October 12, 2025

Rocket Lab Secures Multiple Launches with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Source: Rocket Lab)
Rocket Lab announced it has signed a direct contract for two dedicated Electron launches with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) – signifying the criticality of Electron to international space agencies requiring responsive launch and dedicated access to space. Launching from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand, the two Electron missions will deploy satellites for JAXA’s Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program. (10/10)

Is NASA Losing the Moon Race? All Eyes Are on the Megarocket Launching Monday for Answers (Source: CNN)
Calls for the United States to return astronauts to the moon before the end of the decade have been increasingly loud and frequent, emanating from bipartisan lawmakers and science advocates alike. But underlying that drumbeat is a quagmire of epic proportions. “The China National Space Administration will almost certainly walk on the moon in the next five years,” said Bill Nye.

Starship is still in the nascent stages of a long and laborious development process. So far, parts of the vehicle have failed in dramatic fashion during six of its 10 test flights. The megarocket has yet to hit several key testing milestones. These include figuring out how to top off Starship’s fuel as it sits parked in orbit around Earth. Such a step is necessary given the vehicle’s design and enormous size — but it’s never been attempted before with any spacecraft.

Adding to the uncertainty is that no one knows exactly how many tankers full of fuel SpaceX will need to launch to give Starship enough gas for a moon-landing mission, which NASA has planned for mid-2027. (10/10)

French Space Defense Startup Dark Ceases Operations (Source: Space News)
Dark, a French startup developing air-launched spacecraft technology to capture and dispose of orbital objects, has shut down operations after struggling to establish a sustainable business model, the company announced this week. (10/11)

Starship Launches Could Bring Huge Tourist Crowds, Economic Boost to Space Coast (Source: Florida Today)
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated 220,000 spectators still swarmed Space Coast beachside and riverfront rocket-viewing sites in May 2020 to see America's first crewed launch since the end of the space shuttle program — though NASA had urged people to stay home and watch on TV instead.

Experts say similar crowds could converge for SpaceX's historic initial launches of Starship-Super Heavy — the most powerful rocket system in world history — from NASA's Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. (10/12)

Microbes Essential for Human Health Can Survive the Stress of Spaceflight. That's Great News for Astronauts (Source: Space.com)
Microbes essential for human health have proven resilient against the extreme forces of space travel, offering hope for maintaining astronaut well-being on future long-duration missions.

Researchers in Australia sent spores of the bacterium Bacillus subtilis — a bacterium known to support the human immune system, gut health and blood circulation — in a 3D-printed microtube holder on a sounding rocket flight to test how they would fare under the stresses of launch, microgravity and reentry. Bacteria like B. subtilis will be vital for sustaining human life over decades — a necessity for establishing a presence beyond Earth, such as a future Mars colony.

The microbes were exposed to accelerations of up to 13 times Earth's gravity, a six-minute weightless period at around 162 miles altitude, and punishing decelerations reaching 30 g while spinning about 220 times per second during descent. After recovery, scientists found the structure of the spores showed no signs of damage and grew just as they would have on Earth, according to a statement from the university. (10/12)