. According to new budget documents released April 27, the service wants to cancel NGP and instead rely on new proliferated constellations it is building in other orbits, which it says will provide needed coverage of northern hemisphere missile threats. (4/28)

NASA Fires Up Powerful Lithium-Fed Thruster for Trips to Mars (Source: NASA)
A technology that could propel crewed missions to Mars and robotic spacecraft throughout the solar system was recently put to the test at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. On Feb. 24, for the first time in years and at power levels exceeding any previous test in the United States, a team fired up an electromagnetic thruster that runs on lithium metal vapor. This prototype achieved power levels beyond the highest-power electric thrusters on any of the agency’s current spacecraft. Valuable data from the first firing of this thruster will help inform an upcoming series of tests. (4/28)

What is Quantum Gravity? Scientists Think it Could Explain the Beginning of Our Universe (Source: Space.com)
Scientists have redefined gravity to explain the Big Bang and perhaps change our picture of the earliest moments of the cosmos. This new framework of "quantum gravity" may explain aspects of the theory of general relativity fails to account for — maybe even doing away with the challenging concept of a singularity existing prior to the dawn of the universe.

General relativity doesn't just fail at small scales; the theory also collapses when trying to explain the extreme high-energy conditions that existed during the universe's first moments. To get around this issue, a team of researchers explored a theory called Quadratic Quantum Gravity. As it turns out, this theory seems to work even when explaining the high-density, high-temperature birth of the cosmos. (4/29)

Light-Propelled ‘Metajets’ Could Enable 20-Year Journey to Alpha Centauri (Source: Gizmodo)
Using conventional rocket propulsion, traveling to our nearest stellar neighbor, Alpha Centauri, would take thousands of years. Instead, researchers are looking to light as a faster, cheaper, and more sustainable form of propulsion that could enable deep space travel. A team of researchers demonstrated the use of laser beams to lift and steer tiny engineered devices without physical contact. The scientists behind the study developed micron-scale devices called metajets—ultrathin materials smaller than the width of a human hair. The devices are etched with tiny patterns that act like a lens, helping scientists control how light behaves as it bounces off them. (4/28)

T-Mobile CEO: Cellular Starlink Usage Lower Than Expected (Source: PC Mag)
T-Mobile has been offering SpaceX’s satellite-to-phone service since last year, but usage hasn’t been as high as the carrier originally expected, CEO Srini Gopalan said. “Our partnership with SpaceX is very strong. We worked closely with them to really invent an entire category. That’s been putting an end to dead zones. We’re pleased with that,” Gopalan said. (4/28)

Only Elon Musk Can Fire Elon Musk From SpaceX, Filing Shows (Source: Reuters)
SpaceX is telling investors that no one can fire Elon Musk from his ‌role as chief executive and chairman of the board without the billionaire founder's consent, according to an excerpt of its IPO filing. The filing states that Musk "can only be removed from our board or these positions by the vote of Class B holders" - super-voting shares with ten ​votes apiece that he will control after the IPO, making his removal effectively a self-vote. (4/29)

Gravitational Waves May Have Created Dark Matter in the Early Universe (Source: Johannes Gutenberg University)
In the chaotic first moments after the Big Bang, ripples in spacetime may have done more than just echo through the cosmos—they could have helped create dark matter itself. New research suggests that faint, ancient gravitational waves might have transformed into particles that eventually became the invisible substance shaping galaxies today. (4/25)

Starlink to Drop Tech That Helps Beat GPS Spoofing. Maritime Users Are Alarmed (Source: PC Mag)
Starlink is best known for supplying high-speed satellite internet, but it turns out SpaceX’s technology can also counter a persistent problem in the Middle East: GPS spoofing and jamming. “Those [Starlink] satellites are so much closer than the GPS satellites, and so their signal is maybe 100 to 1,000 times stronger,” says Bruce Toal, a Starlink subscriber from Texas who’s been sailing the world. “They can overcome all kinds of jamming.”

But in recent months, the maritime community has found a solution in their Starlink dishes, which can connect to SpaceX’s fleet of over 8,000 active satellites to receive fairly accurate positioning coordinates. The only problem? The company is preparing to shut down the positioning data on May 20, which is alarming boat owners, including Toal, who recently sailed up the Red Sea. (4/28)

Could the Moon Ever Be Blockaded? Experts Predict Cislunar Space Could Be the Next Strait of Hormuz (Source: Space.com)
The ongoing military conflict regarding Iran and the Strait of Hormuz may well mirror a future situation off-Earth — the use of cislunar space, the region between the moon and our planet. Think blockades, seizing of ships, impacts on the global economy, repercussions in terms of needed resources and markets, from fuel to high-tech semiconductors and production processes. Now turn your attention skyward and note that the U.S. Space Force is establishing a dedicated acquisition office to appraise the importance of the cislunar region for warfighting and national security. (4/28)

The FCC Just Said ‘No’ to SpaceX for Now (Source: Teslarati)
SpaceX was dealt a new setback on April 23, 2006 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) after the U.S. government agency dismissed the company’s petition to access a Mobile Satellite Service spectrum that would allow direct-to-device (D2D) capabilities. The FCC regulates communications by radio, television, wire, and cable, which also includes regulating D2D technology that lets your existing smartphone connect directly to a satellite orbiting Earth, the same way it would connect to a cell tower. (4/26)

FAA and NASA Sign Annex on Commercial Space Activities at Kennedy Space Center (Source: FAA)
The FAA and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida signed an annex that implements and clarifies safety authorities, responsibilities, and roles for commercial launch and reentry activities at NASA Kennedy. It streamlines the FAA launch license approval process, improves the efficiency of the FAA technical review, reduces duplicative safety reviews, and lessens the amount of launch application material the operator must submit.

This is an annex to a 2025 FAA / NASA agreement that clarifies safety roles and responsibilities, eliminates any duplicative requirements, and resolves any inconsistent requirements between the agencies. A similar annex for FAA-licensed launch operations from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia is also being coordinated. (4/30)

FAA and Sweden Sign Commercial Space Licensing Agreement (Source: FAA)
The FAA and the Swedish National Space Agency signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to establish and maintain a shared understanding of the U.S. commercial space transportation regulations and provide a basis for Sweden's recognition of FAA-issued commercial space launch and reentry licenses.

The agreement enables the global growth of the U.S. commercial space industry by increasing regulatory interoperability and eliminating duplicative safety assessments and approvals for U.S. operators. The FAA has signed similar licensing recognition agreements with The Bahamas and New Zealand, and other agreements supporting consistent safety approaches with Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. (4/30)

FAA Collaborates with U.S. Space Force and NASA on LOX/Methane Testing (Source: FAA)
The launch vehicle industry is interested in expanding the use of Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Methane (LOX/Methane) as a mixture for rocket propulsion due to its potential for greater efficiency, storability, and cleaner combustion in reusable rocket engines and deep space missions. Several launch vehicles currently use this new propellant formulation, and others are in advanced stages of development. 

The FAA is coordinating with the U.S. Space Force and NASA to conduct a set of explosive tests to explore the after-effects of LOX/Methane-propelled launch vehicles failing shortly after leaving the launch pad and falling back to impact. The test results will provide critical data on the hazards and risk assessments of LOX/Methane rocket propellants to support specific analyses for licensing launch vehicles for public safety. (4/30)

FAA Posts Commercial Human Space Flight Recommendations Report (Source: FAA)
The FAA posted the final recommendations report from the Commercial Human Space Flight Occupant Safety Rulemaking Committee. The FAA will consider the recommendations for possible future revision of the Part 460 regulations. Under federal law, the FAA cannot currently promulgate regulations regarding the safety of space flight participants on board a space launch or reentry vehicle. Congress established a legislative moratorium in 2004 as a learning period for industry and extended it multiple times. It is set to expire Jan. 1, 2028. 

While safety remains the priority, FAA regulations require that crew and space flight participants be made aware of the hazards of space travel and space flight participants must provide written informed consent before they launch. Click here. (4/30) 

April 30, 2026

Projects on the Chopping Block at NASA Under the White House's Drastic Proposed Cuts (Source: NBC)
Weeks after NASA’s first crewed mission around the moon in more than 50 years ended to great fanfare, one might expect its leader to be enjoying something of a victory lap. Instead, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman spent much of the past week in hearings on Capitol Hill defending the Trump administration’s proposal to cut the space agency’s budget by 23% for fiscal year 2027. (4/29)

Russia Debuts New Rocket with Maiden Soyuz-5 Launch (Source: NSF)
Russia’s brand new Soyuz-5 rocket made its first flight on Saturday, lifting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Thursday on a suborbital demonstration mission with a dummy payload that will pave the way for its entry into service. This launch is something the Baikonur Cosmodrome has not witnessed for many decades – the debut of a new rocket rather than a modification of an existing launch vehicle. (4/30)

What Does it Take to Call Home From the Moon? (Source: Universe Today)
Bolted to the exterior of the Orion spacecraft, the Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System that was developed by MIT Lincoln Laboratory, became the first laser communications terminal ever to support a crewed mission at lunar distance. Rather than radio waves, the device used invisible infrared light to carry data between the spacecraft and receivers on Earth, exploiting the fact that the shorter the wavelength, the more information you can squeeze into a single beam.

Over the course of the roughly ten day journey, the system transferred 484 gigabytes of data between Orion and the ground in total. Those figures weren't just impressive on paper, they translated directly into the images that stopped the world. The striking photographs of Earthset, Earthrise, and the solar eclipse captured from the Moon's far side, images that circulated across front pages and social media feeds within hours of being taken. It all came home via that laser link. (4/30)

China Accelerates Commercial Space Race with Completion of Massive Lijian-2 Liquid-Propellant Rocket “Super Factory” (Source: Aviation News Daily)
China has reached a pivotal milestone in its commercial aerospace ambitions with the full completion of a state-of-the-art “super factory” in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. This expansive facility is specifically designed for the Lijian-2, a large liquid-propellant carrier rocket, signaling a major transition toward the mass production of advanced launch vehicles.

The factory stands as a comprehensive industrial hub, integrating final assembly testing with the high-precision processing of core components. Production lines are now established for critical hardware, including rocket tanks, pipeline valves, interstage sections, and conduits. Once the site reaches full operational status, it will possess the industrial capacity to manufacture 12 Lijian-2 rockets annually, according to reports from China Media Group. (4/29)

NASA’s Artemis II Moonship Returns Home to its Launch Site After Historic Voyage (Source: AP)
The spacecraft that flew four astronauts around the moon is back where its record-breaking journey began. NASA’s Artemis II capsule returned to Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, almost a month after blasting off on humanity’s first lunar trip in more than a half-century. (4/29)

NASA Chief Jared Isaacman Fighting for Pluto (Source: Space.com)
NASA chief Jared Isaacman wants to restore Pluto to its former glory. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) stripped Pluto of its planethood, reclassifying the icy world as a "dwarf planet." The decision was controversial, and not just because it forced schoolchildren around the world to learn a new mnemonic for our solar system's major denizens. (4/29)

ST Engineering Signs Singapore Public Safety Deal with HTX (Source: Via Satellite)
ST Engineering and HTX (Home Team Science and Technology Agency) will establish a new space technology program, and co-develop space-based science and technology capabilities to strengthen Singapore’s public safety operations. The two organizations have signed a five-year MoU, which ST Engineering announced on April 28. (4/29)

Federal Employment Candidates Must Provide Trump "Loyalty" Statements (Source: FNN)
New essay questions on many federal job applications, asking candidates how they would advance the Trump administration’s policies, are optional, according to the Office of Personnel Management. But new documents submitted in a lawsuit seeking the removal of these essays show that job candidates, in some cases, can’t submit their online job applications if they leave the fields for essay responses blank.

One of several essay questions, outlined under the Trump administration’s Merit Hiring Plan, asks candidates how they would “advance the president’s executive orders and policy priorities,” to name “one or two executive orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you,” and how they would help implement them if hired. Federal employee unions who filed the lawsuit last fall claim the inclusion of a “loyalty question” on federal job applications runs counter to the nonpartisan nature of the civil service. (4/28)

Ariane 64 Lofts 32 Amazon Leo Satellites on Second Arianespace Mission for Amazon (Source: Mach 33)
Arianespace flew its second Ariane 64 in the four-booster configuration from French Guiana, deploying 32 Amazon Leo satellites on the LE-02 mission. The flight is the second of an 18-launch contract Amazon procured from Arianespace.

The launch matters more for Amazon than Arianespace. With the FCC requiring Amazon to deploy half of Amazon Leo by July 2026 and New Glenn grounded indefinitely, Amazon is leaning on every alternative manifest, including Ariane 6, ULA Atlas V, and Falcon 9. Ariane 64 cadence sits near six flights per year, well below Falcon-class, but it is the only non-U.S. heavy-lift option on the Amazon Leo manifest. Amazon is paying a strategic premium to spread deployment rather than buy more Falcon 9. (4/28)

SpaceX and 11 Others Win $3.2B Golden Dome Space-Based Interceptor Prototypes Contract (Source: Mach 33)
The U.S. Space Force awarded up to $3.2 billion across 12 companies for space-based interceptor prototypes under Golden Dome. Awardees include SpaceX, Anduril, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Booz Allen, General Dynamics, GITAI USA, Quindar, Sci-Tec, True Anomaly, and Turion Space. Contracts are Other Transaction Authority agreements, and awardees must demonstrate a working interceptor capability by 2028.

This is the first time SpaceX has been publicly contracted on the interceptor itself, not just the launch or constellation layer. The 12 names will compress to two or three production winners and convert into multi-billion follow-ons if Golden Dome stays funded. The cost-skepticism Gen. Guetlein flagged at HASC on Apr 16 has not killed the space layer. The Pentagon is paying to find out whether the unit economics work, which is a different posture than cancellation. (4/24)

Pentagon Modernizes SBIR, STTR to Spur Small Business Innovation (Source: Defense Scoop)
The Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs are being updated as part of an effort spearheaded by senior defense and small business officials. The revamp aims to remove regulatory barriers, streamline processes, and ensure that innovative small businesses can swiftly develop and deliver advanced technologies to the military. "There's sort of specific modifications we're going to make to make it easier ... for small businesses by removing some of the barriers -- regulatory and otherwise -- that they currently face," says Emil Michael, Pentagon CTO. (4/29)

Space Force to Welcome Nearly 250 Part-Time Guardians (Source: Stars and Stripes)
The Space Force has selected nearly 250 Air Force reservists to transfer this summer as the first part-time guardians. This initiative, enabled by the Space Force Personnel Management Act, seeks to create a unified service of full- and part-time guardians, eliminating the need for separate active-duty and reserve components. Part-time guardians must serve at least 36 days a year, with officers committing to a minimum of three years and enlisted personnel serving up to six years. (4/27)

York to Acquire All.Space for $355 Million (Source: Space News)
York Space Systems will acquire satellite terminal manufacturer All.Space in a $355 million deal. The companies announced the deal Thursday, set to close in the third quarter. York will pay $155 million in cash and up to 5.9 million shares of York stock to acquire All.Space. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in the United Kingdom, All.Space makes multi-orbit, multi-band communications terminals designed to connect across multiple Earth orbits. The planned acquisition is York's second since it went public earlier this year. In March, the company acquired Orbion Space Technology, a supplier of satellite propulsion systems. It is part of a strategy of expanding across the satellite communications value chain. (4/30)

China's Cosmoleap Raises $73 Million for Starship-Like Rocket (Source: Space News)
Chinese launch startup Cosmoleap raised $73 million for work on a Starship-like rocket. Cosmoleap, whose full name is Beijing Dahang Yueqian Technology Co., Ltd., said it raised the funding from several investors to support development of the Yueqian-1 rocket and what it describes as China's first "tower catch and landing recovery" rocket system. The tower recovery system resembles the SpaceX Mechzilla tower system with "chopstick" arms. Cosmoleap says final assembly and testing of the Yueqian-1 rocket, capable of placing up to 18,000 kilograms into low Earth orbit, will begin in the second half of 2026, with the debut flight planned for 2027. (4/30)

Cause of Russian Segment ISS Cracks Unresolved (Source: Space News)
While air leaks in a Russian space station module have stopped, the cause of the cracks in that module remains unresolved. At a meeting Wednesday of the International Space Station Advisory Council, the committee said engineers at NASA and Roscosmos have yet to find the root cause of the small cracks seen in PrK, a vestibule of the Zvezda module. Those cracks had been linked to a small but persistent air leak there over several years, although that leak stopped in recent months after cosmonauts applied sealant to the cracks. While the leaks have stopped, crews take precautions such as limiting the time the vestibule, which links a docking port to the rest of the station, is pressurized. The committee said NASA and Roscosmos still don't agree on the severity of the cracking. (4/30)

Planet Developing Upgraded Methane-Tracking Spacecraft (Source: Space News)
Planet is developing a new version of its Tanager spacecraft with enhanced capability to detect and monitor methane and trace-gas emissions. The company announced Thursday a version of Tanager that will fly a shortwave infrared instrument rather than a hyperspectral imager. Planet will produce SWIR Tanager with the nonprofit environmental-monitoring organization Carbon Mapper and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which designs and builds Tanager imaging spectrometers. SWIR Tanager will gather 30-meter-resolution imagery in 100-kilometer swaths, optimized for the spectral bands for atmospheric gas detection. (4/30)

DoD Rapid Capabilities Office Picks Three Companies for Counter-Surveillance Sensors (Source: Space News)
The Space Rapid Capabilities Office selected three companies to develop counter-surveillance sensors. The office, a specialized acquisition arm within the United States Space Force focused on rapidly fielding space systems, said Wednesday it awarded contracts worth $3 million each to Assurance Technology Corp., Raptor Dynamix and Innovative Signal Analysis. The contracts will cover development of payloads that can be installed on satellites in geosynchronous orbit to detect and characterize emissions from ground-based radars. That would allow the satellites to know when they are being tracked and targeted. (4/30)

Canadian Space Agency Terminates Spire Wildfire Monitoring Contract (Source: Space News)
The Canadian Space Agency has terminated a contract it awarded last year to Spire for a series of wildfire-monitoring satellites. Spire said in a regulatory filing last week that CSA terminated for convenience a contract worth 72 million Canadian dollars ($52.7 million) for WildFireSat, a set of 10 cubesats equipped with sensors to detect wildfires. Neither Spire nor CSA disclosed why the contract was canceled, although Spire executives said in an earnings call in March that work on the contract was paused while it discussed timing and requirements with the agency. CSA said it planned to continue work on WildFireSat with other Canadian government agencies and would soon engage with industry on revised plans. (4/30)

Falcon Heavy Deploys ViaSat-3 From Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Space News)
The first Falcon Heavy mission in 18 months successfully launched the third and final ViaSat-3 satellite Wednesday. The Falcon Heavy lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, deploying the ViaSat-3 F3 spacecraft into a geostationary transfer orbit nearly five hours later. Viasat expects F3 to enter commercial service late this summer over the Asia Pacific, following extensive health checks on the operator's payload and spacecraft bus from Boeing.

This satellite uses a different large deployable antenna than the one used on the first two ViaSat-3 spacecraft. The antenna on the first failed to deploy properly, depriving it of more than 90% of its capacity, while the antenna on the second satellite is in the process of deployment. This was the first Falcon Heavy mission since October 2024, when it launched NASA's Europa Clipper mission, although additional Falcon Heavy launches are planned for this year. (4/30)

SpaceX Launches Starlink Mission From California on Wednesday (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX also launched more Starlink satellites from California. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, putting 24 Starlink satellites into orbit. This was the 52nd launch this year by SpaceX, 42 of which carried Starlink satellites. (4/30)

Falcon 9 Upper Stage to Crash on Moon in August (Source: Space News)
A Falcon 9 upper stage that launched a pair of lunar landers last year will make its own crash landing on the moon in August. Astronomers tracking the upper stage, which launched Firefly's Blue Ghost 1 and ispace's Hakuto-R Resilience landers in January 2025, said the upper stage is on a trajectory to collide with the moon Aug. 5. The stage is expected to hit near Einstein crater on the western limb of the moon, but the impact is unlikely to be visible from the Earth as it will take place while the region is in sunlight. (4/30)

Morocco Signs Artemis Accords (Source: Space News)
Morocco is the latest country to join the Artemis Accords. Nasser Bourita, Morocco’s foreign minister, signed the Accords in a ceremony in the capital of Rabat attended by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and the U.S. ambassador to Morocco. Morocco is the 64th country to sign the Accords and the third to do so in the last 10 days. One former agency official attributed the surge in signings to the recent Artemis 2 mission. (4/30)

L-3Harris Plans IPO for Missile Unit (Source: Reuters)
L3Harris has confidentially filed plans to take its missile unit public. The confidential filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission allows the company to work with regulators before making the registration statement public. L3Harris said earlier this year it would spin off the missile unit into a standalone publicly traded company, part of a deal that included a $1 billion investment from the Pentagon. (4/30)

April 29, 2026

The GPS III Rollout Is Almost Complete, But What Is It? (Source: Hackaday)
Just last week, the tenth GPS III satellite was placed in orbit by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Once it’s properly configured and operational, it will join its peers to form the first complete “block” of third-generation GPS satellites. Over the next decade, as many as 22 revised GPS III satellites are slated to take their position over the Earth, eventually replacing all of the aging satellites that billions of people currently rely on.

So what new capabilities do these third-generation GPS satellites offer, and why has it taken so long to implement needed upgrades in such a critical system? The new signals being transmitted by GPS III satellites won’t just be louder than their predecessors, they’ll gain some new features as well. For one thing, GPS III satellites will transmit a standardized signal known as L1C which offers interoperability with other global navigation systems such as Europe’s Galileo, China’s BeiDou, the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), and Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System.

In theory a compatible receiver will be able to process signals from any combination of these systems simultaneously, improving overall performance. To make GPS III transmissions even more secure, the military is also getting their own signal known as M-code. As you might expect, little is publicly known about M-code currently, but it’s a safe bet that it utilizes encryption and other features to make it more difficult for adversaries to create spoofed transmissions. (4/28)

Artemis III Will Launch No Earlier Than Late 2027 (Source: Ars Technica)
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told lawmakers on Monday that SpaceX and Blue Origin, the agency’s two lunar lander contractors, say they could have their spacecraft ready for the next Artemis mission in Earth orbit in late 2027, somewhat later than NASA’s previous schedule.

This mission, Artemis III, will not fly to the Moon. Instead, NASA will launch an Orion capsule with a team of astronauts to rendezvous and potentially dock with one or both landers in Earth orbit. The details of the Artemis III flight plan remain under review, with key questions about the orbit’s altitude and the configuration of the Space Launch System rocket still unanswered. (4/27)

SpaceX Ties Musk Compensation to Mars Colonization Goal (Source: Reuters)
SpaceX's board has approved a compensation plan for founder Elon Musk with goals as futuristic and celestial as the company's ambitions: colonizing Mars and ​running data centers in outer space. The details of Musk's sweeping pay package, which have not been widely reported, were revealed in the company's confidential registration statement ‌filed in recent weeks with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The lofty rewards dangled for Musk by SpaceX show the challenge of holding the attention of the serial entrepreneur as he prepares to take the rocket maker public. They also potentially set up SpaceX investors for tensions with shareholders of Tesla, where Musk is CEO, say corporate governance experts. Connecting science-fiction visions with accounting commitments, the SpaceX board in January approved a ​pay package for the world's richest man that will award 200 million in super-voting restricted shares if the company hits a market value of $7.5 trillion and establishes a ​permanent human colony on Mars with at least 1 million people. (4/28)

European Rocket Developer is Retooling an Abandoned Russian Launch Facility in South America (Source: Extreme Tech)
European rocket developer MaiaSpace has been rebuilding and retooling an old Soyuz rocket launch facility at Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. The plan is to have it ready for the maiden flight of MaiaSpace's own reusable launch vehicle design by next year, with pad tests scheduled for this year.

MaiaSpace has been working to beat back the encroaching jungle and update the site for use in its future launch efforts. This isn't just a case of burning off some vegetation and rewriting signage, though. The facility also needed heavier construction efforts, and has already required cutting through major structural supports. (4/27)

Did Decaying Dark Matter Help Create the Universe's First Supermassive Black Holes? (Source: Space.com)
New research suggests that supermassive black holes that existed before the cosmos was 1 billion years old may have formed with a helping hand from dark matter, the universe's most mysterious stuff. Researchers think that it would only take energy equivalent to a billion trillionth of the energy of a single AA battery to "supercharge" primordial gas clouds, with the decay of dark matter capable of providing this. (4/27)

DoD Budget Proposes Space Operations Centers in Alabama, Colorado, New Mexico, and North Dakota (Source: Gazette)
The expansive $1.5 trillion DoD budget proposal for next year features $250 million for a new space operations center on Schriever Space Force Base. The center is one of four in the budget, which also proposes a building at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala., a building at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, N.M., and a building at Grand Forks Air Force Base in N.D., budget documents said. Each building is slated to receive the same construction allocation, bringing the total investment to $1 billion.

The new buildings will support space control, space-based sensing and targeting and data transport, according to Air and Space Magazine, which first reported the story. Schriever is also home to units focused on GPS, satellite communications and missile defense analysis. (4/27)

California Commission Settles SpaceX Launch Lawsuit (Source: Courthouse News Service)
A California commission has apologized to SpaceX as part of a lawsuit settlement. SpaceX sued the California Coastal Commission after it voted in 2024 against an increase in launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base, with the company claiming the commission's move was political discrimination for Musk's views. As part of a settlement filed Tuesday in federal court, the commission issued a letter of apology for that vote and agreed it can't block proposals by the Space Force to allow increased launches from Vandenberg. The commission, though, said it remained concerned about environmental impacts from increased launch activity. (4/29)

SpaceX Wins Purdue Armstrong Space Prize (Source: Purdue U)
A SpaceX team has won the first Neil Armstrong Space Prize from Purdue University. The university announced last week it selected a team of five from SpaceX who led development of landing and reuse of Falcon 9 boosters for the prize, intended to recognize achievements in space discovery and innovation. The SpaceX team will formally receive the prize at an event in Washington in September. (4/29)

Artemis 2 Astronauts Visit White House (Source: Washington Post)
The Artemis 2 astronauts will be visiting the White House today. The astronauts are scheduled to meet with President Trump in the Oval Office this afternoon, according to a White House schedule. Trump invited the crew to the White House when speaking to them during the mission earlier this month. The visit comes as the White House budget proposal for NASA would emphasize exploration, including an accelerated pace of future Artemis missions, while cutting other parts of the agency. (4/29)

Appropriators Criticize NASA Budget Proposal (Source: Space News)
House and Senate appropriators criticized NASA's budget proposal, saying it does not give the agency the resources it needs to carry out its missions. At hearings Monday by the House Appropriations Committee's commerce, justice and science (CJS) subcommittee and Tuesday by its Senate counterpart, members from both parties said the $18.8 billion budget proposal was insufficient, calling it "disappointing" and "abysmal."

They reiterated concerns about cuts in areas ranging from science to NASA's education office. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman defended the request, saying it provided sufficient funding for priorities such as exploration. The House CJS appropriations subcommittee is scheduled to mark up its spending bill Thursday, while Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KN), chairman of the Senate CJS appropriations subcommittee, said his committee would use last year's spending bill, rather than the administration's proposal, as a guide for its 2027 spending bill. (4/29)

Pentagon Budget Request Moves Space Force Toward Space Tracking Role (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon's fiscal 2027 budget request is the clearest signal yet that the U.S. Space Force is moving into a new role of tracking moving targets from space. The proposal allocates more than $8 billion for so-called moving target indicator, or MTI, systems, which are satellites designed to follow objects on the ground and in the air in near real time. Such tracking has traditionally been done by specialized aircraft, but the Space Force says such aircraft face threats that make them "increasingly unviable."  The MTI mission is split into two parts, one tracking moving targets on the ground and other tracking aircraft and cruise missiles. The latter is more difficult, but Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said earlier this month at the Space Symposium that it is "technically feasible and grounded in demonstrated technologies." (4/29)

BAE Wins Space Force RF Satellite Links Contract for Golden Dome (Source: Space News)
BAE Systems won a Space Force contract to demonstrate an intersatellite communications technology planned for Golden Dome. The $11.8 million contract awarded Tuesday will test Link-182, a radio-frequency data link standard adopted for the Space Force's planned MILNET data relay network supporting the Golden Dome missile defense shield. SpaceX won a $57 million awarded earlier this month for a similar demonstration of intersatellite communications using Link-182. (4/29)

EraDrive Developing AI for Spacecraft Autonomy (Source: Space News)
Silicon Valley startup EraDrive is working with Northrop Grumman to enhance spacecraft autonomy with artificial intelligence. The companies announced a teaming agreement to collaborate on using AI in robotic missions, including in-orbit operations and supporting activities on the ground. One example of that work would be incorporating AI into inspection and servicing of spacecraft, assisting the Mission Robotic Vehicle spacecraft by Northrop subsidiary SpaceLogistics. (4/29)

SpacePort Australia and Aexa Aerospace Launch Joint Venture to Build Medical AI for Space Crews (Source: Business News Australia)
Moree-based SpacePort Australia (SPA) and Houston-based Aexa Aerospace have formalized a joint venture to develop what they describe as the world's first deductive medical AI designed to assist, support and treat spacecraft and station crew. The partnership, dubbed The Hamilton Project, is named after NASA flight surgeon Dr Douglas Hamilton, who served across 50 missions. The project aims to build an AI model capable of functioning as a medical resource for crew operating in environments where real-time access to physicians on Earth is limited or impossible, such as deep-space missions or orbital stations. (4/27)

UCF Focuses on Space Hospitality (Source: Central Florida Public Media)
The Rosen College of Hospitality Management has its sights set outside our planet with its pursuits of space hospitality and tourism. As humans inch closer to an off-planet settlement, there must be a space to put every worker and tourist. This involves not only shelter, but relaxation. Amy Gregory, the University of Central Florida’s Endowed Chair of Space Tourism Programming & Initiatives, focuses on food and lodging. She likened the space tourism industry to the cruise ship industry. (4/28)

NASA Needs Your Help Spotting Meteors Hitting the Moon (Source: Popular Science)
Establishing a long-term human presence on the moon is a daunting challenge. Daunting—but not impossible. One way to help prepare for our imminent arrival is to gain a better understanding of the frequency and effects of meteorite strikes on the lunar surface.

NASA isn’t only relying on its brave squadron of astronauts like the recently returned Artemis II crew to do the work, however. They need help from anyone willing to spend some time gazing up at the moon from here on Earth. For those ready and willing citizen scientists, it’s time to contribute to the ongoing Impact Flash endeavor. (4/27)

Machine Learning Drives High-Resolution Daily Soil Moisture Mapping Across China (Source: Space Daily)
A research team from Nanjing University has developed a high-precision, 1 km resolution soil moisture dataset for China covering the period 2000 to 2025, using machine learning techniques to overcome longstanding limitations in conventional data sources.

Soil moisture governs surface water evaporation, runoff, and the energy exchange between land and atmosphere. During drought conditions, soil moisture levels remain persistently low, while prior to heavy rainfall events, the initial soil water content directly influences flood formation. Despite the importance of this variable, traditional observation methods carry significant drawbacks: ground-based monitoring stations are sparse and unevenly distributed, satellite remote sensing is susceptible to cloud interference, and numerical weather models carry substantial computational costs as well as systematic biases. (4/29)

Amentum Hiring About 100 Workers in Florida for NASA Artemis Missions (Source: Florida Today)
Amentum is hiring about 100 workers to bolster staffing for NASA's Artemis III, IV and V missions at Kennedy Space Center, and a hiring event for job seekers is scheduled in Orlando. All job positions support Amentum's $3.2 billion COMET contract, which covers Artemis operations through 2033. COMET is an acronym for Consolidated Operations, Management, Engineering and Test. (4/28)

RTX's Raytheon Delivers Second Missile-Warning Sensor to U.S. Space Force (Source: RTX)
Raytheon has delivered its second sensor to Lockheed Martin for the U.S. Space Force's Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) Block 0 satellite program. The satellites, commonly referred to as NGG, will provide enhanced missile warning and tracking to address evolving space-based threats. Raytheon's sensor payloads use advanced optical designs and algorithms to detect the heat signatures of missile launches, including hypersonic weapon systems and other advanced threats. (4/28)

South Korea Nears Completion of Five-Satellite Network to Monitor North Korea (Source: Korea Herald)
South Korea is set to complete the deployment of its five-satellite military reconnaissance constellation this month, marking a major step toward strengthening its independent capabilities in the surveillance of North Korea. (4/28)

April 28, 2026

Starship Progress at the Cape with Hoping to Launch This Year (Source: NSF)
SpaceX continues to make progress on the Gigabay at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport and the launch pads at LC-39A and the first pad at SLC-37. SpaceX hopes to launch from LC-39A sometime this year. At Gigabay, the primary steel truss has reached its maximum height, and crews are currently working on the final level. This final level will include some sort of penthouse like Mega Bays 1 and 2; it is unknown what SpaceX will place in this area. It has potential as a great location for an upgraded launch control center at Cape Canaveral, as the east side of the bay would offer unrestricted views of every launch pad. (4/23)

Blue Origin Is Eating SpaceX’s Lunch (Source: Medium)
The first Space Race was an intercontinental ideological battle that eventually culminated in one of the most complex acts of cross-border cooperation: the ISS. By comparison, the new ‘space race’ is just a billionaire dick-measuring contest, and, like most men who peaked twenty years ago, some are struggling to even get it up (i.e., Starship). Now, Blue Origin is beginning to overtake SpaceX, much like the tortoise to the hare. However, unlike Starship, their New Glenn rocket (which is Starship’s direct competitor) is actually walking the walk. (4/27)

Core Stage of NASA’s Artemis III Delivered to Kennedy Space Center (Source: MyNews 13)
Now that the Artemis II mission has wrapped up, NASA is gearing up for the next mission as the Artemis III’s core stage was delivered on Monday at the Kennedy Space Center. On Monday, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s core stage (the biggest part of the rocket) completed a short 900-mile ferry ride from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans (where it was built) via the Pegasus barge. (4/27)

NASA ‘Received Responses’ From SpaceX and Blue Origin on Artemis III, Isaacman Says (Source: Aerospace America)
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told lawmakers Monday the agency “received responses” from both SpaceX and Blue Origin for the planned Artemis III mission in 2027. Artemis III is now planned as a crewed demonstration in low-Earth orbit in which an Orion crew capsule will practice rendezvous and docking with one or both of the lunar landers in development. Earlier this month, Isaacman told an audience at the Space Symposium that he’s “gaining confidence by the day that it’ll be both.” (4/28)

Building the STEM Pipeline (Source: AIAA)
The United States is in the midst of a “space revolution,” but the hands that will inherit the Earth and the space surrounding it is in short supply. “We need more hands on deck,” said Amy Medina Jorge, astronaut and middle school teacher from Texas who flew on Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-32 mission in May 2025. Medina and Kristen Yip of Blue Origin spoke on the HUB Stage at AIAA SciTech Forum 2026 about building the talent pipeline for space. (4/28)

AAC Clyde Space Triples Backlog with Eumetsat EPS-Sterna Contract (Source: Space Intel Report)
Small satellite hardware and service provide AAC Clyde Space, with a long-awaited large contract now firmly in hand, said its 2026 revenue should be about 475 million Swedish krona ($49.9 million), up 61% from 2025, with a 10% EBITDA margin and positive operating cash flow. Given its size, Sweden- and Scotland-based AAC Clyde is subject to dramatic ups and downs based on the status of just a few large contracts. The EPS-Sterna constellation of Arctic meteorological satellites was one of those. (4/28)

AI Sped Up James Webb Space Telescope Data Analysis From Years to Days. What Can It Do For the Rubin Observatory? (Source: Space.com)
AI image processing has sped up analysis of data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope from years to mere days or less, ushering in an avalanche of ground-breaking discoveries that may otherwise never have been made. And now, the technology will be used to enhance the quality of images taken by the Chile-based Vera C. Rubin Observatory, the newest astronomy power house, to make them appear as sharp as if they have been taken from space. (4/27)

Dassault Picks Spanish Startup Arkadia Space for VORTEX-D Spaceplane Propulsion (Source: AeroTime)
Dassault Aviation has selected Spanish propulsion company Arkadia Space to develop and supply the complete propulsion system for the VORTEX-D, the subscale demonstrator of its planned reusable European spaceplane. The contract covers a full reaction control system built around the company’s 250-newton ARIEL monopropellant thrusters, along with associated propellant tanks and control electronics. The system will handle precision maneuvering during the higher-altitude phases of the mission, where positional accuracy and reliability become critical for hypersonic re-entry. (4/27)

True Anomaly Raises $650 Million (Source: Space News)
Space defense startup True Anomaly has become the latest space unicorn with a $650 million funding round. The company announced Tuesday it raised a Series D round valuing the firm at $2.2 billion. True Anomaly builds spacecraft and software for U.S. national security missions, including its Jackal satellite, designed to maneuver in orbit, and Mosaic, a mission software platform. The fresh capital will be used to expand manufacturing and hiring, with the company aiming to produce up to 50 Jackal spacecraft annually at its facility near Denver. The financing coincides with the company's entry into the Pentagon's Golden Dome program, an effort to develop space-based interceptors designed to counter missile threats. It was one of 12 companies picked last week to develop interceptor prototypes. (4/28)

Seraphim Raising $474 Million for Space Companies (Source: Space News)
Seraphim Space's London-listed trust is seeking to raise more capital to invest in space companies. The fund announced Monday an offer for a new class of C-shares priced at one British pound each, with a goal of raising 350 million British pounds ($474 million). That trust holds shares in more than 10 space companies, including Iceye, All.Space, D-Orbit and HawkEye 360. Seraphim said the new capital will allow it to increase its stakes in existing holdings as well as "cherry-pick new investments" in other companies. (4/28)

Tensor Plans Role in Golden Dome (Source: Space News)
Tensor, an early-stage company focused on space-based radio-frequency communications, is seeking a role in Golden Dome. The company says it is developing compact radios capable of rapidly moving targeting data between satellites and interceptors. The Space Force is projecting demand for thousands of radios capable of running a complex waveform known as Link-182, designed to allow satellites and interceptors to securely exchange data in orbit. Tensor is working on prototypes of a radio using Link-182 with ground tests planned for later this year. It is working with companies involved in the Golden Dome interceptor program. (4/28)

Atlas 5 Launches Amazon Leo Satellites on Monday Mission From Florida (Source: Spaceflight Now)
An Atlas 5 launched more Amazon Leo satellites Monday night. The Atlas 5 551 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 8:53 p.m. Eastern, placing 29 Amazon Leo satellites into orbit. This was the second Atlas 5 launch for Amazon this month and marked the shortest turnaround between Atlas 5 launches at this pad. With this launch, Amazon has launched 270 satellites for its broadband constellation, which is designed to have more than 3,200 satellites. (4/28)

Russian Cargo Craft Docks at ISS (Source: NASA)
A Progress cargo spacecraft docked with the International Space Station Monday evening. The Progress MS-34 spacecraft, called Progress 95 by NASA, docked with the station's Zvezda module on schedule at 8 p.m. Eastern, a little more than two days after its launch. The Progress is carrying about three tons of cargo, including supplies and fuel, for the station and is expected to remain there for about six months. (4/28)

India's Vikram-1 Rocket Readies for First Launch (Source: NDTV)
The first privately developed Indian orbital launch vehicle is on its way to its launch site. The Vikram-1 rocket, developed by Skyroot Aerospace, left its assembly facility in Hyderabad over the weekend, bound for the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The small launch vehicle will undergo more tests there before a launch attempt later this year. (4/28)

The Great Launch Constraint (Source: Space Review)
Blue Origin’s New Glenn suffered a failure on its third launch last week when an upper stage malfunction placed its payload in the wrong orbit. Jeff Foust reports this is a problem not just for Blue Origin but the broader launch industry, as multiple failures reduce launch capacity as demand for launches surges. Click here. (4/28)
 
Science Power Platform: the ISS’s Cancelled Power Module (Source: Space Review)
During much of the development of the International Space Station, one Russian contribution was a module that would have provided power and lab space. Maks Skiendzielewski charts the long history of the Science Power Platform, which never made it to orbit yet influenced the station’s design. Click here. (4/28)
 
A Fortress Moon for Cislunar Security (Source: Space Review)
Cislunar space is evolving from one of primarily scientific interest to one with more strategic importance. Alan Dugger examines one approach to better monitor the activities taking place in this region. Click here. (4/28)
 
Redefining Success in Space Diplomacy: Emerging Space Nations in the Artemis Era and the Case of Türkiye (Source: Space Review)
The role of space in diplomacy is changing as countries shift from seeking technical dominance to influence over governance. Elif Yüksel discusses that shift and how it affects on emerging country in space. Click here. (4/28)
 
The TWINSTAR Mission Concept: A Pragmatic Path to Finding Earth 2.0 (Source: Space Review)
One of the driving goals of astrophysics is to be able to observe an Earthlike planet orbiting another star. Sherine Ahmed El Baradei discusses one mission concept under study that could so for a relatively modest price. Click here. (4/28)

Space Force Budget Proposal Funds Commercial Providers (Source: Air & Space Forces)
The Space Force's $71 billion budget request for fiscal year 2027 includes $2.5 billion for commercial services, but officials note that commercial technology is deeply embedded throughout various programs, making the actual investment much higher. The budget reflects a shift toward private sector technology, with efforts such as the Andromeda program and the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve. (4/27)

L3Harris Plans Huntsville Facility Expansion Following $1B Investment From Pentagon (Source: Huntsville Business Journal)
In a deal that gives the government future ownership in its Missile Solutions business, L3Harris Technologies has closed a $1 billion strategic investment from the Department of War, the company announced. The investment will be used to expand and modernize facilities – including Huntsville, accelerate research and development, and increase production capacity for critical national security technologies. (4/27)

Lunar Dust Transformed Into Structural Reinforcement for Moon Base Construction (Source: Space Daily)
As space agencies and private companies move toward sustained human presence on the moon, one of the central challenges is how to build strong, durable infrastructure without transporting every material from Earth. New research from Rice University points to a solution drawn from the lunar surface itself - transforming the moon's abrasive dust into a valuable structural resource. The study demonstrates that lunar regolith simulant - a terrestrial stand-in for the moon's fine, abrasive dust - can be incorporated into fiber-reinforced polymer composites to measurably improve their structural performance. (4/23)

Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Reveals a Birthplace Far Colder Than Our Solar System (Source: Space Daily)
Although its precise source remains unknown, new research led by the University of Michigan has revealed fresh insights about the birthplace of the interstellar object designated 3I/ATLAS - and wherever that was, it was far colder than the environment that gave rise to our own solar system. The finding rests on the observation that 3I/ATLAS is remarkably rich in a specific form of water containing deuterium, a heavier isotope of hydrogen. (4/23)

Plato Clears Major Vacuum and Thermal Trials Ahead of 2027 Launch (Source: Space Daily)
The European Space Agency's Plato mission has completed a demanding series of tests in space-like conditions, clearing an important milestone as the spacecraft moves toward a planned launch in January 2027. Plato recently came out of the Large Space Simulator at ESA's Test Centre, where engineers exposed the spacecraft to the vacuum and temperature extremes it will face in orbit. The campaign followed the long-standing engineering rule of testing a spacecraft as closely as possible to the way it will actually fly. (4/23)

Full Scale Space Rider Test Craft Set for Parafoil Glide Trials (Source: Space Daily)
The European Space Agency has completed the first full scale test model of its reusable Space Rider spacecraft, marking a step toward flight trials of the vehicle's runway landing system. Space Rider is designed as an uncrewed reusable spacecraft that will operate in low Earth orbit for about two months at a time. Its cargo bay is intended to support a range of experiments and operations in orbit. At the end of each mission, the reentry module will return to Earth and glide under a parafoil to a runway landing. (4/22)

Chang'e 7 Preps for South Pole Mission as China Charts Expanding Lunar Program (Source: Space Daily)
China's Chang'e 7 spacecraft is undergoing final launch preparations at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan province, ahead of a planned liftoff in the second half of 2026. The mission will travel to the lunar south pole to conduct environmental surveys and assess the region's resource potential. The announcement came as China marked its 11th Space Day, with officials using the occasion to review the achievements of the Chang'e program and outline the road ahead for Chinese and international lunar exploration. (4/26)

China Breaks Foreign Monopoly with Mass-Produced Fingernail-Sized Atomic Clock (Source: Space Daily)
China has achieved mass production of a chip-scale atomic clock the size of a fingernail that loses just one second every 30,000 years, a development with direct applications in low-Earth-orbit satellites, underwater Beidou navigation systems, drone swarms and GPS-denied military environments.

The device was developed by Wuhan University's Satellite Navigation and Positioning Technology Research Center and is now manufactured commercially by Zhongke Taifeisi (Wuhan) Technology Co. At 2.3 cubic centimeters, it is approximately one-seventh the volume of comparable products made in the United States while delivering equivalent timekeeping performance. (4/26)

China Identifies Two New Lunar Minerals from Chang'e 5 Samples (Source: Space Daily)
Chinese scientists have identified two new minerals in lunar samples returned by the Chang'e 5 mission in late 2020, bringing the total number of lunar minerals discovered by China to three and the global count of named lunar minerals to eight. The China National Space Administration confirmed that both minerals have been reviewed and formally approved by the Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification of the International Mineralogical Association. (4/26)

China's First Commercial Space Standards Aim To Cut Costs and Unify Industry (Source: Space Daily)
China has released its first set of commercial space standards, marking a shift from an industry characterized by fragmented technical specifications to one with a shared regulatory framework. Until now, rocket and satellite manufacturers each operated under their own technical rules, making coordination along the supply chain inefficient. The new standards establish common safety benchmarks and a shared technical language, allowing companies across the sector to work together more effectively. (4/26)

China Moves To Deepen Commercial Space Sector With Focus On In-Space Manufacturing (Source: Space Daily)
The China National Space Administration has called for stronger support of commercial space development, with particular emphasis on emerging sectors including space-based computing power and in-space manufacturing, as the agency works to expand commercial application scenarios and establish viable closed-loop business models.

CNSA Director and Vice-Minister of Industry and Information Technology Shan Zhongde chaired an enterprise roundtable in Beijing that brought together leaders from 14 commercial space companies. The firms represented a broad cross-section of the industry, spanning rocket development, satellite manufacturing, commercial launch services, satellite telemetry, tracking and control, constellation construction, and satellite applications. Discussions covered development strategies, current challenges, and policy recommendations across several areas including research and production, licensing and access, launch applications, frequency coordination, in-orbit operations, and application promotion. (4/28)

Curiosity And Perseverance Rovers Reveal Opposite Ends Of Mars Ancient Past (Source: Space Daily)
NASA's two active Mars rovers have each assembled sweeping 360-degree panoramas from opposite sides of the planet, together painting a portrait of Mars that spans billions of years of geological and climatic history. Separated by 2,345 miles (3,775 kilometers) - roughly the overland distance between Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. - Curiosity and Perseverance are simultaneously probing two very different eras of Martian time. (4/27)

Spaceflux Raises £9 Million in Seed Funding to Accelerate its Space Intelligence Services (Source: Spacewatch Global)
Spaceflux has raised £9 million in its seed round, raising £5.5 million in the initial round and an additional £3.5 million in an extension round, to accelerate its global expansion. Existing investor Blackfinch Ventures led the extension round with a major follow-on, alongside continued participation from Foresight Group and the UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund (managed by Future Planet Capital). (4/28)

April 27, 2026

NASA Wants to Use a Fleet of MoonFall Drones to Scout the Lunar South Pole (Source: Defense News)
One aspect of the NASA chief's Artemis makeover is use of hopper drones under what's called MoonFall. A Request for Proposals for moving MoonFall forward was issued the day of the NASA Ignition event. MoonFall involves the release of four camera and sensor-laden "drones" over a still-to-be-selected site at the lunar south pole, Baker told Space.com. "Our goal is that each drone can cover a range of roughly 30 miles," he said, "and get that done by the end of 2028." (4/27)

Meta Secures Overview Energy Space Solar Power Capacity (Source: Payload)
Meta announced an agreement today to secure up to 1 GW of power capacity through Overview Energy’s planned solar power-beaming satellite system. The deal comes amid AI’s rapid expansion, which has put a strain on terrestrial power grids. As large tech companies pour billions into new data centers, their energy needs are already equivalent to the entire power demand of Ireland in 2023, according to one estimate—and are expected to double or triple by 2028. The explosive demand has forced many data-center operators to get creative about their power inputs. In January, Meta announced three deals to secure up to 6.6 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2035, and now the tech giant is turning its sights to space. (4/27)

Global Military Spending Reaches Record $2.89 Trillion (Sources: Business Standard, Reuters)
Global military spending grew by 2.9% to $2.89 trillion last year, marking the 11th year of increases, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The US, China and Russia accounted for 51% of the total, with US spending falling by 7.5% due to a halt in aid to Ukraine. The decline in US spending is expected to be temporary, with projections exceeding $1 trillion in 2026. (4/27)

FAA Plans User Fees for Commercial Launches and Reentries (Source: Space News)
The FAA is moving forward with plans to charge user fees for commercial launches and reentries. The agency, in a public notice last week, said it will begin incorporating terms and conditions for user fees in new licenses, while operators with existing licenses remain liable for fees incurred for operations starting at the beginning of the year. Last year's budget reconciliation act directed the FAA to start charging fees based on the mass of the payload for each launch or reentry, with the fees going to a fund for improving integration of launches and reentries into the national airspace system.

The fees could generate more than $1 million for the FAA this year alone, with revenue growing with increased launches and an escalating fee schedule included in last year's bill. The FAA's commercial space office, which saw its budget cut by 5% in 2026, is seeking a significant increase in fiscal year 2027 to accommodate a growth in launches. Editor's Note: Maybe invest the proceeds into the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and expand grant eligibility to spaceports. (4/27)

Mars MTN Mission Opens 20 kg for Science Opportunity (Source: Space News)
NASA is reserving a small amount of payload space on a Mars communications mission for science. An updated draft RFP for the Mars Telecommunications Network (MTN), released earlier this month, says the agency plans to reserve up to 20 kilograms on the mission for a science payload that the agency will select. NASA did not disclose what payloads are being considered but noted that it could be used to deploy cubesats once the mission arrives at Mars. MTN, formerly the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter, would launch by the end of 2028 to provide relay services for other spacecraft at Mars. NASA received $700 million in last year's budget reconciliation act to fund the mission. (4/27)

India Plans New Class of Astronauts (Source: Times of India)
India is planning to recruit a second class of astronauts. A committee of Indian's space agency ISRO recommended that it select 10 more astronauts, six of which would be military pilots and the other four civilian scientists and engineers. India has four astronauts, all Indian Air Force pilots; one of the four, Shubhanshu Shukla, flew on an Axiom Space private astronaut mission to the ISS last year. The new astronaut class would support an anticipated two crewed missions a year for India's Gaganyaan program, with each mission carrying two or three astronauts. (4/27)

Germany's RFA Plans July Launch at SaxaVord (Source: RFA)
German launch startup Rocket Factory Augsburg is projecting a first launch as soon as July. The company announced Monday it filed for a maritime license needed for the inaugural launch of its RFA ONE rocket from SaxaVord Spaceport in the Shetland Islands. The application includes a date of no earlier than July 1 for the launch, but the company emphasized that the date in the application was "a legally required step for planning" and that it has yet to set an official launch date for the mission. (4/27)

New York City Will Throw an Artemis Parade if NASA Pays (Source: New York Post)
New York City is willing to throw a ticker-tape parade for the Artemis 2 astronauts — if someone else picks up the bill. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said last week that his office is reviewing a request made by several members of the city council for a parade for the crew. He noted, though, that such parades are typically funded by the entity being honored. The city's last ticker-tape parade was in 2024 for the New York Liberty championship basketball team, with the team paying most of the multimillion-dollar cost for the parade. (4/27)

ESA Paid €51.65 Million to Launch Sentinel-1C on Vega-C Return to Flight (Source: European Spaceflight)
European Space Agency disclosures show that the agency paid more than €51 million to launch the European Commission’s Sentinel-1C Earth observation satellite aboard a Vega C rocket on 5 December 2024. The flight marked the rocket’s return to flight after being grounded for nearly two years following a December 2022 failure.

While the European Union is responsible for the overall management of the Copernicus Earth observation satellite constellation, ESA is tasked with managing contracts with European industry for its development, launch, and operation. As part of this responsibility, the agency publishes an annual list of all contracts awarded with a value exceeding €15,000. (4/27)

SpaceX Flies 25 Starlink Satellites From California  on its 50th Falcon 9 Launch of 2026 (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launched its 50th Falcon 9 rocket of the year from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Sunday, carrying another batch of satellites for its Starlink internet service. Liftoff of the Starlink 17-16 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East occurred under cloudy skies . The rocket carrying 25 of SpaceX’s Starlink V2 Mini broadband internet satellites took a southerly trajectory on departure from the central California coast. (4/26)

April 26, 2026

People Will Be ‘Living and Working’ on the Moon in the 2030s, Says Space Tech CEO (Source: CNBC)
People will be living and working on the moon within the next decade, according to the boss of space tech company Voyager Technologies. “We’ll have humans on the moon by the end of the 2020s, and we’ll have some lunar base — it’ll probably be an inflatable habitat with some life support,” said the firm’s chairman and CEO Dylan Taylor. Voyager went public in June and is widely known for its Starlab project that is set to replace the International Space Station, which is slated to be retired in 2030. (4/24)

India's First Private Orbital Rocket Vikram-1 Inches Closer To Launch (Source: The Hindu)
Skyroot Aerospace’s orbital rocket Vikram-I capable of launching satellites, was flagged off from the spacetech startup’s facility in Hyderabad on Saturday by Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to Sriharikota, from where it is likely to be launched, to space, in June. Designed and developed in Hyderabad, the rocket, the first such privately developed in India, is 23-meter tall or the height of a seven storey building. It can carry a payload of 300 kgs though the company plans to have smaller payloads during the initial launches. (4/25)

Sonic Booms in Store Monday Morning with 1st SpaceX Falcon Heavy Launch Since 2024 (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Central Florida could be in store for pair of double sonic booms Monday morning with the planned returned landing of both of the side boosters for the first SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch since 2024. The company is targeting an 85-minute launch window that opens at 10:21 a.m. for the heavy-lift rocket flying on the ViaSat-3 F3 mission from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39-A. A backup window falls to Tuesday opening at 10:17 a.m. (4/26)

China Launches Pakistani Satellite (Source: Xinhua)
China launched a Pakistani satellite from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province on Saturday. The satellite, named PRSC-EO3, was lifted off at 8:15 p.m. (Beijing Time) by a Long March-6 carrier rocket and successfully entered its planned orbit. This launch marked the 640th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series. (4/26)

China Unveils International Partners for Tianwen-3 Mars Mission (Source: Xinhua)
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Friday announced the results of its international collaboration selection for Tianwen-3, China's first Mars sample-return mission. Following a call for cooperation proposals in April 2025, in which the CNSA announced it would open up 20 kilograms of payload resources for international collaboration, the agency received 28 applications. Five projects were subsequently selected based on the criteria of high scientific value, effective mission support, solid engineering feasibility and high technological maturity, the CNSA said.

According to the CNSA, three scientific instruments will be carried on the orbiter. The first is a Mars PEX Spectrometer developed by a team from the Committee on Space Research Panel on Exploration. It will search for signs of life and study surface minerals. The second is a Mars Molecular Ion Composition Analyzer led by Macau University of Science and Technology, designed to study the atmospheric escape process of Mars. The third is a Laser Heterodyne Spectrometer led by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, which will measure the profile distribution of water isotopes and wind fields in the Martian atmosphere.

The mission's service module will carry a Mars Terrestrial Hyperspectral Imaging Spectrometer developed by the University of Hong Kong. This instrument will look for signs of life, water-containing minerals, and help map Mars' surface resources. The lander will carry a Tianwen Laser Retroreflector Array-3 led by the National Laboratory of Frascati under the National Institute for Nuclear Physics of Italy. This device will create precise reference points on the Martian surface. (4/24)

China Issues its First Commercial Space Standard System (Source: Xinhua)
China released its first commercial space standard system on Friday, aiming to leverage standardization's guiding role in the development of the space industry and promote high-quality development of commercial space activities. The new standard system was issued by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the State Administration for Market Regulation in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, at the launch ceremony of the country's 11th Space Day that fell on Friday. The system focuses on carrier rockets, satellites, launch sites, application services and industry governance.

The system comprises six categories: industry governance, R&D and manufacturing, launch and TT&C (Telemetry, Tracking and Command), space application services, basic and common items, and facilities and equipment. It plans for over 1,000 standard items, covering international and national standards at various levels. (4/24)

Trump Ousts National Science Board Members (Source: Washington Post)

President Donald Trump terminated multiple scientists from the National Science Board, which guides the National Science Foundation. The board, established in 1950, helps govern the NSF’s $9 billion budget. The White House did not explain the dismissals. The board’s role includes advising Congress on science investments. This move follows similar changes in other federal science advisory boards since Trump’s second term began. (4/25)

Russia Launches Progress Cargo Mission to ISS (Source: Russian Space Web)
The second Russian cargo mission to the ISS in 2026 lifted off from Baikonur on April 26, just 35 days after Progress MS-33 headed to the station from a repaired launch pad at Site 31. The tight schedule was designed to restore the flow of supplies to the outpost after the interruption by the launch pad accident in November 2025. (4/25)

Space Force Faces Surge in Demand for Heavy-Lift Launches (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force is significantly increasing its demand for heavy-lift rocket launches, projecting a surge in national security missions through 2029, which puts immense pressure on a limited, two-provider market. With only SpaceX and United Launch Alliance (ULA) currently certified for high-priority payloads, the Space Force faces surge in demand for heavy-lift launches. (4/25)

Creotech Instruments Secures €52 Million ESA Contract to Build Polish Satellite Constellation CAMILA (Source: Creotech)
Creotech Instruments has signed the largest contract with ESA to date — a landmark €52 million agreement for the CAMILA (Country Awareness Mission in Land Analysis) satellite constellation. Under the contract, Creotech will provide a national constellation of at least three Earth observation satellites along with dedicated ground infrastructure. The contract also includes satellite launch services and the conduct of full-scale missions. This is a significant milestone not only for Poland’s rapidly growing space sector, but also for Europe’s strategic autonomy in satellite technology. (4/24)

Could Space-Based Data Centers Help Power U.S. Military Missions in the Future? (Source: Washington Times)
Data centers in space, and perhaps even on the moon, could become crucial to U.S. national security. That statement may have sounded like borderline science fiction just a few years ago. But military insiders and defense industry leaders say they believe a convergence of factors on Earth, including grass-roots political opposition, could dramatically slow the construction of the massive new data complexes needed to power today’s artificial intelligence models and other advanced technology. (4/24)

UCF, Industry Experts Share Insight on Evolution of Space Medicine (Source: UCF)
Hours before Artemis II splashed down safely into the Pacific Ocean on April 10, UCF researchers, university partners, an astronaut, and the former head of NASA gathered to start developing new technologies to keep space travelers healthy. They proclaimed there is no better place than UCF, the closest medical school to Kennedy Space Center, to create a new frontier in healthcare as humans prepare for longer missions to the moon, Mars and beyond.

“You are in a global destination for medical innovation,” Michal Masternak told participants in the Star Nona 2026 event in Lake Nona’s Medical City. An anti-aging and cancer researcher at the UCF College of Medicine, Masternak organized the event as part of the Lake Nona Research Council, which is focused on encouraging interdisciplinary scientific partnerships between industry, academia and healthcare.

Space medicine is one of the council’s priorities. Deep space travel and the commercialization of space bring unique health challenges that science is just beginning to explore. The College of Medicine’s aerospace medicine program focuses on how factors such as microgravity, radiation and isolation impact the human body in space and how that knowledge can drive innovation into diagnostics, treatment and disease prevention for patients on Earth. (4/24)

Europe Blows Up Russian Soyuz Rocket Launch Site in French Guiana (Source: United 24)
The European Space Agency (ESA) has dismantled key elements of the launch complex used for Russian Soyuz-ST rockets at the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana, effectively ending the site’s operational role in joint missions with Russia. The demolition included a controlled explosion of a 52-meter mobile service tower that had been part of the Soyuz launch infrastructure. (4/25)

Chinese Satellites Over Mideast Battlefield Put U.S. on Edge (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Since the U.S. and Israel launched attacks against Iran in late February, Chinese satellite imagery of the conflict zone has proliferated—potentially offering battlefield guidance to Tehran and other U.S. adversaries. U.S. concerns about the use of such data in the Middle East grew after the Chinese artificial-intelligence company MizarVision claimed on social media to have tracked the movements of American aircraft carriers, F-22 stealth fighters and B-52 bombers by using AI to analyze satellite data. (4/23)

US Space Command: Russia is Now Operationalizing Co-Orbital ASAT Weapons (Source: Ars Technica)
After several tests of unusual “nesting doll” satellites in low-Earth orbit, Russia is now fielding operational anti-satellite weapons with valuable US government satellites in their crosshairs, the four-star general leading US Space Command said this week. Gen. Stephen Whiting didn’t name the system, but he was almost certainly referring to a Russian military program named Nivelir, which has launched four satellites shadowing US spy satellites owned by the National Reconnaissance Office in low-Earth orbit. After reaching orbit, the Nivelir satellites have released smaller ships to start their own maneuvers, and at least one of those lobbed a mystery object at high velocity during a test in 2020. (4/23)

Clouds of Water Ice Thread Stellar Nurseries in the Milky Way (Source: Science News)
A vast, frozen fog of interstellar ice has been charted across expanses of the Milky Way, poised to supply water to newborn worlds. Reaching hundreds of light-years in length, the icy clouds drape two of the galaxy’s active star-forming regions, astronomer Gary Melnick and colleagues report in the April 20 Astrophysical Journal. The findings paint the broadest picture thus far of interstellar ice’s distribution, and seem to confirm predictions that water, a key ingredient for life on Earth, occurs across huge areas of interstellar space, says Melnick, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. (4/23)

April 25, 2026

UCF Students Dig Up Native Artifacts, Pottery at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Florida Today)
Hidden underground for centuries, the spinal column of a large shark eaten by Native Americans poked from the ink-black dirt wall of an archaeological test pit, evidence that hunter-gatherers roamed Cape Canaveral Space Force Station long before the age of missiles and rockets. This Indigenous refuse-dumping site — loaded with discarded shells, broken pottery and wildlife bones — lies roughly 200 feet from the serene Banana River shoreline within the DeSoto Grove archaeological zone in a thickly vegetated, rarely glimpsed corner of the military installation. (4/24)

ESA Sheds Light on NASA Administrator’s Claims on Gateway Modules (Source: European Spaceflight)
ESA has provided details in response to claims made by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman regarding the condition of Gateway space station modules already delivered to the agency. During a hearing on 22 April, Isaacman testified that the two habitable volumes delivered were "corroded” and would delay the program “beyond 2030.” He was likely referring to the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) and the International Habitation Module (I-HAB).

While HALO was part of NASA’s contribution to the station, with its construction led by Northrop Grumman, its primary structure was manufactured in Italy by Thales Alenia Space. ESA confirmed that the HALO module, delivered to Northrop Grumman in April 2025, had arrived with signs of corrosion. While ESA confirmed that I-HAB had a similar but less severe issue, it clarified that the module had not yet been shipped to NASA.

"Based on the investigation and available data, the corrosion issue was understood to be technically manageable and did not constitute a showstopper for I-Hab, which was, in any case, in better condition than HALO from a corrosion point of view.” ESA said these elements were far from the only factors contributing to delays in the station’s development. US items like the life support system and the thermal control pump, "were also experiencing notable delays and technical complexity,” the ESA spokesperson said. (4/24)

SpaceX Lowers Price of Starlink Aviation Plans to Win Back Small Plane Owners (Source: PC Mag)
SpaceX is lowering the prices and changing the names of Starlink plans for small plane owners, but it might not be enough to win back the aviation community. A new email blast titled "More Data. Lower Price" touts Starlink's Aviation 300MPH plan, which SpaceX introduced in March for $250 per month alongside a $1,000 Aviation 450MPH plan.

Previously, aviators could use the $165-per-month Starlink Roam plan on their aircraft, but as its name suggests, Aviation 300MPH capped the in-motion internet access at 300mph, so Roam was no longer an option on planes. It also swapped unlimited data for 20GB per month, and charged $10 for every extra GB used. (4/24)

The Governance Gap: Why Orbital Data Centers Need Certification Before They Scale (Source: Space News)
More companies around the world are forging ahead with plans for orbital data center constellations. But those plans will be stymied by a lack of shared architectures and standards, argues John David Callison, a global strategic sourcing executive and advisor at Abelian Security Council, and Joseph Minafra, lead of innovation and technical partnerships for the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute.

"The absence of shared standards does more than slow progress; it distorts the economics," they wrote. "Investors price uncertainty, and in today’s environment, every orbital data center is effectively a first-of-its-kind system. That means unquantifiable technical risk, limited comparables and ultimately a higher cost of capital. Until interoperability and certification frameworks exist, financing will remain constrained not by ambition but by avoidable uncertainty." (4/25)

Astrobotic’s Detonation Engine Fires 4,000 Pounds of Thrust in Wild Test (Source: Gizmodo)
Space startup Astrobotic put its rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) to the test for the first time, demonstrating a potentially groundbreaking technology that generates thrust by supersonic combustion. Astrobotic completed a series of hot-fire tests on two engine prototypes at Marshall Space Flight Center. Each engine produced more than 4,000 pounds of thrust (1,800 kilograms) for a combined 470 seconds of total runtime, including a single 300-second burn. The recent demonstration brings the private space industry one step closer to a more efficient rocket propulsion system that could allow crewed landers to travel to deep space destinations such as the Moon and Mars. (4/24)

Gilmour Space Concluded Investigation into the Debut Flight Failure of Australia’s First Orbital Rocket (Source: Douglas Messier)
Gilmour's Eris TestFlight1 lifted off from the Bowen Orbital Spaceport on 30 July 2025, marking a major step forward for Australia’s sovereign space capability. The vehicle subsequently experienced an in-flight anomaly, resulting in the vehicle being lost within the designated safety area. Our investigation found that approximately nine seconds after ignition, one of the four first-stage hybrid rocket motors experienced a loss of thrust. A second motor exhibited similar behavior at around 17 seconds, reducing vehicle performance and bringing the mission to an early end.

Analysis identified two independent failure modes originating from the oxidizer pump subsystem. Electrical and thermal faults were observed in the electric pump motors and associated inverters, including components sourced from an external supplier. We now have a clearer understanding of the underlying causes. Based on the findings of the investigation, design, qualification, and process improvements are being evaluated and implemented. (4/24)

Golden Dome Dreams Face Harsh Budget Reality (Source: Politico)
Top Pentagon officials gathered Thursday in a hangar at a Navy base here surrounded by air defense hardware to declare that President Donald Trump’s hugely ambitious Golden Dome homeland air defense effort was moving forward. But that is an increasingly hard sell.

Gen. Mike Guetlein, the man leading the effort for the Pentagon, touted the progress made over the past 10 months and pledged to get the first key piece of sensor technology up and running by 2028 — a timeline that needs an alarmingly large number of things to go right in short order. Trump’s signature missile defense shield faces technical hurdles, funding questions and — perhaps most problematically — a Republican Congress that seems increasingly unlikely to provide the program with the tens of billions it needs to fully get off the ground.

The Trump administration envisions funding the program next year almost entirely through a party-line reconciliation bill. But top Republicans are already sounding skeptical, given GOP reluctance to embrace a bruising congressional budget battle ahead of this year’s high-stakes midterm elections. (4/23)

SpaceX Says Unproven AI Space Data Centers May Not Be Commercially Viable, Filing Shows (Source: Reuters)
SpaceX warned investors that its ambitions to build space-based artificial intelligence data ‌centers, as well as human settlements on the moon and Mars, rely on unproven technologies and may not become commercially viable, according to a company filing. The business risks laid out in SpaceX's pre-IPO filing, which have not been previously reported, present a far ​more cautious assessment of the rocket maker's future than the vision laid out publicly by ​Elon Musk in recent weeks. (4/21)

Space Force Awards Up To $3.2 billion for Golden Dome Interceptor Prototypes (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force has awarded agreements worth up to $3.2 billion to a group of 12 companies to develop prototypes for space-based interceptors for the Golden Dome missile defense program, following an open solicitation from September 2025. Agreements were signed with Anduril Industries, Booz Allen Hamilton, General Dynamics Mission Systems, GITAI USA, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Quindar, Raytheon, Sci-Tec, SpaceX, True Anomaly and Turion Space. (4/24)

Central Florida Astronaut Luke Delaney Chosen for 1st NASA Spaceflight (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Central Florida’s Luke Delaney is headed to space. The astronaut who was raised in Volusia County received his first spaceflight assignment Thursday from NASA to be part of this September’s Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station. (4/24)

Test Time for These Moon Drills (Source: Aerospace America)
A South Dakota company is preparing for trials with its devices for retrieving and transporting lunar regolith. For future moon outposts, scientists expect to get water, oxygen and hydrogen from lunar regolith. But first, that soil would need to be excavated and delivered from the bottom of permanently shadowed craters to rovers or to feed tall processing plants. (4/24)

25 Years of the International Space Station: Legacy, Science, and the Road Ahead (Source: AIAA)
In November 2025, the ISS marked 25 years of uninterrupted crewed operations – a record unmatched in human spaceflight. In January, a panel of experts at the AIAA SciTech Forum HUB stage discussed the station’s legacy and future of humanity in space, and underscored how the station’s engineering triumphs, international partnership, and scientific output have shaped today’s space agenda and will influence the transition to commercial platforms and deep space missions. (4/24)

Japan's Audacious Sample-Return Mission to the Mars Moon Phobos has Made it to the Launch Pad (Source: Space.com)
Japan's Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft has arrived at the Tanegashima spaceport ahead of launch, which will kick off an audacious mission to bag samples from Mars' moon Phobos and deliver them to Earth. MMX recently completed its journey to the spaceport on Tanegashima island on March 31, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced recently on the social media platform X, and will now be prepared for a launch late this year. (4/24)

The Exploration Company Signs Agreement for Nyx Separation System (Source: European Spaceflight)
European in-space logistics startup The Exploration Company has signed a memorandum of understanding with Spain’s OCCAM Space to develop a customized variant of its KISS-XL clampband. The clampband will handle the separation of The Exploration Company’s Nyx capsule from its launch vehicle once in orbit. (4/24)

NASA's TESS Spacecraft Discovers a Weird System of Exoplanets Unlike Anything Seen Before (Source: Space.com)
Using NASA's exoplanet-hunting spacecraft TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) and Antarctic Search for Transiting ExoPlanets (ASTEP) on the Antarctic Plateau, astronomers have discovered a rare and uniquely weird planetary system. The extrasolar planets, or exoplanets, that swirl around the star TOI-201 have orbits that are changing so rapidly that astronomers can see the changes in real time. The behavior of the system, located around 370 light-years from Earth, is something scientists have never seen before. (4/22)