April 16, 2026

SpaceX Launches Two Starlink Satellite Groups 19 Hours Apart From Florida and California (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX began and ended the day with Starlink launches. The company sent two Falcon 9 rockets soaring, first from Florida before sunrise on Tuesday (April 14), and then from California after sunset the same day (by local time zone). Both launches were successful, according to SpaceX. First up, were 29 of the broadband internet relay units (Starlink group 10-24) at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. Then, about 19 hours later, 25 more Starlink satellites (group 17-27) lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in southern California. (4/15)

U.S. Space Command Advances Work on Maneuver Warfare Strategy (Source: Aerospace America)
U.S. Space Command plans to hold exercises this year as it readies a maneuver warfare strategy for space. “When we look at scenarios involving a protracted conflict against a peer opponent, we need a new strategy that isn’t predictable or static,” Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command, told an audience here. “U.S. Space Command must collaborate across the enterprise toward a maneuver warfare strategy.” (4/15)

This AI Prediction Model Could Help Shield Future Lunar Habitats Against Micrometeorites (Source: Aerospace America)
NASA has just begun to analyze the data collected from the 10-day Artemis II mission, but one standout moment so far is the number of micrometeorite impacts the crew observed during its April 6 lunar flyby. The astronauts saw six impact flashes in half an hour — suggesting these are more frequent occurrences than scientists previously predicted. A team of U.S. researchers might have a solution: an AI-based damage prediction system that will help designers protect future lunar habitats against such impacts. (4/15)

Defense Firms Unveil New Satellite Designs for Orbital Warfare (Source: SpaceNews)
U.S. defense contractors BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin are accelerating internal investments in maneuverable satellite designs, betting that military advocacy for “dynamic space operations” will translate into sustained demand for spacecraft that can move, coordinate and respond in orbit. At the Space Symposium this week, both firms outlined separate efforts to fund and fly demonstration spacecraft designed to maneuver on orbit, shadow other satellites and operate as part of more networked architectures. (4/15)

General Atomics Completes Pre-Ship Review for Space Force Weather Payload (Source: SatNews)
On Tuesday, April 14, 2026, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced the successful completion of the pre-ship review (PSR) for its advanced Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) payload. This milestone clears the hardware for integration into the spacecraft bus, marking a critical advancement for the U.S. Space Force (USSF) Space Systems Command’s EO/IR Weather System (EWS) program. (4/15)

Starlink is Propping Up SpaceX’s Business (Source: Robinhood)
Ahead of SpaceX’s highly anticipated IPO in June, we’re learning just how dependent the rocket and AI company is on its satellite internet business. New reporting from The Information shows that in 2025, Starlink generated $11.4 billion in revenue and $7.2 billion in adjusted EBITDA — a striking 63% margin — making it SpaceX’s only meaningful source of profit.

By contrast, the company’s core rocket launch business and its recently acquired AI unit, xAI, lagged far behind financially. The space launch business generated $4.1 billion in revenue and about $700 million in adjusted EBITDA, while the AI segment brought in $3.2 billion in revenue but lost roughly $1.2 billion on an EBITDA basis. In other words, Starlink accounted for most of SpaceX’s revenue — and more than all of its adjusted profit. (4/15)

KSAT and Kongsberg NanoAvionics Announce Partnership to Strengthen Smallsat Operations (Source: KSAT)
Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) and Kongsberg NanoAvionics (NanoAvionics) announced their partnership to simplify mission deployment and lower the operational and financial burden for satellite owners. By combining NanoAvionics’ high-performance small satellite platforms with KSAT’s global ground infrastructure and operational expertise, the companies will deliver integrated, end-to-end satellite mission services. (4/15)

Amazon Leo to Power Apple Satellite Features (Source: Amazon News)
Amazon and Apple signed an agreement to provide satellite connectivity for current and future iPhone and Apple Watch features. Globalstar currently partners with Apple to power satellite service on iPhone 14 or later, as well as Apple Watch Ultra 3, allowing users to text emergency services, message friends and family, request roadside assistance, and share their location. With the new Amazon-Apple agreement, Amazon will continue to support iPhone and Apple Watch models currently using Globalstar’s existing and planned upcoming low Earth orbit satellite constellations, being manufactured by MDA Space, and collaborate with Apple on future satellite services using Amazon Leo's expanded satellite network. (4/14)

Space Force’s Hardest Mission Is Writing a Song (Source: 404 Media)
In May 2022, the Chief of Space Operations (CSO) at the U.S. Space Force (USSF) “slapped the table on a final melody” for the agency’s new theme song. The goal was to have the song all done by mid- to late-August. Every branch of the armed forces has its own song, and the Space Force being a relatively new agency needed one too. The emails show in a very humdrum sort of way the painful bureaucracy behind a U.S. military agency making a song. The meetings, the catchups, the deadlines. The legal approvals. And even the suggestion that the agency start writing the song all over again. (4/15)

Space Investments Up for Early Stage Companies (Source: Space News)
Based on numbers in a quarterly report from the early-stage investor Space Capital, the first quarter saw $6.7 billion in global investments into space infrastructure. That’s more than twice the amount invested over that time last year. The report also notes that 2026 is on track to be a record-breaking investment year for space overall, citing recent interest in orbital data centers for AI applications and anticipation of reliable heavy launch that could see investments surpass 2025’s $55.3 billion. (4/15)

NASA KSC Signs Lease Agreement for "Spaceport Logistics Center" (Source: All Points)
NASA KSC has signed an exclusive lease with All Points Logistics for 64 acres at Kennedy Space Center. The lease enables development of a new multiuser spacecraft processing and logistics complex, including a 266,000 sq. ft. Spaceport Logistics Center and a 275,000 sq. ft. Spacecraft Processing Center near NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building.

Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral together form the world’s busiest spaceport. Industry and government forecasts project more than 1,000 satellite launches per year from Florida beginning in 2028. All Points’ privately financed facilities will expand critical payload processing capacity and serve national security, civil, and commercial operators. The Spaceport Logistics Center is scheduled to open by end of 2027. (4/15)

How Much Revenue a Gigawatt of Compute Earns in Orbit (Source: Mach 33)
Two independent approaches converge on a revenue range of $10.7 billion to $16.0 billion per gigawatt of input power per year. The lower bound captures the advantage of higher Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). The upper bound prices in custom inference silicon performance of operations per delivered watt.

Silicon efficiency is the dominant variable, producing a $14.5 billion/GW swing across its feasible range. Revenue per GW is location-independent; orbital deployment wins on the cost side, where Wright's Law learning curves compress launch and subsystem costs with each replacement cycle while revenue holds. (4/15)

Starfighters Space and Blackstar Orbital Expand Technical Interchange (Source: Starfighters)
Starfighters Space announced an expanded technical interchange with Blackstar Orbital, a company pioneering advanced Return-to-Earth satellites, to support the development, integration planning, and flight test preparation of next-generation reusable space systems.

This extends beyond initial vehicle integration planning. In addition to integrating Blackstar’s SpaceDrone BX-02C.2 test article with the Starfighters F-104 platform, the scope includes vehicle physical characterization, carriage and release simulations, wind tunnel testing, mock-up validation, interface hardware planning, payload handling procedures, telemetry and data requirements, and drop-test and recovery planning.

Blackstar Orbital is developing a lifting-body “SpaceDrone,” designed to operate as a reusable, hypersonic satellite that can launch as a payload and return to Earth like a spaceplane. The current technical interchange is intended to determine whether the vehicle can be safely and effectively integrated, carried, and deployed from the Starfighters F-104 platform. (4/15)

ispace & Shimizu Corporation Sign Lunar Infrastructure Agreement (Source: ispace)
Japan's ispace and Shimizu Corp., a Japanese architecture, civil engineering and general contracting firm, have signed a memorandum of understanding concerning planning studies for infrastructure architecture in cislunar space including a lunar surface data center.

Under terms of the agreement, the two companies will jointly develop a basic concept for infrastructure in cislunar space and a phased implementation roadmap; examine basic concepts regarding construction sites, facility configurations, construction methods, power, thermal, and communications management; and discuss approaches to future demonstration, commercialization, and public-private partnerships. (4/15)
 
Vast Astronaut Flight Suit: Designed for the Next Era of Human Spaceflight (Source: Vast)
The Vast Astronaut Flight Suit showcases Vast’s focus on human-centric design. It will be worn by the crew for events, training, and upcoming missions aboard Haven-1, scheduled to be the world’s first commercial space station, and during the sixth private astronaut mission on the International Space Station in partnership with NASA. (4/15)

Air Force Signs with The Spaceport Company (Source: The Spaceport Company)
The Spaceport Company signed a contract with the Air Force to counter malign influence on the high seas using cost-effective, commercial sea-based launch assets. Our customers under this contract vehicle include the Navy, the Strategic Capabilities Office, and, potentially, the Space Force and SOCOM. Phase 1 is complete and future phases will be executed this calendar year.

The total potential value of the contract exceeds $10 million. This is our fifth active DoD contract and our second multi-million dollar contract signed so far this year.

Tri-Sub is a three-column, stabilized, semi-submersible vessel designed to enhance offshore operations. Named for its triangular column configuration, the Tri-Sub combines mobility, versatility, and cost-efficiency to address industry's desire for scalable and modular offshore autonomous vessels. Our new facility in Cocoa, Florida, is capable of making at least 1 Tri-Sub per month. (4/15)

After Orbán, What Happens to Hungary's U.S. Space Deals? (Source: Space News)
Hungary has just witnessed a radical change in power. The center-right Tisza party led by Péter Magyar won 138 seats out of 199 and defeated Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power. Trump administration support for Orbán included partnerships to build out Hungarian space infrastructure, so it should not come as a surprise that on April 7 Hungary announced its first national communications satellite.

At the core of the agreement is a contract between Hungarian space and defense company 4iG and Northrop Grumman to build a GEO satellite under a program known as HUSAT. Together with Northrop Grumman, 4iG has also signed contracts with other U.S.-based companies such as L3Harris Technologies and Apex. The agreement follows the announcement a few months ago of 4iG's intention to invest in Axiom Space.

One question to keep in mind is what will happen to these space deals, signed prior to the election, now that Viktor Orbán has been voted out. It is still too early to assess the political strategy Magyar will adopt toward the United States, especially when it comes to delicate matters like defense and satellite communication. (4/15)

Sidus Space Expands Agreement with Lonestar Data Holdings for StarVault Orbital Data Storage Payload (Source: Sidus Space)
Sidus Space announced the expansion of its existing agreement with Lonestar Data Holdings to build and deliver an additional StarVault orbital data storage payload. The amendment extends Sidus' role in enabling the world's first commercially operational space-based sovereign data storage service. Sidus is currently building the first StarVault payload, which is scheduled to launch no earlier than fall 2026 aboard LizzieSat-4 (LS-4). (4/15)

Space Force Urges Industry to Invest in Satellite Production Capacity (Source: Air and Space Forces)
The Space Force is preparing for significant growth to its procurement budget in fiscal 2027, and the head of the service’s largest acquisition organization said April 14 he is asking companies to invest now in facilities and production capacity so they’re ready to execute when called upon.

The Space Force’s $71 billion budget request, a 77 percent increase over last year, includes $19 billion for procurement—up from just $3.6 billion in fiscal ’26. Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, head of Space Systems Command, told reporters here at the Space Symposium that the service plans to use that increase to award new contracts and fund major increases to existing production contracts. (4/14)

Peterson, Schriever Space Force Bases Expected to Need AI Data Centers (Source: Denver Gazette)
As the Space Force prepares for its workload to expand, Colorado Springs should expect to see military-centric data centers move to town. Hundreds of military satellites are expected to be sent into orbit to track threats, such as hypersonic missiles. The satellites will generate a tremendous amount of data that local Space Force guardians and industry partners will need help from artificial intelligence to process and use to make defense decisions, explained Ret. Gen. John Hyten. (4/14)

Telesat’s Risky Bid to Make Canada’s Starlink Gets Defense Boost (Source: Bloomberg)
Satellite operator Telesat is quietly trying to pull off perhaps the most audacious transformation in corporate Canada. Despite some financial cliffhanger moments, it’s started to see a big boost. Founded in 1969, Telesat has 13 satellites “parked” in geosynchronous orbit 22,000 miles above Earth, trained to beam broadcast signals and data down here. But revenue from that legacy business is sinking fast.

So it’s now financing an entirely new network of 198 satellites, made by Ontario’s MDA Space, to be flung into low-Earth orbit. These spacecraft will whizz much faster and much closer to Earth in a complex network that Telesat hopes will give Canada an answer to Elon Musk’s Starlink.

Ottawa-based Telesat puts the cost of its own new satellite “constellation,” known as Lightspeed, at $4.6 billion. That’s about twice its stock market value. The financial strain and maneuvers required to achieve this, despite hefty government loans, have caused tension with its lenders. Launches are, finally, due to start in December. (4/14)

Why Space Tourism Failed to Launch (Source: The Telegraph)
Within a few years of Dennis Tito touching back down on Earth after his Russian tourism flight, numerous dreamers and entrepreneurs had come forth with their visions to take amateur astronauts into space – including the space-enthusiast engineer Burt Rutan, the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and our own Sir Richard Branson. You can’t blame the billionaires for dreaming. But 25 years later, where is the space tourism dream?

What has gone wrong for space travel? One thing’s for sure, it certainly isn’t that the interest isn’t there. More than 600 people have already paid a deposit to go into space with Virgin Galactic. As you might expect, the industry is also benefiting from the ramped-up interest in space exploration in recent years.

For all the utopian visions of space tourism for the masses, though, the truth is that the ventures that exist are a deeply elite pursuit, with more space tourists being either high-net-worth individuals. In fact, it turns out those private astronauts who paid $450,000 for a seat on a Virgin Galactic flight might be the lucky ones. The company has increased ticket prices ahead of its planned relaunch this year, with the entry cost now a dizzying $750,000. (4/14)

Is Houston Still Space City? What Artemis II's Homecoming Reveals About Civic Pride, Nostalgia (Source: Houston Chronicle)
On Saturday, the Artemis II crew touched down at Ellington Field after a 10-day mission that took them farther from our home planet than any humans ever have been. And they returned not to Cape Canaveral, where they launched, but to Houston, where they live and train and are known by name to the people who spend years preparing them for this.

Houston and the space program had a real romance once. But I'm not sure whether it's survived, or whether the "Space City" identity has become something most Houstonians relate to the way San Antonians relate to the Alamo. Is our moniker an iconic source of pride to be defended against any outsider who dares talk smack, or is it a reference to a far-flung place that school-age children are hauled to on boring, sweaty field trips and then mostly forgotten about until a relative comes to town?

Consider what Houston actually did to mark the most significant crewed space mission in half a century. In January, NASA got a segment during a Texans game. Space Center Houston did its job by throwing a watch party in Clear Lake. The Rockets played a video on their scoreboard. That support from our biggest institutions isn't nothing, but it's also not the city that once lined the streets of downtown to honor its astronauts and collectively held its breath as its neighbors were launched toward the moon. (4/14)

NASA Seeks Proposals for Commercial TDRSS Replacement (Source: Space News)
NASA issued April 10 a draft solicitation for Project NEXUS, a part of the broader Commercial Services Project. That document is an effort by the agency to move from traditional government owned and operated communications systems to commercial services. The goal is to replace the existing Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. (4/15)

Senators Seek Increased Funding for NASA Mars Missions (Source: Space News)
Several senators are asking appropriators to increase funding for NASA’s robotic Mars exploration efforts to at least $400 million, fearing “severe and irreversible harm” if funding is not restored. (4/15)

Vast Offers New Docking Adapter for Large Space Stations (Source: Space News)
Commercial space station developer Vast unveiled a new docking interface called the Large Docking Adapter, which the company is offering to the broader industry for future large stations and spacecraft. (4/15)

Turion Space Raises $75 Million to Expand Maneuverable Satellite Fleet (Source: Space News)
The California-based startup, which develops satellites and payloads focused on space domain awareness and non-Earth imaging, said it raised more than $75 million in a Series B funding round. (4/15)

April 15, 2026

NRO Seeks Accelerated ISR Modernization (Source: Space News)
The NRO is looking for partners to accelerate its adoption of state-of-the-art intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. William Adkins, principal deputy director of the NRO, said Tuesday his agency is willing to work with anyone who can offer ISR capabilities. In recent years, the NRO has established partnerships with many firms even as its budget for commercial products and services has faced pressure. The NRO has awarded contracts to more than 150 commercial vendors in the last five years. Those partnerships have led to "dramatic improvements in cost, speed and agility," Adkins said. (4/15)

Isaacman ‘Gaining Confidence’ Both Landers will Participate in Artemis III (Source: Aerospace America)
NASA is increasingly optimistic that both lunar lander providers will be able to participate in next year’s Artemis III test, Administrator Jared Isaacman said. “I’m gaining confidence by the day that it’ll be both,” Isaacman said. Isaacman in late February announced NASA’s decision to convert Artemis III from the program’s inaugural lunar landing to a crewed demonstration in low-Earth orbit. An Orion crew capsule will practice rendezvous and docking with one or both of the lunar landers in development: SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon.

That test is slated for mid-2027, which NASA hopes will set up two landings in 2028 with the Artemis IV and V missions. Artemis III hardware is already arriving at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The largest component of the SLS core stage is slated to ship April 20 from New Orleans and arrive in Florida on April 28. (4/14)

The Bezos Vs. Musk Space Race Is Heating Up (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Jeff Bezos earlier this year signed into X to post a photo of a tortoise. No explanation. Space industry nerds, though, immediately read between the lines, seeing the Amazon.com founder as the steadier, if slower, competitor in a two-person race to the stars. Bezos-founded companies are pushing ahead in satellite connections and rocket launches; Musk’s SpaceX has dominated both businesses for years. (4/14)

Exploring the Moon's Shadowy Craters With Nuclear-Powered Rovers (Source: Universe Today)
Nuclear-powered robotic explorers are the best Artemis option, according to a recent study by two scientists from the commercial space sector, A.C. Charania at Zeno Power, and Charlie Crouse at Advanced Space. The two concepts they recommended include an initial mission that uses Americium-sourced Radioisotope Heater Units (RHUs) and a larger system that uses an Americium-sourced Radioisotope Stirling Generator (RSG).

The former consists of an RHU-Powered Compact Lander optimized for descent into a selected crater in the Moon's southern polar region. This will be followed by the RSG-Powered Enhanced Lander featuring a more complex design and a robust suite of scientific instruments. While previous mission concepts have focused on robotic rovers entering permanently shadowed craters by traversing the rim and descending into the crater, their proposed missions call for direct landing and entry into the crater.  (4/15)

Seagate Space and Oceaneering Join Forces to Build the Future of Offshore Launch Infrastructure (Source: Space News)
Oceaneering International, Inc. and Seagate Space Corporation today announced a strategic relationship to advance the development of Seagate Space’s offshore launch platform design. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a long-term collaboration spanning system development, engineering maturation, integration support, and future production opportunities.

Oceaneering provides advanced engineering services and products across offshore energy, defense, aerospace, and science. Its space systems division has supported major programs including the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, and NASA’s Artemis mission. Seagate Space recently received Approval in Principle (AiP). from American Bureau of Shipping, the first to do under the classification society’s offshore spaceport requirements. The company successfully completed wave basin testing at MIT’s Parsons Hydrodynamics Laboratory earlier this year, with initial offshore missions targeted as early as 2027. Seagate Space is based out of spARK Labs in St. Petersburg, Florida. (4/14)

ESA Advances Laser Comms Demonstration With Kepler Contract (Source: Aviation Week)
The European Space Agency (ESA) is moving forward on a program to advance space-based laser communications across multiple orbital planes with a contract to Kepler Communications. Under the €18.5 million ($21.8 million) contract, Kepler will provide a satellite to host payloads from several European partners. (4/14)

Amazon's $11.6 Billion Globalstar Deal Will Not Fix Rocket Launch Bottleneck, Analysts Say (Source: Reuters)
Amazon's $11.6 billion deal to buy Globalstar ​bolsters its space ambitions with satellites and wireless airwaves, but will not fix the crippling shortage of ‌rocket launches needed to build out a network capable of rivaling SpaceX, analysts said. Rocket shortages, manufacturing disruptions and launch setbacks mean Amazon has deployed just 243 of the 3,236 satellites it promised in 2019 to beam internet to consumers, businesses ​and governments.

The shortage has even compelled the tech giant to tap rival SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets for ​launches, highlighting its dependence on third-party providers and the constraints this places on how fast ⁠it can build out its network. SpaceX, by contrast, has deployed Starlink at a rapid pace using its own rockets, ​building a commanding lead in scale and coverage with a network of 10,000 satellites. Both Amazon and SpaceX are battling for ​a lucrative market for internet from space, with potential customers ranging from airlines and cruise ships to remote businesses and the billions without reliable broadband. (4/14)

SpaceX Launches Tuesday Starlink Mission From California (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California Tuesday night. The rocket carried another 25 satellites for its Starlink internet service. The Falcon 9 departed from the central California coast on a southerly trajectory, targeting an orbit of 258 x 246 km, with a 97-degree inclination. (4/15)

CLD Companies Say NASA Is Wrong. NASA Says Prove It (Source: Payload)
Commercial space station builders say NASA’s wrong about the lack of commercial business case in LEO. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman says, “So, prove we got it wrong.” Last month, NASA announced a proposal to make major changes to the CLD acquisition, saying the market is not strong enough to sustain commercial stations—and that in any case, NASA did not have the money to provide more support.

The space agency asked for industry’s input on the new plan, which would see NASA purchase a core module that would attach to the ISS, where commercial CLD providers could dock modules. When CLD tech matures, the modules could detach and become free flying commercial stations. The CEOs of Axiom Space and Vast said they had submitted feedback on NASA’s proposed changes to the CLD program. While there’s usually no love lost between CLD competitors, the two executives agreed on one key thing: NASA is wrong that the commercial market isn’t ready for private stations.

“We’ve flown 166 payloads to date. I think that’s evidence of a market,” Axiom Space CEO Jonathan Cirtain said in a press briefing. “We do that, and generate revenue and income as a consequence of those payloads. We’ve flown 14 astronauts….That’s a marketplace.” (4/14)

Xoople and L3Harris Team to Build Satellites for ‘Earth AI’ (Source: Space News)
L3Harris Technologies and Madrid-based AI data infrastructure startup Xoople have announced a partnership to co-develop an AI-optimized satellite constellation designed to provide "Earth AI" capabilities, according to announcements made in April 2026.This initiative, which follows seven years of stealth development, aims to deliver a "System of Record" for the physical world, intended to feed AI models with real-time, high-accuracy data rather than traditional imagery for human analysis. (4/14)

Blue Origin Moves Toward Launches at Vandenberg (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force has initiated final negotiations with Blue Origin to lease Space Launch Complex 14 at Vandenberg Space Force Base for New Glenn rocket launches, marking a significant step in developing heavy-lift capabilities. This move aims to expand national space operations, with SLC-14 serving as a key site for future missions. (4/14)

How STEM Organizations Are Turning Artemis Excitement Into Workforce Pipelines (Source: Higher Orbits)
When Artemis II launched, millions of people around the world looked up, some in awe, some in curiosity, and many young people seeing, perhaps for the first time, a future they could be part of. Moments like this matter. They always have. But inspiration alone has never built a spacecraft, written code, or solved the complex challenges of human spaceflight. Inspiration is the spark. What we do with it determines everything that follows.

For those of us working in STEM education and workforce development, Artemis II is not just a milestone, it’s a responsibility. We often assume that when students are inspired, they will naturally find their way into STEM careers, but that assumption overlooks a critical reality: access, exposure, and guidance are not evenly distributed.

Organizations like Higher Orbits exist to bridge the gap between inspiration and action. We translate moments like Artemis II into meaningful, hands-on experiences that give students not just excitement, but direction. At Higher Orbits, we see the impact immediately. After major space events, student interest spikes. Questions change. Confidence grows. The idea of “this could be me” becomes real, but capturing that moment requires intentional design. (4/14)

Dawn Aerospace Selected to Power Lunar Navigation Satellite for ArkEdge (Source: Telemetry)
Dawn Aerospace has been selected by ArkEdge Space to provide propulsion for a next-generation lunar navigation satellite. The effort supports Japan’s broader initiative to establish positioning infrastructure around the Moon as part of its national space strategy. The contract includes development of a customized SatDrive propulsion system for a roughly 100 kg-class satellite. The spacecraft is part of ArkEdge’s Lunar Navigation Satellite System (LNSS), a program aligned with the international LunaNet initiative alongside NASA and ESA. (4/14)

RTX’s Blue Canyon Technologies Expands Reaction Wheel Production Capacity (Source: Space News)
Small satellite manufacturer and mission services provider Blue Canyon Technologies, part of RTX’s Raytheon business, is increasing reaction wheel production capacity to support growing demand for spacecraft subsystems and components. The company has allocated more than $1 million to expand production capability from 650 reaction wheels per year to 2,400 wheels per year – a planned increase of nearly 400% increase. (4/14)

White House Unveils National Initiative for Space Nuclear Power (Source: Douglas Messier)
The White House unveiled a new National Initiative for America Space Nuclear Power to guide NASA and other federal agencies as they develop and deploy nuclear reactors on the Moon and in lunar orbit. The Office of Science and Technology Policy’s (OSTP) initiative provides guidance to federal agencies on how to implement the Ensuring American Space Superiority executive order issued in December 2025.

The order called for the United States to lead the world in the deployment of space nuclear power. OSTP’s initiative calls for NASA to initiate a program to develop a mid-power space reaction with a lunar fission surface power variant. NASA will also work on developing a high-power space nuclear reactor that would be deployed in the 2030s.

NASA will collaborate with the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy (DOE) and commercial companies in developing the reactors. NASA and DOE signed a memorandum of understanding on nuclear reactors earlier this year. (4/14)

Why We Need to Work Out Like Astronauts (Source: The Times)
Now that the Artemis II crew are back on Earth, more work — or at least workouts — will commence. In space an astronaut’s body is tested to new limits. Time spent in the low gravity of space can wreak havoc on unchallenged “antigravity” muscles in the limbs, back and neck which, along with bones, shrink in size and get weaker. Balance and co-ordination are derailed, cartilage is broken down and the heart, which doesn’t work as hard in space, can become smaller. Many astronauts return with poor posture and back pain.

Presumably most of us will never experience the after-effects of floating around in space. And yet the physiological outcomes are relevant to everyone as they are not dissimilar to the outcome of inactivity or long daily hours of sitting. Nick Caplan says changes that happen in space are akin to accelerated ageing on Earth. “Much of what we have learnt from studying the effects of space travel on the human body applies to everyday life, particularly to people who have enforced bed rest or lead very sedentary lives,” Caplan says. “With long-term inactivity our bodies become weakened in a similar way to those of astronauts and it gets worse the longer it goes on.” (4/13)

Ukraine Has Been Secretly Air-Launching, Lawmaker Says (Source: Business Insider)
A senior Ukrainian lawmaker said his country quietly launched two rockets into space some time ago using a flying carrier, touting it as a potential means to one day counter Russia's hypersonic missiles. "During the war, Ukraine launched a space rocket from a transport aircraft at an altitude of approximately 8,000 meters, which could potentially also be used to launch various types of spacecraft into orbit," Fedir Venislavskyi said. (4/14)

After PSLV Setbacks Stall Launches, ISRO Hopes to Bounce Back (Source: Indian Express)
Two successive launch failures of the Indian Space Research Organization's workhorse rocket, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), in 2025 and 2026, have delayed several key programs. These include satellite launches to revive India’s indigenous navigation system NavIC, the first privately manufactured PSLV mission, and progress on the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle.

Back-to-back failures of PSLV, which has failed only four times in 64 missions, including its maiden flight in 1993, PSLV-C39 in 2017, PSLV-C61 in 2025, and PSLV-C62 in 2026, have temporarily stalled ISRO’s launch plans in 2026. However, sources said an expert panel has identified solutions to the issues, and launches are expected to resume soon. (4/14)

OQ Technology Secures €1m ESA Contract for 5G Satellite Services (Source: Luxembourg Times)
The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed a €1 million contract with Luxembourg’s OQ Technology, the company has told the Luxembourg Times. OQ specializes in low-earth-orbit 5G connectivity and has been a European pioneer in providing service to unmodified smartphones when ground-based service is either non-existent or has been knocked out by disasters or malfunctions.

The Beamsat-5G contract with the ESA, under the agency’s Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (Artes) program, will allow OQ Technology to continue its work, “aimed at accelerating the convergence of terrestrial 5G technologies and satellite communications,” the company said. Beamsat stands for “bringing 5G beamforming technologies” to satellite communications “through breadboarding and validation.” (4/14)

Slingshot Introduces AI-Powered Portal Platform (Source: Payload)
Slingshot Aerospace introduced a new platform today that will allow operators to spot anomalies—and make decisions—in an AI-powered, one-stop-shop. Slingshot Portal brings together data from a variety of sources. The goal of fusing this data with AI and analytics tools is to let customers monitor space missions in near real time, quickly spot any problems, and plan out maneuvers—all in a single platform. (4/14)

Move Over Omega – Breitling is Championing its Own Space-Flight History with an Artemis II Edition (Source: T3)
The recent Artemis II space flight reignited the lunar interests of many watch lovers. Many look to the iconic Omega Speedmaster as the figurehead for wrist-mounted space travel. But it's far from the only noteworthy model. The Breitling Navitimer was actually the first Swiss wristwatch worn in space, as part of Scott Carpenter's mission on the Aurora 7 spacecraft.

Now, the brand has celebrated the latest Artemis II mission with a version of its commemorative Navitimer Cosmonaute. That features the Artemis II mission logo printed on the case back, and also engraves it along with 'One of 450' to denote the limited edition nature. (4/14)

Magellan to Contribute Critical System Concepts for Canada’s Lunar Utility Rover (Source: Mission Control)
Mission Control has selected Magellan Aerospace Corp. to support the development of concepts for Canada’s lunar utility rover. Working alongside a consortium of Canadian partners, Magellan will design key subsystems helping ensure the rover could operate in the Moon’s extreme environment. Mission Control has selected Magellan to join their team developing concepts for Canada’s lunar utility rover, a key contribution to the future human exploration of the Moon.

Mission Control is one of three companies previously awarded a $4.7 million contract by the Canadian Space Agency to execute the initial phase of the Canadian lunar utility rover. This phase includes defining mission tasks, advancing critical technologies, and laying the groundwork for a full prototype. This contract marks the starting point of Canada’s $1.35 billion investment in the utility rover. Magellan will work in partnership with Mission Control and alongside a consortium of leading Canadian companies to bring the rover — a semi-autonomous, minibus-sized rover to life. (4/14)

Deloitte’s Space Business Reaches New Heights as Two More ‘Project Constellation’ Satellites Reach Orbit (Source: Spacewatch Global)
Deloitte’s two new satellites, Deloitte-2 and Deloitte-3 have been deployed in orbit after launching from the Vandenberg Space Force Base on 29 March, to expand the company's Project Constellation that aims to boost on-orbit space data collection and in-space cyber resilience. (4/14)

Tendeg Produces Antenna From New Colorado Facility (Source; Space News)
Tendeg announced the delivery of the first flight antenna manufactured at Innovation Drive, the company’s new 120,000-square-foot production facility built to support scaled production of deployable space antennas. Innovation Drive brings engineering, precision manufacturing, integration, and environmental testing together under one roof. The facility was designed around repeatability and throughput, with standardized tooling, modular subassemblies, and vertically integrated capabilities including mesh knitting, cord braiding, and environmental testing. (4/14)

NASA Science Faces 'Very Serious Threat' From new White House Budget (Source: Space.com)
A new White House fiscal year 2027 budget proposal for NASA is drawing sharp criticism from space advocates, who warn it could dramatically reshape the space agency by cutting overall funding by 23% and reducing its science programs by nearly half. The newly released FY 2027 top-line budget request for NASA reduces the space agency's Science Mission Directorate from $7.25 billion to $3.9 billion, representing a 47% cut to science funding, coupled with a 23% cut to the agency's overall funding.

"There are two things: the astonishing lack of transparency and the abject refusal to acknowledge political reality," said Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, explaining that the request is a significant break from decades of precedent. "This is the least transparent NASA budget request I've ever seen — and I've literally looked through every single one since 1960." (4/13)

Could Dark Matter be Made of Black Holes From a Different Universe? (Source: The Conversation)
New research suggests that relic black holes from before the big bang may still shape galaxies today. These black holes could explain dark matter, one of the biggest unsolved questions in cosmology. Dark energy can be related to the global structure of a finite universe. Dark matter may be composed of relic black holes —perhaps our own universe started as one. (4/14)

Presidency Tells Elon Musk to ‘Move On’ Amid Starlink Row (Source: The South African)
South African-born billionaire Elon Musk has again claimed that his satellite internet service, Starlink, cannot operate in South Africa because he is not black. Posting on X over the weekend, Musk said authorities blocked Starlink from launching in his home country on racial grounds. He also alleged that officials repeatedly offered the company chances to “bribe” its way into the market by misrepresenting ownership to meet local requirements.

The Presidency of South Africa has dismissed Musk’s claims and urged him to shift focus elsewhere. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said Musk should consider opportunities in other countries instead of criticizing South Africa. “There are 193 member states in the United Nations. There is good money to be made in 192 markets. It is okay to move on,” Magwenya said. (4/14)

NASA and Contractors Accelerate Mobile Launcher Refurbishment, Artemis III Hardware to Meet New Schedule (Source: Aerospace America)
Even before the Artemis II lunar flyby had concluded, NASA and its contractors were preparing for the next flight. Slated for mid-2027, that Artemis III mission will test in-space docking to set up lunar landings in 2028 with the Artemis IV and V missions. NASA then wants to transition to annual lunar landings — a noticeable acceleration from the three years between the Artemis I uncrewed demo and Artemis II, which culminated Friday evening when the four astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean in their Orion capsule.

The agency’s first step, in late March, was to move up delivery of the SLS rocket’s two solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. These five-segmented boosters, installed on either side of the rocket’s core stage, provide the majority of the thrust at takeoff then separate 2 minutes into flight.

“We immediately called Northrop [Grumman] in Utah and said, ‘Get those boosters out here now,’” Cliff Lanham, NASA deputy manager for the Exploration Ground Systems program, told me during an April 9 interview at Launch Pad 39B. “They were due here in May, and we were talking to them already on the phone about getting them on the train. But we said, ‘We’re accelerating the whole program, immediately.’” (4/13)

BAE Unveils New Spacecraft Line For Dynamic Space Operations (Source: Aviation Week)
BAE Systems is entering the space tug market, debuting a new vehicle it says will be capable of transporting cargo and small satellites to the Moon and of dynamic on-orbit maneuvering. The company has spent the past five years developing the new space vehicle, called Ascent, as a refuellable platform capable of carrying multiple rideshare payloads for missions based in low Earth orbit (LEO) up to cislunar orbits, it announced April 14. (4/14)
 
STARCOM Plans Workforce Ramp Up (Source: Air and Space Forces)
The Space Force's Space Training and Readiness Command has plans in place for the onboarding of 400 civilians covering job roles in acquisition, intelligence, cybersecurity and testing analysis. The hiring surge coincides with STARCOM's move from Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado to Patrick Space Force Base in Florida, and is part of Space Force's expected growth. (4/13)

April 14, 2026

Artemis 2, Apollo 8, and the Problem with History (Source: Space Review)
Artemis 2 has drawn parallels to Apollo 8 not just because of the profile of the missions but also because of geopolitical factors. Dwayne Day reexamines how much NASA’s decision to fly Apollo 8 was influenced by intelligence about Soviet lunar plans. Click here. (4/14)
 
Opening the Path to the Lunar Surface (Source: Space Review)
The splashdown of Artemis 2 Friday marked both the successful end of the mission and the completion of a key step in NASA’s plans to return humans to the Moon. Jeff Foust reports on the limited details about the agency’s next step, the Artemis 3 mission in 2027. Click here. (4/14)
 
Strategic Celestography and Lunar Competition: Artemis, CLEP, and the Struggle for Positional Advantage (Source: Space Review)
As the United States and China race to the Moon, both countries are considering bases in the same south polar region. Glenn Scofield discusses how this is evidence of strategic value of some parts of cislunar space. Click here. (4/14)
 
Cold War Era Launch Vehicle Photographs (Source: Space Review)
Many US military launches during the Cold War did not have photos publicly released. Dwayne Day shows how researchers are filling the gaps in the historical record. Click here. (4/14)
 
A Tale of Two Martian Cities (Source: Space Review)
What is the right governance model for future Martian settlements? Thomas Gangale examines two very models for how people might be governed, or govern themselves, on the Red Planet. Click here. (4/14)

Artemis II: A Launch with No Direct CO₂ Emissions, But Still with a Climate Impact (Source: EcoInvent)
For the first time since Apollo 17, Greenly, the global leader in carbon accounting, has released a new analysis focused on the mission’s upstream carbon footprint. Often presented as a step toward “cleaner” spaceflight, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket used for Artemis II relies on a core stage powered by liquid hydrogen (LH₂) and liquid oxygen, a system that emits no CO₂ at the point of combustion. In flight, this main stage releases predominantly water vapor.

However, according to Greenly’s report, this only tells part of the story. While the launch may appear “clean” on the launch pad, its fuel actually carries a significant upstream carbon footprint. Based on NASA’s publicly available specifications, as well as recognized emissions factors from the IEA, the U.S. Department of Energy, EcoInvent, and the average U.S. electricity mix, Greenly estimates that the production and liquefaction of Artemis II’s liquid hydrogen generated between 2,154 and 2,343 metric tons of CO₂e before the rocket even left the ground. (4/14)

SpaceX Aims to Orbit Starship on Flight 13 (Source: Douglas Messier)
SpaceX has made an application to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that said it plans to place Starship into orbit for the first time on its 13th flight test later this year. The information was contained in a SpaceX application seeking special temporary authority for communications required for the flight. “The first stage booster and the second stage will either return to the launch site or perform a water landing,” the application said. (4/14)

Amazon to Acquire Globalstar (Source: Amazon)
Amazon will acquire low Earth orbit satellite operator Globalstar. The companies announced Tuesday morning a deal in which Amazon will acquire Globalstar for $90 a share in cash or Amazon stock, valuing Globalstar at $11.6 billion. The deal would give Amazon access to Globalstar's spectrum for direct-to-device services. Apple had been funding a new Globalstar constellation, and as part of the deal Amazon Leo will provide satellite connectivity serviced for Apple devices. (4/14)

AI and Geopolitics Spur Space Investment Surge (Source: Space News)
AI advances and rising geopolitical tensions are helping usher in a new phase of investment in space infrastructure. A study released Tuesday by Space Capital found that global investment in space infrastructure more than doubled year-over-year to $6.7 billion in the first quarter of 2026. That makes it the third-largest quarter on record. The report also said those investments are on pace to exceed an annual record set last year, thanks in large part to surging interest in orbital data centers. Growing demand for sovereign space capabilities by countries is also driving investment. (4/14)

L3Harris Invests for Golden Dome Work (Source: Space News)
L3Harris is investing in missile defense technologies to position itself for work on Golden Dome and related programs. Sam Mehta, the newly appointed head of L3Harris Technologies' space business, said the company is directing resources toward missile-defense architectures, building capacity and securing supply chains in anticipation of demand. The company has spent about $250 million to expand production facilities across Florida, Indiana and Massachusetts, adding roughly 150,000 square feet of manufacturing space. L3Harris is also investing in digital engineering and workflow tools. (4/14)

Washington Agrees on Space Urgency, But Not on How to Deliver (Source: Space News)
While there is a growing consensus within government to spend more and move faster to keep the United States competitive with China, it remains unclear if the system in place can deliver on that ambition. Government and industry officials at a Space Foundation forum Sunday broadly agreed the U.S. must accelerate investment to compete with China, but there is less consensus on whether the government and industry are equipped to translate funding into capability.

One issue is a disconnect between government and industry on what exactly the "demand signal" is with regard to space, with the need for government to provide clearer, more consistent signals to industry so companies can scale production and invest with confidence. Others pointed to increased defense spending, expected to top $1 trillion in 2027, as that necessary demand signal. (4/14)

Axiom Plans ISS Tests for Artemis Spacesuit (Source: Space News)
Axiom Space says it plans to perform a flight test of the Artemis spacesuit it is building in 2027, either on Artemis 3 or the International Space Station. At a briefing Monday, company executives said they are making good progress on their AxEMU spacesuit, with ground tests scheduled for later this year, allowing it to be tested in space in 2027. NASA has discussed testing the suit on Artemis 3, a low Earth orbit mission where Orion will dock with lunar lander prototypes from Blue Origin and SpaceX. However, the company said another option would be to send it to the ISS, which offers an easier option for testing it in a spacewalk. (4/14)
 
Trump Signs Bill to Reauthorize SBIR and STTR Programs (Source: Space News)
Programs that fund technology development by small businesses have been reauthorized after a months-long lapse. President Trump signed the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act Monday, which reauthorizes the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs through September 2031. Authority for the SBIR and STTR programs, which awards more than $4 billion annually, lapsed at the end of September, keeping agencies from using them to fund technology development programs by small companies. The U.S. Space Force, for example, has provided SBIR contracts to fund research and development of technologies ranging from space-based refueling and deployable solar arrays to novel propulsion, software-defined radios and deep-space navigation. (4/14)

Gravitics Prepares to Test In-Space Hangar for Spacecraft (Source: Space News)
Gravitics is preparing to test a space architecture built around a large orbital platform designed to store and deploy multiple spacecraft. The company finalized last month a contract announced last year from the Space Force, combining $30 million in government funding with an equal amount of private capital. Gravitics is developing what it calls an "orbital carrier," a platform that can host as many as six maneuverable vehicles, called Viper, and release them on demand. Under the contract, the company will seek to validate core technologies shared across the Orbital Carrier and the Viper platforms, with a first mission planned for as soon as 2027. (4/14)

Amazon Unveils Aircraft Antenna for Leo (Source: Space News)
Amazon has unveiled the antenna its upcoming constellation would use to provide gigabit speeds to commercial aircraft. The electronically steered Amazon Leo Aviation Antenna is compatible with aircraft ranging from regional jets to widebody planes, Amazon said Monday, with download speeds of up to one gigabit per second. SpaceX advertises up to 310 megabits per second per terminal for its Starlink aviation service, amid plans to upgrade a global offering it has been providing to major airlines for more than two years. Amazon has signed up Delta and JetBlue for its services, expected to begin in 2027 on JetBlue airliners and 2028 on some Delta planes. (4/14)

Chinese Kinetica-1 Rocket Launches Eight Satellites (Source: Space News)
A Chinese small rocket launched eight imaging satellites Tuesday. The Kinetica-1 solid rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, putting eight satellites into orbit for Chang Guang Satellite Technology (CGST). The satellites are part of CGST's Jilin-1 constellation Gaofen-07 series, and can produce images sub 50-centimeter resolution. Kinetica-1 has now flown 12 times, placing 92 satellites into orbit with one launch failure. (4/14)

SpaceX Launches Starlink Mission on Tuesday From Florida (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites early Tuesday. A Falcon 9 lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, deploying 29 Starlink satellites. SpaceX has now launched more than 1,000 Starlink satellites this year, with more than 10,000 currently in orbit. (4/14)

China Readies Reusable Long March 10B (Source: Space News)
China appears to be preparing for the first launch of its reusable Long March 10B. China conducted what was likely a wet dress rehearsal for the rocket over the weekend at the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site. The 5.0-meter-diameter rocket could now launch for the first time in the coming weeks, although there have been no announcements about a launch and no airspace closure notices linked to it.

The kerosene-liquid oxygen Long March 10B is a cargo variant of the Long March 10A, a rocket designed to launch a new crew spacecraft to low Earth orbit. Long March 10B features a booster that is designed to be reusable, using a vessel with a net system to catch the booster rather than have the booster deploy landing legs. (4/14)

Cygnus Arrives at ISS with Supplies (Source: Space.com)
A Cygnus cargo spaceship arrived at the International Space Station Monday. The station's robotic arm captured the NG-24 Cygnus spacecraft at 1:20 p.m. Eastern, berthing it to the Unity module later in the day. Cygnus launched on a Falcon 9 Saturday and delivered 5,000 kilograms of cargo to the station. (4/14)

Aerospace Corp. Offers Government-Furnished Talent (Source: Space News)
The Aerospace Corp. plans to offer industry access to its expertise and facilities through a new program called government furnished talent (GFT). The approach is similar to what is known as government furnished equipment, where agencies give companies access to hardware. Under GFT, Aerospace can provide companies with technical analysis and engineering expertise at both unclassified and classified levels. Aerospace says the program is intended to help accelerate development of space capabilities. (4/14)

Citra Raises $15 Million for Space Domain Awareness (Source: Space News)
Citra Space said it raised $15 million to expand its space domain awareness capabilities. The round, led by Washington Harbour Partners, will help the company develop systems to determine the identity and intent of objects in orbit. The company is developing software that combines data from multiple sources to build profiles of satellites and other objects over time for military and commercial users. Citra's approach merges observations from space- and ground-based sensors to create persistent "fingerprints" of objects, allowing operators to monitor changes in behavior over time through a single interface. (4/14)

Phantom Space Aims for Orbital Data Centers (Source: Space News)
Phantom Space believes it now has the key pieces of a vertically integrated model to compete on the edges of the emerging orbital data center market. The company recently acquired Thermal Management Technologies (TMT), a specialist in spacecraft heat control systems that addresses a key challenge for high-performance computing platforms in orbit. Phantom has plans for a Phantom Cloud constellation designed to move, process and distribute data in orbit, and it argues having that thermal management technology will give it an advantage. (4/14)

Atomic-6 Aims for In-Space Computing (Source: Space News)
Satellite component company Atomic-6 is developing a marketplace designed to simplify how companies procure spacecraft for in-space computing. The platform, called ODC.space, allows customers to order a complete satellite capable of processing data in orbit. The offering targets artificial intelligence developers, software providers and government agencies seeking access to orbital data center capacity. Atomic-6 produces solar arrays, thermal management systems and protective shielding for spacecraft, and provided equipment for Freedom, an experimental data center developed by Lonestar Data Holdings and flown to the moon on the IM-2 lunar lander mission. (4/14)

Astronomers Detect Mega-Laser Beam Signal From 8 Billion Light Years Away (Source: Times of India)
One of the most remarkable discoveries made by astronomers in recent years is the identification of an extremely strong 'mega-laser' signal that has traveled 8 billion light years without losing its strength and reaching Earth. The signal defies all scientific predictions regarding the behavior of signals over such great distances. The laser is actually a hydroxyl megamaser, which refers to the natural occurrence of microwave amplification like lasers but in radio wavelengths. (4/13)

Wiseman Snatches Artemis 2 Moon Mission Mascot (Source: Space.com)
Reid Wiseman had one last decision to make before leaving his spacecraft post-splashdown: leave something behind in accordance with NASA's post-splashdown checklist, or not? Reid Wiseman, the NASA Artemis 2 commander, was supposed to leave a little plushie moon toy — called Rise — for later retrieval from his Integrity Orion spacecraft. But after 10 days floating alongside the mascot to the moon and back again, Wiseman had a different thought about that procedure. (4/13)

The Universe is Expanding Too Fast and Scientists Still Can’t Explain It (Source: AURA)
A major international effort has produced an ultra-precise measurement of the Universe’s expansion rate, confirming it’s faster than early-Universe models predict. By linking multiple distance-measuring techniques, scientists ruled out simple errors as the cause of the discrepancy. The persistent “Hubble tension” now looks more real than ever. It could mean our current model of the cosmos is incomplete. (4/12)

The Largest Orbital Compute Cluster is Open for Business (Source: Tech Crunch)
The largest compute cluster currently in orbit was launched by Canada’s Kepler Communications in January, and boasts about 40 Nvidia Orin edge processors onboard 10 operational satellites, all linked together by laser communications links. The company now has 18 customers, and announced its newest on Monday — Sophia Space, a startup that will test the software for its unique orbital computer onboard Kepler’s constellation. (4/13)

ESA Publishes New Details on Crew Launch Abort Demonstrator (Source: European Spaceflight)
ESA has opened its call for proposals to develop a crew launch abort demonstrator, a project first announced on 28 November 2025. With the call now open, the agency has published additional information about the project, including a budget of €1 million for this initial phase of the demonstrator’s development.

Officially opened for proposals on 10 April, the System Level Definition phase of ESA’s Launch Abort Demonstrator calls for the completion of the “first step towards derisking a Launch Abort System for a crew vehicle.” It will focus on modelling the entire launch abort sequence, with a particular emphasis on pad abort scenarios, and is expected to last no longer than 12 months. While not overt, the call hints at a link between the Crew Launch Abort Demonstrator project and the agency’s LEO Cargo Return Service, which aims to foster the development of European commercial cargo transport and return services. (4/13)

The Chip That Could Survive Venus (Source: Universe Today)
In a paper published in the journal Science, researchers led by Professor Joshua Yang report a new type of memory device that kept working reliably at 700 degrees Celsius. That is hotter than molten lava. Hotter than the surface of Venus, which has defeated every lander ever sent there, destroying their electronics within hours of touchdown. And crucially, 700 degrees was not the limit, it was simply as hot as their testing equipment could go. The device showed no signs of failing. (4/12)

A New Study Narrows the Search for Water on the Moon (Source: Universe Today)
Addressing the question of how it got there, Aharonson, Hayne, and Schörghofer used lunar surface temperature data from the LRO's Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment (DLRE) and a series of computer simulations to estimate the evolution of craters on the lunar surface. “Finding water beyond Earth in liquid and usable form is one of the most important challenges in astronomy,” said Aharonson in CU Boulder Today news release.

These simulations produced a list of the moon’s cold traps that have been darkest the longest, and revealed something very interesting. According to LAMP's readings, the moon’s oldest and darkest craters are also where the greatest signs of ice are found. The Hawthorn Crater, which sits near the lunar South Pole, has likely been in shadow for more than 3 billion years, making it a top candidate for future exploration. (4/13)

Citra Space Raises $15 Million to Expand Platform for Identifying Objects in Orbit (Source: Space News)
Citra Space said it raised $15 million in a Series A funding round as the Colorado-based startup looks to expand its software platform for identifying objects in orbit.  (4/13)

Atomic-6 Unveils Online Marketplace for Orbital Data Centers (Source: Space News)
Atomic-6 launched ODC.space, an online marketplace to streamline the procurement of satellites for in-space computing, allowing customers to spec, price, and order data center capacity. Targeted at AI developers and government agencies, the platform aims to reduce the complexity and cost of traditional satellite programs. (4/13)

Fueling Test Suggests Imminent Debut of China’s Reusable Long March 10B Rocket (Source: Space News)
China has conducted what appears to be a wet dress rehearsal for its Long March 10B, paving the way for a potential launch within weeks. The wet dress rehearsal took place over the weekend at the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site near the national Wenchang spaceport. (4/13)

April 13, 2026

Musk Hurls Expletives at Senior South African Diplomat (Source: Tech Central)
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has called a senior South African government official “a fucking racist” and an “asshole” in the latest escalation of his long-running public dispute with Pretoria over the licensing of his Starlink satellite broadband service. The exchange, which played out on X on Sunday, began when Clayson Monyela, head of public diplomacy at the department of international relations & cooperation, tagged Musk in a post pointing out that more than 600 American companies operate in South Africa in compliance with local laws.

“@elonmusk watching the more than 600 USA companies investing more in [South Africa], complying with #SouthAfrican laws & thriving. Zero drama!!” Monyela posted. Musk’s reply, posted within hours, was vulgar and direct: “Stop being such a fucking racist, you asshole.” Under South African licensing rules, prospective telecommunications licensees, like Starlink, must cede 30% of their equity to historically disadvantaged groups – a condition SpaceX has said it doesn’t do anywhere in the world. (4/12)

Vandenberg Space Force Base Takes ‘Mission Update’ to Carpinteria (Source: EdHat)
Vandenberg Space Force Base is taking its community speaker series “Mission Update” on the road for its third iteration on Wednesday, April 22 in Carpinteria, California. This event is part of a broad effort to engage directly with local communities, provide updates on Vandenberg’s mission, and address questions about sonic booms and their impacts. The first such event was hosted in Lompoc, Calif., on Feb. 20, followed by a second event in Santa Barbara, Calif., on March 17. The fourth and final speaking event in this series is scheduled to occur in Ojai, Calif., on May 19. (4/12)

What’s Shaping Space Race 2.0—Minerals on Moon, Human Colonies, Helium-3 (Source: The Print)
In recent times, the Moon has re-emerged as a critical arena for demonstrating a country’s technological might. It is now viewed as a focal point for tapping potential resources and establishing a long-term human presence on the lunar surface. While Artemis II is framed as an international collaborative effort under the Artemis program, major space powers such as Russia and China are not part of it.

While the Cold War phase of the space race was largely about technological one-upmanship, the rivalry today continues in a more complex form. Major space powers now recognize the scientific and strategic significance of lunar exploration. The focus has shifted toward accessing potential mineral resources on the Moon, making it increasingly a race for planetary resources. The emerging interest in extracting Helium-3 from the Moon is a potential driver of the new space race. Some theoretical studies suggest that Helium-3 could offer a promising solution for future energy security.

It is not only the US, China, and Russia that have an interest in this field; but India and Japan are also investing in the potential procurement of Helium-3 from the lunar surface. It must be noted that the emerging space race is less about immediate resource extraction and more about securing early access to establish human colonies and conduct scientific experiments. The idea is to take an early advantage in governing extraterrestrial resources. (4/13)

It’s Past Time to Get Back to the Task of Human Space Exploration (Source: Chicago Tribune)
So why did it take NASA 54 years to return? America won the space race to the moon with the Soviets but backed off because of high costs and risks — doing more with robotic missions to search for Earth-like planets and look toward Mars and outer planets in the solar system. The public saw the astronomical costs of these expeditions and questioned spending billions on space treks when so many problems still needed to be addressed here on Earth, from poverty and hunger to disease and climate change.

However, it should not be one or the other. We need to do both; multitasking is in our nature. The moon has always been the first steppingstone to the outer limits. We spent more than half a century in low-Earth orbit missions and learned a lot, but it’s way past time to get back to the task of human space exploration.

This time around, it also felt to some like we had done this before, so why bother? This mission is historic, and the media covered it, but it has garnered surprisingly less excitement and interest than before, when long ago, many people gathered outside appliance store windows in the 1960s to watch the moon landing broadcast on store TVs. America still can and should do great things that inspire awe and pioneer final frontiers. (4/12)

New Russian Launch Vehicle -- the Soyuz-5 -- Undergoing Final Tests (Source: Reuters)
A new Russian launch vehicle, Soyuz-5, is undergoing its final tests and is "absolutely ready" for ​use in space projects, Russia's top space official ‌said on Saturday. Dmitry Bakanov, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, was presenting details of the rocket to ​Russian President Vladimir Putin on the eve of ​the 65th anniversary of the first flight ⁠in space by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. (4/11)

NASA Already Has Next Artemis Flight in its Sights Following Astronauts’ Triumphant Moon Flyby (Source: AP)
Never-before-glimpsed views of the moon’s far side. Check. Total solar eclipse gracing the lunar scene. Check. New distance record for humanity. Check. With NASA’s lunar comeback a galactic-sized smash thanks to Artemis II, the world is wondering: What’s next? And how do you top that? Now that the first lunar travelers in more than a half-century are safely back in Houston with their families, NASA has Artemis III in its sights.

“The next mission’s right around the corner,” entry flight director Rick Henfling observed following the crew’s Pacific splashdown on Friday. In a mission recently added to the docket for next year, Artemis III’s yet-to-be -named astronauts will practice docking their Orion capsule with a lunar lander or two in orbit around Earth. Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin are racing to have their company’s lander ready first. (4/12)

X-37B Keeps Pushing the Edge of On-Orbit Testing (Source: Boeing)
More than 230 days after launch, the Boeing-built X-37B remains on orbit, supporting government experiments designed to inform the next generation of space technology. For Boeing and its mission partners at the U.S. Space Force and the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, OTV-8 is an example of what makes the platform valuable. It gives mission partners a way to test advanced technologies in the real space environment, adapt to changing mission needs, and return hardware home for inspection and improvement.

Space missions are growing more dynamic. Operators need better ways to move data, navigate through challenging environments, and test new capabilities without waiting years to learn what works and find solutions to what does not. The X-37B helps close that gap by giving government partners a reusable testbed that supports experimentation on orbit and learning after landing that supports continuous improvement. (4/13)

Northrop Launches Space Force Tech Demo Satellites (Source: SatNews)
The Minotaur rocket launched last week from California carried Northrop Grumman's Space Test Program S29A mission for the US Space Force. The mission included STPSat-7 and several CubeSats. The mission aims to advance the Space Force's proliferated combat network architecture, supporting the goal of fielding 1,000 satellites in low Earth orbit by the end of the year. (4/11)

Spaceflux Selected by MDA Space to Deliver Optical Systems for Canadian Space Surveillance Program (Source: Spaceflux) Spaceflux, the London-based specialist in space domain awareness and space intelligence, has been selected as the optical systems provider by MDA Space for a Canadian space surveillance program. The multi-million-dollar contract will see Spaceflux support delivery of three new ground-based telescope observatories in Alberta, Manitoba, and New Brunswick by 2028 for the Canadian Armed Forces under Canada’s “Surveillance of Space 2” program. (4/13)

‘Everyone Wants a Spaceplane’: More Countries Eye On-Orbit Protection for Satellites (Source: Defense One)
More countries want to develop military spaceplanes and “bodyguard satellites," like those of the United States and China, to protect orbital assets against growing threats, according to a new report. Last year alone, France’s direction générale de l'armement, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Defence, Japan’s Ministry of Defense, and the Indian Space Research Organization have all either tested components, defined strategy, or made sales pitches for space vehicles, according to “Global Counterspace Capabilities,” released this week by the Secure World Foundation. (4/13)

Sophia and Kepler to Marry Orbital Compute with Optical Links (Source: Space News)
Sophia Space will begin deploying edge compute nodes on Kepler Communications satellites in late 2026, under a strategic pact announced April 13. Through the partnership, Sophia Space will demonstrate its Orbital Data Center (ODC) software, while relying on Kepler’s optical data relay network “to enable distributed, resilient compute infrastructure in space,” according to the news release. (4/13)

ISS National Lab-Enabled Research Supports Next Generation Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy Development (Source: CASIS)
Eascra Biotech is leveraging the International Space Station National Laboratory to advance the next generation of targeted cancer treatments through the development of Janus base nanomaterials (JBNs). JBNs are engineered from synthetic DNA-inspired molecules that self‑assemble into nanotubes that can be loaded with a therapeutic.

Previous research sponsored by the ISS National Lab demonstrated that JBNs manufactured in microgravity form more uniform and durable structures than those produced on Earth, resulting in improved therapeutic performance. Building on these findings, Eascra is now advancing two commercial cancer therapies: a JBN‑based chemotherapy and a JBN‑based immunotherapy. (4/9)

Senate Chairman Opposes NASA Cuts (Source: Space News)
The chairman of the Senate appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA says he opposes proposed cuts to parts of the agency. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) said at a space policy roundtable Sunday that he will seek a "robust and balanced" NASA spending for fiscal year 2027. His comments came a little more than a week after the White House proposed cutting NASA's overall spending by 23%, with bigger cuts in science, space technology and space operations.

Moran said he wants NASA funding "that is pretty similar to what we did last year," stating that NASA's exploration plans are not the only important part of the budget. He did not give a timetable for developing a spending bill but noted that his subcommittee plans to have NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman testify about the budget at an upcoming hearing. (4/13)

Logos Plans 4000+ Broadband Constellation (Source: Space News)
One company is taking a different approach to developing a broadband constellation. Logos Space Services recently secured FCC approval for a constellation of up to 4,178 broadband satellites, primarily using K-, Q- and V-band spectrum. Those are higher frequencies than current LEO broadband systems, which can improve capacity and interference resistance but also pose engineering challenges.

The company argued that its approach offers greater security for its users. Logos is backed by serial entrepreneur Thomas Tull, whose dual-use technology investment firm U.S. Innovative Technologies led a $50 million Series A funding round for the venture last year. (4/13)

Sophia Space to Deploy Edge Nodes on Kepler Satellites (Source: Space News)
Sophia Space will begin deploying edge compute nodes on Kepler Communications satellites late this year. The companies announced Monday a partnership where Sophia Space will demonstrate its Orbital Data Center software while relying on Kepler's optical data relay network. The collaboration is also designed to showcase multi-tenant, enterprise-grade compute operations in orbit. (4/13)

Chinese Jielong-3 Rocket Launches Internet Satellite From Offshore Ship (Source: Xinhua)
A Chinese rocket launched a technology demonstration satellite Saturday. A Jielong-3, or Smart Dragon-3, rocket launched from a ship off the coast of China's Guangdong province at 7:32 a.m. Eastern. It carried a payload named Weixing Hulianwang Jishu Shiyan Weixing that Chinese media said will promote satellite internet technology. (4/13)

Rocket Lab Wins Three More Japanese Launches (Source: Space News)
Rocket Lab won a contract for three more launches for a Japanese company. Rocket Lab announced last week it won the contract from iQPS for three Electron launches starting in 2028 for iQPS's radar-imaging satellites. Rocket Lab has already performed seven launches for iQPS and had five more on its manifest before this latest award. (4/13)

Ukraine Considers a Space Force (Source: RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine is considering establishing a space force. A member of the Ukrainian parliament who chairs a defense subcommittee said in an interview that establishing a space force is needed to counter missile threats to the country, including the Russian Oreshnik missile that flies above 100 kilometers altitude. The space force would also develop its own communications and missile warning satellite systems to reduce dependence on companies and foreign governments. (4/13)

April 12, 2026

Scotland 'On Track' to Become Key Center in European Spaceflight (Source: The Scotsman)
Scotland’s space industry is preparing for a “landmark” year with the country “on track” to become a key center for European spaceflight. Parallels have been drawn between the growth of the sector in Scotland - driven by collaboration between universities, companies and governments - and the successful Artemis II moon mission, which was underpinned by an international network of exceptional expertise.

Dr Natasha Nicholson, chief executive of Space Scotland, said: “Scotland may be small geographically, but its ambitions and partnerships are global. As Artemis brings the world together to return to the Moon, Scotland is showing how collaboration on Earth can drive growth, innovation and opportunity while helping shape the future of space.” (4/12)

Chandrayaan-4: Why India's Next Moon Mission is Changing Rockets (Source: India Today)
India's most complex upcoming Moon mission was already a challenge. Then the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) decided to change its rocket. Chandrayaan-4, India's first lunar sample return mission, is targeted for launch in October 2027. It will attempt to land on the Moon's south polar region, drill and collect up to three kilograms of lunar soil, seal it in a vacuum-tight container, launch back off the Moon's surface, dock with a waiting spacecraft in lunar orbit, and return the samples to Earth.

This is already an extraordinary undertaking. And yet, in the middle of development, ISRO made a significant decision: it decided to change the rocket. To understand the switch, you first need to understand why Chandrayaan-4 requires two rockets at all. The mission comprises five spacecraft modules: an Ascender Module, a Descender Module, a Re-entry Module, a Transfer Module and a Propulsion Module. Together, these weigh approximately 9,200 kg. India's most powerful operational rocket, the Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM3), can carry around 8,000 kg to low Earth orbit.

So ISRO's solution was to split the spacecraft across two separate LVM3 launches. The mission begins with the first LVM3 rocket carrying the landing stack, which includes the Descender and Ascender modules, into Earth orbit. Shortly after, the second LVM3 rocket launches with the remaining modules, the Propulsion, Transfer, and Re-entry units, to meet the first group in space. Once both are in Earth orbit, the two stacks perform a docking maneuver to lock together into a single integrated unit. (4/11)

Boeing’s Moon Rocket Faces Uncertain Future Under Trump’s NASA (Source: Bloomberg)
NASA’s Boeing Co. rocket just propelled astronauts farther into space than ever before. The Trump administration is already looking to competitors for a replacement. About a week before the $24 billion Space Launch System pushed the four crew members of the Artemis II mission around the moon, NASA asked rivals what options they could offer for its ambitious plan of future lunar trips. That call, echoed almost immediately in the White House’s budget request, put a big question mark on the future of Boeing’s beleaguered rocket after roughly a decade of development. (4/11)

Hermeus Secures Regulatory Approval for Supersonic Flights with Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 (Source: Flight Global)
Hypersonic aviation start-up Hermeus has received regulatory approval to carry out supersonic flights with the company’s experimental Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 vehicle. Regulators at the FAA on 9 April authorized Hermeus to conduct Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 flights at speeds exceeding Mach 1. The test sorties will take place at or higher than 30,000ft over White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Notice of the approval is set to be officially published in the US federal register on 13 April, though the decision was released on 10 April. (4/10)

Pentagon Upgrades its Hypersonic Weapon Test Range (Source: Defence Blog)
Huntsville-based Radiance Technologies has been awarded a minimum $149 million contract to upgrade infrastructure and instrumentation at the Reagan Test Range. The sole-source contract runs for five years. The Reagan Test Range is located at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific Ocean. The range provides a vast ocean expanse over which long-range ballistic missiles, reentry vehicles, and increasingly hypersonic systems can be tracked from launch to impact. (4/11)

SpaceX Posted Nearly $5 Billion Loss in 2025 (Source: Reuters)
Elon Musk's IPO-bound SpaceX reportedly posted a loss ​of nearly $5 billion in 2025 ‌on revenue of more than $18.5 billion. SpaceX did not immediately respond ⁠to a Reuters' request for comment. The loss includes ​Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI, which SpaceX acquired in February, according to the report. (4/9)

Is China About to Launch a Rocket From South China Sea International Waters? (Source: SCMP)
China appears to be planning to launch its first rocket from open waters very soon. Allegedly, the launch will feature a 31-meter tall, solid-fueled Jielong-3 and will occur on Saturday, 18 April. The rocket will launch from a 532-foot long, 131-foot wide barge, the Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang, which has been specially converted for the purpose. This barge has also been modified to operate safely in international waters. (4/10)

FCC Set to Supercharge Starlink Performance, Potentially Lower Costs (Source: PC Mag)
The Federal Communications Commission is moving to overhaul decades-old rules to “supercharge” satellite internet speeds for SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Leo, which could potentially lower their costs and spur new competition. On April 30, the agency will vote on an order intended to modernize how older geostationary satellite systems share radio spectrum with newer, low-Earth orbit constellations like Starlink. FCC Chair Brendan Carr is already hailing the order as a way to lift “outdated power limits on satellite internet” for faster speeds. (4/9)

Student Team Finds One of the Oldest Stars in the Universe that Migrated to the Milky Way (Source: Universe Today)
Ten undergraduate students from the University of Chicago made an astounding discovery using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). As part of their "Field Course in Astrophysics," they located one of the oldest stars in the Universe living in the Milky Way. The star, SDSS J0715-7334, is a red giant with 29 times as much mass as our Sun, located 79,256 light-years away. But here's where things truly get interesting: according to their findings, this star wasn't born in the Milky Way, but migrated here from another galaxy. (4/10)

Ripples in Spacetime May Have Revealed 1st Evidence of Tiny Black Holes Born in the Big Bang (Source: Space.com)
Ripples in the very fabric of space and time called "gravitational waves" may have provided the first tantalizing evidence of tiny black holes born during the Big Bang. These primordial black holes could, in turn, account for most if not all of the universe's most mysterious stuff, known as dark matter.

Unlike stellar mass black holes, primordial black holes weren't born when massive stars died, but instead from fluctuations in density that occurred immediately after the birth of the cosmos. That means they can be much smaller than stellar mass black holes, which have at least the same mass as several suns. These Big-Bang-born "non-astrophysical" black holes can have masses as small as that of an average asteroid or as large as a massive planet. (4/10)

If Venus Has Life It May Have Come From Earth, Scientists Say (Source: Science Alert)
The theory of panspermia holds that life is spread through the cosmos via asteroids, comets, and other objects. When the building blocks of life emerge on one planet, impacts can eject surface material into space, which then carries these seeds to other worlds. For decades, scientists have debated whether this could have occurred between Earth and Mars (in both directions). However, the recent controversy over the possible existence of microbial life in Venus' dense clouds has sparked discussions of interplanetary transfers between Venus, Earth, and Mars. (4/12)

Blue Origin Space Coast Test Site Suffers Damage; Unclear if New Glenn Launch Could be Delayed (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
As Blue Origin prepares for the next launch of its New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral, the company experienced unexpected damage at its Merritt Island rocket manufacturing facility. “During a routine test at our 2CAT facility in Florida, we experienced an anomaly during test execution,” according to a Blue Origin spokesperson. “There were no injuries, and safety protocols were in place at the time of the test. There is no impact to ongoing production operations.”

Photos posted to social media show a damaged roof to the 2CAT facility, a vertical building used for tank cleaning and testing on the rocket’s second stages. It’s a smaller building more toward the rear of the campus than the towering, 224-foot-tall building used to test the first stages, that can be seen for miles around the site. (4/10)

How Working Out Like an Astronaut Can Reduce Back Pain and Slow Ageing (Source: New Scientist)
The way astronauts fight to maintain fitness during their missions, and then work to fully regain it when they return from space, holds crucial clues to healthier lives – and less back pain – for the rest of us. It also highlights the importance of the anti-gravity activities we should do each day if we want to stand up to the force that constantly tugs us down – and it’s not all about conventional gym workouts.

To counteract these effects, astronauts on the ISS now spend around 2 hours a day on exercise regimes, using a special treadmill, cycling or using a resistance machine designed for workouts in low gravity. But, for many, this still isn’t enough to compensate, and studies conducted on astronauts over the years have revealed more details about the impacts of microgravity.

One of the key lessons from space medicine is the importance of our “forgotten” core: the stabilizer muscles, situated deep behind our “six pack” abs, which keep the lumbar spine steady and braced within the abdomen. These include the multifidus, which lines each side of the spinal column and supports the movement of the vertebrae, and the transversus abdominis, a layer of muscle that wraps horizontally around our trunk like a corset. (3/25)

More Than 10,000 Federal Scientists Left the U.S. Government in 2025, During Trump’s Second Term (Source: The Intellectualist)
In the first eleven months of 2025, 10,109 doctoral-trained scientists left the federal government. The losses were concentrated in agencies that fund medical research, regulate environmental standards and model climate risk. At 14 research agencies, hiring lagged departures nearly eleven to one, producing a net loss of more than 4,000 doctoral-level experts. Nearly 14 percent of the government’s STEM and health Ph.D. workforce exited in less than a year. The contraction has unfolded during President Donald Trump’s second term, reducing the federal government’s in-house capacity to review grants, evaluate scientific evidence and set national scientific standards. (2/28)

JAXA Study Shows Effects of Variable Gravity (Source: Douglas Messier)
JAXA has published results of an interesting study of mice aboard the ISS. The mice were subjected microgravity, 0.33 gravity, 0.67 gravity, and 1 gravity to determine how their bodies adjusted to those different conditions. Scientists specifically looked at the soleus muscle, which is a deep calf muscle located in the hindlimbs of mice. They found that the thickness of the muscle fibers did not decrease significantly when the mice were exposed to 0.33 gravity.

However, 0.33 gravity did not stop a shift from slow-twitch to fast-twitch fibers in the soleus muscle. This change causes muscles to atrophy, reduces endurance, and mimics accelerated aging. To counteract these effects, astronauts spent about two hours per day exercising. The study found that 0.67 gravity almost completely prevented the shift from slow-twitch to fast-twitch muscle fibers. (4/11)

April 11, 2026

From Moanalua to Mission Control: Meet the Hawaii Scientist Keeping Artemis II on Track (Source: Hawaii News Now)
While many watched the launch of NASA’s Artemis II mission in awe, Angela Garcia had a different vantage point as a NASA science officer supporting the agency’s return to deep-space exploration. “There (were) a few pinch, like, pinch myself in these real moments,” she said.

The 2013 Moanalua High School graduate is based at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where she works as a planetary exploration geologist. “It’s a new discipline that got integrated into the flight operations directorate,” Garcia said, noting that during the mission, she ensures “lunar science is getting advocated for in that room, and is getting accomplished during the mission.” (4/10)

NASA's Bid to Boost Space Enthusiasm (Source: Phys.org)
When NASA flight director Zebulon Scoville was working a shift during the uncrewed Artemis I test flight, he realized the US space agency wasn't consistently livestreaming the spacecraft's journey to Earth. "They said, well, we don't have bandwidth, we've got to get all this vehicle and engineering data down," Scoville recalled. "I was like—wrong... This program will be over if people don't buy it and they don't come with us."

NASA eventually got a low-bandwidth live stream up for that 2022 uncrewed mission. And once it was over, senior officials named the NASA veteran "imagery czar" to boost engagement. He told AFP he spent two years working across the agency to figure out how better to take the public on NASA's new moon missions. (4/11)

Space Travel Ultimately Promotes Cooperation (Source: Blue News)
For Swiss astronaut Claude Nicollier and space travel candidate Marco Sieber, the Artemis 2 mission has demonstrated the importance of international cooperation. "Space travel ultimately promotes cooperation," Nicollier said.

Sieber represents a younger generation of astronauts who did not witness the moon landing. "For us, this feels like the beginning of a new era," he said. That is why the Artemis mission is special. Canadian Jeremy Hansen, American Christina Koch and Americans Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman - the crew of Artemis 2 - were the first people to go near the moon for more than 50 years. (4/11)

The Gulf War Just Exposed India's Space Dependency Problem (Source: Swarajya)
It is noteworthy that the apparent ceasefire of the 2026 Persian Gulf War on 8 April, while it may not culminate in "lasting peace," has nonetheless introduced stark realities, prompting numerous regional and non-regional parties affected by this conflict to re-evaluate their global security strategies. For the Indian Space Commission, India's primary authority for space policy decisions, it is now extremely crucial to expedite two long-standing priorities: enhancing sovereign commercial space capabilities and developing a comprehensive national space strategy. (4/10)

Did These Historic NASA Spacecraft Find Life on Mars – and Accidentally Kill It? (Source: BBC)
Astrobiologists have proposed that NASA’s historic Viking missions may have detected signs of life on Mars in 1976, only for a key chemical signal to be mistakenly written off as terrestrial contamination. The provocative claim, published in the journal Astrobiology, hinges on a misreading of Martian soil chemistry and reignites debate as the search for life accelerates with new missions. Click here. (4/10)

Firehawk Aerospace Opens 636-Acre Rocket Integration Facility in Mississippi (Source: Expansion Solutions)
Firehawk Aerospace is expanding the nation’s defense manufacturing capacity with the opening of a 636-acre rocket system integration facility in Lowndes County, marking a significant investment in domestic propulsion production and advanced energetics.

The new campus will serve as the company’s primary rocket system integration hub, supporting assembly, validation, and delivery of next-generation rocket systems for U.S. and allied defense programs. The project will create more than 100 jobs and positions Mississippi as a growing player in the defense industrial base. (4/3)

SpaceX is Keeping the Space Station Alive with Saturday Cargo Launch (Source: Teslarati)
SpaceX launched Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft to the ISS from Florida, carrying over 11,000 pounds of supplies, science hardware, and equipment for the Expedition 73 crew. The mission, officially designated NG-24 under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services program, names its spacecraft the S.S. Steven R. Nagel in honor of the NASA astronaut who flew four Space Shuttle missions and logged over 723 hours in space before his death in 2014.

Unlike SpaceX’s own Dragon capsule, which docks autonomously, Cygnus relies on NASA astronauts to capture it using a robotic arm before it is berthed to the space station’s module for unloading. When the mission wraps up around October, the Cygnus will depart loaded with station trash and burn up on reentry. (4/11)

Vandenberg’s Range Is Scaling to Meet Launch Demand (Source: Air and Space Forces)
In the last five years, the annual launch rate at the Space Force’s West Coast range has surged from a handful of missions to 66 in 2025. Now, Vandenberg Space Force Base in California expects to support 150 launches in the next five years and upwards of 200 by 2036. Navigating that kind of growth and planning for even more in the future has Col. James Horne, commander of Space Launch Delta 30 at Vandenberg, feeling a bit like he’s running a small business that’s on the rise.

The resources and strategic vision from the first phase of Spaceport of the Future have helped overhaul range operations, Horne said. But now, the service is planning for another phase of transformation to make sure Vandenberg and its East Coast range at Cape Canaveral, Fla., can handle the capacity to come. That campaign, Spaceport 2036, will lay out the service’s modernization needs over the next 10 years.

At Vandenberg, the initial infrastructure phase has focused on replacing and upgrading the base’s 1960s-era roads, bridges, and commodities to manage the growth happening now and the additional demand that it sees coming over the next decade. Horne said the base has a number of projects underway to address the wear and tear on its roads from the trucks used to carry commodities to launch pads. Today, it takes about 70 commercial trucks to supply the necessary propellants, liquid oxygen, and other resources needed for a single launch. (4/10)

SpaceX Accounted for 50% of Launches in 2025 (Source: Via Satellite)
BryceTech, one of the leading space research firms, has released its 2025 Year in Review tracking the launch market. It shows a market moving towards small satellites, and underlines the dominance of SpaceX in the launch market compared to all the other players. These were two of the highlights of its 2025 Year in Review research, which is now live. BryceTech reported in 2025 there were 325 orbital launches and 4,544 spacecraft deployed, representing approximately a 25% increase in launches and a 54% increase in spacecraft relative to 2024. (4/10)

HawkEye 360 Files to Go Public (Source: Space News)
HawkEye 360 filed for an IPO on April 10 with the SEC to list on the NYSE (ticker: HAWK). The defense-focused, space-based radio frequency (RF) data provider, based in Herndon, VA, reported 2025 revenue of $117.7 million. This move aims to tap into high demand for defense tech, with funds intended to support their 30-satellite constellation. (4/10)

Sateliot Launches $117-Million C-Round, Funding Will Build 16 Gen 2 Satellites (Source: Space Intel Report)
Startup satellite IoT constellation operator Sateliot of Spain launched what it intends to be a Series C round of 100 million euros ($117 million) that will close this summer and allow the company to launch 16 satellites and demonstrate its 5G New Radio service including voice and video. Sateliot launched its first demonstration satellite in 2021, In 2024 it launched four satellites to form the company’s first orbital plane to expand its store-and-forward service to over 1 million messages per day. (4/10)

China's Spacety Raises $190 Million to Scale Satellite Manufacturing, Plans IPO (Source: Space News)
Chinese satellite maker Spacety has completed multiple rounds of equity financing worth $190 million to scale its vertically integrated satellite manufacturing and data services model. (4/10)

U.S. Sanctions Didn’t Stop Spacety — They May Have Made It Stronger (Source: Space Daily)
Spacety, a Chinese satellite manufacturer sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2023 for its alleged ties to Russia’s Wagner Group, has reportedly raised approximately $190 million in equity financing from state-linked funds and domestic venture capital. The funding round is one of the largest recent capital raises in China’s commercial space sector — and it reveals something specific that Washington should find uncomfortable: U.S. sanctions designed to isolate a Chinese space company may have accelerated exactly the outcome they were meant to prevent.

By cutting Spacety off from Western capital and partnerships, the Treasury Department created the conditions for Beijing to step in as sole patron, tightening the state’s grip on a nominally commercial firm and fast-tracking the construction of an independent Chinese Earth observation infrastructure that operates entirely beyond American oversight or leverage. (4/11)

NASA's Audacious Plan to Build a Nuclear-Powered Moon Base (Source: National Geographic)
If all of NASA’s audacious plans do come to pass, the moon might become a very unfamiliar place—a hub of industry and science, crisscrossed by a fleet of moon rovers, fueled by nuclear power, and the launching point for even farther cosmic adventures to come. The moon, then, won’t just become a collection of new flags in the dust. A base will turn it into a home for astronauts and a steppingstone to crewed missions to the red planet next door.

Step one, starting with Artemis V, will be gradual experimentation: using mostly uncrewed missions to test out basic technological elements—from power generation to communications relays—to make sure base building can be done effectively and safely. During this phase, the number of launches to the moon will begin to rise. Then, with the help of regular robotic and astronaut visitations, the foundations of the base will be set down during the second phase. At this stage, NASA describes it as “semi-habitable infrastructure.” (Early ideas include inflatable shelters, or covering a habitat with lunar soil to help insulate astronauts from radiation.)

Finally, there’s the third phase, when frequent, heavy cargo deliveries and significant contributions from NASA’s partner space agencies will turn a small, periodically homed fortress into a permanent base, one that is always stationed by a crew, like the International Space Station is today. The idea is that astronauts will spend “a few days to a couple of weeks on the surface, and then build up to something longer—maybe a month, maybe a couple of months,” says Glaze. (4/10)

Precision Nanomedicine to Target the Most Challenging Tumors (Source: Upward)
ISS National Lab-enabled research supports next generation chemotherapy and immunotherapy development. "Microgravity research has given us a clearer path toward optimizing this technology for real world cancer treatment,” said Mari Anne Snow, CEO and co-founder of Eascra Biotech. (410)

White House Budget Seeks to Scrap 54 Major NASA Science Missions (Source: Scientific American)
An analysis by the nonprofit science advocacy group The Planetary Society has identified 54 NASA missions that may be endangered as a result of the White House’s budget proposal for the coming fiscal year. These include a spacecraft currently studying Jupiter, a veteran X-ray observatory, planned missions to Venus and U.S. collaboration on a European rover meant to launch to Mars in 2028—and many more.

The new White House budget proposal for NASA—which totals only $18.8 billion—did not explicitly specify projects it intended to cancel. But Planetary Society experts analyzed this and previous documentation to identify which missions may be in danger. Of NASA’s major science departments, Earth science and heliophysics may face the most cuts, with 17 proposed mission cancellations in each, they found. Astrophysics and planetary science each face 10 cancellations, according to the analysis. (4/9)

Artemis 2 Mission Sends 'Kerbal Space Program' Player Numbers Soaring to the Mun (Source: Space.com)
Artemis II has launched, sending a crew of four astronauts on a mission to circle the moon and back to Earth, the first step toward planned lunar landings and eventual habitation on the lunar surface. The mission will take the crew of the Orion spacecraft farther from Earth than any manned mission in human history and will mark the first time humans have traveled beyond low-Earth orbit since the Apollo program.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the launch has had some digital echoes, not least of which is a massive spike in interest in "Kerbal Space Program". The game, which allows for highly realistic simulations of manned (or Kerballed) missions to space (including lunar landings), has seen its second-highest number of concurrent Steam players ever, only beaten by its full launch way back in 2015.

Numbers began to skyrocket around the time of the Artemis II launch on April 1st, peaking at around 12,434 at time of writing— a huge jump against the game's standard average player count, which hovers around 3,000 to 4,000. The significantly less popular sequel, Kerbal Space Program 2, also saw a modest bump, though only up to 370 concurrents from a prior high of about 118 players a month earlier. (4/8)

L3Harris Wins $150M Space Surveillance Update Contract (Source: Defense Post)
L3Harris Technologies has secured a $150 million contract from the US Space Force to sustain and upgrade the nation's ground-based space surveillance infrastructure. The contract aims to enhance early warning capabilities for space threats by improving the systems that detect and track objects in orbit. This latest award builds on previous collaborations between the Space Force and L3Harris under long-term modernization efforts. (4/10)

Orion Splashes Down to Successfully End Artemis 2 Mission (Source: Space News)
The first human mission beyond Earth orbit in more than 50 years successfully concluded as the Orion spacecraft Integrity splashed down in the Pacific southwest of San Diego at 8:07 p.m. Eastern April 10, ending the Artemis 2 mission. NASA reported the four astronauts on board were in good condition. (4/10)

Hermeus Raises $350M to Build the Fastest Aircraft in the World for the American Warfighter (Source: Hermeus)
Today, we’re announcing a $350M Series C financing. This is a mandate to build, fly, and deliver products for our customer – the American warfighter. This capital scales our fleet of aircraft, pushing the Quarterhorse program forward with our second supersonic aircraft, Mk 2.2, and our first Mach 3 aircraft, Mk 2.3. To achieve this, we’re expanding our prototyping footprint in Los Angeles with our new HQ in El Segundo, while Atlanta prepares for production and scale. (4/9)

Universities Space Research Association Awarded New Cooperative Agreement to Continue AFRL Scholars Program at Eglin AFB (Source: USRA)
The Universities Space Research Association (USRA) has been awarded a new cooperative agreement to continue managing the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Scholars Program at Eglin Air Force Base (AFB). The award reaffirms USRA’s commitment to strengthening the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce in support of national defense priorities.

Since its launch in 2017, the AFRL Scholars Program at Eglin AFB has supported 668 participants through hands-on research experiences in mission-critical disciplines. The new agreement spans five years, with optional one-year extensions, and has an initial value of $2.5 million.

The program provides paid research internships for students from the high school to graduate level. Scholars work alongside AFRL scientists and engineers, gaining practical experience in real-world defense research environments. Through mentorship and continued engagement with returning Scholars and alumni, the program strengthens the STEM talent pipeline and supports long-term workforce development within the defense and research communities. (4/6)

Russian Lunar Station Segment Approved with China (Source: TASS)
The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) has approved the concept for the creation of the Russian segment of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) jointly with China, CEO of Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos Dmitry Bakanov announced.

"The International Lunar Research Station project with China is developing. The Russian Academy of Sciences has approved the concept for the creation of its Russian segment," the Roscosmos head said at a meeting in the Federation Council upper house of parliament.

In May 2025, Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) signed a memorandum on the construction of a power plant for the International Lunar Research Station. Roscosmos announced that the station would conduct fundamental space research and test technologies for long-term unmanned operation with the prospect of human presence on the Moon. (4/1)