October 23, 2026

ESA Director “Not Sure” Themis Will Make Its First Flight in 2026 (Source: European Spaceflight)
ESA's Director of Space Transportation, Géraldine Naja, said she was uncertain whether the agency would be able to complete the first flight of its Themis reusable rocket demonstrator before the end of the year. Naja explained that approaching winter conditions at Sweden’s Esrange Space enter could prevent the test from taking place this year. She added that the agency would make a go/no-go decision before the end of November on whether to proceed with the flight before the winter shutdown. (10/23)

China Adding Launch Pads at Hainan Spaceport (Source: Space News)
China's first commercial launch site is adding two new pads to support an increased launch rate. Hainan Commercial Spacecraft Launch Site (HCSLS) is soon set to bring online two new general-purpose pads for liquid-propellant launchers. HCSLS hosted its first launch in November 2024 with the inaugural flight of the Long March 12 rocket from Pad 2. Pad 1 began hosting Long March 8 and 8A launches in 2025. The two new pads will increase the spaceport's capacity to 60 launches a year. (10/23)

Rocket Lab Launches HawkEye 360 Satellite From New Zealand (Source: Space News)
An Electron rocket launched a set of HawkEye 360 satellites Friday. The Electron lifted off from Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 3:11 a.m. Eastern and placed into orbit three satellites for HawkEye 360, designated Cluster 16. The launch comes three days after three other HawkEye 360 satellites, Cluster 15, launched on SpaceX's Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission. HawkEye 360 now has 39 satellites in orbit for radio-frequency intelligence services. (10/23)

ESA Gets Two New Directors (Source: ESA)
ESA has named two new directors. The agency announced Thursday that the ESA Council appointed Andrzej Banasiak as director of commercialization and industry partnerships, effective Jan. 1. Banasiak has worked in European aerospace and defense industries for 25 years, most recently as head of Safran Group's operations in Poland. The council also appointed Nicolaus Hanowski as director of space operations effective Jan. 1. Hanowski has led ESA's Earth Observation Mission Management and Ground Segment Department since 2014. (10/23)

Vantor Captures Image of Russian Satellite Approaching Iceye Satellite (Source: Vantor)
Vantor captured an image of a close approach by a Russian satellite to an Iceye spacecraft. Vandor said one of its WorldView satellites imaged both Cosmos 2612 and Iceye X36 as Cosmos 2612 approached within about a kilometer of the Iceye satellite on Oct. 17. That rendezvous raised alarms about the intent of the Russian spacecraft, although there is no evidence that it interfered with Iceye X36. (10/23)

Former NRO Director Joins Intuitive Machines Board (Source: Intuitive Machines)
A former director of the National Reconnaissance Office has joined the board of Intuitive Machines. The company announced Thursday that Chris Scolese joined the board, replacing Michael Blitzer. Scolese retired as NRO director earlier this year and previously was a senior official at NASA, including six months as the agency's acting administrator. Biltzer is a partner at Inflection Point Asset Management, which created the SPAC that merged with Intuitive Machines to take the company public. (10/23)

Space Force Helping Small Companies Gain Security Credentials (Source: Space News)
The Space Force is helping commercial space companies obtain the security clearances needed to compete for classified military work. The initiative, called Access to the Classified Ecosystem for Space (ACES) has about two dozen companies in its pipeline, and gives military acquisition officials a way to discuss classified threats and requirements with promising suppliers before those companies secure major defense contracts. The initiative is intended to get around the obstacles startups face trying to break into military markets, as they often need access to classified information to understand what the military wants to buy, but obtaining that access generally requires sponsorship tied to a government contract. (10/23)

NASA Safety Panel Raises Concerns About Artemis 4 and 5 Risks, Crew Launch Capabilities (Source: Space News)
NASA's safety advisers are raising concerns about future missions. The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) said it was planning a new recommendation calling on NASA to "reexamine the mission objectives and potentially the system architecture" for Artemis 4 and 5, the first landing missions, because of concerns about complexity and risk. That included a claim by the committee that a Starship lunar landing mission would require 22 launches for refueling; SpaceX CEO Elon Musk later said on social media the number of refueling will be six to eight. NASA is scheduled to provide an "Artemis Acceleration" update this afternoon to discuss preparations for Artemis 3 and later missions.

ASAP also warned that NASA's reliance on commercial contracting models could cause it to lose crewed access to low Earth orbit in the coming years. The committee noted SpaceX's plans to retire Crew Dragon in the next few years mean that NASA will have to rely on Boeing's Starliner, which has suffered technical problems and significant delays. It could also complicate discussions about extending ISS from 2030 to at least 2032. The committee had other concerns about NASA's plans to fund development of commercial space stations, arguing high transportation costs reduced demand for those stations beyond NASA and that such stations are unlikely to be ready before the scheduled retirement of ISS. That could create a gap in crewed access to LEO, the committee warned, affecting both research in LEO and support for Artemis. (10/23)

Ukraine Considers Sovereign Satellite Broadband Constellation (Source: Space News)
Ukraine is exploring developing its own satellite communications constellation with the assistance of Iceye and Nokia. The two Finnish companies announced Thursday they signed a letter of intent with Ukraine's Defense Ministry to explore developing a secure broadband network. The proposed system would give Ukraine control over satellites, ground infrastructure and user terminals. Iceye and Nokia, which announced a broader partnership earlier this month, expect their first communications satellites to be available in 2028. The companies disclosed no contract value, financing arrangements or number of satellites, and Ukraine hasn't committed to purchasing a system, but it comes as Ukraine is grappling with restrictions on its use of Starlink. (10/23)

Texas Shouldn't Sell Boca Chica State Park to Elon Musk (Source: Houston Chronicle)
When SpaceX first proposed a launch facility near Boca Chica Beach back in 2012, the company promised to leave the surrounding landscape untouched. But now, after years of launches, explosions and damage to wildlife habitat, the state park next door may now be for sale to the company. Boca Chica State Park isn’t the only public land at risk. A judge ruled in September that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service could proceed with transferring about 715 acres of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge to SpaceX in return for about 683 acres of company-owned land.

Federal officials say the exchange would consolidate fragmented refuge lands and improve habitat protection. But their own environmental assessment acknowledges that the transferred land could be developed and would no longer be open to the public. It also cites disturbance from SpaceX’s operations as a reason the refuge lands have lost conservation value. Industrial activity that degrades protected habitat shouldn’t become the reason to hand that land to the company responsible. (10/23)

SpaceX in Talks to Access 80,000 Cell Sites for New Network (Source: Bloomberg)
SpaceX aims to secure a minimum of 80,000 cell sites across the US, and it’s in talks with at least one major cellular infrastructure company to reach that goal, according to people familiar with the matter. The agreements would solidify the rocket and satellite giant’s path toward building a fourth nationwide wireless carrier, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the discussions are private. One of the companies they’re in talks with is Crown Castle Inc., which, along with American Tower Corp. and Vertical Bridge Holdings, are among the largest owners of cellular towers. (10/23)

Air Force Research Lab Demonstrates Rocket Cargo Delivery (Source: DoD)
The Air Force Research Laboratory tested the Rocket Cargo project's point-to-point delivery capabilities during a commercial rideshare launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, Oct. 20. Rocket Cargo is a research and development project to determine the viability of using large commercial rockets to rapidly deliver materiel anywhere in the world. The recent test used a SpaceX capsule with instrumentation to measure temperature, shock and vibration; it carried agile cargo pod designs built for various delivery loads. (10/22)

Trump Says Starlink Limits Are Gone—Ukraine Says the Signal Still Dies at 100 MPH (Source: United 24)
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry has not confirmed that Starlink speed restrictions have been removed, despite US President Donald Trump saying SpaceX had already lifted the limits affecting Starshield terminals in Ukraine, ministry sources said on October 23. As of the morning of October 23, tests were still recording cases in which connectivity disappeared once terminals reached speeds of around 161 kilometers per hour—roughly 100 mph. (10/23)

Aussie Astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg in Running to Join European Space Mission (Source: News.com.au)
An Aussie astronaut is a step closer to becoming the first person sent into space to directly represent Australia. Katherine Bennell-Pegg could be the first person to wear an Australian flag on their space suit if an $8m bid by the Albanese government, with the backing of private funding, to join the crew of an upcoming European Space Agency mission is successful. (10/23)

Visa Limits Kept Young Scientists Away from COSPAR Assembly (Source: Sino Daily)
Visa restrictions kept about a thousand expected participants away from the 46th COSPAR Scientific Assembly in Florence, Italy, in August, and most of those who could not attend were young researchers, the vice-president of the Committee on Space Research said. Pietro Ubertini said the assembly drew scientists from more than 70 countries and regions, but that only 3,000 people attended out of an expected 4,000 because of visa restrictions. (10/23)

Space Force to Seek Commercial Tech for Cislunar Ops (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Pentagon has designated cislunar space as a key warfighting domain, prompting the US Space Force to accelerate the acquisition of commercially available technology. Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, Space Force portfolio acquisition executive for advanced programs, says requests for information will be issued soon for cislunar missions and autonomous spacecraft operations. (10/23)

Trump Invokes DPA to Boost Oil Amid Price Surge (Source: CNBC)
President Donald Trump has invoked the Defense Production Act to support petroleum production and refining, deeming them essential to national defense. The move comes as crude oil and diesel prices have surged following US and Israeli attacks on Iran, as well as Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries. The action could provide financing for infrastructure to address supply bottlenecks. (10/22)

LaserSETI Starts Observing From Saudi Arabia, its First Site in Asia (Source: Sky Nightly)
Two LaserSETI stations are now observing the night sky from AlUla in northwest Saudi Arabia. The SETI Institute and the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) said they have installed and commissioned the instruments at AlUla Manara. The site is the network's first in Asia and its fifth worldwide, joining stations in California, Hawai'i, Arizona and Puerto Rico. The stations were installed on August 19, 2026, at the AlUla Manara ASM Site. According to the October 22 announcement, they are fully operational and collecting astronomical data. (10/23)

China's ADASpace Launches Eight Computing Satellites While First-Batch Results Lack Outside Confirmation (Source: Beyond LEO)
Eight satellites built to carry computing hardware into orbit went up on a LandSpace Zhuque-2E rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Wednesday. They belong to ADASpace, a private company based in Chengdu, and are the second batch for its space-based computing network. The satellites are meant to test three things no earlier batch has been reported to do: shed heat through liquid cooling loops in the 10,000-watt class, unfold very large radiator wings, and train a large language model in orbit. ADASpace said it would run trial operations and release results in due course. (10/23)

Korean Certification Lab Picks Keysight Gear to Test 5G Satellite Devices (Source: Beyond LEO)
Korea Testing Laboratory (KTL), a testing and certification organisation, has chosen test equipment from Keysight Technologies to check devices built for the next generation of 5G satellite links, Keysight said on October 22., KTL selected Keysight's New Radio Non-Terrestrial Network (NR-NTN) radio frequency (RF) and Radio Resource Management (RRM) test solutions. According to Keysight, the tools will expand KTL's acceptance test capabilities for satellite communications. (10/23)

JAXA and ISC Start Reusable Rocket Modelling Work as Interstellar Gets More MEXT Funding (Source: Beyond LEO)
Japan's space agency has begun working with a start-up on the computer models that reusable rockets depend on, while a separate ministry decision has added money to another company's small-satellite launcher. The two are separate arrangements, but together they show state backing for private launch development running along different tracks. JAXA and Tokyo start-up Innovative Space Carrier (ISC) announced that they began joint work in September 2026 on a "space transport service business using reusable rockets". The activity runs under J-SPARC, JAXA's space innovation partnership program. (10/23)

Help a Lost Lunar Rover Find its Way in New ESA Competition (Source: ESA)
A small rover is alone on the Moon, with no signal and no idea of its position. All it has is a panoramic camera and an aerial map of the Moon’s surface. The lunar night is fast approaching… can you help the rover find its way before it’s too late? In their Lunar X-view challenge launching on 1 November 2026, the European Space Agency’s Advanced Concepts Team (ACT) present the space community with this simple but dramatic scenario.

The challenge presented to the space community is to design an algorithm that can match a ground-level panoramic image (taken by the imaginary rover’s camera) with a lunar surface image (taken by a satellite orbiting the Moon) to pinpoint the rover’s exact location. This is more than an academic exercise – when a rover knows exactly where it is, it can explore farther and reach scientific targets autonomously. (10/22)

Earth and Mars May Have Formed in Weirdly Different Ways (Source: New York Times)
Making planets is an extreme enterprise. Although it starts with dust and gas gently sticking together, it culminates with gigantic space rocks walloping into one another at unfathomable speeds until, eventually, you’re left with newborn worlds. Most scientists think that Earth and Mars took shape this way from rocky pieces swirling around the young sun around 4.5 billion years ago. But despite being the same age and having broadly the same basic ingredients, Earth (a biodiverse paradise) and Mars (a cold, irradiated desert) are very different worlds today.

That may be, in part, because Earth and Mars had surprisingly different origin stories. Scientists effectively designed a new game that can forge virtual planets. They took an array of chemical clues found in the rocks of both worlds, and then ran them through a battery of statistical models and computer simulations, repeatedly trying to end up with an Earth and a Mars that resembled the real things. Their results suggest that Mars was mostly pieced together from big, asteroid-like objects. Conversely, Earth’s existence largely relied on a swarm of self-assembling pebbles. (10/22)

Russia: Our Satellite Stalking US Commercial Satellite is "Purely Peaceful" (Source: Ars Technica)
“Just last weekend, Russia’s Ministry of Defense Kosmos 2612 exhibited threatening behavior by intentionally maneuvering dangerously close to a commercial satellite,” Brian Hardesty, a US State Department official, told the UN committee. “These behaviors appear consistent with an on-orbit weapons operation. The decision to conduct these activities was deliberately reckless and violated long-established safety thresholds in low-Earth orbit.”

Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy head of Russia’s delegation to the United Nations, said the US government’s concerns, echoed by European officials, were “unfounded” distractions. “Western countries headed by the United States continue to use loudspeaker diplomacy repeating absurd accusations about Russia’s space activity.” All Russian activity in space is “purely peaceful in character,” Vorontsov said. “This applies to the activity related to Kosmos 2612.” (10/22)

Why Elon Musk Wants to Merge Tesla and SpaceX Before Trump Leaves Office (Source: Euro News)
It would cap a string of deals tying Elon Musk's businesses together, and the goal is to complete it while Donald Trump is still the US president, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. A merger between Tesla and SpaceX would be the latest chapter in a story that began a decade ago, when Musk started stitching his companies together.

In 2016, Tesla bought SolarCity, a solar panel installer run by his cousins, a deal that was only upheld by a Delaware court after years of litigation. In March 2025, his AI start-up xAI swallowed X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, which Musk acquired for $44 billion (€39.1bn) in 2022. In February this year, SpaceX absorbed xAI, in a deal that valued the rocket maker at $1 trillion (€890bn) and the AI firm at $250 billion (€222bn), ahead of SpaceX's initial public offering (IPO).

Four months later, SpaceX listed on the Nasdaq, raising $85.7 billion (€76.3bn) in the biggest stock market debut in history. Seen together, the deals look like part of a long-running plan to fold Musk's businesses into one publicly traded group. Reportedly, the aim is to announce a merger deal in the first half of 2027 and complete it before US President Donald Trump's term ends in January 2029, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. Completing the deal while Trump is in office could give it a friendlier political reception. (10/22)

Oligarchs at Play: Musk Takes $1 Billion Ownership Stake in Skydance, Including CNN, CBS, and More (Sources: Semafor, Capitol Hunters)
Elon Musk has invested roughly $1 billion in Skydance, according to people familiar with the matter, providing a much needed financial injection as the company looks to cut costs and bolster its stock price. So the same month that Elon Musk throttled Starlink to run his own military policy, he's also seeking more control over your flow of information. Musk and the Ellisons will control CNN and CBS for news; HBO, Warner Bros, Paramount & more for entertainment; Twitter (X) and TikTok for social media.

Larry Ellison, who poached Mattel’s Ynon Kreiz to serve as co-CEO, could use Musk’s capital to bolster the company’s cost-cutting and technological efforts. “We are building a true product and tech team,” Ellison said in a CNBC interview earlier this month. “We are a big believer that artificial intelligence is a tool for artists, not the other way around.” Expect quick movement on big deals like this in advance of the November elections, which could signal actual Congressional oversight. (10/22)

Redwire and EnduroSat Agree to Pursue European Space Missions Together (Source: Beyond LEO)
Redwire Corporation and EnduroSat have signed a memorandum of understanding to work together on European space missions. The companies say the deal is meant to strengthen Europe's industrial ability to deliver resilient space infrastructure for government, defence and commercial customers.

The agreement is a starting point rather than a contract. The companies call it a first step toward combining EnduroSat's high-volume spacecraft manufacturing with Redwire's power systems and its experience as a prime contractor, the company that takes overall responsibility for delivering a mission. No mission, customer, contract value or timetable was announced. (10/22)

Sweden Buys Raytheon UK Anti-Jam Systems to Protect Military GPS (Source: Beyond LEO)
Sweden's defence procurement agency has awarded Raytheon UK contracts to supply Landshield and Landshield Plus GPS anti-jamming systems, which Sweden will integrate on its military platforms. Raytheon UK, part of RTX's Raytheon business, announced the award in London on October 21, 2026. The contracts were placed by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) through its Commercial Affairs Division. The company did not disclose the value of the contracts, the number of units, which platforms will carry them or when deliveries will take place. (10/22)

China's Guowang Satellites Link Arctic Research Ships with Antarctic Station (Source: Sino Daily)
China's state-owned Guowang low Earth orbit internet constellation carried a video call linking three Chinese research ships in the Arctic Ocean, Xuelong, Jidi and Tansuo-3, with China's Qinling Station in Antarctica during the country's 16th Arctic Ocean expedition, according to a China Space News report carried on October 9 by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the main state-owned space contractor. (10/21)

First Signal Generator for Next Generation Galileo Satellites Passes Tests (Source: Beyond LEO)
ESA says the first signal generation module built for the Galileo Second Generation (G2) satellites has passed its tests in Toulouse and has been returned to Friedrichshafen, Germany. ESA calls the module the satellite's "brain". The tests cover one unit, not a finished satellite. According to ESA, the module will next be paired with the radio frequency output module, which the agency calls the "mouth", and the combined payload will be tested next year. Only then is it due to be fitted into the satellite platform. (10/22)

NASA JPL Looks to Next 90 Years of Innovation, Exploration (Source: NASA)
Initially a contractor for the U.S. Army, JPL launched America’s first satellite, Explorer 1 in 1958. But rather than just orbiting Earth like the Soviet Union’s Sputnik, Explorer 1 became the first spacecraft to conduct science, thanks to an onboard Geiger counter that discovered the protective radiation belts encircling Earth.

The Lab joined part of the newly formed NASA that same year. Within six years, in 1964, JPL sent the first U.S. mission to the Moon, Ranger 7. It also went on to lead the first planetary flyby, the first probe to visit all four gas giants, the first infrared telescope, the first rovers to roll on Mars, and the first rotorcraft to fly there, among many other historic milestones. Click here. (10/21) https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-jpl-looks-to-next-90-years-of-innovation-exploration/?shem=dsdf,sharefoc,agadiscoversdl,,sh/x/discover/m1/4

NASA’s SR-1 Freedom Advances with Progress on Nuclear Power Module (Source: NASA)
Destined for Mars and beyond, NASA’s Space Reactor-1 (SR-1) Freedom will be humanity’s first fission-powered spacecraft to travel outside Earth’s orbit. Announced during NASA’s “Ignition” event, this mission will demonstrate nuclear electric propulsion in deep space, and progress is underway on its key element: the nuclear power module. To expedite development of the spacecraft, NASA and its partners have mutually agreed to key contract actions that will advance the SR‑1 Freedom mission. (10/20)

Could a $200K Bond for Satellites Paid Before Launch Prevent a Space Junk Disaster in Orbit? (Source: Space.com)
In a paper published last month, Daniel Kaffine and his collaborators propose a scheme that would require satellite operators to post a bond of $200,000 before launch, refundable with interest upon the completion of a successful deorbit. Companies that fail to remove their junk would lose the money, which could go toward a shared pool funding active debris-removal missions, the researchers said. "You could possibly raise billions of dollars by that," said Kaffine. "We think it's a very neat policy that doesn't require international coordination." (10/20)

Aetos Systems Announces Workforce Layoff at Kennedy Space Center (Source: WKMG)
A company that offers IT and engineering management services to companies at Kennedy Space Center is laying off workers. A Florida WARN Notice filed Oct. 16 shows that Aetos Systems is expected to lay off up to 126 employees working at Kennedy Space Center. (10/21)

Indian Army's First Dedicated Communications Satellite By 2028 (Source: WION)
India’s first dedicated Indian Army communications satellite is expected to launch around mid-2028, according to officials. Developed for the Army, the satellite will strengthen secure military communications and improve operational coordination. The mission, led by ISRO, is expected to boost India’s defense space capabilities. (10/20)

How Inversion and NASA Plan to Unlock Interplanetary Aerocapture MB Edits (Source: Universe Today)
Using a planet’s atmosphere to secure a satellite’s place in orbit, a process known as “aerocapture”, has been the dream of flight engineers for decades. The only problem? It’s really hard to actually do. It requires control systems, thermal management, and orbital mechanics to all coordinate in a dance that allows a spacecraft to not just slow down while passing by another planet (or moon in some cases) but to start to orbit it without the use of lots of additional propellant. For now, that remains a dream, but a recent NASA contract to a California start-up called Inversion is another step towards making it a reality.

Inversion itself was started by former engineers from SpaceX and ABL Space to design orbital reentry vehicles - specifically ones that are designed to deliver mission critical cargo, such as vaccines or biological samples, or key military equipment to an isolated area, that would benefit from the much shorter travel times that orbital flight allows. Their business model would have saved Balto and companion sled dogs a harrowing trip to Nome if it was available 100 years ago. (10/21)

U.S. Air Force Explores Military Resupply From Space in Latest SpaceX Starfall Flight (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Air Force is testing whether military supplies can withstand the rigors of spaceflight aboard SpaceX’s new Starfall reentry capsule, part of a Pentagon effort to explore using commercial space vehicles to deliver critical equipment to forces around the world. (10/21)

Pupils Who Designed a Badge Sent to Space Meet NASA Astronaut (Source: BBC)
Pupils at a school on Anglesey were "very excited" when they met virtually with a NASA astronaut. Students at Ysgol Cemaes were able to put their questions to Frank Rubio on Wednesday, who is set to be part of the crew for the Artemis III mission. During the virtual session, pupils asked him about his experiences of living and working in space, as well as the challenges and excitement of space travel. (10/21)

NASA Conducts RS-25 Engine Test in Support of Future Artemis Missions (Source: NASA)
NASA tested RS-25 engine No. 10001 on Oct. 21 on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Test teams fired the developmental engine for almost eight-and-a-half minutes (500 seconds), the same amount of time RS-25 engines fire during launch of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. During the test, operators also fired the engine up to the 111% power level, matching the thrust needed for new production engines to launch the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft to orbit. (10/21)

Mercedes Hires Moon Mission Astronaut for F1 Team Role (Source: Crash)
The Mercedes Formula 1 team has announced that former moon mission astronaut Reid Wiseman has joined as an ambassador ahead of the United States Grand Prix. Wiseman was a commander on the Artemis II mission operated by NASA that sent astronauts on a manned flight around the moon earlier this year. (10/21)

Space Force Wants a New Spaceport (Source: Space News)
The Space Force says it needs a new spaceport by 2030 to handle rising commercial and military launch demand. The service has begun a planning effort to examine what a third spaceport could look like as its two primary launch ranges at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California face growing demands on infrastructure and personnel, the head of Space Systems Command said Wednesday. The Space Force has not decided where a third major spaceport would be located or whether the government would own it. The service is considering a range of options, including a new federal installation, state-owned land, commercial property or a public-private partnership. The Space Force is also working to expand capacity at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg in the near term to accommodate growing demand. (10/22)

Space Force Shuffling Launches as ULA Works to Return Vulcan to Service (Source: Space News)
Space Systems Command is also reshuffling national security launches while it waits for ULA's Vulcan rocket to resume launches. Vulcan has not flown since February, when the vehicle suffered an anomaly with a solid rocket booster but was still able to complete its mission. Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, head of Space Systems Command, said Wednesday he is confident Vulcan will resume launches and support Space Force missions but did not give a target date for Vulcan's return or discuss the technical findings of the investigation. The Space Force has shifted six missions between launch providers since Vulcan became unavailable, moving near-term missions to SpaceX in exchange for later missions that will launch on Vulcan. (10/22)

NASA Revising Science Mission Selection Process (Source: Space News)
NASA is revising how it selects science missions in an effort to streamline the process. Speaking at a Space Studies Board meeting Wednesday, Nicky Fox, NASA associate administrator for science, said the agency is rolling out revisions intended to reduce workloads for competitions for science missions, speeding up the development of missions by 12 to 24 months. That includes, for larger astrophysics and planetary science missions, requesting a "science-focused" initial proposal that defers much of the technical assessment to a second phase. Some smaller missions will go to a single-step process rather than picking a group of proposals for further study. The first major test of the revised process will be the next competition for a planetary science mission in the New Frontiers program in 2027. (10/22)

China Seeking Lunar Payloads for Lander Mission (Source: Space News)
China is seeking payloads for an uncrewed test flight of a lunar lander. The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) issued a notice Thursday calling for "active" hosted payloads, meaning instruments that draw power from the host spacecraft, for an uncrewed flight of Lanyue, the lander it is developing for later crewed missions to the moon. The notice provides no information on the profile of the mission and its timeline, nor does it confirm that Lanyue will attempt to land on the moon. The deadline suggests a flight no earlier than 2028. Lanyue is designed to accommodate two astronauts for a lunar landing, with a goal of a first crewed mission before 2030. (10/22)

Indian NavSat Readied for GSLV Launch (Source: Indian Express)
A long-delayed Indian navigation satellite is scheduled for launch next week. A GSLV Mark 2 rocket is scheduled to launch Oct. 30 carrying the NVS-03 navigation satellite, the Indian space agency ISRO announced Thursday. The launch of NVS-03 was delayed because of problems with NVS-02, which was launched into a geostationary transfer orbit early last year but stranded there because of a failure in the spacecraft's propulsion system. Failures of two PSLV launches also delayed NVS-03 and other Indian satellites. NVS-03 is critical to restore baseline services for India's regional navigation satellite services, which require at least four satellites; only three are currently functioning. (10/22)

SDA Seeks New Tech for Missile Tracking Sats (Source: Space News)
The Space Development Agency is seeking new technologies for missile-tracking satellites. SDA issued a request for information this week asking companies to propose improvements to the Tracking Layer of its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, or PWSA, a planned network of low Earth orbit satellites designed to provide missile warning, tracking and military data communications. SDA said it is considering both production contracts for Tranche 4 Tracking Layer satellites and separate opportunities for rapid prototyping and on-orbit demonstrations of mission payloads. In addition to upgrades to existing missile-warning and tracking payloads, SDA is interested in new capabilities for tracking targets across their flight trajectories. (10/22)

BlackSky Signs International Military Imagery Deal (Source: Space News)
BlackSky has signed a contract to provide imagery to an international defense agency. The company announced Thursday it signed a "seven-figure" contract with an unnamed agency it said is operating in a "contested region" to provide imagery and other data from the company's Gen-3 satellites. The contract is an expansion of earlier work with the agency for BlackSky Assured, which provides priority tasking and collection commitments over a customer's area of interest, doubled in six months. (10/22)

Armstrong Flight Jacket Goes Unsold at Auction (Source: Florida Today)
An Apollo 11 flight jacket worn by Neil Armstrong went unsold at a recent auction. The jacket was one of 395 items up for auction earlier this month by the American Space Museum in Florida and expected to fetch between $800,000 and $1.2 million. However, the auction attracted an unusually low number of participants, the auctioneer who organized the event said, and the bids for the jacket were so low "it wasn't even in the realm of rational reality." The jacket, owned by a 95-year-old former employee of ILC Dover, which made the Apollo spacesuits, likely will go to auction through a different auction house. (10/21)

Lawmakers Press Pentagon for Greater Transparency (Source: FNN)
A group of lawmakers is pressing the Pentagon to explain how it will obtain cost and pricing data from defense contractors, including for contracts below a $10 million threshold, and whether it will use its authority to terminate contract negotiations with companies that refuse to provide that data.

In a letter to Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, the lawmakers expressed support for the department’s latest efforts to improve cost and pricing transparency across all tiers of the supply chain, but warned that a change in the 2026 defense policy bill could leave the Pentagon without access to critical information for a significant portion of its contracts. (10/21)

Gov. Greg Abbott Says Sale of Boca Chica State Park to SpaceX Won’t Happen — Anytime Soon (Source: Texas Tribune)
Gov. Greg Abbott said the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department commission would not be taking up the issue of a potential sale of Boca Chica State Park to Elon Musk’s SpaceX "anytime soon," following a Texas Monthly news article saying as much. At a news conference Monday, Abbott said he knew very little about the potential sale, which was reported by Texas Monthly last week. “What I know is that that’s not coming up for a vote anytime soon,” Abbott said. (10/19)

Giant Canyon on Mars is Still Tectonically Active Today (Source: Phys.org)
Scientists at Columbia University and Imperial College London have found that the largest canyon system in the solar system is still active and shaping Mars today, billions of years after it first formed. New research presents direct seismic evidence that a marsquake (Mars's equivalent of an earthquake) detected by NASA's InSight lander originated beneath the vast Martian canyon system, Valles Marineris, and was caused by rocks slipping along a fault deep within the planet's crust. (10/20)

NASA Experimental Mars Helicopter Blade Designs Target Longer Flights (Source: Phys.org)
NASA researchers are developing the future of flight on Mars, laying the groundwork for helicopters with the ability to fly higher and farther while conducting science on the Red Planet. Using high-fidelity computer simulations and wind tunnel tests, engineers are reimagining the rotorcraft blades that could carry the next generation of Mars flyers. (10/20)

October 22, 2026

Space Force Awards First Operational Satellite-Surveillance Backup Contracts to Six Companies (Source: Inside Defense)
The U.S. Space Force has awarded its first operational contracts under a program that will enlist commercial satellite operators to provide surveillance support during military crises. The awards mark a move from program design to contracted capability. Four U.S.-based companies -- InTrack Radar, Anduril (formerly ExoAnalytic), Slingshot Aerospace and LeoLabs -- as well as companies from Australia and Canada -- EOS Space Systems and NorthStar, respectively -- received the awards through the Golden Dome Marketplace. (10/22)

Strait of Hormuz: Unseenlabs Detects Vessels Missing From AIS Data Amid the Conflict (Source: Unseenlabs)
During the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz, declining reported maritime traffic did not reflect all activity at sea. In a new case study, Unseenlabs presents findings from its satellite observations, conducted through three to four radio frequency (RF) collections per day across the area. Between March 7 and 8, 2026, the proportion of RF detections without matching AIS positions rose from approximately 1.8% to 12%.

On March 7, Unseenlabs recorded 555 correlations between RF detections and vessel AIS positions. By the following morning, that number had fallen to 228, while the number of RF emitters without matching AIS positions had roughly tripled. These observations show that maritime activity detectable from space did not necessarily follow the same pattern as reported vessel traffic. On May 12 and 13, Unseenlabs observed a sanctions-listed tanker linked to Russia's shadow fleet.

Its journey was interrupted by three AIS gaps lasting 4 hours and 35 minutes, more than 13 hours, and another eight hours. During the final gap, near an anchorage off the United Arab Emirates coast, Unseenlabs detected an RF emission associated with the tanker, helping confirm its location despite the absence of AIS positions. (10/20)

SpaceX Defense Obligations Hit $5.9B So Far In FY2026, Up From $1.8B In FY2025 (Source: Mach 33)
On October 19, a Bloomberg Government analysis found that SpaceX's reported defense obligations reached $5.9 billion in the first three quarters of fiscal 2026, up from $1.8 billion in all of fiscal 2025, driven by space-based missile defense work tied to the Golden Dome initiative. (10/19)

Musk Says SpaceX And Tesla Have Formed Special Committees To Discuss A Merger (Source: Mach 33)
On SpaceX's Q3 earnings call on October 20, Musk said SpaceX and Tesla have each formed special committees of independent directors to discuss a merger, Ars Technica reported. He said no terms are agreed and there's no guarantee, that as a conflicted party he can't join the talks, and that he thinks combining the companies would be a good idea. (10/20)

California Senator Angered at "Ridiculous" Trump-Driven Investigation Into Caltech (Source: Sen. Sasha Renee Perez)
The California Institute of Technology, which manages NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is one of nine research universities targeted in a new federal investigation of alleged J-1 visa abuse. Vice President JD Vance and Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito announced the investigation on 8 October, and D’Esposito said the universities have been served subpoenas. The others named are Harvard, Yale, Brown, MIT, UC Davis, Arizona State and the University of Pittsburgh, along with Stanford.

According to Vance, 61% of researchers working on federally funded programs at the nine institutions were J-1 visa holders, compared to a national average of 38%, and he accused the schools of using the visas to undercut wages for American graduate students and researchers. Officials also raised concerns about Chinese scholars and the Chinese government.

California State Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, whose statement was circulated on LinkedIn by NASA Watch’s Keith Cowing, defended Caltech’s global recruitment of top scholars as key to its standing, noting it boasts the nation’s highest per-capita number of Nobel laureates, and called the probe “ridiculous” and politically motivated. (10/13)

DND Signs $20M Spaceport Agreement With NordSpace (Source: Canadian Defense Review)
The Honourable David J. McGuinty, Minister of National Defence, announced a 10-year, $20-million spaceport agreement has been signed with NordSpace to access the Atlantic Spaceport Complex in Newfoundland and Labrador, alongside other major new space-related capabilities and initiatives, bringing the total value of space-related contracts, grants and contributions announced this year to more than $3 billion.

Sovereign access to space is increasingly essential to national security, economic competitiveness and the reliable delivery of critical space-based services. The agreement with NordSpace, in addition to the 10-year agreement with Maritime Launch Services announced in March 2026, will provide the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and its partners access to conduct launches and research and development activities. (10/21)

For Students with Their Sights Set on Space Medicine, a New Community Takes Flight (Source: MIT)
Since its launch two years ago, MIT’s Doctors Without Gravity club has already amassed more than 100 student members. The club was co-founded by graduate students Anna Wadhwa and Nicole McGaa, who now serve as president and vice president, respectively. Bringing together students from MIT and Harvard University who are interested in the intersection of medicine, health, and space exploration, Doctors Without Gravity is the student chapter of the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) and the Aerospace Medical Student and Resident Organization (AMSRO). The club is open to both undergraduate and graduate students from both institutions. (10/21)

Space Capsule Lands at UCF College of Medicine (Source: UCF)
Sierra Space, a Colorado-based private aerospace and space technologies company, turned to UCF’s College of Medicine for its expertise in aerospace medicine with the donation of its cargo module, once housed at Kennedy Space Center. The rare piece of technology will become a major asset for UCF’s emerging aerospace medicine program, which is exploring how space flight impacts the human body and how that knowledge can drive innovation into diagnostics, treatment and disease prevention for patients on Earth.

UCF will use the module to give students and faculty precise training to address medical events in the confines of a spacecraft and will also enable researchers to create technologies for improving payloads and establishing protocols to send materials into the tight spaces of intergalactic travel. (10/21)

What are the Odds We're Not Alone in the Universe? (Source: NPR)
There are hundreds of billions of stars in the galaxy we live in. Many of them have their own exoplanets. So why haven't we found proof of alien life yet? And what's the probability of us contacting or being contacted anyway? That's exactly what a famous math formula called the Drake Equation tries to answer. It takes into account a whole variety of factors, including the rate at which stars like the Sun are born, how many of those stars have planets, how many of those planets are hospitable to life and the likelihood of intelligent life on that habitable planet communicating with us. Click here. (10/20)

Space Florida is Financing a $350 Million Rocket Project for Relativity Space (Source: Florida Trend)
Launch vehicle and rocket engine manufacturer Relativity Space plans to expand its presence at Cape Canaveral, including the addition of thousands of high-paying jobs by the mid-2030s and the development of a production facility for the 284-foot Terran R rocket. Space Florida, a state agency, will provide financing for the $350-million project. Click here. (10/19)

Space Force Scrambles as Musk’s SpaceX Retires its Major Rocket (Source: Politico)
SpaceX’s plans to retire its most popular rocket could jeopardize the United States’ ability to launch military satellites — a plight compounded by the Pentagon’s dependence on Elon Musk’s company. SpaceX is by far the dominant player in the rocket business and indispensable to the military, dwarfing competitors and accounting for 85% of U.S. launches in 2025. The company is phasing out its Falcon 9 rocket to make way for Starship, a massive new vehicle that SpaceX says will be more efficient and profitable, but which many military satellites aren’t designed to fit.

The Space Force recently tried to book rides for three future satellite missions, but SpaceX declined to offer its services, according to two people familiar with the missions. No other rocket companies offered to take them either, the people said. A top official at the Space Force downplayed the problem about finding rockets to launch military satellites. “I wouldn’t say there [are] missions I’m worried about being able to fly; I would say we’re working through the right way to support those customers,” said Brig. Gen. Eric Zarybnisky, the Space Force’s acting portfolio acquisition executive for space access.

Editor's Note: Why am I not seeing any reporting on the potential for SpaceX to sell its Falcon 9 to another operator. Or, if the capability is of such strategic importance, why the US Government isn't looking at nationalizing the vehicle and its attendant infrastructure. (10/22)

SpaceX’s AI Surprise Is More Fragile Than It Looks (Source: Bloomberg)
Elon Musk has had a long, torrid relationship with artificial intelligence, dating back at least a decade to his ill-fated co-founding of OpenAI with Sam Altman. That’s rightfully made some SpaceX investors nervous about what he’s building with all the resources xAI has at its disposal since being folded into Musk’s space company in February.

The AI unit gobbled up 84% of the $20 billion that SpaceX spent during the third quarter, and the spree is set to escalate drastically with capital expenditures expected to grow to as much as $40 billion this quarter. Tuesday’s earnings update brought investors some relief: xAI’s sales almost tripled in just the last three months, and it posted $431 million of operating profit when analysts had forecast a loss. SpaceX shares had climbed more than 10% at the time of writing. (10/21)

SpaceX Investor Backs $2.45 Billion Startup Taking The Starlink Model To GPS (Source: Forbes)
California-based satellite startup Xona has raised a $250 million Series D round at a $2.45 billion valuation, just seven months after its $170 million Series C. The new round was led by Future Ventures, a venture capital outfit cofounded by SpaceX’s early backer and longtime board member Steve Jurvetson. His firm first backed Xona in 2024 and put up $78.5 million in the latest round.

Jurvetson was an early investor and former board member in Tesla and has a stake in Elon Musk’s Boring Company. Xona is his third space investment, with satellites apparently becoming something of a specialty. (10/22)

What a Russian Satellite Stalking a Commercial Spacecraft Means for the Space Force (Source: Air & Space Forces)
Over a two-week period beginning in late September and culminating in mid-October, a Russian satellite maneuvered dangerously close to a commercial Finnish satellite currently providing intelligence to the Ukrainian military. The apparent provocation has experts wondering why Russia made the move—testing new capabilities, collecting intelligence, or trying to intimidate the Finnish company—and what, if anything, the U.S. Space Force could or should do about these types of events in the future.

While the incident did not involve a U.S. asset, the Russian action highlights the growing importance of commercial space assets to military operations and how those relatively defenseless assets could be vulnerable in or before a conflict. The Russian satellite spent months adjusting its orbit, then rapidly closed the distance with the ICEYE satellite, continuously maneuvering around it before COSMOS abruptly ended its movements and distanced itself Oct. 18-19.

The LeoLabs report characterizes the event as a “red” on “blue” engagement in orbit and calls it a planned, highly coordinated rendezvous and proximity operation, which required precise navigation and onboard sensing. The Center for Strategic and International Studies held an online event Oct. 21 to discuss the incident and its implications for the U.S. Neither of the two experts at the CSIS event claimed to understand Russia’s goals with the stunt, but Greg Gillinger, senior vice president of strategy and development at Integrity ISR, called it unusual and said it indicated Russia’s intent to send a message to the Finnish company. (10/21)

Trump Denies Ordering Starlink Slowdown in Ukraine, Says He Doesn’t Know Who Did (Source: CNBC)
President Donald Trump on Wednesday insisted he had nothing to do with a slowdown of SpaceX’s Starlink in Ukraine and said he does not know if Elon Musk was responsible for speed-capping the critical satellite service. Trump’s latest denial came one day after The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter, reported Musk ordered the slowdown and discussed it with Trump. (10/21)

When Starshield Cut Out, Ukrainian Drones Fell From the Skies (Source: New York Times)
A senior Ukrainian commander said he had dozens of armed drones soaring toward Russian military targets last week when, all at once, the video feeds streaming their flight paths went fuzzy. The drones had lost their connection to pilots on the ground through Starshield, a Pentagon-funded satellite internet service, said the commander, Oleh. Many of the drones simply fell from the sky, he said: The effect cost his units more than $1 million worth of weaponry. (10/21)

Rubio, Hegseth Point Finger at Musk in Starlink Slowdown (Source: The Hill)
Top Trump administration officials are starting to point fingers squarely at SpaceX founder Elon Musk for the decision to slow down his company’s Starlink satellite internet services and its military counterpart Starshield for Ukraine, which has been muddled in uncertainty over the culprit. Looking to deflect the controversial move — which was swiftly admonished by powerful congressional Republicans and Democrats — Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday said Ukraine’s access to Starlink was up to Musk and not the White House. (10/22)

Musk Tries to Lock In His Tesla-SpaceX Dream Before Trump’s Exit (Sources: Bloomberg, LA Times)
Elon Musk says SpaceX and Tesla are considering a tie-up that could become the largest corporate merger ever, bringing rockets, electric vehicles and artificial intelligence under one roof. But time is running out to pull off the $3.7 trillion merger before political and financial environments take a turn. The goal would be to combine SpaceX’s computing, as well as Starlink and AI capabilities with Tesla’s robotaxis, autonomous-driving plans and robots. But the companies’ boards and shareholders must weigh it, while regulatory concerns in the U.S., Europe and China could complicate approval. (10/22)

The Next Step for Cislunar Navigation (Source: Aerospace America)
The twin spacecraft slated to be launched next year for NASA’s CAPSTONE 02 mission will attempt a few firsts for space navigation, including the first rendezvous in a highly elliptical lunar orbit. The agency expects the upcoming Artemis lunar missions to use different orbits and rendezvous techniques than were used during Apollo, and views missions like CAPSTONE 02 as a chance to study those operations.

The mission, led by Advanced Space of Colorado, will attempt to rendezvous two spacecraft in a near-rectilinear halo orbit, or NRHO, in cislunar space where lunar and Earth gravity are balanced. Such an orbit encounters what is known in physics as the three-body problem — the bodies in this case being the spacecraft and the gravity of Earth and moon. NASA said in an emailed statement that CAPSTONE 02 will “provide first-hand knowledge on the complexities associated with three-body orbits and will inform future crewed and robotic missions that require rendezvous and proximity operations.” (10/1)

NASA to Change How it Selects Science Missions (Source: Space News)
NASA is rolling out changes to how it selects science missions in an effort to speed up and simplify the process. Nicky Fox, NASA associate administrator for science, discussed the planned changes at an Oct. 21 meeting of the National Academies’ Space Studies Board ahead of a formal community announcement scheduled for release Oct. 22. (10/22)

Forget the Moon’s South Pole: 4 Other Lunar Sites Could Help Humans Build a Base and Prepare for Mars, New Report Suggests (Source: Economic Times)
The southernmost region of the Moon has emerged as a crucial focus for contemporary lunar exploration, particularly in the quest for water ice. Other notable sites, such as Bhabha Crater and Orientale Basin, are also under consideration for study. These areas promise to offer vital information about the Moon's past and feasible locations for human settlement. (10/22)

Firefly’s Elytra Lunar Orbiter Completes PDR for MoonFall Mission (Source: Aviation Week)
Firefly Aerospace’s Elytra lunar orbiter has completed its preliminary design review (PDR) under a $75 million NASA subcontract to deliver four drones to the Moon’s south pole to map safe landing regions and resources in support of future human missions under NASA’s Artemis program. (10/21)

FlightGlobal Parent ProMedia Group Acquires French Aerospace Publisher Aerospatium (Source: Flight Global)
The acquisition adds Aerospatium to ProMedia Group’s portfolio, extending its presence in France after its earlier deal for Aerobuzz. The article provides no financial terms or details on how the publisher will be integrated, leaving the strategic scope of the latest purchase unclear. (10/21)

SpaceX Launches Second Starfall Reentry Vehicle (Source: European Spaceflight)
SpaceX launched a rideshare mission Oct. 20 whose payload included the company’s second Starfall reentry vehicle. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 7:04 a.m. Eastern on the Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission. The launch was postponed a day because of unfavorable weather at the droneship where the booster would land. (10/20)

French MPs Propose Symbolic €1 Budget Line for VORTEX Spaceplane (Source: European Spaceflight)
French lawmakers have proposed allocating a symbolic €1 for Dassault Aviation’s VORTEX spaceplane program in an effort to compel the government to clarify its financial commitments to the project. In a 16 October amendment to France’s proposed 2027 budget, 71 MPs from the La France Insoumise party proposed creating a dedicated budget line for VORTEX under the country’s defense spending plans. The amendment would transfer a symbolic €1 from an existing defense support program to the new budget line, as French parliamentary budget rules allow MPs to reallocate funding between programs but not increase overall spending. (10/20)

OHB Wins ESA Study Deal for Lunar Infrastructure (Source: Via Satellite)
OHB has won a new lunar infrastructure deal from the European Space Agency (ESA). Its subsidiary, OHB System AG, has won a feasibility and preliminary design studies deal for OASIS — the Outpost for Advanced Scientific Investigation Station — a shared infrastructure planned support scientific experiments and technology demonstrations on the lunar surface over the long term. OHB announced the deal, Oct. 19.

As prime contractor for the ESA studies, OHB is responsible for the overall system concept and is working together with partners on system requirements and the preliminary design phase. OASIS is envisioned to be a modular and scalable concept to support a variety of scientific instruments, technology demonstrators and robotic systems in the future. (10/19)

Starshield vs. Starlink: How Ukraine Uses Them (Source: CBS News)
Starshield has become essential for Ukrainian military operations. Jericka Duncan explains what it is and how it's related to Starlink. Click here. (10/20)

India's OXG Space Raises ₹17 Crore for Orbital Connectivity Network (Source: ISN)
Bengaluru-based spacetech startup OXG Space has raised Rs 17 crore in a funding round led by Aum Ventures through its India Innovation Fund II, as the startup develops an orbital network designed to process and transmit Earth-observation satellite data in near-real time. Founded by former Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) engineers, OXG Space is developing what it describes as edge cell towers in space. The proposed network would combine satellite connectivity with in-orbit computing to reduce delays in delivering Earth-observation data to users on the ground. (10/17)

Atombeam Secures $18.3 Million for Satellite and Defense Networking (Source: Via Satellite)
AI networking technology startup Atombeam has raised $18.3 million to accelerate adoption of its software targeted for satellite, defense, and commercial links. Atombeam announced the round on Tuesday, increasing the company’s total funding to $55 million. The company has developed Neurpac, a software that compacts data packets to make them easier to transfer. Neurpac reports this multiplies effective bandwidth by 4x and says it has validated its tech with a major satellite operator’s own traffic. (10/21)

Researchers Find Water Adopts an Asymmetric, Nonmolecular Structure Under Extreme Pressure (Source: Universe Today)
Researchers at the University of Nevada report that water behaves in unexpected ways under the extreme conditions found beyond Earth. Under high pressure, ice can take on an asymmetric structure in which its atoms are forced out of their familiar arrangement, offering insight into water on hostile worlds. (10/21)

Airbus Ships First Lightweight Vulcain Aft Bay for Ariane 6 Block 2 (Source: European Spaceflight)
Airbus Netherlands has shipped the first lightweight Vulcain Aft Bay for Ariane 6, part of the rocket’s final Block 2 upgrades. The aft bay is a structural component, and its reduced weight supports the upgraded launcher’s performance goals. (10/21)

HPE’s Spaceborne Computer-4 to Ride Astrolab’s FLIP Rover to the Moon (Source: Payload)
Hewlett Packard Enterprise plans to send its Spaceborne Computer-4 AI-compute module to the Moon aboard Astrolab’s FLIP rover. The mission is scheduled to launch this year, putting onboard computing technology on a lunar surface mission. (10/21)

Craft Prospect Explores Momentum for Space-Based Quantum Communications (Source: Space News)
Craft Prospect says it has spent recent months in discussions across the UK, Europe, Japan and the United States on the future of secure communications as quantum technologies advance. The company’s account highlights growing international engagement around space-based quantum key distribution (QKD), but provides no specific project commitments or timelines. (10/21)

John Malone Says a Deal Between Skydance and SpaceX Could be Coming (Source: Bloomberg)
Media mogul John Malone said he thinks there could be a deal coming between Skydance Corp. and Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Speaking at the Paley International Council Summit in New York on Wednesday, Malone said SpaceX could potentially invest $8 billion to $10 billion in Skydance, according to the Hollywood Reporter. (10/21)

Moon’s Slow Cooling and Shrinkage May Pose Landslide Hazards for Lunar Missions (Source: Universe Today)
A study of lunar scarp faults calculates how much the Moon is shrinking as it cools, finding the rate is extremely small. Even so, the resulting geological activity could trigger landslides, creating a potential hazard for missions operating on the lunar surface. (10/21)

NASA Reveals Lunar Lander Timelines (Source: Space.com)
Steve Creech, acting manager of NASA's Human Landing System (HLS) Program, laid out development timelines for both spacecraft, with key demonstrations planned through early 2028 that include orbital refueling and uncrewed lunar landing tests to qualify the vehicles to fly astronauts to the surface of the moon.

A more pressing deadline, however, is NASA's Artemis III mission, which is targeted for the third quarter (Q3) of 2027. Artemis III will launch four astronauts aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft to low Earth orbit (LEO), where they will rendezvous and dock with test versions of both companies' landers for interoperability checkouts. Those demonstrations will help inform NASA's determination about which lander the agency will choose to carry astronauts to the moon's surface on Artemis IV, targeted for early 2028. Click here. (10/21)

China Prepares First Booster Reflight and Another Rocket-Stage Recovery Attempt (Source: NSF)
China is moving closer to reusable launch operations as it prepares to fly a previously used booster for the first time. The Chang Zheng 12A will also make a second attempt to recover its first stage, which would make it the third Chinese rocket to achieve a recovery. The cluster also reports preparations for the country’s first commercial resupply craft. (10/21)

Charter Space and Project Omega to Study Whether Nuclear Power Makes Spacecraft More Insurable (Source: Beyond LEO)
A space insurance brokerage and a nuclear technology company plan to study whether long-lived nuclear power sources could cut the number of spacecraft lost in orbit, and what that would mean for the cost of insuring them. Charter Space Technologies (Charter) and Project Omega announced the partnership on 20 October 2026 from El Segundo, California. It is a research arrangement. The companies say they will evaluate, examine and assess the idea, and explore the feasibility of new hardware. No Project Omega power source has flown, and no insurance product has come out of the work. (10/21)

AST SpaceMobile Aims for Intermittent Satellite-to-Phone Service in Five Countries This Year (Source: Beyond LEO)
AST SpaceMobile says it is targeting a first, limited form of cellular broadband from space before the end of 2026 in the United States, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. The service would reach ordinary smartphones directly, without special handsets, but the company describes it as initial and intermittent, and says it remains subject to regulatory authorizations. The Midland, Texas, company announced the target on 20 October 2026. It is a plan, not a launch.
(10/21)

How Countries Build a National Space Program from the Ground Up (Source: Zolana Joao)
How does a country build a national space program from the ground up? The process should begin with national needs—not with choosing a satellite or launch capability. Angola’s experience shows the importance of identifying problems that space capabilities can help solve, building institutions around clear priorities, developing local expertise, and ensuring international partnerships leave lasting knowledge and operational capacity behind.

Angola has applied this approach through initiatives including ANGOSAT-2, ANGEO-1, GEDAE, ADDSS, and Conecta Angola, connecting space capabilities to communications, drought response, geospatial intelligence, public administration, infrastructure, and economic development. Success, therefore, should not be measured by launches alone. A sustainable national space program builds trained professionals, capable institutions, productive partnerships, useful services, and a domestic ecosystem that can continue creating value as technology and national priorities evolve. Click here. (10/21)

L3Harris Gets $33.1M USSF Contract Modification (Source: Pulse 2.0)
L3Harris Technologies has secured a $33.1 million contract modification from the US Space Force for its Unified Messaging System, increasing the total contract value to about $1.53 billion. The system is part of L3Harris's broader capabilities in secure communications, command and control, and real-time information distribution, which are critical to military operations across multiple domains. (10/20)

JPL Testing Moon Lander for Flight This Year (Source: Douglas Messier)
A commercial lander that will be at the forefront of NASA’s efforts to establish a Moon Base, humanity’s first lunar outpost, has passed a series of critical tests at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The tests simulated the extreme temperatures and vacuum of space, as well as the intense shaking and ear-splitting roar of launch. Results show that Voyager Technologies’ Griffin Mission One (Griffin-1) spacecraft is ready to survive the rigors of space exploration.

As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative within the Moon Base Program, Griffin-1 is expected to launch later this year aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. It will deliver more than 1,100 pounds (455 kilograms) of cargo to Nobile Crater near the lunar South Pole, which categorizes it as an infrastructure-class lander. Griffin-1 will carry 10 science and technology demonstrations from six countries, including the largest commercial payload ever delivered to the Moon, Astrolab’s FLIP (FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform) rover. (10/21)

ESA Studies a Moon Service Station as Europe Works Out its Lunar Role (Source: Sky Nightly)
The European  Space Agency wants to give experiments on the Moon something they rarely have: a way to survive the night. It has published details of OASIS, the Outpost for Advanced Scientific Investigation Station, a concept for a European service station that would supply power, communications, data handling and storage to instruments on the lunar surface so they can keep working for years.

OASIS is a design study, not a mission. ESA's article gives no launch date and places the concept at the feasibility and preliminary definition stage, and every performance figure it quotes is a design goal. But the station is a useful window on a bigger question. Europe is assembling a lunar program of its own, a lander, a communications network and now surface infrastructure, while its plans for sending astronauts to the Moon are being renegotiated after NASA stepped back from the Gateway lunar orbital station. (10/21)

October 21, 2026

Space Force Plans Dispersed Systems for Satellite Jamming (Source: Space News)
The Space Force is planning a global deployment of systems to jam satellite communications. The Space Systems Command issued a sources-sought notice last week for companies capable of supporting its Counter Communications System Meadowlands fleet for roughly six years. The document says the future fleet will include at least 32 systems, while contractors should be prepared to sustain as many as 56 systems dispersed around the world. Meadowlands, built by L3Harris Technologies, uses ground-based radio-frequency equipment to temporarily interfere with an adversary's satellite communications. It became operational this year after extensive testing. The Space Force said in the notice that Meadowlands systems will be deployed in the U.S. Central Command and Indo-Pacific Command regions and contractors must also be able to support systems in the European, Southern and Northern Command areas. (10/19)

GAO Sees Weather Satellite Gap (Source: Space News)
A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report says there is a risk of a gap in geostationary weather satellites in the early 2030s. The report said that the first of a new generation of GEO weather satellites, called GeoXO, is scheduled to enter service in 2033, several months after the last spare satellite from the current generation reaches the end of life. That creates a risk of a data gap if one of the two operational satellites malfunctions during that time. The warning comes as NOAA scales back the GeoXO program, reducing the number of satellites and canceling instruments, to reduce its lifecycle cost from nearly $20 billion to $12 billion. That cost has since increased to $13 billion with "risk and uncertainty" about the program's schedule, the GAO report noted. (10/19)

Iran's Space Launch Sites Damaged in US War (Source: IISS)
Two Iranian launch sites suffered significant damage during the ongoing conflict with the United States. Analysis of commercial satellite imagery shows that the Imam Khomeini Space Centre, operated by Iran's space agency, and the Shahroud Space Centre, run by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, both were hit by air strikes in the early weeks of the conflict, damaging launch pads and other facilities. Iran has not attempted a space launch since the start of the conflict, although some of its smaller vehicles use mobile launch systems that could allow them to operate even if spaceport infrastructure is damaged. (10/19)

European Mobile Operators Team to Bid on D2D Spectrum (Source: Bloomberg)
Several European mobile phone operators say they will join forces to bid on spectrum for direct-to-device satellite services. Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Vodafone and Telefonica said they are exploring a joint bid for spectrum the European Union wants to reserve for a European operator of D2D services. That EU effort has been criticized by companies like SpaceX, who are seeking access to that spectrum for their own services. In an interview, Andrew Puzder, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, appeared to threaten retaliation should the EU go forward with those plans, saying it would be "very devastating for those companies." (10/19)

Space Force Planning Spaceport Overhaul to Allow Concurrent Operations (Source: Space News)
The Space Force is planning an overhaul of its launch sites to be able to support up to eight operations a day. The plan, released Tuesday, sets targets extending into the 2030s for the Eastern Range at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and the Western Range at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The Space Force wants to move away from a model in which major range activities are largely conducted sequentially. Each spaceport would eventually be able to support as many as three major operations simultaneously, including launches, tests and vehicle recoveries. That number could grow to five to eight operations per day. The Space Force is also considering changes to how its spaceports are financed and how launch providers pay for their use. (10/21)

SpaceX Plans to Recover Both Starship Stages on Flight 15 (Source: Space News)
SpaceX says it plans to attempt to recover both Starship stages on the vehicle's next launch. The company said in an earnings call Tuesday that, pending approval from the FAA, it will attempt to bring the Starship upper stage, or ship, on the Flight 15 mission back to Starbase to be caught by the launch tower there. That would be a major milestone in the company's efforts to recover and reuse both Starship stages. Flight 15 is scheduled for November. During the earnings call, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that special board committees at both SpaceX and Tesla are exploring a possible merger of the two firms. Musk said that such a merger would be "a good idea" but noted he is excluded from the committees' discussions because of his roles at both companies. (10/21)

ClearSpace and Eutelsat Work to Extend Life of GEO Satellite (Source: Space News)
ClearSpace signed an agreement with Eutelsat to extend the life of a GEO satellite. The companies agreed Tuesday to jointly define the mission for Phoenix, a European Space Agency-backed program projected to cost $114 million and targeting a demonstration in 2030. The companies are discussing what Eutelsat satellite would be used for the mission, extending that spacecraft's life by up to 10 years. Eutelsat has a separate life-extension agreement with Infinite Orbits, a French in-orbit servicing startup. (10/21)

Xona Launches Six Satellites for LEO Navigation on Bandwagon Mission (Source: Space News)
Xona Space Systems launched a set of satellites that will enable it to demonstrate its low Earth orbit navigation services. Six Xona satellites were deployed on the SpaceX Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission Tuesday. Four of the spacecraft, built by Aerospacelab, are intended to operate as Xona's first service cluster, giving the company its first opportunity to demonstrate an independent navigation solution using its Pulsar system. The other two are the first satellites designed and manufactured in-house by Xona. The company is developing Pulsar, a commercial PNT service that would eventually use 258 satellites in low Earth orbit to complement or back up GPS. (10/21)

SES and Planet Test Orbital Data Relay (Source: Space News)
SES Space & Defense and Planet will test data relay services using another satellite launched on Bandwagon-5. For the demonstration, Planet developed and integrated a communications terminal aboard its Pelican-12 Earth observation satellite, including a software-defined radio and a tracking antenna designed to communicate with SES's satellite network. The terminal will allow Pelican-12, launched into low Earth orbit on Bandwagon-5, to transmit imagery to SES's O3b mPOWER satellites in medium Earth orbit. The test is part of a NASA-funded program to develop commercial alternatives to its aging Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system. SES is also positioning the technology as a commercial service for satellite operators seeking faster access to data collected in orbit. (10/21)

China's Sinxbot Raises Funds for Robotic Arms for Servicing Spacecraft (Source: Space News)
Chinese startup Sinxbot has raised tens of millions of dollars to develop robotic arms for servicing satellites. The company announced last week it raised funding in several rounds between May and September from investors that included Alibaba and China Mobile. Sinxbot develops cable-driven flexible robotic arms where motors sit at the base of the arm and drive it through cables. This makes the end of the arm lighter and more compliant, and the company says that improves safety when working close to client spacecraft. Sinxbot is targeting three services: refueling spacecraft, assisting the deorbiting of defunct or retired spacecraft and on-orbit inspection and maintenance. It plans an orbital demonstration mission in 2027. (10/21)

Chinas Space Robot Raises $14.9 Million for Servicing Spacecraft Constellation (Source: Space News)
Space Robot, another Chinese satellite servicing company, has raised funds for a constellation of servicing spacecraft. The company announced Monday that it had closed a nearly 100 million yuan ($14.9 million) Series A round. The company said the funds will be used for building a "space robot cluster" and commercial expansion. It plans a constellation of 16 servicing spacecraft, and launched a technology demonstration satellite last year to test maneuvering and space situational awareness work. (10/21)

China Launches Ceres-1 Ricket with Remote Sensing Satellite (Source: Space News)
A Chinese rocket launched the first satellite of a remote-sensing constellation. A Ceres-1 lifted off at 11:39 p.m. Eastern Tuesday from a ship off the coast of Shandong province. The rocket carried the Xiguang-4 (01) satellite, also called Guangda-1, into a 541-kilometer orbit inclined by 39 degrees. The 300-kilogram satellite is the first of three pathfinders for the planned Wuyang constellation for low-latitude remote sensing coverage, and carries high-resolution, multispectral and infrared cameras. The full constellation, targeting observations between 35 degrees north and south latitudes, will include the three pathfinders and 25 operational satellites. (10/21)

Spain's PLD Space Pushes First Miura 5 Launch to 2027 (Source: Space News)
PLD Space has pushed back the first flight of its Miura 5 rocket to 2027. The company said in an update this week it has produced three vehicles, two of which will be used for qualification testing along with the first flight model of the small launcher. The company said earlier this year it was planning a first launch before the end of the year but now says that launch will take place in the first half of 2027. PLD Space did not disclose what issues with the rocket or its launch site under construction in French Guiana caused the schedule slip. (10/21)

Solstar Space Demos Space Wifi (Source: Space News)
Solstar Space demonstrated wifi communications in space between two spacecraft. The company's Deke Space Communicator enabled high-speed communications between NASA's R5-S10 cubesat and the Vigoride-7 orbital transfer vehicle from Momentus during recent tests in orbit. The data transferred between the spacecraft were then sent to the ground using an Iridium link. (10/21)

Samara Aerospace to Demo Attitude Control Tech for NASA (Source: Space News)
Samara Aerospace received a NASA contract to demonstrate hardware and software for the company's attitude-control technology in a laboratory setting. The $1.3 million award, through NASA's SBIR program, will enable lab testing of small piezoelectric actuators in the hinges of deployable solar panels to stabilize spacecraft for precision pointing. The NASA program has a 24-month period of performance. But Samara plans to move rapidly to complete the work ahead of the 2027 launch of Hummingbird-1, the company's small satellite based on that technology. (10/21)

Canada's Telesat Looking to Refinance Debt by December Deadline (Source: Globe and Mail)
Lenders are offering to refinance debt held by Canadian satellite operator Telesat ahead of a December deadline. The lenders put forward a second proposal to refinance $1.7 billion in debt that comes due on Dec. 6 after making an initial proposal in August. The new proposal would refinance the debt with an equity offering and new loan. Telesat has acknowledged that it does not have sufficient cash flow to meet all its debt obligations. Canadian law may keep Telesat from filing for bankruptcy reorganization, but some observers note the company could instead file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States if it is unable to refinance its debt. (10/21)

Starfighters Space to be Featured at Next Month's MAX POWER Exposition at KSC (Source: Starfighters Space)
Starfighters Space will be showcased at the inaugural NASA sponsored MAX POWER aerospace expo and airshow on Nov. 7-8 at Kennedy Space Center. Starfighters' F-104 supersonic jets will be featured in both flight demonstrations and static aircraft displays at the event. “The F-104 is the original 'right stuff' supersonic jet, used by NASA and the Air Force to train Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts, including Neil Armstrong. Beyond Apollo, it was later used by NASA to test heat shield tiles for the Space Shuttle, and it performed an array of aeronautical missions, including testing reaction-control thrusters at altitudes above 100,000 feet,” said Tim Franta, CEO of Starfighters Space.

“Today, we are continuing the F-104’s legacy at Kennedy Space Center by using the aircraft as a real-world platform to test and advance next-generation aerospace technologies,” said Franta. Throughout its history, the F-104 has set numerous world records, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s. These included records for speed (1,404.9 mph), altitude (103,395 feet), and time-to-climb (ground to 25,000 meters in 266.03 seconds). More than 2,500 F-104s were built beginning in 1954 for U.S. agencies and more than a dozen allied air forces worldwide. (10/21)

Europe's Mobile Operators Need Satellite Partner (Source: Space News)
The European mobile phone operators seeking to join forces for direct-to-device services need to find a satellite partner. Germany's Deutsche Telekom, France's Orange, Spain's Telefónica and Vodafone of the United Kingdom plan to contribute ground infrastructure and other resources the European D2D network would require, without directly investing in a satellite constellation. The operators said that their proposed D2D joint venture would not replace existing satellite partnerships; several of them are using or plan to use Starlink. The consortium also paints a complicated picture for U.S.-based D2D challenger AST SpaceMobile, which announced a joint venture with Vodafone last year to bid for European S-band spectrum. (10/20)

EraDrive to Develop Satellite Autonomy Systems for Space Force (Source: Space News)
EraDrive won a Space Force contract to develop hardware for satellite autonomy applications. The $13 million award was made through the Pentagon's Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) program, an initiative to speed up adoption of technologies with military utility. EraDrive, a spinoff of the Stanford University Space Rendezvous Laboratory, is developing hardware to enable spacecraft to navigate on their own. The contract covers work on Era-Node, a hosted payload that helps satellites determine position, navigation and timing without relying on global navigation satellite systems and also handles autonomous maneuver planning. (10/20)

Uzbekistan Joins Artemis Accords (Source: Space News)
Uzbekistan is the latest country to sign the Artemis Accords. The Central Asian country's foreign minister signed the accords Monday during a visit to the country by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Uzbekistan, the 77th country to sign the accords, said it did so to create new opportunities to cooperate with NASA and gain access to space expertise and technology. NASA has offered Artemis Accords signatories the opportunity to contribute to the agency's planned lunar base. (10/20)

SpaceX Launches Tuesday Rideshare Mission From Florida (Source: Space News)
SpaceX launched a rideshare mission this morning that included the company's second Starfall reentry vehicle. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 7:04 a.m. Eastern on the Bandwagon-5 mission. The mid-inclination rideshare mission included 32 payloads, many from companies that have flown satellites on previous rideshare missions.  The launch also carried Starfall, SpaceX's own reentry vehicle. The company first flew Starfall in June and is offering it to customers interested in microgravity research and manufacturing. (10/20)

Spain's UARX Lost Contact with OSSIE-D OTV After October Launch (Source: Space News)
An orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) launched on another SpaceX rideshare mission is recovering from problems. Spanish company UARX Space launched its first OTV, called OSSIE-D, on the Transporter-18 rideshare mission early this month. UARX said it lost communications with OSSIE-D immediately after launch, making it unclear if some payloads had been deployed. The company blamed the communications outage on a ground station issue that has since been corrected, restoring contact with the OTV. Telemetry shows the OTV did receive commands to deploy some payloads, and customers said they have made contact with their satellites. Other spacecraft were planned to be released later but UARX did not provide details on those payloads. (10/20)

Poland's Creotech Plans Factory Expansion for Satellite Production (Source: Reuters)
Polish satellite manufacturer Creotech Instruments wants to increase production by a factor of 10. The company plans to open a new factory by 2029 that will be able to produce up to 100 satellites a year versus the 10 per year it can currently manufacture. While Creotech sees strong demand for its satellites, it warned that it and other European manufacturers remain dependent on American companies for launching those satellites. (10/20)

Abbot: No Plans to Sell State Park to SpaceX (Source: Texas Tribune)
The governor of Texas says there are no current plans to sell a state park adjacent to SpaceX's Starbase facility to the company. Reports last week noted that a potential sale of Boca Chica State Park to SpaceX was being considered by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, with a meeting to discuss the proposed sale planned for early November. Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday that any sale of the park to SpaceX is "not coming up for a vote anytime soon."  He said he knew little about the potential sale or what SpaceX would do with the land if the deal went through. (10/20)

Israel Plans Military Space Unit (Source: Ynet)
The Israeli military plans to add a dedicated space unit. The Israel Defense Forces will establish a Space Brigade responsible for space systems including spacecraft and related technologies, and also prepare for any future space conflict. The new unit will consolidate space-related work in the Israeli military, although officials disclosed few details about plans for the brigade or funding. (10/20)

Chinese Rocket Part Falls on Minnesota Farm (Source: Ars Technica)
Part of a Chinese rocket fell on a Minnesota farm. A farmer in west-central Minnesota discovered a circular metallic object 3.35 meters across in a corn field. Local law enforcement officials said the item was "presumably a space object" and that they were working with state and federal officials to remove it. The object appears to be part of an upper stage of a Chinese Zhuque-2E rocket that launched in mid-September and reentered over the upper Midwest. The rocket's upper stage has a diameter that matches that of the object found in Minnesota. (10/20)

Pakistani Astronaut to Visit TSS in November (Source: Geo News)
Pakistan's first astronaut will go to China's space station next month. A Pakistani government minister said Sunday that the astronaut will launch Nov. 25, spending a week on the Tiangong space station before returning. Two Pakistani pilots, Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, have been training for the mission, but neither Chinese nor Pakistani officials said which of the two will fly or even when the selection will be announced. (10/19)

The Commercial Space Station Competition Finally Begins (Source: Space Review)
After some contracting twists and turns, NASA released the final request for proposals earlier this month for commercial space stations. Jeff Foust reports on the leading contenders and the challenges they face. Click here. (10/20)
 
RAMs and Blackjacks and Shuttles: the Soviet Ramenskoye Flight Test Center (Source: Space Review)
An airbase outside Moscow was the Soviet equivalent of Edwards Air Force Base, hosting experimental aircraft and even spacecraft. Dwayne Day and Harry Stranger explore how US satellite imagery kept track of the activities at Ramenskoye. Click here. (10/20)
 
The Ghost Beneath the Shuttle Columbia: Kosmos 398, STS-73, and the Last Echo of the US/Soviet Moon Race (Source: Space Review)
More than 30 years ago, a shuttle orbiter had a fleeting encounter with a relic of the original Moon race. Robert Kelso describes the experience as witnessed from Mission Control. Click here. (10/20)
 
A Riddle, Wrapped in a Mystery, Inside a Payload Container: the Curious Case of Defense Support Program Satellite F-11 (Source: Space Review)
The last of the Defense Support Program satellites were recently retired by the Space Force, but the program still has many unanswered questions. Dwayne Day examines some of those mysteries created by newly discovered photos of one DSP satellite. Click here. (10/20)
 
The Surprising Case for Space Mining (Source: Space Review)
There is renewed interest in mining asteroids or the Moon for resources ranging from water ice to precious metals. Alex Wood-Osterwald offers nine reasons why resource extraction is becoming more feasible. Click here. (10/20)

SNC Invests $100M in Dayton Facility (Source: Dayton Daily News)
War Secretary Pete Hegseth is visiting Sierra Nevada's Aviation Innovation and Technology Center in Dayton, Ohio, as part of his "Arsenal of Freedom" tour. SNC has invested $100 million in the Dayton campus, building four hangars after winning a $13 billion US Air Force contract to renew E-4B Nightwatch planes. (10/20)
 
Space Forces Central Expects 5X Growth (Source: Air & Space Forces)
Brig. Gen. Todd Benson, commander of Space Forces Central, expects the unit to quintuple in size within three years to meet the growing demand for capabilities. Space Forces Central, currently staffed by about 30 personnel, has had a significant impact in operations against Iran, but needs more personnel, Benson said. (10/19)

US Army Support for Golden Dome Missile Shield Takes Shape (Source: Military Times)
As the U.S. Army’s support to the joint force space mission takes shape with its newly populated Space Operations Branch, the service is also poised to support what’s expected to be a critical year for testing and development of the Golden Dome for America (GDA) missile shield project. Lt. Gen. John L. Rafferty confirmed that an Army air defense unit had been “earmarked” for GDA support. (10/20)

ESA Loses Full-Scale Space Rider Test Model After Parafoil Deployment Anomaly During Drop Test (Source: European Spaceflight)
The European Space Agency said a full-scale test model of its Space Rider reusable space vehicle was lost earlier this month after an anomaly during parafoil deployment in a drop test. The loss underscores a setback in testing the recovery system, though the available report provides no further detail on the anomaly or program schedule. (10/20)

Iridium Q3 Revenue Rises 8%, with Aireon Acquisition Contributing to Results (Source: Space Intel Report)
Iridium Communications reported an 8% increase in total revenue and a 13% rise in service revenue for the three months ended Sep. 30. The acquisition of Aireon, which provides aircraft tracking and flight data services, figured heavily in the results. (10/20)

Space Robot, Reaction Dynamics and Reliable Robotics Disclose Funding and Expansion Plans (Source: Space News)
Chinese on-orbit servicing startup Space Robot raised nearly $15 million after launching a technology demonstrator in 2025, while Canada’s Reaction Dynamics plans to raise C$350 million and hire nearly 300 people as it targets a 2031 debut for its Borealis medium-lift rocket. Reliable Robotics also extended its Series D with $115 million in equity and $25 million in debt. (10/20)