August 13, 2026

Whiting Wants Space Command to Counter pLEO Constellations (Source: Space News)
The head of U.S. Space Command says his highest priorities are offensive space capabilities and systems for countering proliferated low Earth orbit (pLEO) constellations. Gen. Stephen Whiting said that "integrated space fires" and "counter-pLEO" top the list of needs the command has identified for fiscal years 2029 through 2033, signaling where the combatant command sees some of the biggest gaps in preparing for a future conflict in space. The Integrated Priorities List is Space Command's assessment of capability gaps based on emerging threats, planned Pentagon investments and technologies under development. It serves as a signal for the military services, labs and industry. Other capabilities on his list include joint integrated space command and control, dedicated space domain awareness and sustained space maneuver. (8/13)

Astranis Plans Inspector Satellites (Source: Space News)
Astranis, a manufacturer of small GEO communications satellites, unveiled a design for an inspector satellite. The company's Perceptor spacecraft, based on its microGEO bus, carries sensors to observe and inspect other satellites while using electric propulsion to reposition itself across the geostationary belt. The company said Perceptor will be able to conduct flybys of other satellites, and multiple satellites could operate together, allowing military operators to observe spacecraft from different locations and making it more difficult for a target to evade surveillance. Astranis is one of 14 companies selected by the Space Force in April to compete for task orders under its Andromeda contract vehicle supporting RG-XX, a planned next-generation constellation of surveillance satellites in geostationary orbit. (8/13)

Space Force Buys Maneuverable Spacecraft From Impulse Space (Source: Space News)
The Space Force is buying two more maneuverable spacecraft from Impulse Space. The service added $28 million to an existing contract for the additional spacecraft that will be used for tactically responsive missions. The contract modification will fund Victus Salo 2 and Victus Salo 3, which will use Impulse's Mira spacecraft to host government-provided payloads for missions in low Earth orbit, according to the Space Force. Victus Salo is part of the Space Force's broader Tactically Responsive Space, or TacRS, effort to shorten the time needed to deploy and operate spacecraft, with Victus Salo 1, also using the Mira spacecraft, slated to launch in 2027. (8/13)

China's iSpace Raises $150 Million for Reusable Launcher (Source: Space News)
Chinese reusable launch vehicle iSpace has raised additional funding. The company said it completed an initial close of a Series E round, bringing in about $150 million. The new funding will go toward research and mass production of the Hyperbola-3 reusable launch vehicle, manufacturing of a methane/liquid oxygen engine and initial research on a future heavy-lift vehicle. The development follows iSpace securing a record $729 million in February this year, dedicated to reusable rocketry and expanding the company's industrial footprint. The company plans to attempt a first launch of Hyperbola-3, with a reusable first stage, by the end of the year. (8/13)

Golden Dome Digital Portal Seeks to Ease Entry (Source: Space News)
A new digital portal is intended to make it easier for companies and others to get involved with the Golden Dome missile defense program. The "Golden Dome for America Ecosystem Hub," announced Tuesday at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium, is designed to provide companies with a channel to submit concepts and gain access to unclassified information about the program's technology needs, even as most of the architecture remains classified. The hub reflects a broader effort by the Pentagon to bring commercial technology and private capital into the program, an effort challenged by the high classification level of the system that makes it difficult for startups and newer entrants to understand where the government intends to invest. (8/13)

Pentagon Missile Buildup Changing the Factory Floor (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon's push to replenish missile inventories is creating an opening for a new class of manufacturers. Startups such as Machina, Hadrian and Freeform are applying software, robotics and highly automated production techniques to aerospace and defense manufacturing. They are challenging a model that has long relied on dedicated machinery, specialized tooling and skilled labor to make relatively small numbers of complex parts. At the Space and Missile Defense Symposium, Machina is displaying a fuselage for a hypersonic vehicle that it manufactured for Ursa Major using robotics systems and AI. (8/13)

Paragon Lays Off 70 After Gateway Project Stops (Source: Space News)
A subcontractor on NASA's lunar Gateway program is laying off employees after work on the program stopped. Paragon Space Development Corporation said this week it laid off 70 employees as part of a "companywide restructuring" after its contract to provide life support systems for the Gateway's HALO module was terminated by Northrop Grumman. HALO was to be part of the Gateway, but NASA announced in March it was effectively canceling the program to focus instead on a lunar base. Paragon said it retains the intellectual property for that life support system and is looking for ways to apply it to NASA's planned lunar base or other projects. (8/13)

Fincke Leaves NASA (Source: NASA)
Veteran NASA astronaut Mike Fincke has left the agency. NASA announced Wednesday that Fincke has retired from the astronaut corps, 30 years after being selected. He flew on four missions to the International Space Station on Soyuz, the Space Shuttle and Crew Dragon, spending 549 days in space. His last flight was the Crew-11 mission that ended a month early in January after a medical issue that Fincke later said he experienced. (8/13)

Push to Rename NASA Wallops Facility Sparks Debate Over Eastern Shore History (Source: WBOC)
A proposal by a local Virginia government seeks to rename at least part of NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. A resolution passed by the Accomack County Board of Supervisors last month asks NASA to rename the launch complex at Wallops the "A. Thomas Young Space Flight Facility" after Tom Young, a former NASA and industry official who is from the county. Some local residents, though, oppose the proposal, preferring to keep the Wallops name. They are asking the board to reconsider the resolution. County officials said the name change would not apply to the whole facility but only the launch site part of it. NASA, which would have to agree to any name change, said it is aware of the resolution but did not comment further on it.

Editor's Note: Young was also a Florida aerospace industry leader. He co-chaired the first Florida Governor's Commission on Space (which I staffed), which led to creation of the state's spaceport authority. He gained this role because he also led Martin Marietta's Electronics & Missiles Group in Orlando. (8/11)

AST SpaceMobile Targets 45-Satellite Constellation by Early 2026 (Source: Space Intel Report)
AST SpaceMobile says it expects to expand its low Earth orbit constellation from 13 to 45 satellites by early next year, supporting beta direct-to-device service in the U.S. this year with roughly half-day coverage. Continuous service is targeted for 2027, with 10 missions booked across two launch providers. (8/12)

FAA Proposes Waiving 13 Environmental Laws to Accelerate Airport-to-Spaceport Conversions (Source: Skift)
Dozens of airports have land, runways and remote buffer zones that could be repurposed as spaceports, according to the proposal. The FAA is seeking to speed those conversions by waiving requirements under 13 environmental laws, potentially reducing regulatory barriers to new launch sites. Typically, an airport looking to expand would have its plans reviewed by the FAA to make sure it meets environmental requirements. If the fresh proposal goes ahead, developments related to space would skip that step.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, and Clean Air Act are among those that could be scrapped for qualifying projects. One attraction is a new law allowing spaceport-adjacent industrial parks--or "space parks"--to qualify for tax-exempt bond financing. (8/12)

Why Sonic Booms Happen and How NASA’s X-59 Quesst Plans to Eliminate Them (Source: Aerospace Global News)
NASA has published a detailed explanation of how sonic booms are created as its X-59 experimental aircraft moves closer to the part of its mission that could determine whether quieter supersonic flight can eventually be accepted over land. The timing is significant. The X-59 has already reached the speed and altitude NASA says it needs for future community flights, while the US Federal Aviation Administration is working on a regulatory framework that would replace the longstanding prohibition on civil supersonic flight over land with a performance-based, noise-focused approach. Click here. (8/11)

Scientists Create Largest 2D Map of the Universe With 5.6 Trillion Pixels and Nearly 4 Billion Cosmic Objects (Source: Space.com)
Astronomers have released the largest two-dimensional map of the universe ever created, offering a sweeping new view of nearly 4 billion celestial objects across roughly three-quarters of the sky. The new map, created by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Legacy Imaging Surveys team, contains a staggering 5.6 trillion pixels and combines more than 263,000 telescope exposures collected over more than a decade. The observations span visible and near-infrared wavelengths, providing an enormous portrait of stars, galaxies and other cosmic phenomena across the sky. (8/11)

Firefly Aerospace Pushes Debut of Alpha Block 2 Rocket to the Fourth Quarter of 2026 (Source: Spaceflight Now)
Firefly Aerospace said it will be at least another two months before it’s ready to launch its next Alpha rocket. Alpha Flight 8 (FLTA008) will debut the Block 2 configuration of the rocket. During its second quarter earnings call on Tuesday, Firefly CEO Jason Kim said the next two Alpha launches are now expected to take place in the fourth quarter of 2026. (8/11)

Marlink to Acquire GRC to Expand Sovereign European Defense and Critical Infrastructure Capabilities (Source: SatNews)
On August 11, 2026, global managed network solutions provider Marlink signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100 percent of Global RadioData Communications Ltd (GRC), a UK-based specialist in defense and government communication networks. (8/11)

Ukraine War Sparked Race for Countries to Build Spy Satellites (Source: CNBC)
Countries are racing to expand their spy satellite fleets, as the war in Ukraine forces them to reconsider the intelligence they would rely on in a conflict. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 marked a “pivotal moment” for the space industry, ICEYE co-founder and CEO Rafal Modrzewski said. Europe, as well as Japan, India and Brazil, are now looking to substantially expand their satellite fleets, he said. The market has “suddenly tenfolded in size,” Modrzewski said, adding that countries increasingly view the technology as critical to securing their sovereignty. (8/11)

SpaceX Increasing Footprint in Missile Defense (Source: Space News)
The 2026 Space & Missile Defense Symposium opens this week against a backdrop that would have seemed unlikely only a few years ago: SpaceX is no longer simply the Pentagon’s dominant launch provider but is also becoming a central supplier of the satellite networks and communications infrastructure underpinning the military’s next-generation missile defense architecture. Recent Space Force awards totaling roughly $8.1 billion place the company at the center of the Pentagon’s push under the Golden Dome program to build a layered missile-defense architecture.

The deals with SpaceX arrived in rapid succession. In May, the Space Force awarded SpaceX a $2.29 billion contract to build the initial backbone of the Space Data Network. Days later, the Space Force selected SpaceX for a separate $4.16 billion contract to build the initial constellation for its space-based Airborne Moving Target Indicator, or AMTI, program. (8/11)

Guetlein: Golden Dome has ‘First Operational Site’ and Completed Two Tests (Source: Aerospace America0
The Pentagon official overseeing the Trump administration’s planned multilayered missile defense shield said today the initiative has its “first operational site” at Fort Story, Virginia. “We are digging dirt around the homeland,” said Gen. Michael Guetlein, Golden Dome’s program manager. (8/12)

Remember When Blue Origin Patented Barge Landings and Tried to Block SpaceX? (Source: Space Daily)
In 2014, Blue Origin patented the idea of landing a rocket vertically at sea, before it had launched a single orbital rocket, then used the patent to try to block SpaceX from doing exactly what SpaceX was already attempting to do. The dispute lasted barely a year, and it ended with Blue Origin walking away from its own patent rather than let a court finish the job of killing it. At that point Blue Origin had flown suborbital test vehicles but had not come close to landing an orbital-class booster anywhere, at sea or otherwise.

SpaceX, meanwhile, had already made its first real attempts to land a Falcon 9 first stage on an ocean platform, attempts that were failing in dramatic, well-documented fashion, but were attempts all the same. The company had built what it called an autonomous spaceport drone ship specifically to catch a returning booster, and it was actively trying to use it while Blue Origin’s patent was still working its way through the grant process. (8/12)

Wenchang Spaceport Reaches 50 Launches (Source: NSF)
The state-run Wenchang launch site, located on Hainan Island off China’s southern coast, celebrated its 50th launch on July 29 when a Chang Zheng 7A (CZ-7A) launched the Tianlian-3-01 mission, a third-generation Tianlian-3 relay satellite which took flight just days after the final Tianlian-2 had launched from Xichang. (8/12)

Virgin Galactic Delays Delta-Class Debut to February 2027 as it Raises Seat Prices (Source: Leonard David)
Virgin Galactic has pushed the first full-power flight and initial commercial service of its Delta-class spaceplane to February 2027, while raising prices for future suborbital flights. The company says $750,000 expeditions are selling out early as it works to reduce cash burn and prepare the new vehicle. (8/12)

Artemis I Radiation Vest Reduced Astronaut Exposure During Simulated Solar Storms (Source: Space.com)
In the new study, researchers experimented with the AstroRad vest, which was designed by the Israeli startup StemRad with support from the Israel Space Agency and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin. The garment was created to protect astronauts from explosions from the sun known as solar particle events.

Editor's Note: StemRad in 2019 received a $250,000 grant through the Space Florida and Israel Innovation Authority partnership program. The funding supported the final development and testing of the AstroRad radiation shielding vest. (8/12)

Satellogic Reports First Positive Operating Income (Source: Space Intel Report)
Satellite geospatial imagery provider Satellogic Inc., confirming what it said would be its turnaround year, reported its first quarter of positive operating income and adjusted EBITDA and said the performance would continue for the rest of the year and into 2027. The company has concluded transactions this year to provide regular streams of imagery to government customers, including an $18-million win in Portugal, a similar deal with an unnamed government and a $12-million sale of an in-orbit Satellogic satellite to a government. (8/12)

August 12, 2026

Rickenbacker Powers the Future of Ohio’s Aerospace and Defense Industry (Source: Fly Columbus)
At the Ohio Chamber of Commerce’s Midwest Aerospace and Defense Summit, airport leaders from across the state discussed how their complementary roles provide opportunity for the defense and aerospace industry to grow in Ohio. Columbus Regional Airport Authority (CRAA) President & CEO Daren Griffin shared how Rickenbacker International Airport (LCK) allows manufacturing, warehousing, suppliers, and global cargo operations to come together in one integrated ecosystem in Central Ohio.

Recent investment at Rickenbacker shows what happens when the right infrastructure meets the right opportunity. When the first Ohio-built Fury autonomous fighter rolled off the production line at Anduril Industries’ Arsenal-1 facility in late July, it marked a significant milestone for both the company and Ohio’s growing aerospace and defense sector, showing that advanced manufacturing projects can move from investment to production quickly when supported by the right infrastructure, logistics network, and public-private partnerships. (8/6)

Returning Launch Complex 36 to Two Pads: Blue Origin Begins Construction of LC-36B (Source: Blue Origin)
Blue Origin is developing Launch Complex 36B (LC-36B) at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport and is constructing additional operational infrastructure nearby to support high-cadence launch operations and infrastructure resiliency for New Glenn. LC-36B will serve as the operational home for New Glenn 9x4, while LC-36A remains the operational home for the New Glenn 7x2 vehicle.

The additional infrastructure includes a new Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) for the 9x4 vehicle, and a Payload Processing Facility (PPF). Built in partnership with the U.S. government, the PPF will support both variants of New Glenn and National Security Space Launch (NSSL) providers on the Eastern Range.

Editor's Note: The rendering provided by Blue Origin shows the new launch pad and support infrastructure situated to the north of the existing pad. This indicates the company will not expand south to subsume LC-46, which might mean the US Navy could stay put and not need to develop the proposed LC-51 further south. The rumor mill had Blue Origin lobbying for the Navy move so the company could repurpose LC-46 for New Glenn operations. My guess is the timing would have been too slow for this, so the new pad is being shoehorned to the north. (8/12)

Ecuador Looks to Space (Source: Expreso)
Conquering space seems like a goal reserved for the great powers. However, that idea loses its appeal when one discovers that Ecuador possesses geographical conditions, human talent, and opportunities that are already sparking the interest of international organizations and companies in the aerospace sector.

The country's geographic location is one of its greatest strengths. Situated on the equator , space launches require less fuel to reach Earth orbit, as they take advantage of the planet's rotational speed. "Ecuador has a privileged geographical position ," Aillón explains. "This makes it easier for a rocket to launch at a higher speed, burn less fuel, and carry a larger payload." (8/8)

Rocket Lab: Backlog Reaches Record $2.36 Billion As New Space Systems And Launch Contracts Top $1 Billion (Source: Pulse 2.0)
Rocket Lab’s backlog reached a company record $2.36 billion during the second quarter of 2026 as more than $1 billion of new Space Systems and launch contracts signed across Q2 and the post-quarter period expanded the company’s visibility across commercial and government space programs. Rocket Lab said it secured more than $581 million of Space Systems contracts and more than $437 million of launch contracts across Q2 and the period following quarter-end. Combined, those awards represent more than $1.01 billion of new contract activity.

The company ended Q2 with $2.36 billion of backlog, up 6.1% sequentially, or approximately $136 million. Space Systems represented 60% of backlog and Launch accounted for the remaining 40%. Commercial customers represented 57% of backlog, while government customers accounted for 43%. (8/11)

DoD MDA Pursuing Mobile Radar to Detect and Track Hypersonic Missiles, Other Advanced Threats (Source: Defense Scoop)
The Missile Defense Agency issued a presolicitation Monday for a new highly mobile, rapidly deployable sensor system that could help the U.S. military detect and track hypersonic missiles and other advanced airborne threats. The Forward-Based Mode (FBM) Radar Next initiative is being spearheaded by MDA’s Mobile Land-Based Sensors Project Office, which aims to prototype the technology.

Notably, officials want to create a system that can be quickly transitioned into mass production amid growing threats in the air domain. For the prototyping effort, MDA plans to use other transaction authority, which is intended to help the military move faster in contracting. (8/11)

Spring Tide Strategies Acquires Legendary Space Video Storytelling Company CCI (Source: Spring Tide Strategies)
Space Coast-based strategic communication company Spring Tide Strategies has acquired Communications Concepts Inc., a video storytelling company rooted in the space industry and in operation for almost 50 years. The combination of the two companies creates a powerhouse consulting firm providing complete strategic communication and marketing services along with advanced video production, live and virtual event support, livestreaming, and broadcasting in one package. (8/11)

Back-to-Back Starlink Missions From Florida and California (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX performed two Starlink launches nearly 13 hours apart yesterday. One Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 11:58 a.m. Eastern Tuesday and placed 29 Starlink satellites in orbit. That launch was scheduled for Monday but delayed a day for reasons SpaceX did not disclose. A second Falcon 9 lifted off at 12:46 a.m. Wednesday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, placing 24 Starlink satellites into orbit. (8/12)

Pentagon Pushing for Increased Missile Interceptor Production (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon is pressing defense contractors to increase production of missile interceptors. Recent conflicts have shown that such interceptors can be used far faster than they can be produced, depleting stockpiles. The Pentagon has moved recently to expand production across the missile-defense industrial base after heavy use of U.S. interceptors. In the longer term, the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command said it is considering a broader defensive architecture that could include less-expensive interceptors, guns, electronic warfare systems and, eventually, directed-energy weapons. (8/12)

NASA Plans Nuclear Propulsion Demo Launch in 2028 (Source: Space News)
NASA officials say they are confident in plans to launch a space nuclear propulsion demonstration mission at the end of 2028. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and other agency officials visited last week the Idaho National Lab (INL), which is responsible for the reactor that will be used on Space Reactor 1 (SR-1) Freedom. SR-1 will use that reactor to power an electric propulsion system to go to Mars. Isaacman said after the tour that visiting the lab increased his confidence in the schedule for the mission. The reactor, based on an existing design called VALKRE, needs to be completed by the spring of 2028 to meet the launch schedule for SR-1 Freedom. Both NASA and INL officials said that design will be extensible for larger future reactors, including those planned to support NASA's lunar base effort. (8/12)

JSC Losing its Cow Herd (Source: Houston Chronicle)
NASA's Johnson Space Center is losing one of its defining features: a herd of cattle. For three decades a herd of longhorn cattle has grazed on JSC property, an initiative started by former center director George Abbey as part of an educational effort. The nonprofit organization that has managed the project since 2015 announced it will shut down later this month, citing "significant financial challenges." The cattle currently at JSC will go to event venues and ranches, the organization stated. (8/12)

Funding Cliff Threatens Continued Golden Dome Development (Source: Space News)
The general in charge of the Golden Dome missile defense system warned the program was facing a funding cliff. Gen. Michael Guetlein said at the Space & Missile Defense Symposium Tuesday that Golden Dome is in an unusual budget position because its initial funding was routed through reconciliation rather than the Pentagon's regular annual budget. The administration planned another reconciliation package for fiscal year 2027 that would support Golden Dome, but that is now seen as less likely. The Pentagon is seeking about $17.5 billion for Golden Dome in 2027, but just $400 million is included in the base defense budget. He said he expected the funding to eventually come through, but the timing and process remain topics of concern. (8/12)

Golden Dome = Golden Goose for Many Contractors (Source: Space News)
Companies involved with Golden Dome are also closely watching the funding situation. Executives said money is flowing into their companies to work on Golden Dome, including contracts for satellite sensors, interceptor weapons and other programs now grouped under the initiative. Most details remain classified, limiting what contractors can say about their specific roles, but executives nevertheless have highlighted the program as a source of future growth. Golden Dome's high level of classification is testing the defense industry's ability to understand and respond to requirements, including among companies that hold security clearances. (8/12)

Firefly Ramps Up Rocket Production (Source: Space News)
Firefly Aerospace said Tuesday that it has increased launch vehicle production even as launch activity lags. In an earnings call, executives said production of its Alpha rocket is at an "all-time high" and cited strong government and commercial demand for the vehicle. However, Alpha has not launched since March and the company says the next launch, previously planned for late summer, is now expected in the fourth quarter. The company also declined to give guidance on how many Alpha launches it plans for 2027. Firefly also said it continues to make progress on the medium-lift Eclipse rocket it is developing with Northrop Grumman, but its first launch remains scheduled for no earlier than 2027. (8/12)

SpaceX Role in Missile Defense Grows (Source: Space News)
SpaceX is playing a bigger role in missile defense. Recent Space Force awards totaling roughly $8.1 billion place the company at the center of the Pentagon's push under the Golden Dome program to build a layered missile-defense architecture. Those contracts include work on the Space Data Network satellite communications systems, the initial constellation of space-based Airborne Moving Target Indicator satellites and launches of Space-Based Sensing and Targeting satellites. Space Force officials said that despite those recent awards competition remains a central objective. (8/12)

U.S. Space and Missile Defense at Center Stage in Huntsville, Alabama (Source: Washington Times)
The future of space-based military operations, the need for quicker replenishment of munitions stockpiles, and President Trump’s Golden Dome missile shield are all in the spotlight as top Pentagon officials and defense contractors descend on a conference that opens here Tuesday. The annual Space & Missile Defense Symposium is slated to draw more than 9,000 attendees. Huntsville is nicknamed “Rocket City” for its role in space exploration and missile development. The city has emerged anew in the Trump era as a center of American dominance in 21st-century space-defense technology.

The Trump administration is pushing for historic increases in defense spending. But industry and congressional sources have told Threat Status at The Washington Times that back-hallway discussions at this year’s symposium are likely to hinge on the extent to which the expanding cost of replenishing U.S. missiles that are being used in the Iran and Ukraine wars may detract from funding for projects such as the Golden Dome.

Anxiety over munitions stockpiles has boiled over in Washington during recent weeks. A Center for Strategic & International Studies analysis last month stated that U.S. Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile interceptor stockpiles have dropped by two-thirds and by half, respectively, since the start of the U.S.-Israel war against Iran in late February. (8/10)

Voyager Wins Space Force Tactical Data Link Comms Work (Source: Aviation Week)
Voyager Technologies was awarded a contract with the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command to develop space-to-space communication capabilities. The effort supports a resilient data transport architecture for the Department of Defense. Voyager will develop a flight-ready waveform design capable of operating for a variety of orbits, with specific requirements for weight, power and design life. This requirement is one of many Space Force standards for space-to-space data link communications. The company will also perform an on-orbit communication demonstration. (8/11)

SpaceX Plan for Vast Launch Site on Louisiana Coast Sparks Backlash (Source: The Guardian)
The prospect of a new spaceport spanning an area several times larger than Washington DC has alarmed some opponents in Pecan Island. On Monday a website was launched to rally opposition to the SpaceX plan, with its organizer warning that the huge new facility would imperil critical migratory bird habitat.

Hundreds of millions of birds, including snow geese, whooping cranes and 40% of all North American waterfowl, use Pecan Island as a crucial stop-off in their migratory flights through the Mississippi flyway, a key corridor that birds use in seasonal flights between North and South America. “We have existed alongside oil and gas for over 100 years, we aren’t against industry, but we haven’t blasted off high-octane rocketry before,” said Gabe Giffin. “I think space is cool, too. But many of these birds need this area and we need to have a proper process in place for this.” (8/10)

Starlink Excludes Poland from Europe Roaming Zone Without Explanation (Source: TVP World)
Poland has been mysteriously excluded from satellite internet network Starlink’s European roaming region, leaving users facing higher costs for cross-border use than customers in neighboring countries. The network has not explained the reasoning behind the change. Under Starlink's updated travel rules, more than 30 European countries – including Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Lithuania – are grouped into a single region, allowing customers to use the satellite internet service across borders without triggering international-use restrictions. Poland, however, is explicitly excluded from that region. (8/11)

Major Rocket Maker Spins Off, Recommits to Greater Cincinnati Site (Source: WKRC)
L3Harris Technologies, one of the nation’s largest defense contractors, has spun off its space propulsion division into a stand-alone company with a significant Greater Cincinnati presence. Florida-based private equity firm AE Industrial Partners on Aug. 4 completed the acquisition of a 60% stake, valued at $845 million, in L3Harris’ commercial space propulsion and power systems business. The deal was first announced in January. (8/10)

Musk: Starlink To Grow Beyond 100,000 Satellites With Higher Throughput (Source: Aviation Week)
SpaceX will grow the Starlink satellite constellation to more than 100,000 satellites, including the spacecraft to provide direct-to-device connectivity, CEO Elon Musk says. The constellation would expand with the higher throughput V3 satellites due for deployment on the Starship heavy-launch system. (8/10)

Government’s Strategic Funding May Propel India’s Space Economy to $100 Billion (Source: Financial Express)
India has recently announced a slew of measures to boost production and manufacturing of space technology by private players. The domestic space economy is projected to grow from $8.4 billion to about $44 billion by 2033 and a whopping $100 billion by 2040. Much of this is expected to be driven by private sector participation — with the government recently announcing Rs 1,500 crore support measures for space startups.

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center has announced several schemes to promote participation of private enterprises in space activities. This includes a Rs 1,000 crore Venture Capital Fund and a Rs 500 crore Technology Adoption Fund announced by the Department of Space. (8/11)

SpaceX Launches 29 Starlink Satellites to Orbit From Florida on Tuesday (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX sent yet another batch of its Starlink internet satellites skyward on Aug. 11. A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Spaceport, carrying 29 of the broadband spacecraft toward low Earth orbit (LEO). About 8.5 minutes later, the rocket's first stage made a pinpoint landing in the Atlantic Ocean atop the SpaceX droneship "A Shortfall of Gravitas." It was the 18th flight for this particular booster, which is designated B1085. (8/11)

August 11, 2026

ALL.SPACE to Provide Hydra MAX Terminals to Aalyria (Source: Via Satellite)
ALL.SPACE has won a contract to provide its Hydra MAX terminals to Aalyria. They will be deployed with Aalyria’s Spacetime orchestration software integrated directly with the platform. The two companies announced the deal, Aug. 10. Hydra MAX is ALL.SPACE’s flagship next-generation SATCOM platform, a dual-beam, full-duplex, 500 MHz-per-beam Ka-band terminal for communications-on-the-move, delivering up to 1 GHz of aggregate instantaneous bandwidth across commercial and military Ka-band frequencies. (8/10)

Rwanda Partners with Planet Labs on National Satellite-Data Program (Source: Spacewatch Global)
Rwanda has launched a national program with Planet Labs to provide the company’s satellite data to government agencies and other users. The initiative positions Rwanda among African countries building domestic access to commercial Earth-observation data for public-sector applications. (8/11)

SpaceX’s Proposed 1 Million AI Satellites Raise Climate and Atmospheric Pollution Concerns (Source: Space.com)
A proposal to deploy as many as 1 million AI satellites in orbit could sharply increase rocket-launch emissions and produce concentrated toxic ash as spacecraft reenter the atmosphere. The scale of the data-center constellation raises questions about the environmental limits of orbital computing and satellite disposal. (8/11)

SpaceX Stock Climbs Back To its IPO Price As It Rebounds After Lockup Expiration (Source: IBTimes)
SpaceX has gone back to its IPO price as the stock continues to rebound on Monday. Concretely, Shares gained more than 2.5% at 11:04 a.m. and clocked in at $136.68. They have climbed more than 23% since Thursday, when it stood below $107. The company had already soared more than 15% on Friday after overcoming two major hurdles that many investors expected would send the stock tumbling: the company's first quarterly earnings report as a public company and the largest lock-up expiration since its June initial public offering. (8/10)

CNES Secures Multi-Year Access to Orbitworks’ AI-Enabled Altair Earth-Observation Constellation (Source: Spacewatch Global)
France’s CNES has secured multi-year access to Altair, a 10-satellite Earth-observation constellation being developed and manufactured by UAE-based Orbitworks. The agreement gives the French space agency access to an AI-enabled commercial constellation while expanding Orbitworks’ institutional customer base. (8/10)

NASA Outlines Artemis Progress on Lunar Landers, Habitats and SLS/Orion Hardware (Source: NSF)
NASA has released a series of updates on the Artemis program, spanning commercial robotic lunar landers, technology demonstrations for future surface habitats, and hardware progress on the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft for Artemis III and beyond. Reinvigorated under NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, a suite of programs is working in tandem to lay the roadmap for the return of astronauts to the lunar surface this decade. Click here. (8/9)

USAF Receives Viasat Tactical Gateway (Source: Jane's)
Viasat is preparing for the next round of MOJO Next deliveries following the initial handover to the US Air Force's Air Mobility Command in July. While details on specific units or deployment locations remain undisclosed, the accelerated delivery timeline suggests that further orders and subsequent deployments may follow to address ongoing Air Force operational requirements. (8/10)

Rocket Lab, JetZero Drive SoCal Aerospace Growth (Source: Orange County Business Journal)
Rocket Lab has secured a $266 million US Space Force contract for 12 suborbital launches and a $397 million contract for surveillance satellites, marking its largest launch award to date. JetZero is seeking up to $3 billion in financing from the Export-Import Bank of the US for a $4.7 billion manufacturing plant in Greensboro, N.C. The company has received backing from United Airlines and the US Air Force. (8/10)

BlackSky Gains Undisclosed International Customer (Source: Space News)
Earth imaging company BlackSky has won a multi-year contract with an undisclosed international customer . The contract, announced Tuesday, is a "seven-figure" deal to provide the customer with persistent space-based monitoring and on-demand satellite tasking. BlackSky operates a constellation of Gen-2 and Gen-3 imaging satellites, the latter offering higher resolution. In an earnings call last week, BlackSky cited "exceptional performance" of the Gen-3 satellites for helping it attract new business, particularly from international customers. Revenues from BlackSky's international customers grew 200% year-over-year in the second quarter. The company expects to have eight Gen-3 satellites in orbit by the end of the year and plans to expand the constellation to 12 to 15 satellites. (8/11)

Crider Joins Proteus Space Board (Source: Space News)
Proteus Space, an AI-native aerospace company focused on rapid, end-to-end access to space, has appointed retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Kimberly “Kim” Crider to its Board of Directors. Crider previously served as the U.S. Air Force’s first Chief Technology and Innovation Officer. (8/11)

Shaw Joins Lunar Outpost Board (Source: Space News)
A former Space Force general has joined the board of a lunar rover company. Lunar Outpost announced Tuesday that John Shaw has joined its board of directors. He will represent Industrious Ventures, the venture capital fund that led Lunar Outpost's $30 million Series B round in May. The company develops lunar rovers and won a $220 million NASA contract in May to develop a rover for use by astronauts on future Artemis missions. Shaw retired from the Space Force in 2023 as a lieutenant general, spending his last three years as deputy commander of U.S. Space Command. Shaw, an adviser at Industrious Ventures, also serves on the board of several other space companies, such as SES, Sierra Space and Stoke Space. (8/11)

Japan Launches NavSat on H3 (Source: Space News)
Japan launched a navigation satellite on an H3 rocket on Monday. The H3 lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center and deployed the Michibiki 7 satellite into its planned transfer orbit 29 minutes later. The satellite is part of Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), which provides navigation services to augment other satellite navigation systems. This launch was intended to complete the expansion of QZSS from four to seven satellites, using a mix of geostationary and inclined geosynchronous orbits, but one satellite was lost on an H3 launch failure last December. This was the second H3 launch this year after the vehicle's return to flight in June on a test flight. (8/11)

Virgin Galactic Reduces Lease Payments to Spaceport America (Source: Albuquerque Journal)
New Mexico's Spaceport America says it is facing a funding shortfall after Virgin Galactic cut monthly payments. At a legislative committee hearing on Monday, spaceport officials said the company exercised a provision in its lease agreement to sharply reduce payments while it is not flying from the spaceport. Virgin, which had been paying nearly $190,000 a month in user fees when it was flying from the spaceport, is now paying just $50,000 a month. The spaceport, though, is still providing services for the company, including support for aircraft test flights there. Virgin Galactic is continuing to develop its new suborbital spaceplane and is expected to provide an update on that work during an earnings call Wednesday. (8/11)

India Plans to Commercialize New Spaceport (Source: Times of India)
The Indian government is proposing to commercialize a spaceport that is still under construction. IN-SPACe, the agency that both regulates and promotes India's space industry, has started the process to transfer operations of the Small Satellite Launch Complex to the private sector. The Indian space agency ISRO has been developing the spaceport, located in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, for use by the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle. It could also be used by other small launchers, such as those being developed by Indian startups like Skyroot Aerospace and Agnikul Cosmos. (8/11)

Vietnam's VinSpace to Launch Satellites on SpaceX Transporter Rideshare Mission (Source: Bloomberg)
A Vietnamese company has signed a contract to launch with SpaceX. VinSpace Joint Stock Company said Tuesday it will launch satellites on a SpaceX Transporter rideshare mission in 2027. The company did not disclose how many satellites will be on the launch but said those satellites will test technologies intended for future, unspecified commercial missions. The contract shows there is still some space available on Transporter missions despite reports of a constrained supply of such flights and expectations that SpaceX will stop offering rideshare launches on its Falcon 9 in the next few years. (8/11)

ASI Gets Extraordinary Commissioner (Source: European Spaceflight)
The Italian government has, as expected, appointed an "extraordinary commissioner" for its space agency. The space agency ASI said Monday that Mario Cospito will serve as extraordinary commissioner, or acting head, of the agency after the death in July of its president, Teodoro Valente. Cospito's career started an Italian diplomat who was ambassador to Romania and Sweden. He later served as director of institutional relations for Avio and then an adviser on aerospace policies for Italy's industry minister. (8/11)

Rocket Lab Unveils Deployable GHOST Launch System (Source: Satellite Evolution)
Rocket Lab Corporation has unveiled GHOST: a new globally-deployable containerized launch system to enable suborbital and orbital launches from anywhere in the world. The GHOST (Global Hypersonic & Orbital Spaceport Technology) system transforms Rocket Lab’s Electron and HASTE rockets into a launch-anywhere, launch-anytime capability for multi-launch flight campaigns and critical national security missions. Packaged entirely within standard shipping containers, GHOST deploys complete rockets, launch infrastructure, ground support, and range control systems anywhere in the world. (8/10)

Rocket Lab Cautions of Fresh Risks to Key Neutron Rocket Debut (Source: Bloomberg)
Rocket Lab Corp. shares fell after it signaled a potential new delay with its Neutron rocket, raising the prospect that the vehicle meant to challenge SpaceX’s dominant Falcon 9 rocket won’t fly until 2027. Neutron, a more powerful and larger descendant of its workhorse Electron, is scheduled to be delivered to the launchpad in the fourth quarter as previously planned, but the company stopped short of saying that the vehicle would fly this year. (8/10)

Kepler Books Neutron for 2028 Optical Relay Launch (Source: Space News)
Kepler Communications plans to deploy next-generation optical relay satellites on Rocket Lab’s upcoming Neutron rocket in one of several launches the Canadian operator has slated for 2028. Previous Kepler satellites have shared rides on rockets such as SpaceX’s Falcon 9. Kepler deployed 10 satellites around 300 kilograms each for Tranche 1 of the network earlier this year, as part of the company’s shift away from providing connectivity for remote Internet of Things (IoT) devices with much smaller radio frequency spacecraft around 12 kilograms. (8/10)

Ukraine Warns That Russia is Accelerating Rassvet Satellite Constellation, Targeting Nearly 300 Spacecraft by 2027 (Source: Reuters)
Ukraine’s military intelligence says Russia is deploying Rassvet, a domestic Starlink-style satellite network, faster than planned, with 292 satellites targeted by 2027 and 924 by 2035. Moscow is also reportedly developing Volna-Kupol-Garant, a system designed to disrupt satellite communications at the spacecraft level. (8/10)

Russia’s New Starlink Killer Doesn’t Target Terminals—It Targets the Satellites (Source: Frontier India)
Russia has reportedly developed a specialised electronic warfare system designed to disrupt Starlink communications in a fundamentally different way from conventional battlefield jammers. The Volna-Kupol-Garant’s main objective is not to overpower a Starlink terminal located on the ground. The communication link at the satellite is reportedly targeted by the system, which reportedly directs powerful radio-frequency interference upward. The objective is to temporarily “blind” a Starlink satellite to terminals that operate beneath it. (8/10)

NASA, ESA and Partners Develop Infrastructure for a Viable Lunar Base (Source: Aerospace Global News)
NASA and ESA are defining the infrastructure needed to support a sustainable lunar base. Establishing a long-term human presence on the Moon will require: a network of communications satellites; navigation services; power generation; prepared landing areas;  cargo systems; surface vehicles; and construction equipment. Much of this infrastructure will need to operate robotically before crews arrive. It must also keep working on its own during the long periods between human missions. Click here. (8/10)

MDA Space Reports Double-Digit Revenue and EBITDA Growth as It Expands in the U.S. and Europe (Source: Space Intel Report)
MDA Space reported another quarter of double-digit increases in revenue and adjusted EBITDA, while outlining an international strategy focused on expanding its space hardware and geospatial imagery businesses in the United States and Europe. The company is also widening its portfolio and geographic presence. (8/10)

EnduroSat and Bulgaria to Redevelop Former Military Airbase as Space and Defense Center (8/10)
EnduroSat is partnering with the Bulgarian government to redevelop Dobroslavtsi, a former military airbase, into a space and defense development center. The project is positioned as a new hub for space-sector activity in Europe, linking Bulgaria’s former military infrastructure with emerging commercial space capabilities. (8/10)

International Lunar Consultations: Future-Looking Developments at the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (Source: Space Review)
The UN’s Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Space established an “action team” in 2024 to study how to coordinate lunar activities. Giorgio Cardile offers an update on the team’s work, including challenges they face on space resources. Click here. (8/10)
 
Decisions Without Deciders: Authority at Machine Speed in the Space Enterprise (Source: Space Review)
Space activities increasingly rely on automation and AI to make decisions faster than humans. Bharath Gopalaswamy and Daniel Dant describe how this creates challenges for determining what decisions get made and how. Click here. (8/10)
 
Who Will Believe the Space Logs in 2040? Space Governance and the quantum Audit Problem (Source: Space Review)
Satellite activities are extensively logged, providing an audit trail for tracking down problems or determining blame. Burak Oktenli explains why the rise of quantum computing threatens the integrity of those records and what can be done in response. Click here. (8/10)
 
Seeing Through the Storm: SAR Imagery’s Evolution Beyond Defense Applications (Source: Space Review)
Synthetic aperture radar imagery had long been considered primarily a tool for defense applications. Kateryna Sergieieva discusses how commercial SAR systems have made such imagery available for many civil uses as well. Click here. (8/10)

ispace Receives $73M Grant for Japan’s Space Strategy Fund Project (Source: Douglas Messier)
ispace has been awarded a grant of 11.6 billion yen ($73 million) for its “High-Precision Landing Technology in the Lunar Polar Regions” project, under Phase 2 of the Space Strategy Fund Program administered by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The maximum grant amount remains 20 billion yen ($125.7 million). Since this figure is subject to change based on stage-gate reviews and other factors, it is not yet certain that the full amount will be received.

Led by the United States, lunar exploration is currently accelerating rapidly. Following a December 2025 presidential executive order announcing the U.S. intention to develop a lunar base by 2030, in April 2026, NASA disclosed its plan for 20 lunar landing missions by 2028, and more than 70 missions during the next decade. (8/7)

August 10, 2026

From Vandenberg to Paso Robles, Central Coast is at the Center of a New Space Boom (Source: San Luis Obispo Tribune)
Bradley Wilkinson has been chasing rocket launches out of Vandenberg Space Force Base for 12 years. The administrator of Facebook group Vandenberg Rocket Launches livestreams on YouTube for people from California, Texas and Utah, amassing over 181,700 members over the course of 10 years. It seems these days everyone on the Central Coast is wanting a part in the latest “space boom” — from Vandenberg seeking to grow its launch capabilities in the coming years to Paso Robles’ quest to add a spaceport and local groups pushing initiatives aimed at bolstering the growing aerospace workforce.

Jennifer Green-Lanchoney, chief of Space Launch Delta 30 Public Affairs at Vandenberg, credits the obsession with space and launches from Vandenberg with the “absolute human condition of exploration.” And here on the Central Coast, officials are ready to spend millions to capitalize on that urge to reach for the stars. Sally Buffalo Taylor is the vice president of communications and external affairs at REACH, a regional economic action coalition that launched its initiative Space Vandenberg in August 2025 with a $9.5 million state grant that will propel Vandenberg to grow and create high-quality jobs and encourage “innovation and bring new investment to the region.” (8/9)

As Spectrum Gets Noisier, New Tech Works to Silence Satellite Interference (Source: Defense Post)
Israeli firm Gilat Satellite Networks is aiming to help satellite communication links withstand interference that can degrade data transmission, a growing concern as military operations increasingly depend on resilient communications. During a demonstration, the company showed how its new AI-based technology handled a range of unpredictable conditions, including signals that changed over time and originated from uncooperative sources. Initial results indicated that the platform could improve noise detection and suppression by up to 10 times compared with conventional methods. (8/10)

Exploring ‘Very Low Earth Orbit’: The World’s 1st Air-Breathing Satellite Thruster Could Soon Get a Test Run (Source: Space.com)
The Spanish company Kreios Space plans to launch into orbit the world's first satellite that uses scooped-up air to push it forward, the company announced on Tuesday (Aug. 4). The technology Kreios Space has been developing is called air-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP). It relies on air sourced from Earth's atmosphere, which is then heated up, ionized and expelled to generate thrust. This method will allow satellites in very low Earth orbit (VLEO) — the region from roughly 60 miles to 250 miles (100 to 400 kilometers) above our planet — to counteract atmospheric drag without the aid of liquid fuel. (8/9)

Florida Diverts EV Charger Funds to Flying Taxi Project (Source: CarBuzz)
Florida is reallocating $200 million in federal funds from electric vehicle charging stations to develop infrastructure for flying taxis, or electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles. The Florida Department of Transportation plans to build 32 taxi pads at airports, luxury apartments, golf courses and military bases, in collaboration with companies such as Archer, BETA Technologies, Joby Aviation and Electra. (8/9)

US Seeks Major Ramp Up in Weapons Production (Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
The Pentagon has called on defense industry leaders to accelerate weapons production to replenish depleted munitions stockpiles, particularly after recent conflicts with Iran have significantly reduced inventories of Patriot and THAAD interceptors. Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg has given major defense companies 21 days to submit plans for faster delivery schedules, emphasizing the need for rapid modernization. (8/10)

The Space Boom has Created a Giant Mess. Now Startups Want to Clean it Up (Source: CNBC)
Thousands of satellites are circling the Earth, and when they die, they don’t just disappear. Neither do the rockets that put them there. Defunct satellites, spent rocket parts and other debris can remain in orbit for years, adding to an increasingly congested environment and an elevated risk of collisions. Now, a growing group of companies is betting that cleaning up this orbital junk, and servicing satellites before they become it, could become a business in its own right.

Astroscale develops spacecraft for debris removal and other in-orbit services. “That means that we’re building spacecraft that are designed to be very agile, designed to safely operate in and around other spacecraft in orbit,” Faiola said. It is one of the few commercial companies that has demonstrated the ability to dock with another spacecraft in orbit through a magnetic capture system. That’s a difficult task given objects in lower Earth orbit move at the speed of 7 or 8 kilometers per second – faster than the speed of a bullet – and can tumble uncontrollably.

This is still a nascent, deep-tech market, so initial contracts are coming largely from space agencies and governments, which will demonstrate to the private sector that this is a viable business, Faiola said. “In the future, we would expect that this would be paid for by operators of constellations of spacecraft.” (8/8)

NASA Funds Research on Mapping Exoplanet Continents (Source: Douglas Messier)
Paul Stankus of Brookhaven Science Associates is working on changing that. He is reaching a method to resolve continents and other surface features on an Earth-like planet around a nearby star in visible light. “The innovation is in two stages. First, the design of a new kind of nulling interferometer — ‘dynamic hierarchical nulling’ — combining inputs from multiple apertures and capable of separating star light from planet light with contrast of 10^10 or better in the visible,” the proposal summary said. (8/9)

Europe's Free Satellite Service Just Made it Easier to Track Wildfires (Source: Ars Technica)
The wildfires afflicting communities across the world can now be tracked more easily by anyone using Europe’s free and open satellite imagery service—all thanks to a wildfire visualization script originating from nearly a decade ago. The Copernicus Browser provides free access to the latest satellite imagery taken by the European Space Agency’s Sentinel satellites for the European Union’s Earth observation program. (8/10)

India Joins Lox-Methane Rocket Engine Club (Source: The Hindu)
India's Astrobase Space Technologies unveiled India’s first privately built 800 kN Full-Flow Staged Combustion (FFSC) LOX-Methane rocket engine named EVEREST. This makes India the fourth nation to have FFSC engine technology after Russia, USA and China. (8/10)

China Loses Long March 7A in Post-Launch Explosion (Source: SCMP)
China has suffered a rare failure of one of its newer-generation Long March rockets, losing a communications satellite after the launcher exploded shortly after take-off on Monday night. Around 8pm Beijing time, the unmanned 60-metre (197-foot) Long March 7A blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on the southern island of Hainan, piercing the night sky as it carried the ChinaSat-4B satellite towards high Earth orbit. But less than 90 seconds into the flight, the rocket erupted into a fireball engulfed in thick black smoke, according to videos posted on social media by spectators near the launch site. (8/10)

BE-4 Issue Carries Wider Launch Stakes (Source: Benzinga)
The valve issue that may have caused the New Glenn explosion matters beyond Blue Origin. New Glenn uses seven methane-fueled BE-4 engines on its first stage, while United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan uses two. ULA said it is collaborating with Blue Origin, making the investigation important to a constrained U.S. launch market. New Glenn remains central to Blue Origin’s competition with SpaceX. NASA expects the rocket to launch Blue Moon lunar missions under Artemis, while Amazon has booked New Glenn and Vulcan flights for its Leo broadband constellation, a Starlink rival. Blue Origin’s schedule will determine how quickly those missions can proceed. (8/6)

Musk Refuses Starlink for Ukrainian Strikes in Russia (Source: Kyiv Post)
Elon Musk is refusing to allow Ukraine to use the SpaceX-operated Starlink satellite network for strikes inside Russian territory. President Volodymyr Zelensky asked US President Trump to intervene and pressure Musk to lift the geographical restrictions so Kyiv can target Russian missile batteries. Trump reportedly did not provide a clear answer. Former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has also attempted to lobby Musk through informal backchannels without success.

Musk has repeatedly cited the risk of Russian escalation and told Ukrainian officials that “it is time to make a deal.” The refusal coincides with broader US hesitancy to transfer advanced military technology, with NATO Ambassador Matthew Whitaker recently confirming that Washington will not allow Ukraine to domestically produce Patriot interceptor missiles, walking back earlier promises made by the Trump administration. (8/8)

Intel's Proposed Orbital Data Centers Would Manage Thousands of Simple LEO Satellites (Source: Tom's Hardware)
An Intel patent application published on August 6 describes an orbital data center architecture that moves some of the computing used to operate massive satellite constellations off the ground and into space. The architecture proposes a two-tier satellite network in which a small number of more powerful satellites in higher orbits manage large constellations of relatively simple satellites in low-Earth orbit, handling much of the computing and constellation coordination normally performed by data centers and network operations centers on the ground. (8/8)

Titan Has Rivers, Rainfall, Lakes and a Slow Hydrological Cycle Remarkably Like Earth’s (Source: Science Blog)
Nine hundred million miles from Earth, in the outer solar system, Saturn’s largest moon runs a full weather cycle. Methane evaporates from surface lakes. It condenses into clouds. It falls as rain — slowly, in droplets larger than any raindrop on Earth. It gathers into rivers that flow across ice-covered valleys, cuts channels into the frozen surface, pools into shallow lakes and small seas. Then it evaporates back up into the atmosphere and begins the cycle again. (8/9)

Katalyst Making Progress on Swift Rescue Spacecraft Control (Source: Space News)
Katalyst Space Technologies is making progress on restoring control of the spacecraft it launched to reboost a NASA observatory. The company said last week that it had slowed the spin rate of its Link spacecraft from 9 to 1.47 degrees per second using one of its electric thrusters. The company is working on a flight software update to restore full control of the spacecraft and allow it to continue its mission. Link launched in early July to grapple NASA's Swift gamma-ray observatory and raise its orbit, but Link suffered problems in late July that put the spacecraft into a multi-axis spin. Katalyst now expects Link to rendezvous with Swift late this month. (8/10)

Lithuania's Astrolight Teams with Atmos Space Cargo for Tech Demo (Source: Space News)
Lithuanian space laser communications company Astrolight has signed an agreement with Atmos Space Cargo to test its technologies in space. The companies announced a memorandum of understanding to demonstrate in-flight optical communications link between an Atmos reentry spacecraft and an orbiting satellite in 2027. Astrolight's ATLAS-X laser communication terminals would fly onboard Atmos's Phoenix reentry vehicle and an unidentified spacecraft, testing data links at speeds of up to 2.5 gigabits per second. (8/10)

Vandenberg Surge: SpaceX Launches Saturday Starlink Mission From California (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites Saturday. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 12:35 p.m. Eastern, putting 24 Starlink satellites into orbit. The launch was the 50th this year by SpaceX from Vandenberg as the company emphasizes launches there over its Florida launch pads. (8/9)

RFA Still Plans 2026 Debut From SaxaVord Spaceport (Source: Space News)
The majority owner of German small launch vehicle company Rocket Factory Augsburg still expects a first launch this year despite a testing setback. RFA was planning to launch its RFA ONE rocket from SaxaVord Spaceport in the Shetland Islands as soon as this week, but the company said in late July it needed to destack the rocket on the pad because of an issue with the rocket. During an earnings call last week, OHB, the German aerospace company that owns 65% of RFA, said the issue was with tanks on the rocket but did not disclose additional details.

OHB said it expects the problem to be resolved soon, allowing for a launch attempt later this year. OHB also used the earnings call to endorse efforts to increase the Ariane 6 launch rate, noting that it is both a supplier for the rocket as well as a customer. [SpaceNews]

NASA Delays ISS Spacewalk for Spacesuit Problem (Source: NASA)
NASA is delaying an International Space Station spacewalk to study a problem with a spacesuit. NASA said Friday that a carbon dioxide sensor in the suit worn on Thursday's spacewalk by Anil Menon provided an "unexpected data reading" near the end of the spacewalk. The agency is reviewing the data to see if the suit needs to be replaced. To accommodate that work, NASA has delayed the second in a series of three spacewalks from Aug. 13 to Aug. 18. The third and final spacewalk in the sequence remains scheduled for Aug. 25. (8/10)

China’s Lunar Station Could be Guarded by Robot Watchdogs (Source: SCMP)
Robot dogs could one day lead the way across the moon, patrolling research stations, scouting hazards and helping astronauts search for scientifically valuable rocks, according to a blueprint by researchers working on China’s lunar base. The concept envisions three astronauts working alongside intelligent machines. As the crew explores the moon’s surface, one astronaut would direct two robot dogs across the landscape, while another collects rock samples and carries out detailed scientific work.

A third would remain inside a van-sized pressurized rover, coordinating the mission and controlling other robots when needed, according to the scientists from the China Academy of Space Technology, the nation’s leading spacecraft developer. (8/8)

SpaceX to Build Natural Gas Power Plants for Texas Chip Factory (Source: Bloomberg)
SpaceX plans to build its own power plants to support the massive semiconductor manufacturing facility it’s developing in Texas with Tesla Inc. “We’re bringing our own power,” Riley Trettel, who oversees energy and data center development for SpaceX, said Wednesday during a public meeting in Grimes County, Texas. “We’re going to be building natural gas fired power plants, and we’re going to be building very large battery arrays in order to store energy.” (8/6)

From Idaho to Mars: NASA Chief Celebrates INL's Role in the New Space Race (Source: KSL)
The administrator for NASA visited Idaho National Laboratory on Friday to celebrate the nuclear age in space. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and a team of executives traveled to INL's Materials and Fuel's Complex, where they met with the very minds who are making nuclear power in space possible. NASA executives also got to be face-to-face with groundbreaking science happening in eastern Idaho, including Deployable Energy's Unity Nuclear Battery demonstration and the Fuel Cycle Facility, where INL is reprocessing used nuclear fuel. (8/8)

August 9, 2026

Supersonic Flight Is Making a Comeback Decades After the Concorde. But One Big Hurdle Remains (Source: CNN)
The skies of Oklahoma City roared for six months in 1964 as military aircraft intentionally rattled the population below with a daily barrage of thunderous sonic booms. It was a controversial test — the consequences of which have lingered to this day. The booms — 1,253 in total — were part of an effort by the FAA to gauge the public’s attitude toward supersonic flight. A survey of 3,000 Oklahoma City residents at the end of the 1964 test found that 73% felt they could live with sonic booms.

However, the program generated immediate lawsuits to stop the flights, and the FAA received about 12,400 calls from people complaining about the noise. The agency eventually had to compensate some locals for damage to windows and walls. The FAA's new proposed rule indicates the exact threshold of sound pressure at the surface that any aircraft flying over land in the US would be allowed to produce 0.11 pound per square foot, which is equal to a moderate thump. By comparison, the Oklahoma tests produced booms as intense as 1.6 pounds per square foot, over 14 times more than the FAA’s proposed new limit.

“Manufacturers have demonstrated it is possible to fly supersonic aircraft without sonic booms reaching the surface by using sonic boom abatement techniques, making complete prohibition on civil supersonic flight outside of test areas no longer appropriate," according to the FAA. (8/7)

Chinese Company Landspace Targets Aug. 10 for Historic Launch and Landing Attempt (Source: Space.com)
The Chinese commercial launch company Landspace is set for a second attempt at catching an orbital booster. The startup launched its first Zhuque-3 rocket in December 2025, in what was a milestone for Chinese rocket reusability efforts. While the Zhuque-3 second stage successfully reached orbit, the first stage exploded in a dramatic fireball during its final powered descent toward the landing pad. Now, Landspace is poised for a second attempt at liftoff and landing. (8/7)

Environmental Groups Challenge FCC Approval of Startup’s Plan to Beam On-Demand Sunlight From Space (Source: NBC)
Four environmental organizations filed a petition Thursday asking the Federal Communications Commission to reverse its approval of a startup’s plan to beam on-demand sunlight from space to Earth, arguing the agency ignored the project’s potential impacts on wildlife, astronomy research and eye safety.

DarkSky International, Environment America, the American Bird Conservancy and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility called on the FCC to overturn a decision last month authorizing Reflect Orbital to launch its Earendil-1 demonstration satellite, which will carry a 59-foot-wide mirror to reflect sunlight onto a specific spot on the planet during periods of darkness. (8/6)

Cursor Says SpaceX Deal Could be Done by End of Next Week (Source: Seeking Alpha)
SpaceX could finish its $60 billion acquisition of Cursor as soon as the end of next week. The Cursor brand name will likely be phased out for new products in the coming months, according to a report from The Information on Friday, which cited people familiar with the matter. Cursor's upcoming general-purpose agent could be branded as Grok Bot. (8/7)

SpaceXAI Sues Contractor for Unpaid Data Center Work (Source: ABC24)
SpaceXAI is suing the contractor that claims that SpaceXAI owes nearly $570 million for unpaid labor performed at its Memphis and DeSoto County facilities. Tuesday, SpaceXAI filed a federal lawsuit against Darana Hybrid, Inc. Darana Hybrid, based in Ohio, has filed several liens claiming that SpaceXAI owes millions for work done at Colossus I and Colossus II in Memphis and several facilities in DeSoto County, including its power plant on Stanton Road.

Darana Hybrid claims that SpaceXAI owes a total of $569,348,213.76. In its complaint, SpaceXAI alleges that Darana Hybrid overbilled by hundreds of millions of dollars while "selling out their own suppliers and subcontractors along the way." (8/7)

Pentagon Releases New Batch of UFO Files (Source: CBS)
The Pentagon on Friday released a new batch of documents and images related to UFOs, also known as unidentified anomalous phenomena or UAP, including a military pilot's recollection of a huge, strange triangle that blocked out the stars over Afghanistan in 2002. The 41 new files, posted on the Pentagon's UFO website, include a mix of documents, images and videos. The records come from the Pentagon, FBI, CIA, State Department and Executive Office of the President, with the oldest being from 1950 and the most recent being from this year.

Six of the videos show different versions of the same incident — an encounter over the Gulf of Oman by Special Operations forces on an AC-130J gunship in September 2021. The report said the forces onboard a C130 gunship "observed approximately 25 instances of UAPs while conducting a live fire exercise in the Gulf of Oman... The UAPs were observed as cold orbs flying at lower altitudes between 250 to 1300 MPH in different formations as well as maneuvering aggressively. UAPs also appeared to react to the aircraft firing its main cannon," the report said. (8/7)

NASA Funds Research into Advanced Solar Sails (Source: Douglas Messier)
Artur Davoyan of UCLA received a NASA Innovative Advanced Projects (NIAC) award worth up to up to $175,000 to conduct a nine-month investigation. NIAC projects are focused on early-stage concept development and are not considered official NASA missions. "Our concept integrates two core technologies: (i) A lightweight, coilable truss structure that deploys a stack of sail membranes, each with an area between 50–150 m² (limited by the rocket fairing), and (ii) Tensegrity engineering to maintain the structural integrity and shape of the deployed system,” the project summary said. (8/8)

Once-Abandoned Spanish Village Becomes NASA's Eclipse Hotspot (Source: EuroNews)
A tiny village in the province of Burgos, brought back from the brink of extinction, is about to have its moment in the "shadow" — NASA has picked Villalibado as one of its ringside seats for the total solar eclipse on 12 August. Villalibado will now host one of the US space agency's broadcast teams as the Moon takes center stage. The feed will beam out worldwide via NASA's digital platforms and San Francisco's Exploratorium, giving Villalibado more screen time than most villages get in several centuries. (8/7)

EU Lays Out $18B Satellite Constellation Plan, with Spanish Firm Winning Key Role (Source: Breaking Defense)
European officials have agreed to a rollout plan for the continent’s flagship satellite constellation, adding 66 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to the hundreds already envisioned and naming a Spanish firm as prime contractor for ground-based communications and networking. Altogether, the plan for the European Union’s (EU) answer to SpaceX’s Starlink broadband communications network, called Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS2), is valued in excess of €15.6 billion ($18 billion).

The first satellite launches are slated for 2029, according to HispaSat, part of Spain’s Indra Group, which said it had been selected as the prime contractor for the ground portion of the effort. (8/7)

Rocket Lab Unveils Game-Changing Flatellites (Source: Motley Fool)
Rocket Lab introduced Flatellites last February, but it hasn't produced any of those next-gen satellites yet. But it's been acquiring smaller companies and developing its own components to support the expansion of that vertically integrated satellite manufacturing business. Rocket Lab believes that approach will enable it to produce high volumes of Flatellites "without compromising performance or reliability". It also expects more of its customers to use Flatellites to rapidly deploy their own low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations. (8/8)

Alan Shepard's Lunar Golf Shot (Source: Times of India)
Apollo 14 commander Alan Shepard paused near the end of the mission's second moonwalk on February 6, 1971 and attached a Wilson six-iron club head to the handle of a lunar sample collection tool. It was hidden inside his spacesuit until that moment, and the improvised club had been approved by NASA but kept secret from television viewers. Shepard dropped a golf ball onto the Moon's surface and swung one-handed because his bulky spacesuit made a normal golf swing impossible. The first shot barely traveled after landing in a nearby crater, but the second flew much farther. (8/9)

Reduced Gravity Pushes People Toward Simpler Movement Patterns, Experiments Suggest (Source: Phys.org)
From reaching for a cup of coffee to tying your shoelaces, gravity shapes nearly all human movement. So how do our bodies react when that familiar force begins to change? Texas A&M University researchers are exploring the answer through a multiphase project supported by NASA. Their latest work examines how the body performs in altered-gravity conditions to identify challenges astronauts encounter in space and how the human body adapts when environments change. (8/8)

August 8, 2026

Rival Heat Shield Approaches Fuel Race Toward Rapidly Reusable Rockets (Source: Politico)
Getting a rocket to space is one thing. Getting it back, all in one piece and ready to fly again, is another. SpaceX relies on thousands of ceramic tiles to protect its mega Starship rocket during its scorching return through the atmosphere. But after its latest flight test showed damage to that shell, experts are questioning the company’s approach. Limiting that damage will be crucial to achieve CEO Elon Musk’s goal of rapidly reusing Starship and launching it daily. During the company’s earnings call, he said the heat shield problem is “solved at this point,” downplaying any concerns.

Washington-based Stoke Space, the only other company that’s developing a fully reusable rocket, is betting on a different approach: an actively cooled metallic shield that doesn’t rely on the brittle ceramic tiles used by SpaceX. Stoke Space routes cryogenic liquid hydrogen through tiny internal channels directly behind the metal outer skin of the upper stage. As the spacecraft hits the atmosphere base-first, the circulating fuel absorbs the extreme thermal energy. (8/7)

Canadian Space Agency Confirms Continuation of Canadarm3 Robotics Program (Source: SpaceQ)
The future of Canada’s most famous space robotics technology is no longer in limbo. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has affirmed plans to repurpose investments in the Canadarm3 program to support surface operations on the Moon and possibly new projects in low-Earth orbit (LEO).

Originally designed for the Lunar Gateway, a small space station intended to orbit the Moon in support of astronauts heading to the surface, the Canadarm3 program faced uncertainty when the U.S. revamped its Artemis program. The CSA had previously signaled it would look for ways to keep the initiative alive. Now, officials have officially confirmed that the technology will be adapted for the Artemis ground mission and look to commercialization opportunities including space stations in LEO. (8/7)

Invest Now in Europe's Spaceport to Capture Demand and Industry Will Follow (Source: Space Intel Report)
Space hardware provider OHB SE of Germany said Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket is at risk of losing German and other government and commercial business if European political authorities don’t agree to a sharp ramp-up in launch capacity soon. In an Aug. 6 investor call, OHB Chief Executive Marco Fuchs said that because much of the needed investment will occur at Europe’s Guiana Space Center spaceport, on South America’s northeast cost, the investment has to be the source of a political agreement. (8/6)

Relativity Space Begins engine Integration on Reusable Terran R First Stage (Source: NSF)
Relativity Space has marked another significant step forward in the development of its reusable Terran R launch vehicle, with engine integration now underway on the first-stage thrust structure. The company announced the milestone on Friday in a post on X, stating: “Engine integration has begun. The first Aeon R engines are now installed on Terran R’s thrust structure.” The thrust structure is designed to accommodate 13 Aeon R engines, each delivering 269,000 lbf of sea-level thrust for a combined liftoff thrust of 3,497,000 lbf. (8/7)

Senate Confirms New Leaders for U.S. Military Space Acquisition and Spy Satellites (Source: Space News)
The Senate confirmed Erich Hernandez-Baquero to oversee U.S. military space acquisition and Roger Mason to lead the National Reconnaissance Office. The appointments place industry veterans atop two critical organizations responsible for acquiring military space systems and operating the nation’s spy satellite enterprise. (8/7)

SpaceX’s Starship Upper-Stage Recovery Attempt Is Unlikely to Succeed (Source: AsiaNet)
SpaceX’s Starship is likely to be lost at sea roughly two weeks after its 13th test flight, according to Elon Musk. Despite the expected loss, teams obtained close-up images of critical heat-shield and engine regions that could inform future vehicle upgrades. (8/7)

NASA Tests Lightweight Ground-Penetrating Radar for SkyFall Mars Helicopters (Source: Astrospace)
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has completed initial tests of a lightweight radar antenna for the planned SkyFall mission, which would deploy three small helicopters on Mars. The ground-penetrating system is designed to search for subsurface frozen water while enabling airborne exploration of the Red Planet. (8/7)

€5B Scaleup Europe Fund Makes First Investment in ICEYE (Source: Payload)
The European Commission’s new €5 billion Scaleup Europe fund has completed its first investment in ICEYE, marking the initiative’s debut financing commitment and directing capital toward the satellite company as Europe seeks to support the growth of high-potential technology businesses. (8/7)

A New Space Race Is Unfolding at the Moon’s South Pole (Source: CNN)
A gravity-defying competition that brewed in the background of geopolitics for decades is now roaring to the forefront — with China demonstrating rapid advances in space technology and the United States ratcheting up rhetoric about a looming battle for control of the cosmos. China plans to build a permanent settlement on the moon by 2040, prompting an urgent response from lawmakers on Capitol Hill. They’ve declared a new space race, and NASA is pledging to build a lunar outpost of America’s own.

Adding to the tension is the fact that aerospace development in China is largely shrouded in secrecy, making it tough to say with absolute certainty which country is ahead in the contest. There are, however, a few clues. And this year could mark a dramatic turning point as the moon’s south pole becomes more of a focal point for both nations. The region is already the linchpin for US and Chinese ambitions because scientists believe it to be home to water ice. This crucial in-space resource can be converted into rocket fuel, breathable air or drinking water — all vital to sustaining an extraterrestrial settlement. (8/7)

NASA Successfully Gives Voyager 2 Another Year of Life (Source: Popular Science)
Voyager 2 recently experienced its own “Big Bang” moment, allowing NASA scientists to squeeze a bit more life out of the intrepid space probe. Nicknamed after the universe’s origin story, the process involved powering off selected devices aboard the cosmic traveler, while simultaneously swapping them with less resource-hungry alternatives. At the same time, mission specialists needed to make sure Voyager 2 stayed warm enough to avoid entering a permanent freeze. (8/7)

Rocketdyne Reemerges as a Stand-Alone Company, Based on Space Coast (Source: Space News)
AE Industrial Partners has completed the $845 million acquisition of L3Harris Technologies’ space propulsion, power, and electronics units, re-establishing Rocketdyne as an independent company. The newly independent entity, headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, focuses on the RL10 engine and in-space propulsion with a workforce of 1,300 employees. (8/4)

Uzbekistan-Developed AI Module Launches Aboard Earth Observation Satellite (Source: EuroNews)
August 5, 2026, the Samarkand-2028 Earth observation satellite successfully launched into orbit from a sea-based platform near Haiyang, China. Developed jointly by China's STAR.VISION and Uzbekistan's national space agency, Uzcosmos, the satellite carries an onboard artificial intelligence module engineered entirely by Uzbek specialists. (8/7)

Architecture Firm Teams with Blackstar on Orbital Platform (Source: DIA)
DIA is working with BlackStar Orbital on its next-generation orbital payload vehicle, integrating architecture, systems thinking, and aerospace design to support a highly capable and efficient platform. Vision, clarity, and decisive action are essential to unlocking the future space economy, and we’re excited to contribute to a mission helping move that future forward. The BX-100 is a reusable, autonomous space drone. It carries your payload to low Earth orbit, works there as long as the mission needs, lands on a runway, and flies again in 48 hours. (8/6)

Space Force Seeks $71B for Active Threat Mitigation (Source: SatNews)
The US Space Force has proposed a $71 billion budget for fiscal year 2027, marking a shift from orbital surveillance to active threat mitigation and warfighting integration. The budget supports initiatives such as the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture and the Golden Dome Initiative, aiming to enhance missile tracking and space-based interceptors. (8/6)

NASA, Northrop Grumman Repurpose Gateway Elements for Moon Base Demo Missions (Source: Spaceflight Now)
NASA’s decision to pivot away from the orbiting Gateway lunar station, a stepping stone to the lunar surface for Artemis astronauts, left many wondering what would become of the hardware, like the HALO (Habitation And Logistics Outpost) module. Now, there’s an answer. In a series of Moon Base program updates shared on Tuesday, the agency announced that it’s working with Northrop Grumman to transform HALO into a trio of Lunar Infrastructure Demo (LID) missions to test some of the technologies needed for future, long-term crew survival at the Moon’s South Pole. (8/6)

Honeywell Aerospace Shares Plunge After Weak First Standalone Quarter (Source: AeroTime)
Shares in Honeywell Aerospace plunged 24% on August 6, 2026, after supply-chain problems led to slower sales and prompted the newly independent company to cut its outlook for the rest of 2026. The selloff followed Honeywell Aerospace’s first quarterly report since it separated from Honeywell Technologies. It began trading on the Nasdaq on June 29. Shares fell as much as 26% during the day and were trading near $157 late in the session, after the stock closed at $220.19 on its first day of regular trading little more than a month ago. (8/6)

Blue Origin Hosts Alan Shepard's VW Beetle at Space Coast Campus (Source: Space Hipsters)
In 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space — a legacy that lives on in the name New Shepard. In July his Volkswagen Beetle found a new home at Blue Origin's Rocket Park. Laura Shepard Churchley, Alan Shepard's daughter, joined the event. She recently made her own trip to space with Blue Origin. (7/22)

Bumper 8 Bumped Bumper 7 for First Florida Launch (Source: Space Hipsters)
While the Cape facilities were being built, at White Sands, eight German V-2 rockets were fitted with a WAC-Corporal rocket as a second stage. These eight now two-stage rockets became known as the Bumper series. Bumpers 1-6 flew at White Sands and 7-8 were sent to the newly constructed pad at the Cape. On 19 July 1950, the team attempted a launch of Bumper-7 from LC-3; however, they had to scrub the launch due to an aircraft in the area. As a result of the abort, Bumper-7 was replaced on the pad by Bumper-8.

Five days later, on 24 July 1950, the very first launch of a rocket, called Bumper-8, was accomplished from Cape Canaveral’s LC-3.
Even though Bumper-8 was the first launch, the actual launch objectives were not met and the flight was deemed a failure. The V-2 only reached an altitude of 9.5 miles before the rocket failed; however, there was a successful separation and the WAC-Corporal flew an additional 15 miles. (7/19)

Florida Spaceport Reaches 50 Launches for 2026 (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The Space Coast has seen 50 launches through August 5 in 2026 with missions flown by SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, Blue Origin and NASA. SpaceX has flown 43 of the 50 missions including 42 Falcon 9 rockets and one Falcon Heavy. United Launch Alliance has flown five missions including one Vulcan and four Atlas V rockets. Blue Origin has flown its New Glenn rocket once. And NASA flew its SLS rocket on the Artemis II mission. (8/5)

Central Florida Astronaut Ready for ISS, and the Moon (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Rookie astronaut Luke Delaney, who was raised in Central Florida, tried to temper his excitement for the potential to go on a spacewalk during his upcoming stay on board the ISS. “Definitely won’t be make or break for a mission,” he said during a Crew-13 media briefing Monday. “Just launching with a crew like this and working as an expedition on board, whatever gets thrown at us is going to be exciting and totally successful in my mind, no matter what the outcome is. So, spacewalk, yes, that would be awesome, but not required if it’s not in the cards for some reason.” (8/4)

FCC Space Bureau Leadership Changes Amid Licensing Overhaul (Source: Space News)
The Federal Communications Commission is turning to Space Bureau deputy chief Jennifer Gilsenan to keep its satellite regulatory overhaul moving as Jay Schwarz prepares to retire as its chief later this month. The U.S. regulator announced Gilsenan’s appointment as acting Space Bureau chief Aug. 7, after Schwarz revealed plans a few weeks ago to step down less than two years after taking the helm. Gilsenan, who has worked on satellite and spectrum regulatory issues at the FCC for more than two decades, will take charge of a bureau created in 2023 to sharpen the regulator’s focus on space and modernize rules to keep pace with the rapidly evolving industry. (8/7)

Blackstar Orbital Goes Public Through SPAC in $380 Million Deal (Source: Blackstar Orbital)
Space Coast-based Blackstar Orbital Technologies has signed a definitive merger agreement with Pono Capital Four (NASDAQ: PONO), a special purpose acquisition company. Under the agreement, Blackstar will merge with a Pono as a wholly owned subsidiary. The transaction values Blackstar at approximately $380 million and is targeted to close in the first quarter of 2027.

Blackstar is developing SpaceDrone, a reusable orbital spacecraft designed to launch aboard existing rockets as a conventional payload, conduct missions in low Earth orbit, carry payloads back from orbit, and land on a runway for recovery and reflight. The company is positioning itself in the 'premium orbital down-mass market' to serve in-space manufacturing, materials science, and defense payload recovery demand. (8/7)

For Switzerland and Starlab, New Space Begins After the Rocket Launch (Source: Swiss Engineering)
The decisive economic opportunity of New Space lies not in the construction of more rockets and satellites, but in their utilization. For Switzerland, this opens up a market far larger than the traditional space industry. Switzerland's opportunity lies in its existing world-class strengths on Earth: high-precision machinery, automated production systems, bioreactors, pharmaceuticals, medical technology, robotics, sensors, optics, vacuum technology, materials, software, quality assurance, and regulatory processes.

An orbital factory requires process plants, fluid systems, pumps, valves, microscopes, incubators, analysis platforms, robots, digital twins, and autonomous controls. It needs processes for preparing, monitoring, documenting, and certifying experiments and production batches. It needs insurance, financing, logistics, legal expertise, and data management. The majority of this value creation takes place on Earth, and a significant portion aligns with Switzerland's industrial profile.

With Starlab's planned European Hub in Dübendorf, operating under the umbrella of the Swiss Innovation Park Zurich (SIPZ) and the Center for Space and Aviation Switzerland and Liechtenstein (CSA), the connection to orbital infrastructure is already in place. The CSA and SIPZ cooperation system aims to create a seamless chain from development and testing to operation in orbit. Dübendorf can become the access point through which European companies can launch their machines, processes, and products into orbit and back. (8/5)

August 7, 2026

Europe to Expand IRIS² Constellation (Source: Space News)
The European Commission has finalized an agreement with an industrial consortium for the IRIS² constellation, increasing its size and cost. The commission announced Friday it completed negotiations with the SpaceRISE consortium on the constellation, allowing development of the system to proceed. The agreement adds 66 satellites to the system's high-LEO shell, bringing it to 330 satellites, along with 18 medium Earth orbit satellites. Launches of IRIS² satellites are scheduled to begin in 2029. The commission did not disclose the revised cost of the system but Hispasat, one of the members of SpaceRISE, said the constellation now costs 15.6 billion euros ($18 billion), a nearly 50% increase from earlier estimates. The European Commission and ESA, along with their member states, will provide 11.6 billion euros with SpaceRISE contributing the remainder. (8/7)

Schiess Confirmed to Lead Space Force (Source: Space News)
The Senate confirmed Douglas Schiess as the next commanding general of the Space Force. The Senate voted Thursday to confirm Scheiss as chief of space operations and promote him from lieutenant general to general. Schiess, who has served as the Space Force's deputy chief of space operations for operations since late 2025, succeeds Gen. Chance Saltzman as the service's top uniformed officer and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Schiess is a 34-year military veteran who began his career as an Air Force missile officer before moving into military launch, GPS and satellite communications. Saltzman, who is retiring after 35 years of military service, called Schiess "an exceptional leader" and said he had the experience needed to guide the Space Force into its next phase. (8/7)

Senate Bill Would Expand Space Wargaming (Source: Space News)
A bipartisan Senate bill would direct the Space Force to strengthen preparation for a potential conflict with China. The Space Superiority Readiness Act, introduced by Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Katie Britt (R-AL), would require the Defense Department to expand the Space Force's capacity to conduct wargaming, modeling and simulation of peer conflicts in space and develop training programs focused on the tactics, techniques and procedures needed for space control operations. It also requires an unclassified report to Congress on China's commercial space capabilities and their potential military applications within 180 days of enactment. The proposal, which could be included as an amendment to the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act,  largely reinforces initiatives the Space Force says are already underway. (8/7)

Redwire to Use SpaceX Starfall Reentry Service (Source: Space News)
Redwire will fly a dedicated microgravity research flight on SpaceX's Starfall vehicle. Redwire announced Thursday it purchased a Starfall mission, scheduled for late 2028, that will carry up to 32 of Redwire's PIL-BOX experiment packages to conduct pharmaceutical research. SpaceX launched its first Starfall mission in June on a test flight, offering it for microgravity research and manufacturing. The contract illustrates both the interest in commercial microgravity research and manufacturing and the competitive threat posed by SpaceX as several other companies also work on reentry spacecraft for similar applications. (8/7)

Lunar Greenhouses Remain a NASA Focus (Source: Space News)
As NASA works on its plans for a moon base, several companies are working on an important but often overlooked technology: growing food for the people who will live there. This spring, NASA solicited SBIR proposals for plant-growth technologies and has multiple contract opportunities for similar types of innovations. Across the industry, companies and research teams are building modular plant pods and refining larger lunar greenhouse designs, preparing to cultivate difficult-to-grow flora on the lunar surface and developing monitors that can detect plant stress before it hinders growth. (8/7)

NASA Astronauts Complete ISS Spacewalk for New Solar Arrays (Source: Space.com)
NASA astronauts successfully completed work on the International Space Station's power system during a spacewalk Thursday. Jessica Meir and Anil Menon spent 6 hours and 27 minutes outside the station on a spacewalk that ended at 3 p.m. Eastern. The two installed a modification kit for one of the station's eight power channels to prepare for a new solar array that will be added later this year. The spacewalk was the first of three NASA planned for the ISS this month, with the next, to replace an antenna, scheduled for Aug. 13. (8/7)

Blue Origin Plans Large Facility Near Austin TX (Source: Austin American-Stateman)
A suburb of Austin, Texas, is advancing plans for a factory that may be used by Blue Origin. The city council of Hutto, Texas, along with its economic development corporation jointly approved Thursday performance and incentive agreements for "Project Blue Hub," which has been linked to Blue Origin. Project Blue Hub involves a factory spanning 1.3 million square feet that would create more than 2,000 jobs. City officials have not disclosed additional details about the project, and the discussion of the agreements took place in executive session. Blue Origin has not publicly stated it is involved in Project Blue Hub but a company official attended the meeting. (8/7)

Italy's ASI Dissolves Board Allow Short-Term Leadership Move (Source: European Spaceflight)
The board of directors of Italy's space agency, ASI, has dissolved as part of the response to the death of the agency's president. ASI announced this week that three members of the board stepped down so that the board could be dissolved and an extraordinary commissioner appointed to lead the agency temporarily. ASI's president, Teodoro Valente, died unexpectedly last month, and board members said Italian law did not include provisions to select a replacement in such a scenario. An extraordinary commissioner can run the agency for up to a year while a new president and board are selected. (8/7)

Terafab is SpaceX's Next Giant Project in Texas (Source: Houston Chronicle)
SpaceX's next giant project will be a terrestrial chip factory. SpaceX announced Thursday it was proceeding with plans to develop Terafab, a giant chip fabrication facility to be built in Grimes County, Texas, northwest of Houston. Terafab will cover 100 million square feet and cost $16.8 billion to develop. SpaceX announced earlier this year its intent to develop Terafab, which will product chips for AI applications at both SpaceX and Tesla. SpaceX in the near term, though, will continue to rely on other chip producers, announcing an exclusive agreement with Nvidia earlier this week to use that company's chips on its orbital data center spacecraft. (8/7)

Can an Alaskan Spaceport Ease Pentagon’s Launch Bottleneck? (Source: Defense One)
Rocket Lab’s announcement that it would launch suborbital rockets from Alaska could ultimately give the Pentagon a much-needed new option for national-security launches. These missile-defense missions will be handled by the company’s HASTE rocket, a suborbital variant of its Electron. Both rockets “use the same launch infrastructure so yes, operating out of Alaska naturally opens the door to a broader range of possibilities including orbital launch,” a Rocket Lab spokesperson said. “It’s important to remember too that the core systems, infrastructure, and expertise we build and refine in Alaska aren’t tied to just one location.”

Top Space Force officials and lawmakers are concerned that the Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg bases will be unable to handle the projected increase in military-satellite launches. The Space Force expects to launch more than 100 rockets a year within five years and potentially thousands a year by 2036. An Arctic national-security launch site would reduce the bottleneck and help the military reach polar orbits, said Clayton Swope, the deputy director of CSIS’ Aerospace Security Project. (8/6)

Musk Reveals SpaceX Plans to Build Satellite Factories on the Moon (Source: Scientific American)
Elon Musk laid out a sweeping plan for SpaceX to reach profitability during an investor call on Tuesday—including robotic satellite factories on the moon. Musk, who is known for making ambitious timeline predictions that don’t always hold up to reality, told investors this will come to fruition “faster than you think.” Building factories largely staffed by robotic workers “sounds like super sci-fi right now,” he acknowledged, “but it’s going to happen.” (8/5)

NASA’s Future In Low Earth Orbit Is Riding On Commercial Stations (Source: Aviation Week)
Twenty years ago, in the wake of the Columbia accident and retirement of the space shuttles, NASA embarked on a bold experiment to turn over transportation services to and from the International Space Station to private companies, seeding SpaceX and other ventures. Now, with the ISS approaching the end of its operational life, NASA is preparing for a pivotal moment in the history of human spaceflight: the handoff of permanent U.S. human presence in low Earth orbit (LEO) to commercially owned destinations.

Under the agency’s draft Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) Phase 2 solicitation, released July 6, NASA is calling for bidders to be ready to support a crewed flight test in 2029 as part of certification requirements to host agency astronauts. NASA intends to award firm-fixed-price, multi-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts supporting the development, certification and services of a CLD.

The agency intends to select two or more contractors through early development, followed by a competitive task order for final design, test, evaluation, certification and flight services from one or more provider. The final request for proposals is expected in late August, and NASA plans to make its selection next spring. (8/5)

UCF Grad Helps Shape Humanity’s Next Giant Leap (Source: UCF)
When Alex Williams says, “these are exciting times,” just consider where he’s been and where he believes humanity is going. Williams recently traveled between Virgin Galactic’s headquarters in Tustin, California, and its spaceship factory in Mesa, Arizona, 350 miles from Spaceport America near Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Today, fewer than 800 people have traveled to space. But Virgin Galactic projects that soon 750 or more people — “astronauts” — will ride its spaceships annually. As the company’s senior manager of program design, Williams is among those responsible for producing a full “experience” around each pinnacle moment. "My wheelhouse, [going] back to Disney and UCF, is designing experiences that are different, larger than ourselves,” Williams says. “Here, I get to be part of opening space as the next layer of humanity.” (8/5)

First Rocket Launch from SaxaVord Delayed Further (Source: Shetland News)
A planned first orbital rocket launch from the SaxaVord Spaceport has been cancelled with no new date announced. Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) had planned a first launch into orbit from UK soil during a five-week window starting later this month, but this is now not happening. The spaceport said last night (Wednesday) that any launch related road restrictions in the vicinity of the launch site in Unst “have been put on hold until further notice”.

The company had its RFA One rocket standing on the launch site ahead of a hot fire test when engineers encountered the issue. RFA has given no further details and has so far made no other announcement regarding the latest delay in their launch efforts. (8/6)

NASA Proposes Major Beach Restoration Project at Wallops Island (Source: WBOC)
NASA is seeking federal approval for a major shoreline restoration project aimed at protecting critical facilities on Wallops Island from storms and rising sea levels. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Norfolk District says NASA's Wallops Flight Facility has applied for a Department of the Army permit for the project, which would restore approximately 15,000 feet of shoreline in Accomack County. According to the Army Corps, the project is intended to reduce the risk of damage or loss to facilities belonging to NASA, the U.S. Navy, and the Virginia Spaceport Authority's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. (8/5)

Canada's Defense Investment Agency Awards Telesat and MDA Space an Arctic Security Connectivity Contract Valued at $2.3 Billion (Source: SpaceQ)
The Defense Investment Agency awarded a $2.3-billion initial contract to Telesat on Tuesday to deliver the first phase of the Enhanced Satellite Communications Project-Polar (ESCP-P). Telesat isn’t the only beneficiary as MDA Space also received a follow-on manufacturing contract worth $474-million. ESCP-P is designed to provide wideband and narrowband connectivity in the Arctic and aims to strengthen Arctic security. The government also said the project “demonstrates Canada’s commitment to modernizing military capabilities, supporting NATO and NORAD priorities.” (8/4)

NASA Seeks Info From Space Nuclear Tech Providers (Source: Aviation Week)
NASA has issued a request for information (RFI) for a Space Power and Reactor Capabilities (SPARC) contract to develop nuclear systems for use in space and on the Moon. Responses are due by Aug 17. The SPARC contract may include the delivery of technology development hardware and software. (8/5)

Canadian Space Agency Opens $2.4 Million CUBICS 2026 Opportunity for University CubeSat Projects (Source: SpaceQ)
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has opted again to fund the CubeSats Initiative in Canada for STEM (CUBICS) program, this time allocating a $2.4 million to support university-led satellite missions. The goal of the CUBICS program is to provide students with hands-on space science and technology experience. The CSA expects the initiative to help develop a domestic talent pipeline and position graduates as highly sought-after candidates or entrepreneurs within the Canadian space sector. The program also focuses on increasing scientific knowledge and developing new technologies that align with the 2019 Space Strategy for Canada. (8/5)

ISRO Carried Out 29 Collision Avoidance Maneuvers To Protect Indian Satellites in Last 18 Months (Sources: Deccan Herald, The Federal)
With the majority of Indian satellites in the low earth orbit, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has carried out 29 "collision avoidance maneuvers" in the last one and half years for securing the space assets. Twenty of the 22 active Indian satellites in low earth orbit are at a higher risk of colliding with space objects. (8/5)

A Nuclear Powered Spacesuit to Keep Astronauts Warm (Source: Douglas Messier)
A.C. Charania of Zeno Power Systems believes nuclear energy integrated into spacesuits can be used to keep astronauts warm. NASA awarded Charania a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) research grant of up to $175,000 for his Extended Astronaut Radioisotope-EVA in Nighttime and Deep-space Icy Landscapes (EARENDIL) project. (8/6)