July 8, 2026

Uranus and Neptune May Not be ‘Ice Giants’ After All (Source: Science)
t’s time to revisit our idea of Neptune and Uranus, too—for the so-called ice giants likely contain very little ice. The term is “a little bit misleading,” says Ravit Helled, a planetary scientist at the University of Zürich. “We really don’t know what these planets are made of.” She and her colleagues do, however, have ideas, ranging from magma oceans to soups of icy methane. (7/7)

New UCF Study Links Microgravity, Space Radiation to Accelerated Aging (Source: UCF)
What happens to the human body in space may help scientists create new anti-aging therapies. UCF’s Michal Masternak and his team have identified molecular changes in the liver that happen when space travelers experience radiation and microgravity. These changes – that resemble accelerated aging – provide new insight into how prolonged space missions may increase health risks for astronauts and reveal potential targets for therapies that could combat age-related diseases on Earth. (7/7)

SpaceX Transporter-17 Deploys Four Canadian Satellites Deployed on Transporter-17 Mission (Source: SpaceQ)
SpaceX successfully launched the Transporter-17 rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Tuesday morning, deploying 81 payloads into low-Earth orbit (LEO), including four Canadian payloads from GHGSat, EarthDaily Analytics, and the University of Victoria. (7/7)

With SpaceX Starship, Japan's ispace Provides Ride-Share to the Moon (Source: Reuters)
Japanese moon transport company ispace plans a new, lower-cost lunar ​cargo business using SpaceX's Starship heavy rocket and moon lander. Tokyo-based ispace has bought 500 kg (1,102 lb) of capacity for $50 million on a Starship that would land on the moon as soon as 2030, and will build a lunar surface vehicle that ​can host payloads from clients worldwide sharing their ride on Starship to the ​moon, it said. (7/8)

Kennedy Space Center Offers 'Celebrate USA 250' Ticket Discounts (Source: Florida Today)
In honor of America's 250th anniversary, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is offering $17.76 in savings on one-day admission tickets through Aug. 31. The discounted pricing brings adult admission to $59.24, and child admission to $49.24. (7/4)

NASA Acquisition Workforce Losses: Opportunity Amid Challenges (Source: FNN)
Across the government, agencies face a pronounced loss of historical knowledge as retirements and federal workforce reductions levy widespread impact. The shift marks a pivotal moment for countless departments and teams, including those at NASA.

While the changes create hurdles and pressures, also emerging are opportunities to reassess and reimagine how work gets done – particularly in the federal acquisition workforce. This is especially significant as the work of acquisition itself faces increasing complexity, said NASA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Procurement Marvin Horne.

“With high retirements, it’s removing people who know how to execute complex source evaluation boards, historical knowledge of certain contract structures – why they were successful or why they failed – historical knowledge of contractor negotiation strategies, even the informal stakeholder engagement that ensures strong procurement and program collaboration,” Horne said. “The true concern is not about replacement of staff; it’s about replacing judgment cultivated over a 25- to 30-year career. (6/30)

NASA Seeks Industry Input to Accelerate Lunar Surface Technologies (Source: NASA)
Long-term lunar exploration requires technology, infrastructure, and operations that function together cohesively on the surface of the Moon. To accelerate the development of key lunar surface systems and reduce risk, NASA and industry must work together in the design, development, testing, and evaluation of innovative solutions that support U.S. space priorities.

NASA is seeking feedback on a draft solicitation for the Lunar Enabling Infrastructure Accelerator, an effort to help develop emerging capabilities in surface power, in-situ resource utilization, advanced manufacturing, and innovative nanomaterials. The draft is available for review by U.S. organizations, including industry, educational institutions, and non-profits. (6/29)

Firefly Aerospace Awarded $13 Million JPL Contract for SkyFall Mars Mission Aeroshell (Source: Telemetry Today)
Firefly Aerospace has received a $13 million subcontract from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to manufacture, test, and deliver the aeroshell for NASA's SkyFall mission to Mars, which is currently targeted for launch in late 2028. The SkyFall mission, managed by JPL, will deploy three Mars helicopters derived from the Ingenuity technology demonstrator to conduct scientific investigations, perform airborne subsurface mapping, and prospect for resources that could support future human missions to Mars.

The mission will use a new "SkyFall Maneuver," in which the helicopters are released during descent and fly themselves to the Martian surface, eliminating the need for a traditional landing platform. (7/7)

U.S. Eyes Offshore Spaceports With First-Ever Call for Industry Input (Source: G Captain)
The Trump administration is taking its first formal step toward evaluating whether federal offshore waters could support commercial space launches and spacecraft recovery operations. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on Tuesday announced it will publish a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public and industry feedback on the potential use of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) for offshore space launch, re-entry and recovery infrastructure.

The RFI, scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on July 8, opens a 30-day public comment period through Aug. 7. BOEM said it is looking for technical, environmental, operational and safety information that could help shape future planning and coordination for offshore space activities. (7/7)

First SaxaVord Rocket Launch Could Take Place in August (Source: Shetland News)
The first rocket test flight could take place at SaxaVord Spaceport in Unst between August and early September. A launch window will be in place at the site, having been agreed with international, national and local authorities and regulators. Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) said earlier this year it was aiming for a launch after 1 July, with the first and second stages of its ONE launch vehicle delivered to Unst in March. (7/7)

Paso Robles is Full Steam Ahead on Spaceport — and a Local Aerospace Company Took Notice (Source: The Tribune)
Even if Paso Robles might not yet have its spaceport license, aerospace company Zone 5 Technologies is already seeing its potential. That’s why it’s expanding its manufacturing operations to the Paso Robles Municipal Airport this summer. Zone 5 Technologies is San Luis Obispo-based with its only location currently being right near the SLO County Regional Airport on Buckley Road. (7/7)

ULA’s Last Six Atlas Vs Can’t Launch Anything Besides Boeing’s Starliner (Source: Ars Technica)
The final flight of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket is still several years off, but an important era for the once-dominant launch company came to a close last week. The final flight of an Atlas V for the Amazon Leo broadband constellation lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport last Thursday, sending 29 satellites to orbit to move the network closer to providing initial services.

There are six more Atlas Vs in ULA’s inventory to launch Boeing’s Starliner crew capsules to the ISS under contract to NASA. But it is not certain today that Boeing will use all six of those Atlas Vs. Last year, NASA reduced the number of guaranteed missions in Boeing’s commercial crew contract from six to four after chronic delays in the program. The next Starliner flight will haul cargo to the ISS, expending one of the remaining Atlas Vs.

So what happens to the Atlas Vs left in ULA’s inventory if Boeing doesn’t need to use them all? One idea would be to repurpose the rockets for other missions, perhaps to add launch capacity for the Amazon Leo network. But there’s a catch. The Starliner spacecraft flies in an exposed configuration during launch, meaning the launch last week was the last time an Atlas V will fly with a payload fairing. Even if Boeing gave up some of the Atlas Vs under its contractual control, ULA would not be able to easily retrofit any of the leftover Atlas Vs for other missions. (7/7)

UC Santa Cruz Researchers Make Breakthrough on Solar Enigma (Source: UCSC)
Researchers are closer to unraveling a long-standing solar mystery surrounding the extreme thinness of the Sun’s tachocline layer of strong shearing motion—a region believed to be critical for creating the violent eruptions of high-energy particles and radiation from the Sun known as “space weather.”

Their study reveals new insights into how magnetic fields keep the solar tachocline so thin, and more generally, how tachoclines in other solar-type stars may contribute to stellar “spin down”—the mysterious process by which stars are observed to slow their overall rotation rates, or “spins”, as they slowly evolve. The new simulations suggest a holistic interplay between rotation, magnetism, and tachoclines in solar-like stars. (7/7)

To Aid Aging KSC Infrastructure, Florida Senator Pitches 'Space Ready Act' (Source: Florida Today)
With the number of launches increasing on Florida’s Space Coast while the infrastructure at Kennedy Space Center shows its age – and on the heels of a warning from NASA’s top watchdog — a Florida senator proposed a solution to the Cape's woes.

Senator Ashley Moody visited Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on July 7 to announce the Space Ready 2.0 Act. While it will not provide new funding, the Space Ready 2.0 Act aims to give NASA a new vehicle to accept contributions from commercial partners. It would be a pilot program. (7/7)

Investment in Russia’s Private Space Sector Could Exceed $1.3 Billion by 2030 (Source: TASS)
Investment in private companies within the rocket and space industry could exceed 100 billion rubles ($1.3 billion) by 2030, Roscosmos Deputy General Director Grigory Maximov said. "We recognize that, beyond any altruistic motivations, the private players entering this field understand how the market will take shape and what it will look like and, consequently, how the associated revenues and expenditures will ultimately flow back into their business operations," he said. (7/7)

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute Increases Investment in Giant Magellan Telescope (Source: Giant Magellan)
The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) has reaffirmed its long-term commitment to the Giant Magellan Telescope through a new investment that brings its total contribution to nearly $110 million (USD), strengthening the Republic of Korea’s leadership as the project’s third-largest partner. (7/7)

Space Force Adds Relativity, Impulse Space to National Security Launch Program (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force is widening the field of companies eligible to compete for national security launch contracts, adding launch startup Relativity Space and orbital transportation company Impulse Space to a roster of commercial providers as it looks to diversify how military satellites reach orbit. Impulse Space plans to provide GEO rideshare missions using its Helios tug. (7/8)

Arianespace Opens Door to GEO Rideshare Opportunities From 2029 (Source: Spacewatch Global)
Infinite Orbits and Arianespace have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a framework for future collaboration on multiple direct-to-geostationary orbit (GEO) launch services. The partnership unites Arianespace’s decades of launch heritage with Infinite Orbits’ next-generation in-orbit servicing capabilities.

Direct access to geostationary orbit allows Infinite Orbits to deploy servicing spacecraft more rapidly, supporting satellite inspection and life-extension missions with greater operational flexibility. By identifying these future launch requirements, the French New Space company reaffirms its commitment to European launch capabilities while supporting the timely development of sovereign access to geostationary orbit. (7/8)

SpaceX Launches Transporter-17 Amid Concerns About Rideshare Program’s Future (Source: Space News)
SpaceX launched the latest in its Transporter series of rideshare missions July 7 as industry concerns about the program’s future reach what one rival company executive called a panic. SpaceX launched 81 payloads on the latest launch in its rideshare series. But SpaceX is not accepting Transporter reservations beyond late 2028. (7/8)

Starfighters Space Welcomes FAA Supersonic Rulemaking (Source: Starfighters Space)
Starfighters Space expressed its support for the FAA's proposed revision of regulations that currently prohibit civil/commercial supersonic flight in US airspace. The FAA proposal would replace the current ban on supersonic flight with a "performance-based certification framework that reflects advances in aircraft technology and noise mitigation."

"As the operator of the world's only commercial fleet of flight-ready Mach 2+ aircraft, we view this proposal as an important milestone for the future of high-speed aviation," said Tim Franta, CEO of Starfighters Space. "We commend the Administration and the FAA for advancing policies that encourage American space innovation while maintaining a strong commitment to safety." (7/8)

SpaceX Just Launched the 1st-Ever Nuclear-Powered Commercial Satellite (Source: Space.com)
The world's first commercially built nuclear-powered satellite has reached orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The BOHR (Betavoltaic Orbital High-Reliability) satellite, built by Florida-based company City Labs, launched on SpaceX's Transporter-17 rideshare mission.

BOHR is a novel cubesat testing out its proprietary "NanoTritium" betavoltaic micropower source in space for the first time. Similar to how spacecraft like NASA's Voyager probes' radioisotope thermoelectric generators produce power from the heat emitted from their plutonium cores, City Lab's NanoTritium device harnesses the beta particles emitted from the radioactive decay of tritium, which can be converted directly to electricity using a semiconductor. (7/7)

Skyroot Prepares for First Orbital Launch Attempt (Source: Space News)
Indian launch startup Skyroot Aerospace is preparing for its first orbital launch attempt as soon as July 12, with plans to quickly scale up to monthly launches. The Vikram-1 rocket, designed to carry small satellites into low-Earth orbit, will lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota between July 12 and Aug. 4, the company said. (7/7)

'Once Upon a Time in Space' Series to Tell Florida's Space Story (Source: Florida Today)
Coming as America celebrates its 250th birthday, as well as the 15th anniversary of the final NASA space shuttle flight, Florida’s historic space story is getting a spotlight in a new PBS documentary series. Starting July 14, WUCF will present Once Upon a Time in Space, a new four-part PBS documentary series that tells America’s space story through the voices of astronauts, people behind the missions, and their families. (7/7)

Two Asteroid Rendezvous in One Weekend (Source: Douglas Messier)
Last weekend there was not one but two rendezvous with distant asteroids conducted by Chinese and Japanese spacecraft. After a voyage of 1 billion kilometers and more than 400 days, China’s Tianwen-2 spacecraft arrived at asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa (a.k.a., 2016 HO3). Chinese officials released an image of the near-Earth object taken from a distance of 20 kilometers.

Tianwen-2 will study the asteroid for nine months before departing for Earth with a sample for scientists to examine. It is China’s first mission to explore an asteroid.Kamoʻoalewa is a small Apollo-type near-Earth object that has been estimated to be 40–100 meters in diameter based on ground observations. Tianwen-2’s data will allow scientists to determine its exact dimensions.

Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft has conducted a flyby of asteroid 98943 Torifune. The near-Earth object resembles a peanut in the form of two rubble piles. It also appears similar to 486958 Arrokoth, a Kuiper belt object whose two lobes formed independently before gently merging together. Asteroid 98943 Torifune has been estimated to be 450 meters in diameter based on ground observations. Hayabusa2’s has a fixed camera that was not designed for a rapid flyby. So, the spacecraft’s capacity to return images was limited. (7/7)

Apophis to Pass Within GEO Ring (Source: Space Daily)
On 13 April 2029, an asteroid the size of a large skyscraper, roughly 375 meters across and named Apophis, will sweep past Earth closer than many telecommunications satellites orbit. And for once, we will be able to watch. Under clear, dark skies, an estimated two billion people across Europe, Africa and parts of Asia should be able to see it cross the night sky with the naked eye.

The single most important thing to say about that is also the most reassuring: it is a close pass, not a threat. Apophis will not hit Earth. The numbers are startling. Apophis will pass about 31,600 kilometers above Earth’s surface, which is roughly one tenth of the distance to the Moon and only about five times the radius of the Earth itself. Crucially, that is inside the ring of geostationary satellites, the ones sitting some 36,000 kilometers up that relay much of our television and communications. An asteroid this large will actually pass beneath them. (7/6)

Trapped in Orbit: China's Approach to Emergency Action on TSS (Source: Futura)
A small crack in a spacecraft window set off a complex chain of events aboard China's Tiangong  space station last year. The episode began in November 2025 and only fully resolved this past May 2026, spanning nearly seven months. The incident thoroughly tested China's emergency contingency planning for crewed  spaceflight. It ultimately concluded with a successful, improvised rescue that drew unusually open commentary from a normally guarded  space program.

China’s human  spaceflight program manages this risk through a strict standing contingency policy known as “one launch, one on standby.” Under this framework, engineers maintain a backup Shenzhou spacecraft and a Long March 2F rocket on hand at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The China Manned  Space Agency activated this emergency protocol, accelerating the launch timeline of the Shenzhou 22 vehicle by roughly six months to send it up uncrewed as a dedicated lifeboat. (7/5)

Audit: Starliner Costs Lower Than Full Reliance on SpaceX (Source: Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
Boeing's Starliner faces delays and cost overruns, but it remains a less expensive option for NASA than relying solely on SpaceX, according to an audit by the NASA Office of Inspector General. The audit highlights unresolved issues such as helium leaks and thruster problems, which could delay human-rating certification to 2027. NASA has spent nearly $10 billion on the Commercial Crew Program, with Boeing's contract now valued at $3.7 billion and SpaceX's at $4.9 billion. (7/6)

Europe’s Space Sovereignty Will Depend on How It Scales Optical Connectivity (Source: Astrolight)
The recent European Commission’s move to prioritize European operators in allocating spectrum for direct-to-device connectivity services, the development of Europe’s IRIS² constellation, and Germany’s planned €35 billion investment in defense space capabilities are all part of Europe’s strategic push to reduce its reliance on foreign space services.

Experts argue, however, that building infrastructure is only part of the challenge: for sovereign space networks to remain competitive, they have to utilize and scale optical communication. Global satellite connectivity demand will increase more than 11 times between 2024 and 2034. At the same time, less than 10% of all data generated in orbit currently reaches Earth, largely because of limited downlink bandwidth and scarce spectrum availability in conventional communication systems. (7/6)

Famous Study in Error: the Universe Isn’t Anisotropic (Source: Big Think)
Here in our Universe, we’ve drawn the conclusion that it’s been expanding and cooling for 13.8 billion years: ever since the hot Big Bang first began. In all directions, the same cosmic structures emerge: stars, galaxies, groups and clusters of galaxies, a network of interconnected filaments, with vast cosmic voids separating these matter-rich structures. At distances near and far, and in all directions and all locations, the Universe appears not identical, but similar: with the same densities, galaxy counts, and types of structures found everywhere.

Our cosmological picture, however, only makes sense — and exhibits self-consistency — if the Universe is both homogeneous and isotropic: the same in all locations and the same in all directions. The underlying equations we use to govern the expanding Universe on the largest of cosmic scales, the Friedmann equations, require both of these assumptions to be true.

Thus far, the large-scale structure data seems to agree with these assumptions, including from the largest surveys of all: the 2dF galaxy redshift survey, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey have all supported this consensus picture. However, in a new study published in Nature at the end of June 2026, coauthors Francesco Sylos Labini and Marco Galoppo argue that the DESI data actually supports an anisotropic Universe. (7/6)

July 7, 2026

Canadian Artemis II Crew Member Jeremy Hansen Stepping Down From Astronaut Role (Source: CNN)
Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who captivated the world when he flew around the moon alongside three American crewmates during the Artemis II mission in April, said Monday that he would step back from a full-time astronaut role in September. Hansen said the move was “far from a departure,” as he would transition to serve as a reservist member of the Royal Canadian Air Force in a deliberate move “to leave the door open for creative, ongoing ways to support and enable the vital work happening in Canada with respect to space.” (7/6)

Voyager Closes $250 Million Credit Facility (Source: Voyager)
Voyager Technologies (NYSE: VOYG) closed a $250 million credit facility led by J.P. Morgan. The upsized facility expands Voyager’s financial flexibility, providing liquidity at scale to support accelerating customer demand across the company’s space, defense and national security portfolio. “We are building a generational defense and space company, and this capital position reflects the confidence our financial partners have in where we’re headed.” (7/6)

DoD SpaceX Awards Call Into Question Pentagon's Commitment to Competition (Source: Space News)
Recent multibillion-dollar awards to SpaceX have raised questions about the Pentagon's commitment to competition. The awards, worth nearly $6.5 billion, put SpaceX at the forefront of efforts to build a global military surveillance network and a space-based communications backbone for missile defense. The Pentagon is seeking to expand military space capabilities while simultaneously urging industry to invest in manufacturing capacity and scale production.

However, its efforts to create a competitive market for proliferated military satellites is running into rising operational urgency, resulting in an increased reliance on one company — SpaceX — that has mastered industrial-scale production. Some in Congress have raised concerns about that strategy, pushing the Defense Department to increase competition in major procurements as a way to reduce costs, encourage innovation and preserve industrial capacity. (7/7)

Iridium Completes Aireon Acquisition Ahead of Rocket Lab Acquisition (Source: Space News)
Iridium Communications has completed its takeover of Aireon, bringing the aircraft-tracking venture fully in-house. Iridium said Monday that it bought the remaining 61% of Aireon it did not already own from air navigation service providers in several countries, completing a $367 million deal announced in May. Aireon, which has provided an aviation safety service since 2019 using Iridium satellites and the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) signals aircraft broadcast, will continue to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary. The Aireon purchase closed a week after Iridium agreed to be acquired by Rocket Lab for $8 billion. Rocket Lab has not discussed specific plans for Aireon but said it wants to enhance Iridium services in general. (7/7)

BAE Microprocessor Passes Radiation Testing for Military Space Use (Source: Space News)
BAE Systems says a microprocessor intended for use in military space applications has passed key tests. The company said the Endura processor performed reliably in testing designed to simulate both the natural radiation environment of space and the more severe strategic radiation conditions required for certain defense missions. Endura integrates multiple onboard computing functions into a single device used to power satellites operating in the harsh environment of space. BAE Systems says it is discussing use of the chip with multiple prime contractors for missile defense applications. (7/7)

Belgium's Simera to Provide Multispectral Imagers for Spanish Wildfire Constellation (Source: Space News)
Simera Space will provide multispectral imagers for a Spanish wildfire-tracking satellite system. The Belgian company said it is building eight MultiScape100 sensors for Telespazio's Spanish subsidiary, which recently won 21.3 million euros ($24.4 million) from the local Canary Islands government to be prime contractor for the Earth observation constellation.  The imagers will be placed on three satellites slated to launch in the second half of 2028. The constellation, using satellites from Spanish company AVS, would be optimized specifically for the environmental and operational challenges facing the islands. (7/7)

NASA Redirects Post-ISS Plans, Seeks Fixed-Price Vendors for Commercial Station Development (Source: NASA)
NASA issued a draft request for proposals for the next phase of its commercial space station program. The draft RFP for the next phase of the Commercial LEO Destinations program comes after NASA said last month it would not pursue an alternative approach involving a government-procured core module for the ISS that commercial modules would attach to. Instead, NASA says it is following the desire of industry to issue fixed-price contracts to advance development of commercial stations, with the agency planning to make at least two awards for early station development, and then one or more for final design and certification. Feedback on the draft RFP is due to NASA late this month. (7/7)

Musk No Longer A Trillionaire: What Went Wrong With SpaceX IPO (Source: NDTV)
Three weeks. That's all it took for Elon Musk to go from becoming the world's first trillionaire to slipping below the 13-digit mark. When SpaceX made its blockbuster Nasdaq debut on June 12, shares were priced at $135, opened at $150, and surged sharply in the following sessions. At one point, the company was worth nearly $2.8 trillion, briefly overtaking Amazon in market capitalization. Musk's personal fortune climbed past $1.4 trillion, rewriting financial history. But the euphoria didn't last.

By early July, SpaceX shares had fallen more than 30 per cent from their peak, erasing hundreds of billions of dollars in market value. Musk's fortune dropped below the trillion-dollar mark once again, fluctuating around $992-$997 billion depending on the wealth tracker. He remains the richest person in the world, but no longer a trillionaire. Most insider-held shares remain locked up, with phased releases expected after the company's August earnings. Until then, the stock's relatively limited float could continue to exaggerate price movements. (7/6)

SpaceX Cautioned Against Buying T-Mobile (Source: Phone Arena)
The telecom industry is going through... something. While traditional carriers have stopped innovating, space companies are getting creative. Cellular growth is cooling off, but SpaceX wants in anyway. While President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell has floated the idea of building a terrestrial network, the cost and time constraints make that a long shot. A quicker entry point would be scooping up T-Mobile, but that might just be inviting more problems.

SpaceX and T-Mobile already collaborate on direct-to-device (D2D) and broadband, so the synergy is there. Stepping into cellular territory could muddy the company's focus. And SpaceX would have to fork over upward of $180 billion for T-Mobile, straining its finances just to limit its own reach.

That's because buying T-Mobile closes the door on potential partnerships with AT&T and Verizon. Sure, those two have inked deals with AST SpaceMobile, but with AST stumbling, they will likely look to team up with SpaceX when its exclusivity with T-Mobile expires. By outright owning T-Mobile, SpaceX locks itself out of two-thirds of the mobile market. (7/6)

NASA’s Curiosity Rover is Investigating Unusual Polygon Structures That Look Like a “Giant Martian Honeycomb” (Source: The Debrief)
An unusual discovery on the Red Planet has revealed an odd-looking series of polygon-shaped structures, documented in new images obtained by NASA’s Curiosity Rover. The curious features were discovered after Curiosity was dispatched to an area of interest on the Martian terrain initially identified from orbital imagery obtained by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

Senior Research Scientist William Farrand of the Space Science Institute described the area in question as being “covered with polygonal structures like the top of a giant Martian honeycomb.” Similar polygon-shaped features are often seen in geology, such as the famous Giant’s Causeway on Northern Ireland’s Antrim Coast. (7/6)

NASA Leading Whole-of-Government Mandate for Space Nuclear Power/Propulsion (Source: Aviation Week)
Driven by an urgent U.S. government mandate to develop space nuclear power and propulsion, NASA is leading a whole-of-government charge to accelerate the deployment of reactors on the Moon and in orbit. But after six decades of stop-start development since the experimental SNAP-10 reactor launched to space in 1965, can U.S. space nuclear ambitions finally get off the launchpad? National security requirements, combined with the White House’s strategic vision for U.S. space superiority, have elevated space nuclear capability to a national priority, says Kristin Houston.

After decades of stalled progress, the stakes for U.S. space nuclear power have risen sharply. China and Russia are developing a joint nuclear powerplant to support a future lunar research station, with operations targeted for 2036. At the same time, growing competition in space is driving the Pentagon to pursue highly maneuverable spacecraft that will require new propulsion systems capable of operating farther from Earth and moving more dynamically in orbit.

The U.S. military is not rushing to field nuclear propulsion, however. Senior officials want to determine whether the technology can deliver the high thrust and high delta-v needed for future satellite missions. (6/30)

NASA Employs Psychological Stressors During Astronaut Selection Process (Source: Space Daily)
The specific function of identifying worrisome psychological factors, at NASA, falls to a group called Behavioral Health and Performance, or BHP, an operational team within the medical sciences directorate at Johnson Space Center in Houston. The BHP team consists of operational psychologists and research psychologists who work together on astronaut selection, psychological training, in-flight behavioral support, and family support programs.

The direct BHP contribution to astronaut selection extends across approximately six to seven months of the total seventeen-month selection process. During that period, candidates who have passed the initial application screening are brought to Johnson Space Center for a sequence of interviews, group exercises, medical evaluations, and psychiatric assessments. The specific tools the BHP team uses have been developed and refined over decades of NASA experience.

The tactic of interrupting a candidate mid-sentence and criticizing their reasoning is not designed to intimidate the candidate. It is designed to observe what the candidate does next. The candidate who apologizes and defers is behaving substantially differently from the candidate who acknowledges the criticism, holds their position, and continues to reason. The tactic of telling a candidate their correct solution is wrong is not designed to embarrass them. It is designed to observe whether they collapse under contradiction from an authority figure or continue to trust their own judgment. (7/6)

NASA Adds Three European Firms to the Commercial Data Program (Source: Space News)
On June 23, NASA’s Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) program announced contract awards covering eight new commercial satellite data providers, including three European firms: Kuva Space (Finland), OroraTech (Germany) and Satlantis (Spain). Their inclusion brings additional European capacity into a US-led procurement framework. For operators and data aggregators, CSDA contract awards signal near-term demand and can influence data product roadmaps, geographies served and technology priorities. (7/6)

ESA and Canadian Space Agency Fund NorthStar Plan to Speed Up Collision Alerts (Source: SpaceQ)
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) are funding the next phase of NorthStar Earth & Space’s plan to process space surveillance data directly in orbit. The Montreal-based company is developing artificial intelligence software to detect faint objects using onboard satellite computers. This edge computing method processes information in space before sending it to Earth, reducing the time needed to identify potential collision threats.

As low-Earth orbit (LEO) becomes increasingly congested, commercial and defence operators need rapid updates to avoid collisions. Traditional space surveillance requires beaming raw images to ground stations for analysis, creating a data bottleneck. Shifting machine learning algorithms directly to the satellite filters out the noise, reducing bandwidth requirements and increasing the network’s overall observation capacity. (7/6)

NorthStar Earth & Space Weighs Public-Market Debut Via SPAC Merger with Viking Acquisition Corp. (Source: Space Intel Report)
Space situation awareness service provider NorthStar Earth & Space of Canada, which is planning an IPO following a merger with Viking Acquisition Corp. I, a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), is positioning its future constellation of satellites as a superior alternative to ground-based lasers for monitoring satellite activity. NorthStar, whose initial buildout of in-orbit sensors was curtailed by what it said were performance defects on the sensors launched in 2024 on Spire Global satellites, is planning a 96-sensor fleet on satellites owned by Kepler Communications, a fellow Canadian satellite operator. (7/6)

Revolutionary Superconducting Thruster Harnesses Earth's Magnetic Field in 1st Orbital Test (Source: Space.com)
New Zealand company Zenno Astronautics has tested the first of its kind thruster based on superconducting magnets to maintain the position of a satellite in space. Superconducting magnets can convert solar energy directly into momentum in space and provide a source of acceleration that needs no fuel, but until recently, the technology was too large and complex to fit on a satellite. That's no longer the case. Zenno Astronautics, a spin-off from the University of Auckland, has flown its new "Supertorquer" system on the Mira satellite built by California-based start-up Impulse Space. (7/6)

NASA Faces On-Orbit Servicing Challenge for Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) (Source: SatNews)
NASA astrophysics division director Shawn Domagal-Goldman confirmed that the agency’s upcoming flagship alien-hunting telescope, the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), is being structurally engineered to mandate robotic in-space servicing, assembly, and maintenance (ISAM). The strategic engineering pivot represents a fundamental departure from the fixed, single-lifecycle design philosophies of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), transforming the $11 billion optical instrument into an upgradable orbital asset destined for the Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2 (L2). (7/6)

Isar Aerospace Signs Agreement for Canadian Launch Site (Source: Space News)
Isar Aerospace has signed an agreement to develop a Canadian launch site for Spectrum, the company's two-stage orbital launch vehicle. The agreement is linked to a broader deal involving the sale of submarines to the Canadian military. The arrangement connects small-launch infrastructure work with defense-driven procurement and industrial cooperation. (7/6)

Cyber in Space Signs Partnership Deal with ExeQuantum (Source: Via Satellite)
Cyber in Space hopes a partnership with ExeQuantum will enable it to deliver better advanced cyber resilience and quantum-readiness services to organizations across the global aerospace and space ecosystem. The partnership will enable Cyber in Space to incorporate ExeQuantum’s cryptographic discovery capabilities within its advisory services. This will allow clients to identify cryptographic vulnerabilities, understand their exposure to ‘harvest now, decrypt later’ threats and develop practical roadmaps towards quantum-safe operations. (7/6)

Astropolitics and the Post-Earth Economy (Source: Space Review)
A growing human presence in space means expanding beyond the realm of instantaneous communications we have become accustomed to on Earth. David Rogers says that will mean fundamentally rethinking governance. Click here. (7/6)
 
Rededicating a Space Museum (Source: Space Review)
The National Air and Space Museum marked its 50th anniversary last week with a rededication. Jeff Foust reports on the nearly complete overhaul of the museum that now features several new space-related exhibits. Click here. (7/6)
 
“Vastly, Hugely, Mind-Bogglingly Big”: The Galaxy Garden as a Milky Way Analog (Source: Space Review)
The Milky Way galaxy is such a huge structure that it is almost impossible for the human mind to comprehend how vast it is. Deana Weibel visits one effort to do so, in the form of a garden in Hawaii. Click here. (7/6)
 
Transforming Domains: Space, Military Justice, and the Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps in 2050 (Source: Space Review)
While the US Space Force is a separate military branch, it still relies on the Air Force for some capabilities, including lawyers. Todd Pennington discusses why evolutions in both the Space Force and the military justice system mean that arrangement will likely change. Click here. (7/6)
 
The Mars Tax: Starship’s Toll on American Lunar Ambitions (Source: Space Review)
SpaceX’s Starship is one of the two lunar landers being developed for landing NASA astronauts on the Moon. Ethan Hicks argues that Starship’s origins as a Mars vehicle create a “tax” on its use as a lunar lander that jeopardizes the schedule for Artemis. Click here. (7/6)

Failed Rocket Firm Took Slice Out of Pizza Maker and Dry Cleaners (Source: The Times)
The collapse of Moray-based rocket manufacturer Orbex left behind £73.3 million in cumulative losses. Its creditors included a pizza maker, a dry cleaner, and a local café, among scores of other small and medium-sized enterprises. The firm, which planned the Sutherland Spaceport, ultimately went into administration and triggered liquidation for its subsidiaries. (7/7)

Italy Brings IRIDE Earth Observation Service Online (Source: European Spaceflight)
Italy’s IRIDE Earth observation service went live on 1 July, opening initial access to imagery and analytics from one of the program’s planned six satellite constellations for government users. While ASI did not share details about the initial imagery acquisitions, it did state that they “represent some of the application areas in which IRIDE will gradually be used, from civil protection and environmental monitoring to security, cultural heritage protection and international cooperation.” (7/6)

"Dual Use" is a Misleading Term (Source: Space News)
There is only technology. How it is employed is a question of intent, context and political will, not of the technology itself. A precision optical payload captures imagery whether the target is a forest fire or a forward operating base. Autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations software closes distance on a piece of debris or an adversary asset according to instruction, not category. The knife cuts bread or threatens a neighbour; the capability is the same. The term “dual-use” has always obscured this, but in the present strategic environment it has become worse than imprecise. It has become a distraction. (7/6)

Blue Origin Insulates Lunar Landers from Launch Pad Recovery Fallout (Source: SatNews)
Blue Origin Senior Vice President of Lunar Permanence John Couluris confirmed that engineering, assembly, and integration work on its Blue Moon lunar lander lines remains insulated from the launch infrastructure recovery underway in Florida. Blue Origin is actively assembling seven distinct Blue Moon lunar landers at its manufacturing facilities, moving forward with its long-term cislunar delivery manifest for both NASA and commercial clients.

The manufacturing pipeline for the Blue Moon lander portfolio consists of two separate vehicle blocks engineered to establish an active logistical pipeline to the lunar surface. The initial operational variant, the Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1), is a single-stage, cargo-only robotic lander designed to deliver up to three metric tons of payload to any location on the lunar surface. The company is currently building three MK1 flight articles, led by the pathfinder vehicle named Endurance.

Concurrently, manufacturing teams are assembling four full-scale Blue Moon Mark 2 (MK2) architectures. The MK2 serves as the primary crewed vehicle for Blue Origin’s Human Landing System (HLS) National Team, which secured a $3.4 billion NASA development contract in 2023. This larger architecture relies on an integrated high-capacity cryogenic fluid management system to keep its liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants sub-cooled over long-duration orbital coast phases. The MK2 is tasked with transporting astronauts from the near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) down to the lunar south pole starting with the Artemis V mission. (7/6)

Center for Space Futures, Novaspace and SpaceTech Gulf Sign Agreement to Develop Global Space Capability Mapping Dashboard (Source: Space News)
The Centre for Space Futures (CSF), in partnership with Novaspace and SpaceTech Gulf, has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to jointly develop a “Global Space Capability Mapping and Index Dashboard.” The initiative is aimed at consolidating information on global space capabilities into a dashboard format, providing a common reference tool that can influence partnership targeting and investment priorities. (7/6)

AESPP Unveils Africa–Europe New Space EO Initiative for a Scalable Earth Observation Mission (Source: Spacewatch Global)
The Africa–Europe Space Partnership Program (AESPP) announced a new Africa–Europe Earth Observation initiative aimed at developing a scalable EO mission. The program is designed to facilitate EO missions and investments that generate tangible socio-economic benefits across the African continent. (7/6)

Apophis Is Coming. Planetary Defense Is Coming of Age (Source: Spacewatch Global)
Apophis’ 2029 approach puts planetary defense execution into sharper focus, with DART, Hera and RAMSES providing examples for how missions can be structured to take action against asteroid threats. These missions suggest that capability-building is not just technological, but also organizational—centered on global cooperation required to plan, fund, and operate coordinated spacecraft efforts. For space decision-makers, Apophis can drive concepts for future planetary-risk mitigation programs, using lessons learned from science missions. These lessons include science instrumentation, navigation/impact techniques, and end-to-end response planning. (7/6)

ESA and Airbus Move Forward with Aeolus-2, with UK Expertise (Source: UKSA)
The European Space Agency has commissioned Airbus Defense and Space to develop Aeolus-2, a wind-monitoring satellite set for a 2034 launch. The $58.3 million project aims to enhance global wind profile data with an advanced lidar instrument, building on the successes of the original Aeolus and EarthCARE missions. Aeolus-2 will provide comprehensive wind data to improve weather forecasting and climate research.

Airbus teams in the UK will contribute expertise and build on their heritage from the original Aeolus mission, ‘Aeolus-1’, which exceeded its planned lifetime and whose data was adopted by weather services around the world. (7/3)

Proposed Supersonic Rule Would Enable Sonic Boom Mitigations to Allow US Flight Operations (Source: AIAA)
The FAA is proposing a maximum pressure-wave reading at ground level, basically a “noise-based certification standard,” to replace the 53-year-old ban on commercial aircraft flying at speed of Mach 1 or greater over the continental U.S. A new 63-page draft rule states that such flights would only be permitted if “the aircraft be operated such that sonic boom overpressure at the surface does not exceed 0.11 pound per square foot (psf),” among other conditions.

Editor's Note: This would open the door for supersonic aircraft operators, like Boom Supersonic and Starfighters Space, to employ novel noise mitigation approaches to broaden their access to new markets. It might also facilitate the development of a proposed supersonic/hypersonic flight test corridor in the airspace near Midland Air and Space Port in Texas. (7/2)

July 6, 2026

NASA’s TESS Mission Finds Planetary System in New Way (Source: NASA)
For the first time, NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) mission has identified a planet orbiting a distant star thanks to ripples in space-time. Unlike the star-hugging transiting planets TESS regularly reveals, the newfound world is a super-Jupiter orbiting far from its host star. Astronomers found the first hint of the planet, called Gaia23bra b, in 2023 using ESA's (European Space Agency) now-retired Gaia space telescope.

Gaia’s alert system flagged a star that brightened — something that can happen when a foreground star passes in front of a more distant one and magnifies its light through gravitational microlensing. Researchers later looked back through archived TESS data and found TESS had caught it too. (7/1)

SES Falls as Barclays Flags 2026 Growth Risks and Starlink Threat (Source: Investing.com)
SES shares fell over 2% on Monday after Barclays downgraded the stock to “underweight” from “equal weight” rating and lowered its price target to €7.05 from €7.75. The broker cited three reasons for the downgrade. First, it said significant underlying improvement is required in several areas in 2026 to deliver consensus forecasts, which it called "possible but uncertain."

Second, Barclays said it is 5% below 2028 consensus on revenue and 3% below on adjusted EBITDA, driven by "fears around competition in particular." Third, the broker said it expects more focus on where Starlink and Amazon LEO satellite constellations can hurt incumbent operators as Starlink "continues to demonstrate strong growth." (7/6)

Space Travel’s Heavyweights Ponder a Future with Antimatter Rockets (Source: The Hill)
Recently, two of the powerful men on the planet where space policy is concerned had an exchange on the social media platform X about antimatter. The exchange is another example of how what was once science fiction is becoming reality. While the name antimatter invokes countless references in science fiction, it is a real thing. Antimatter is the mirror twin of matter, having the same mass but having opposite properties such as electric charges.

The reason that antimatter could become the ultimate spacecraft propellant is that when matter and antimatter collide, they are both transformed 100 percent into energy. Even a nuclear bomb converts only a small amount of its mass into an explosion that can wipe out a city. An antimatter rocket, one that uses the explosion caused by the fusion of matter and antimatter, would be orders of magnitude more efficient that a chemical or even a nuclear rocket. (7/5)

The Investors Scrambling to Keep SpaceX - and Elon Musk - Out of Their Portfolios (Source: Bloomberg)
Christopher Bejnar has spent the last couple of months combing through the fine print of exchange-traded funds, emailing financial advisers and moving money into European stocks – all to keep SpaceX out of his $1 million portfolio.

As Elon Musk’s newest public company heads into Nasdaq’s stock indexes this week, the 46-year-old software engineer in Philadelphia is making sure that none of his money is backing the Tesla and SpaceX founder who recently became the world’s first trillionaire. To stay away, Bejnar said he’s moved $50,000 into European index funds and bought shares of Rocket Lab Corp, a SpaceX rival. (7/6)

AI, Ex-Soviet Engineers, and the Holy Grail of Rocketry: Inside the Bold Bet to Rival SpaceX (Source: Fast Company)
Aerospace startup Aspire is designing a fully reusable rocket that could make launches cheaper. It might just beat Elon Musk at his own game. “The engine that we have now could have probably taken seven years and up to half a billion dollars,” said Stan Rudenko. “In our collaboration, it basically took half a year . . . and we already have a first version."

Rudenko is the CEO of Aspire Space Technologies, and the collaboration he’s talking about is with Leap 71, a Dubai-based computational engineering startup. They have formed an almost sci-fi alliance: A team staffed by the legends of the Soviet space program—engineers who built the Energia rocket and the fully autonomous Buran space shuttle—is joining forces with an autonomous AI software system and HBD, a Shanghai-based large-format metal additive manufacturer.

If they pull it off, they could become the most formidable enemy to SpaceX’s quasimonopoly on the commercial space economy. They plan to do it not by copying Elon Musk’s massive Starship, but by resurrecting the decades-old aerospace dream of the aerospike engine. They want to put it on Oryx, a two-stage vehicle that will make space launches cheaper than what’s available today. If it all works and they complete their timeline—from its late 2026 full-scale engine test to its 2031 first flight. (7/6)

‘Flight Originated From the Imagination’: How Artists Have Captured Space Travel (Source: Guardian)
Wearing a shiny silver spacesuit, Alan Shepard clutches his helmet and looks like an archetypal blue-eyed American hero. The 1961 portrait by Bruce Stevenson paid tribute to the first US astronaut in space. It also planted a seed. James Webb, the then administrator of NASA, saw the painting and was inspired to start the space agency’s own art program, believing that artists could bring a unique perspective to exploring the cosmos. From 1962 to 1974 it was led by James Dean, who then became the first art curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington. (7/6)

NASA Chief Says Agency Aiding Blue Origin Explosion Inquiry: ‘We Can’t Slow Down’ (Source: Washington Examiner)
NASA is assisting the investigation into Blue Origin’s May rocket explosion, its administrator confirmed Sunday, as the space agency tries to keep up the momentum for its Artemis moon program. Blue Origin’s New Glenn malfunction has threatened NASA's Artemis timeline, as the rocket in question and its payload could be selected for Artemis IV, the first crewed lunar landing since 1972. Jared Isaacman said the space agency is supporting Blue Origin in its investigation and expressed optimism that the company will solve the anomaly responsible for the New Glenn failure. (7/5)

Shetland Spaceport to Spend More Than £100k on Security (Source: The Herald)
Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has been given permission to launch from the SaxaVord spaceport in Shetland, and a successful launch would be the first time satellites have been carried into space from Scottish, or British, soil. RFA appears to be on the verge of holding its first flight, with SaxaVord spaceport submitting a building warrant application detailing plans for a perimeter fence, which would cost around £120,000.

The application was submitted last week after the launch window began. RFA's maiden mission will carry a 500kg Earth observation satellite for a Scandinavian customer. Residents have been advised to apply for 'local residents passes' during the launch window, with temporary traffic restrictions to be in place for several hours at a time. (7/6)

China's Long March-8A Rocket Launches New Satellite Group (Source: Xinhua)
China sent a new satellite group into space on Sunday on a Long March 8A rocket from a commercial spacecraft launch site in the southern island province of Hainan. The satellite group was launched and entered its preset orbit successfully. (7/5)

NASA Leader Flew His Vintage Jet at DC Air Show Over FAA Objections (Source: Wall Street Journal)
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman flew a vintage jet fighter at the Fourth of July air show over Washington, D.C., despite objections by federal air-safety regulators. The regulator initially denied Isaacman’s request to fly in the Freedom 250 celebration, calling the aircraft too dangerous for densely populated areas. A representative for Isaacman late last month petitioned the FAA to allow four 1970s-built jets to join aircraft flying over the National Mall. (7/5)

Euclid Discovers the Most Ancient Quasar in the Universe (Source: ESA)
The European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope has discovered 31 of the most ancient quasars ever found. Two of these giant and dazzling galaxy cores, powered by gargantuan black holes, are the earliest quasars yet observed in cosmic history. They shone with the light of a trillion Suns back when the Universe was 670 million years old – just 5% of its current age. (7/6)

NASA Astronauts Will Plant Capitol-Flown Flag on Next Moon Landing (Source: Collect Space)
NASA now has the next United States flag to be deployed on the surface of the moon. A member of the last mission to land on the moon, joined by the most recent astronauts to fly there, accepted the red, white and blue banner during a speech by President Donald Trump late night on Saturday (July 4) as part of a "Salute to America" semiquincentennial celebration. (7/5)

Isaacman: China May Land on Moon Before US Does it Again (Source: TASS)
China could land a man on the Moon before American astronauts return to it, said NASA Director Jared Isaacman. "The Chinese will land their taiconauts on the moon. There's no question," he said. "The question is ‘Will the United States return before them, and will we do so in a different way this time? Will we build the base, establish that enduring presence.’ I think the answer is ‘Yes’. "We are very much in a space race right now, and the Chinese are moving at incredible speeds." (7/5)

NASA Tests Advanced New Mars Rover Prototype in the California Desert (Source: Space.com)
A new rover prototype is teaching NASA scientists how to design robots that can think for themselves and navigate terrain that would leave old rovers stuck in the lunar or Martian dust. The Exploration Rover for Navigating Extreme Sloped Terrain (ERNEST), developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, recently completed a 16-mile (26 kilometers) trek through the desert in Southern California. The journey took more than 37 hours of driving time over the course of seven days, and ERNEST completed it almost entirely autonomously, "with minimal intervention" from engineers monitoring the test, according to a JPL statement. (7/5)

Mysterious Debris Found on Queensland Beaches Could be ‘Space Balls’ – and May Contain Toxic Rocket Fuel (Source: The Guardian)
Six pieces of suspected space debris found washed up on north Queensland beaches could be “space balls” that are often left over from rocket launches, according to one expert. The Australian Space Agency confirmed on Sunday it was working to determine the nature and origin of the mysterious objects, which police said were suspected of containing hazardous chemicals. (7/5)

A Rapid Advance to a European Manned Space Launcher (Source: Robert Clark)
Adding a 4th Prometheus engine to Europe's Maia launch vehicle's first stage will allow carriage of 8 tonnes to orbit. Note that the Apollo capsule only massed 6 tons. This means already by 2027 Europe could have its own manned-flight-capable all-liquid launcher. I’m aware that there has been discussion of making the Ariane 6 a manned launcher, but after the Challenger accident the use of large SRBs is less desirable, the SLS notwithstanding. (7/4)

South Korea's LG Innotek Seeks to Provide Satellite Substrates for SpaceX (Source: Maeil Business)
If LG Innotek succeeds in supplying satellite substrates to SpaceX, it will join the supply chain for the rapidly growing Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite market. There is also speculation that the company could connect to the space-based AI data center market that SpaceX is pursuing as a future industry.

However, despite SpaceX's aggressive goals, some analysts say it will take more than 10 years for Starlink and space-based AI data centers to become a reality because of technical and financial burdens. Even if the deal leads to an actual contract, it will take time before it translates into meaningful results in revenue and operating profit. (7/5)

Scientist Who Cleaned Space Toilet on Work Experience Now Leading Mars Exploration Teams (Source: BBC)
Cleaning a space toilet while on work experience was Claire Parfitt's first introduction to a career away from Earth's orbit. But she never imagined her time at the National Space Science Centre in Leicester, when she was 14, would one day see her lead a team exploring future Mars missions.

Parfitt, originally from Nottingham, now works for the European Space Agency's European Space Research and Technology Centre in the Netherlands. The 42-year-old joined the space industry after securing a physics degree and a PhD in spacecraft power systems engineering. (7/5)

Japan's Hayabusa2 Successfully Observes Asteroid Torifune (Source: Jiji)
Japan's Hayabusa2 unmanned probe successfully flew past the asteroid Torifune at close range on Sunday, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said. The probe is in normal condition, JAXA said. According to the plan, Hayabusa2 passed about 800 meters from the center of Torifune at around 6:30 pm Japan time to take pictures of its surface and observe it with an infrared camera and a spectrometer. Torifune is located about 100 million kilometers from Earth. (7/5)

Gaganyaan Mission: ISRO Successfully Conducts First SOLVE Ground Test (Source: The Hindu)
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully carried out the first ground test of the Sub-Orbital Launch Vehicle for Experiments (SOLVE) solid motor at the Static Test Facility, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The SOLVE solid motor is a key component for conducting Gaganyaan Test Missions and the first ground test was carried out on July 3. (7/5)

July 5, 2026

Semiconductor Manufacturing Test Bed Took Suborbital Flight on Falcon 9 Starlink Launch (Source: Spaceflight Now)
Two semiconductor fabrication test beds hitched a sub-orbital ride on the first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched another batch of Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral shortly after sunrise Sunday. The Falcon 9 first-stage booster carried two manufacturing pods for Washington, D.C.-based startup Besxar Space Industries on an eight-minute, 19-second ride to space and back.

In October 2025, the company revealed it had booked 12 Falcon 9 flights to test the space-based semiconductor substrate manufacturing plants it calls ‘Fabships’. In announcing its plans, Besxar said it would use the vacuum of space to produce ultra-pure substrates and precursor materials for the semiconductors essential for electronic devices. (7/4)

Austria Taps R-Space for Its Second Military Sat (Source: Payload)
The Austrian Ministry of Defense has selected local startup R-Space to act as the prime contractor for the country’s second military satellite, which is expected to launch in 2027. The mission—dubbed Aurora—will attempt to demonstrate space-to-ground laser communications, as well as quantum encryption technologies, using Austrian space industry expertise. (7/2)

Military Spectrum is Now Fair Game for Private Sector; X-Band is a Target at the ITU’s WRC-27 Conference (Source: Space Intel Report)
International regulators are facing increased pressure from the private sector to free up historically military spectrum for commercial space and terrestrial networks, part of a broader push by the private sector on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Regulators said the pressure will only increase as new technology could make it simpler for satellite constellation operators to bypass the ITU as too slow and too wedded to consensus. (7/2)

Vodafone Ireland Conducts Emergency Services D2D Call With AST SpaceMobile (Source: Via Satellite)
Vodafone Ireland has conducted a successful test call with AST SpaceMobile’s satellite constellation as part of tests for connectivity for emergency and first responders. Vodafone Ireland reported the tests on July 2, which were conducted with Satellite Connect Europe, the joint venture between Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile, also working with Ireland’s Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO). (7/2)

Southern Launch Closes $25 Million Funding Round (Source: Southern Launch)
Southern Launch, Australia's leading space company, the force behind the nation's first commercial rocket launch and the world's first commercial spacecraft re-entry, has closed a $25 million Series A to scale its spaceport infrastructure, grow its workforce and accelerate launch, re-entry, and range services. (6/30)

Nebex Raises $30M to Build Market Infrastructure for the Global Space Economy (Source: Nebex)
Nebex announced a $30M seed investment led by GV (Google Ventures). The company also announced a banking relationship with J.P. Morgan. The capital raise and new banking relationship will help Nebex scale its platform and connect sovereign space programs with the founders and companies building new technologies to serve the space industry. Nebex builds on a $1B-plus track record in commercial space deals with sovereign governments, SpaceX, and NASA. (6/29)

Ascent Solar’s Thin-Film Space Solar Products Experience Zero Damage in Atomic Oxygen Exposure Test Campaign (Source: Ascent Solar)
Ascent Solar Technologies, an innovator in the design and manufacturing of featherweight, flexible thin-film photovoltaic (PV) solutions, announced the results of its preliminary Atomic Oxygen (AO) exposure testing for its space grade thin-film PV products. Testing has shown significant resilience to Atomic Oxygen in Low-Earth Orbit. (6/29)

ICEYE Extends Wildfire Intelligence Coverage to Canada (Source: ICEYE)
ICEYE announced the expansion of its wildfire intelligence capabilities to Canada, cementing the company’s position as a global wildfire intelligence provider and bringing critical tools to one of the world’s most wildfire-exposed countries. (7/1)

Texas Space Commission Approves Multiple Studies and Grant Initiatives (Source: TSC)
The Texas Space Commission (TSC) Board of Directors (Board) met last week and approved multiple solicitations and information-gathering instruments, including for: a study and report on the viability of Texas sites that may support launch and/or re-entry activities; and a matching fund for SBIR/STTR grants.

Also approved were: an RFI to identify existing thermal vacuum chamber facilities that could support in-space environmental testing and evaluation; an RFI to identify existing facilities and mobile technologies that could support vibroacoustic and electromagnetic environment evaluation; an RFI to identify critical infrastructure needs for Texas companies engaged in national security space architecture; an RFI to identify environmental control and life support systems (ECLSS) for emergent human spaceflight missions; and an RFI to identify a shared-user propulsion facility for testing, evaluation as well as research and development. (7/3)

Unseen Threats Overhead: Drones Endanger U.S. Launch Sites (Source: Space News)
Drones have already proven disruptive to launch operations, and spaceports and launch sites need better technological, legislative, and military protection in order to keep the launch cadence running, according to Greg Hoyt and Chuck Webb at ENSCO. They argue that "we need better situational awareness, proper response plans and an updated legal framework to respond to drone interference with space launch."

Specifically, they suggest that FAA controllers, range safety teams and security forces need better shared situational awareness that's intuitive to use across multiple sensors and systems. Also, Hoyt and Webb argue that every launch should develop a drone risk assessment and response plan, and that military and security forces be enabled to prevent and intervene when a drone approaches a launch site.

"The question for policymakers and leaders is not whether unauthorized drones will continue to appear near launch sites; they will. The question is whether U.S. space launch ranges will be prepared to prevent the drone disruption when they do," they wrote. (7/3)

GAO Flags Satellite Costs, Launch Risks in Space Force Portfolio (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force has earned a reputation inside the Pentagon for moving faster than traditional military acquisition programs. But a new government watchdog report suggests some space procurements continue to confront many of the same problems that have plagued defense acquisitions for decades. (7/4)

South Korea Sets 2035 Target for Homegrown Starlink-Style Network (Source: Korea Economic Daily)
South Korea plans to build a homegrown low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications network by 2035, as it seeks to reduce its reliance on foreign systems such as SpaceX’s Starlink. The initiative comes as satellite connectivity becomes central to 6G, national security and commercial space ambitions. (7/3)

SpaceX Launches Wednesday Starlink Mission From California (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites Wednesday night. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 10:57 p.m. Eastern, placing 24 satellites into orbit. The satellites joined more than 1,600 launched in the first half of the year. (7/3)

China Launches Marine Science Satellite on Long March 4B (Source: Xinhua)
China launched a marine science satellite. A Long March 4B lifted off at 7:46 p.m. Eastern Wednesday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. It placed into orbit Haiyang-2E, the latest satellite in a program to study ocean conditions. (7/3)

Explosion at Anduril Solid Rocket Motor Plant (Source: WIRED)
Defense technology company Anduril suffered an explosion at a plant that produces solid rocket motors. The explosion took place last Friday on a test stand at an Anduril factory in Mississippi. There were no injuries, but the extent of the damage was not clear. The company is developing motors there for use in testing prototype motors. The company had planned to start full-scale motor production there a year ago, but sources said that has yet to get underway. (7/3)

ESA Decommissions Sentinel 1-A, Prepares for De-Orbit (Source: ESA)
ESA has decommissioned a radar-imaging satellite. Sentinel-1A ended operations on Monday, more than 12 years after launch. Controllers will now work to deorbit the satellite. Sentinel-1A, part of the Copernicus Earth observation program, has been replaced by two newer satellites, Sentinel-1C and -1D. (7/3)

NASA Seeks Volunteers for Exploration Analog Mission at JSC (Source: NASA)
If you're looking to really get away from it all, NASA has just the thing. The agency is seeking volunteers for a year-long analog astronaut mission called the Moon and Mars Exploration Analog, in which people will spend a year in simulated habitats at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The agency has done similar tests before, including an ongoing year-long mission in a simulated Mars habitat. The upcoming test will combine the Mars habitat with another habitat that will simulate a spaceship. The simulated mission is scheduled to begin no earlier than August 2027. (7/3)

First Known Congressional SpaceX Stock Buys Surface After Record IPO (Source: CNBC)
Reps. Dan Meuser, R-PA, and Gil Cisneros, D-CA, appear to be the first members of Congress known to have disclosed that they or their family members purchased SpaceX stock after Elon Musk’s company went public in June. The filings are notable because Meuser sits on the House Financial Services Committee, while Cisneros sits on the House Armed Services Committee, which oversees the Defense Department, a major SpaceX customer.

There is no evidence either lawmaker traded on nonpublic information or violated the law. The purchases could be an early sign of more congressional SpaceX trades to surface in coming disclosures. (7/3)

July 4, 2026

Surface CubeSat Contracted for Ramses Asteroid Mission (Source: ESA)
The European Space Agency has contracted Spanish company EMXYS for the first CubeSat designed to operate on the surface of an asteroid. Don Quijote is a shoebox-sized spacecraft that will be deployed onto the Apophis asteroid by ESA’s Ramses mission before the asteroid flies by Earth on 13 April 2029. (7/2)

Isar Aerospace to Launch Satellite for Planet Germany (Source: European Spaceflight)
The German-based subsidiary of Planet Labs has selected Isar Aerospace to launch one of the company’s Pelican Earth observation satellites aboard a Spectrum rocket. The companies plan to complete the launch in less than 12 months. The strategic launch agreement includes provisions for additional satellites to be carried aboard future launches. (7/2)

Former Transport Canada Executive Elsa Henchiri Leads New NordSpace Ottawa Office (Source: SpaceQ)
NordSpace has expanded its footprint with a new Ottawa office dedicated to policy, regulatory compliance, and government relations. The office marks the company’s fourth domestic site as the space manufacturer works toward initiating orbital launches. To lead the Ottawa operation, NordSpace hired Elsa Henchiri as vice-president of policy and government relations. (7/2)

UNOOSA Calls for More Forward-Looking and People-Centered Space Policy at European Space Forum (Source: Tech Review Africa)
The UN Office for Outer Space Affairs has called for more forward-looking and people-centered space policymaking, emphasizing the need for global institutions to adapt to a rapidly evolving commercial and technological space environment. Director Aarti Holla-Maini delivered a keynote address alongside senior representatives from the European Commission and ESA, focusing on how the global space sector has transformed over the past five years. (7/4)

India's Skyroot Readies Maiden Vikram-1 Flight (Source: Space News)
Skyroot Aerospace Pvt announced that it was gearing up for the debut launch of Vikram-1 — India’s first privately designed and developed orbital rocket — between July 12 and August 4, in what would be a critical milestone for the country’s first space unicorn after facing several delays. “This will be partially commercial flight, with the company planning to commence full commercial flights after one or two successful demonstrations to orbit,” Skyroot said. The test flight will have a mix of domestic and international customers, it added, without disclosing names. (7/2)

Russia’s High-Stakes Bid to Chase SpaceX Stumbles Out of the Gate (Source: Bloomberg)
Russia’s efforts to create its own version of Starlink, Elon Musk’s internet satellite network, are off to a rough start. Some six years after SpaceX began launching its network — now comprising more than 10,000 units in low-Earth orbit — Russia’s first batch of 16 Rassvet (“Dawn”) satellites finally went to orbit in March. Then by June 9, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that one of them had already failed. (7/2)

Amazon’s Leo LEO Constellation Nears 400 Satellites After ULA Launch, Setting Up Initial Service Later This Year (Source: Space News)
Amazon says its Leo low-Earth-orbit satellite broadband network is now large enough for continuous service across initial latitudes, following a United Launch Alliance mission that pushed the orbiting satellite count over 390. Amazon plans to begin initial internet service later this year as it competes with SpaceX’s Starlink dominance. (7/2)

Starship in Florida Pushing for Launch This Year (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
Starship launches from Cape Canaveral are getting closer and closer as SpaceX and its contractors continue to finish work on LC-39A and the Gigabay. There has also been significant progress at SLC-37A, the fourth Starship pad to be built. The Gigabay at Roberts Road began around March of 2025, when the foundation was laid. Since then, crews have made tons of progress. The structural steel is finished, with the cladding and roof nearly completed. So far, both smaller doors have been installed, with work proceeding on the two large doors where completed vehicles will roll out.

Since work on LC-39A resumed in February 2025, the pad is likely just a few months away from becoming operational. A major indication that the pad is nearing operational status is that ridge cap and bucket deluge testing has begun. So far, only a few tests have been observed, but it’s a good sign as SpaceX needs to hone in on the new setup compared to Pad 2. At LC-39A, SpaceX has added additional gas generators to each water deluge subsystem.

SpaceX’s second Starship launch complex, located at SLC-37, is progressing with construction. So far at SLC-37A, the LR13000 crane has stacked four out of nine modules for that tower. Each module for this tower was outfitted with more hardware before stacking than the other three towers SpaceX has stacked so far, thanks to the awesome power of the LR13000 crawler crane. Also, the flame trench for this pad has been fully excavated, and rebar installation for the 3 sections of the trench floor is underway. (7/3)

Chinese Satellite Maker Raises $191M (Source: NatSec Pulse)
Hongqing Technology, a Chinese satellite manufacturer, has secured $191 million in funding, one of the largest raises for a Chinese commercial satellite maker. The company is an affiliate of launch firm Landspace. This funding round could enhance China's satellite manufacturing capabilities, potentially impacting the global space industry and national security. The investment may also accelerate the development of new space technologies. (7/3)

Nature's Mars Simulator Scores Your Terraforming Skills (Source: Boing Boing)
The journal Nature has posted a simplified but surprisingly entertaining and informative Mars terraforming simulation. For each of the five steps in the process: heat the planet, make a water plan, clean the dirt, start to farm, and make an atmosphere safe for people, you select an option from a list of choices. Each step is scored, and links are provided to further reading about your choice.

For a more complex take on making the red planet habitable, try the Terraforming Mars board game, but be sure to set aside a few hours. The game takes a while to learn and two to three hours to play, but it is considered one of the best modern tabletop games. It is also available as a well-implemented video game on Steam. (7/1)

Report Links Starliner Problems to Overconfidence and Unrealistic Schedules (Source: Space News)
A new report links the long-running technical problems with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle to a combination of overconfidence, unrealistic schedules and NASA’s lack of insight into the vehicle. The report by NASA’s Office of Inspector General adds to the uncertainty about when Starliner will be approved for crewed missions to the International Space Station despite optimism from Boeing’s chief executive. (7/1)

Webb Studies How a Planet Survived the Death of its Star (Source: ESA)
An international team of astronomers has used the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to watch the Jupiter-sized exoplanet WD 1856 b transit its host star, measuring the planet’s mass and temperature and even detecting its atmosphere. They found that the planet is significantly warmer than expected and determined how it most likely reached its very tight orbit around the star, a white dwarf. The results are our first window into the future of planets like Jupiter after the death of the Sun, billions of years into the future. (7/1)

NASA's Kennedy Space Center to Host U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds in November (Source: Florida Today)
In a newly announced show, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will take to the sky Nov. 7-8 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Florida's Space Coast. The November appearance at KSC was included in a revised season schedule posted last week on the Thunderbirds' Facebook and Instagram pages. The show has yet to be added to the Thunderbirds' website. (7/2)

In a First For Science, a Satellite Has Identified What It's Seeing From Space (Source: Science Alert)
The standard approach to satellite imagery is to snap huge batches of pictures and beam them back to Earth, where they can be sifted through by human operators and the best available algorithms. It's all worked well so far, but the time, transmission bandwidth, and energy required are starting to become bottlenecks. Modern satellites are simply capturing more pixels than scientists have time to look at.

However, the YAM-9 satellite has just done something different: It has identified and described features in its image scans without needing to check back with ground control. Not only that, but it can be instructed with natural prompts that you might use with Google Gemini or Siri, such as "find me all the railway hubs in this country". (7/1)

FCC Moves to Speed Up Approvals for Next-Gen Satellite Broadband Launches (Source: PC Mag)
It used to take a year or longer for new satellite systems to secure FCC approval to launch into space. But a new proposal aims to shorten the wait to as little as weeks or months to help the US unleash more next-gen satellite services. The FCC today announced that it will vote on a new Space Modernization Order at its July 22 meeting. It's intended to speed up satellite licensing approvals, “significantly reducing red tape and boosting the rollout of space-based broadband.”

The new rules are the culmination of the agency's push to fast-track satellite approvals by eliminating outdated rules and adopting a “licensing assembly line” approach to make the process more predictable and easier for companies to navigate. (7/1)

NASA’s Newest Wind Tunnel Builds on Legacy of Innovation (Source: NASA)
For more than 100 years, wind tunnels at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, have helped shape the future of flight. Now, two of NASA’s longest-serving facilities — the 12-Foot Low-Speed Tunnel and the 20-Foot Vertical Spin Tunnel — will pass the torch to the Flight Dynamics Research Facility (FDRF), the first major NASA wind tunnel built in more than 40 years. 

When the FDRF opens later this year, it will provide enhanced versions of the capabilities offered by the two legacy facilities. The FDRF’s test section will allow researchers to drop models into a rising vertical airflow. This will offer researchers the ability to conduct spin tests of aircraft and free-flight tests of vehicles designed to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere from space. (6/29)

DeSantis Signs $117.6 Billion Florida Budget, Vetoes Millions in Central Florida Projects (Sources: Click Orlando, SPACErePORT)
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed Florida’s fiscal year 2026-27 budget into law, approving a $117.6 billion spending plan that he says continues the state’s trend of reducing overall spending. The governor vetoed more than $800 million from the final budget, cutting several projects across Central Florida. In Brevard County, vetoes included $2.5 million for the Brevard Zoo Indian River Lagoon Innovative Wastewater System and Education Hub, along with $400,000 for a replacement facility for the Melbourne Fire Department Training Center.

Space-focused spending includes $17.5 million for Space Florida, $21 million for strategic aerospace project investments and economic development initiatives intended to attract and expand launch, manufacturing, and space technology companies in Florida. $1 million was earmarked for an Off-World Data Backup Program, directing Space Florida to contract with a Florida-based aerospace company to provide active orbital data storage services designed to bolster state disaster recovery and cybersecurity resilience. Editor's Note: I'm guessing that's for Chris Stott's Lonestar Space data storage company, based in St. Petersburg. Or their partner Sidus Space. (6/30)

LINK Spacecraft Launched on Pegasus to Rescue Swift Observatory (Source: Douglas Messier)
Teams have successfully established communications with Katalyst Space’s robotic servicing spacecraft LINK, which is designed to raise the orbit of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to a higher altitude. Making contact with LINK was the spacecraft’s first in-orbit operation, after launch and separation Friday from Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus XL rocket and power-on. Over the next several weeks, Katalyst will perform checkout procedures for LINK, including assessments of its propulsion, sensor, and navigation systems. (7/3)

Amazon Leo Ready For Initial Service After Final Atlas V Deployment (Source: Aviation Week)
Amazon says it is ready to commence initial service with its low-Earth-orbit broadband offering following the deployment of 29 satellites on an Atlas V rocket. The Atlas V lifted off at 12:30 a.m. ET from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral SFS in what was the rocket's final mission for Amazon. It deployed 29 satellites, growing the Amazon Leo constellation to more than 390 satellites. (7/1)

Space Force’s Proposed Budget Increase Would Largely Go to Existing Programs (Source: Aerospace America)
The majority of the increased funding the Pentagon is requesting for the U.S. Space Force for fiscal year 2027 would be directed “into existing programs,” according to Melissa Blakesly, an Air Force official working on the budget process. The Pentagon has requested $71.1 billion for the Space Force for fiscal 2027, up from the $31.6 billion the service received in fiscal 2026. The request includes “about $40 billion for RDT&E and $19 billion for procurement,” Blakesly said. (7/1)

AST SpaceMobile Finalizes Assembly of Next-Generation BlueBirds for August SpaceX Launch (Source: SatNews)
Direct-to-device (D2D) satellite operator AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has officially entered final flight preparations and logistics processing for its next major orbital campaign. According to an updated programmatic roadmap released by corporate leadership, the company’s next three next-generation satellites—BlueBirds 11, 12, and 13—are scheduled for an orbital rideshare deployment during the first half of August 2026. (7/1)

Polish Space Tech Company Sybilla Technologies Secures Funds to Enter U.S. Market (Source: Space News)
The Polish state-owned bank BGK and European venture capital firm 3TS Capital Partners have unveiled an investment of around 35 million zloty ($10 million) in Poland’s space tech company Sybilla Technologies. The funding is aimed at enabling the company’s entry into the U.S. market. (7/2)

FAA Issues 10-Year Forecast for Licensed Commercial Space Operations (Source: FAA)
In its new 10-year forecast for licensed commercial space operations, the FAA is predicting nearly 4,300 launches and reentries under the high-case scenario between FY 2026 and FY 2036. Operations would steadily increase annually from more than 200 to more than 500 per year.  The projected growth reflects anticipated demand for satellite deployment, crew and cargo transportation, in-orbit servicing, assembly, and manufacturing, development of lunar outposts, space tourism, and Mars settlement efforts.

The forecast is based on data provided by existing licensed operators, and to the extent possible, planned activity of prospective license applicants. It also accounts for potential changes in the number of launch operators and the increased use of reusable and larger launch vehicles with greater payload capacities. Click here. (7/2)

Perovskite Solar Panel Startup Verde Technologies Shifts Focus to Space (Source: Space News)
Verde Technologies is turning to space to commercialize perovskite-based solar panels, shifting its initial focus away from rooftops in a bet that the thin-film material can help power orbital data centers and other large constellations. (7/2)

SpaceX Analyst Debut Set to Test $2.2 Trillion Valuation (Source: Bloomberg)
Investors in SpaceX have been largely flying blind since the company’s record-breaking IPO last month, with few financial projections to help determine what the stock is actually worth. That changes next week, when the quiet period ends for analysts at banks that underwrote the $86 billion initial public offering, which was led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp., Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase & Co., with 18 other banks participating.

Starting Tuesday, investors should expect a pile of new research, price targets and growth estimates, all of which should help shed light on where the shares are likely headed in the near term and over the next few years. (7/2)

Private Space Pilots are Flying Orbital Missions for the US Space Force (Source: Tech Crunch)
True Anomaly and Rocket Lab, completed a rendezvous mission for the U.S. Space Force last week so complex, it was like something out of “Top Gun.” Their two rival satellites met up in orbit, close enough for one to capture imagery of the other. The exercise, dubbed Victus Haze, demonstrated the close inspection of a space vehicle soon after it arrived in orbit, a necessity in a world where the U.S., Russia, and China are deploying novel space weapons. (7/2)

China has 400 Private Space Companies. The West is Barely Paying Attention (Source: MSN)
China’s private space industry barely existed a decade ago. Today, more than 400 commercial space companies are operating in the country, developing reusable rockets, satellite constellations, space-tourism ventures, and even asteroid-mining projects. While most Western attention remains focused on SpaceX and Elon Musk, a new generation of Chinese entrepreneurs is quietly transforming China’s role in the global space economy.

This development is often overlooked because many Western observers continue to see China’s space program as a purely state-run enterprise. That perception is increasingly outdated. While state-owned organizations remain powerful, private companies have become an important driver of innovation and competition. Until 2014, virtually all space activity in China was conducted by government organizations and state-owned enterprises. Then a series of reforms opened the door to private investment. One of the most important catalysts for this change was the rise of SpaceX. (7/3)

July 2, 2026

The War Hits Home for Roscosmos (Source: Douglas Messier)
The Ukraine General Staff reported that the military conducted strikes against a subsidiary of the government-owned Roscosmos corporation that runs Russia’s space program. The JSC Research Institute of Physical Measurements (NIIFI) in Penza, Russia was struck over the night of June 30 and July 1. NIIFI is a leading manufacturer of sensors for space vehicles, fighter jets, strategic bombers, and cruise and ballistic missiles.

NIIFI is part of the Russian Space Systems holding company, which is a subsidiary of Roscosmos. The United States imposed sanctions on Russian Space Systems in January 2025. NASA continues to cooperate with Roscosmos on operation of the International Space Station. (7/1)

End of SpaceX's FOMO Trade Exposes Deeper Problem (Source; Bloomberg)
SpaceX, the most hyped initial public offering in years, peaked on its third day of trading and has lost about 15% of its value since. It’s been a volatile and somewhat disappointing performance for the FOMO-driven retail traders who bought record1amounts of its shares in those frenzied early days. If SpaceX turns into a dog in public markets, it will join a long line of ultra-hyped megacap IPOs that underperformed in their early years — after making private market investors immensely rich. (7/1)

Space Florida Announces Israel Aerospace Partnership Winners (Source: Space Florida)
Space Florida, the state's aerospace finance and development authority, and the Israel Innovation Authority, an independent publicly funded agency dedicated to fostering innovation ecosystems, announced the award recipients of the 13th round of funding from the Space Florida-Israel Innovation Partnership Program. To date, Florida and Israel have helped fund over $23 million in valuable and innovative research.

This year's winners are two Florida-Israeli partnerships advancing next-generation aerospace and aviation technologies:  MySky Eco, Inc. of Port Orange, FL and Airwayz  of Tel Aviv, Israel will receive $400,000. SRF Consulting Group, Inc. of Tallahassee, FL and Mobility Insight LTD of Kfar Saba, Israel will receive $200,000. The Space Florida-Israel Innovation Partnership Program has supported the research, development, and commercialization of aerospace and related technology projects for the benefit of Florida's and Israel's economy since 2013. (7/1)

Nebex Raises $30 Million Seed Round (Source: Mach 33)
Nebex, a space fintech founded by former Axiom Space CEO Tejpaul Bhatia, disclosed a $30 million seed round, and concurrently announced a banking relationship with J.P. Morgan. Nebex is building an online exchange to connect U.S. space companies selling technology, foreign governments seeking to acquire space capabilities, and the investors financing those transactions, to resolve the cross-border payment friction that national security export controls impose.

U.S. ITAR and EAR controls restrict technology transfers to foreign governments, and Nebex cannot clear sovereign deals at scale until its compliance-automation layer satisfies them. Bhatia reports that foreign space agencies and institutional investors are already approaching the company to negotiate contracts ahead of a launch targeted for later in 2026, none of which becomes revenue until the platform is live. (6/29)

White House Picks Harvard Professor with Polarizing Alien Theories to Lead New UFO Council (Source: PBS)
A polarizing Harvard astronomer known for splashy theories about alien visits has been tapped by the White House to lead a team of outside scientists to study the national security risks posed by UFOs. Avi Loeb, a cosmologist who studied black holes and served as head of Harvard's astronomy department until 2020, was recently appointed to helm a new scientific advisory council tasked with investigating the origins of mysterious orbs and other objects reported by military personnel in recent years. It's part of President Donald Trump's push to declassify more information about the issue. (6/30)

Port Canaveral Weighs Future of Unused Exploration Tower, Closed Since 2022 (Source: Florida Today)
Exploration Tower at Port Canaveral opened to great fanfare in 2013, and the $23 million building quickly an iconic sight welcoming visitors to one of the world's busiest cruise ports. But for the last four years the building has sat empty, and the Port still has not decided its future. Exploration Tower currently costs the Canaveral Port Authority $250,000 annually in maintenance. Port officials are actively weighing the building's future, considering options between a costly reuse or potential demolition.

The iconic 22,000-square-foot structure was originally designed as an exhibition center, museum, and observation tower, but it struggled financially, losing more than $2 million during its first nine years. Port officials have evaluated its viability and continue to deliberate, as finding a tenant willing to cover the proposed $803,000 yearly lease has proven difficult. (7/1)

Thales Alenia to Build GEO Commsat for Qatari Operator (Source: Thales Alenia)
Thales Alenia Space won a contract to build a geostationary communications satellite for a Qatari operator. Thales Alenia said Tuesday it signed a contract with Es'hailSat to build Eshail-3/Türksat-Biruni. The satellite, based on Thales Alenia's Space INSPIRE (INstant SPace In-orbit REconfiguration) bus with a software-defined payload, will provide communications services from Europe through Central Asia, with Es'hailSat sharing the satellite with Turkish operator Turksat. The companies did not disclose a planned launch date for the spacecraft. (7/1)

Vera Rubin Begins Night Sky Survey (Source: New Scientist)
The Vera Rubin Observatory has kicked off a decade-long survey of the night sky. The observatory announced Tuesday it officially started the Legacy Survey of Space and Time, which will spend the next 10 years performing the most detailed survey to date of the universe using the observatory's eight-meter telescope in Chile. The telescope will be able to observe the entire southern sky every few nights, helping astronomers monitor changes ranging from supernova explosions to near Earth asteroids. Testing of the observatory over the last year has already led to the discovery of 11,000 asteroids. (7/1)

A Third of Humanity Can No Longer See the Milky Way (Source: Space Daily)
For nearly all of human history, the night sky was a fixed feature of being alive — and then, quietly, it wasn't. Every human who lived before roughly 1900 shared one experience we've nearly lost: a sky thick with stars, the Milky Way arcing overhead like spilled milk, bright enough to cast a shadow.

To not see it is not a small thing. It is to lose the oldest calendar, the oldest map, the oldest mirror humans ever had. What strikes us is how invisible the loss feels. Nobody mourns a sky they never knew was theirs. The glow that erases it looks like safety, progress, home. And yet the fix is almost absurdly reversible. Light pollution, unlike most environmental damage, vanishes the instant you switch off the lamp. The stars are still up there, waiting. (7/1)

X1.1 Solar Flare Triggers Radio Blackouts Across North America (Source: Space.com)
A powerful X1.1 solar flare caused radio blackouts across parts of North America on June 3. The flare raises questions about whether an accompanying CME could drive auroral activity, underscoring how space weather can quickly disrupt terrestrial communications. The reported X1.1 flare and resulting radio blackouts show how quickly space weather can affect communications over large geographic areas. The event links directly to space-derived hazard monitoring used by satellite operators and communications stakeholders managing service continuity. (7/1)

Dish/EchoStar Satellite-TV and Wireless Affiliates File for Bankruptcy to cut ~$9 Billion Debt After Spectrum Sales to SpaceX (Source: Space News)
Dish DBS and its EchoStar wireless subsidiaries have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy under a prepackaged restructuring plan aimed at repaying debt early. The move follows delays around a crucial AT&T-related transaction and follows spectrum sales to SpaceX and AT&T, reshaping the group’s capital position. (7/1)

Vantor (Maxar) Launches WorldView 3D with Updated High-Definition Earth Imagery (Source: Space News)
Vantor, the company previously known as Maxar Intelligence, unveiled WorldView 3D July 1, to provide customers with updated and high-definition imagery. The WorldView 3D line includes two products. WorldView 3D Rapid allows customers to task satellites and receive updated 3D maps with a resolution of 50-centimeters within 24 hours. For 3D maps at 15-centimeter resolution produced from satellite imagery, customers can opt for WorldView 3D High Definition (HD). WorldView 3D HD promises 3-meter accuracy in three dimensions, compared with 4 meters for WorldView 3D Rapid.  (7/1)

FAA Proposes Rule to Enable Supersonic Flight Over the Continental United States (Source: AeroTime)
The FAA has proposed a new rule that would set the stage for civil supersonic flights over the continental United States, a step toward lifting restrictions that have been in place since the 1970s. US Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced the proposed rule on June 30, 2026, saying advances in supersonic technology now make it possible to operate these aircraft without producing a disruptive sonic boom on the ground. (7/1)

Scientists Start Mapping Out Crewed Mission to Huge Saturn Moon Titan (Source: Space.com)
After Earth's moon and Mars, where could humans plant their footprints? The "Humans to Titan Summit 2026" explored the concept of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, as the next human exploration destination, post-Mars. Researchers looked into how demanding such a trek could be and what would be required to make it, along with next steps to further that ambitious goal.

"Everyone recognizes that the reality of this is a long way off," said Amanda Hendrix, "but normalizing the idea   — that Titan is actually a very reasonable destination for humans  — is important." Taking this goal seriously means that "we can have a next destination in our minds, after Mars," she added. "That keeps the momentum going." (6/30)

NASA May Send a Backup, Nuclear-Powered Mars Rover to the Moon (Source: Ars Technica)
NASA officials said Tuesday that they are seriously considering sending the full-scale engineering model of the Perseverance rover, which is currently housed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, to the Moon to expedite their efforts to explore the south pole region.

The car-sized rover nicknamed “Promise,” which serves as a testbed for Perseverance and was not otherwise planned for a launch, would land equipped with a multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MMRTG) to power it across difficult terrain and through the lunar night. NASA’s other rovers primarily operate on solar power. (6/30)

Latitude to Launch Inaugural Flight from Oman (Source: European Spaceflight)
French rocket builder Latitude has signed a letter of intent to conduct the planned inaugural flight of its launch vehicle from Oman’s Etlaq Spaceport. The company declined to disclose details of how the project would be funded. Latitude is developing a small two-stage rocket that remains unnamed and will be capable of delivering payloads of up to 200 kilograms to low Earth orbit. As recently as June 2025, the company had said that the rocket’s inaugural flight would take place from a new shared launch facility at the Guiana Space Center. (7/1)

Should the ISS be Extended Beyond 2030? (Source: Aerospace America)
NASA’s rationale to deorbit ISS in 2031 is the increased cost and risk associated with operating a nearly 30-year-old platform, but not everyone agrees a controlled deorbit is the best course. And although the handful of companies developing commercial successors have expressed confidence their stations will be operating by 2030, NASA and U.S. lawmakers are also concerned about the possibility of a gap in U.S. presence in LEO. Click here to see their opinions. (7/1)