November 1, 2025

Inside NASA’s Shutdown-Impaired Scramble to Find a Backup Moon Plan — and the Wild Ideas Companies are Pitching (Source: CNN)
A suggestion made last week by acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy that SpaceX could be booted from the agency’s upcoming moon-landing plans has rocked the space industry. Now, behind the scenes, pitches for alternate paths to the lunar surface are quietly starting to take shape. While some of the potential proposals appear more straightforward than the Starship  plan, each involves constructing and testing new spacecraft, a process that typically takes at least six or seven years. Artemis III is currently slated to happen as early as mid-2027.

Experts who spoke with CNN for this article said that reevaluating SpaceX’s lunar lander contract could be wise. Spending years to develop an entirely new spacecraft could still potentially be faster, some argued, than waiting for Starship, which presents extremely difficult engineering challenges due to its sheer size and unprecedented design. Though in light of NASA’s broader lunar ambitions, experts say the real contest is about much more than speed.

Because Blue Origin already has an Artemis contract, it could be simpler for NASA to switch up the order in which it relies on its contractors rather than bringing a new company into the mix. Lockheed Martin — which previously worked on Blue Origin’s lander design but is not actively part of a partnership — also intends to throw its hat in the ring. Lockheed says it can piece together a two-stage lunar lander that uses spare parts harvested from Orion. Click here. (11/1)

Opportunity Cubed (Source: Aviation Week)
Sending a student-built satellite into space would have been nearly impossible 25 years ago. But at the dawn of the millennium, two professors came up with a small but mighty idea: the cubesat. Now students can work on satellite projects with low investment cost and risk. And the space industry can recruit graduating students who have hands-on experience with industry-level software, manufacturing, and testing equipment. Students at Embry-Riddle's cubesat projects often have jobs lined up before graduation. (10/30)

SpaceX Launches 100th Starlink Flight of 2025 (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Halloween afternoon marking its 100th Starlink mission of the year. This was also its 15th orbital launch during the month of October. The Starlink 11-23 mission added another 28 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into the low Earth orbit megaconstellation. There are more than 8,800 Starlink satellites currently in orbit. (10/31)

Space Exploration Pushes the Human Body to its Limits (Source: The Conversation)
Space is brutally unforgiving. It is a vacuum flooded with radiation and violent temperature extremes, where the absence of gravity dismantles the systems that evolved to keep us alive on Earth. Human physiology is tuned to one atmosphere of pressure, one gravity and one fragile ecological niche. Step outside that narrow comfort zone and the body begins to fail.

Yet adversity drives discovery. High-altitude research revealed how blood preserves oxygen at the edge of survival. Deep-sea and polar expeditions showed how humans endure crushing pressure and extreme cold. Spaceflight continues that tradition, redefining our understanding of life’s limits and showing how far biology can bend without breaking. To understand these limits, physiologists are mapping the “space exposome” – everything in space that stresses the human body, from radiation and weightlessness to disrupted sleep and isolation. (10/31)

Ontario Won’t Meet Rural Broadband Target, Partly Due to Cancelling Starlink Deal (Source: Global News)
The Ford government will fail to meet its target of connecting unserved or underserved communities to reliable broadband by the end of 2025, Global  News has learned, at least partly because of the premier’s decision to tear up a contract for Starlink internet. In 2021, the province launched a plan to connect every household in Ontario to high-speed broadband, promising even the most remote communities would have access by the end of this year. (10/31)

How I Flew to Space, by S. Alan Stern (Source: Astronomy)
In late 2023, I flew in space. But I didn’t fly as a NASA astronaut or a space tourist. Instead, I flew on a training and research mission aboard a Virgin Galactic spaceplane for my company, the more-than-3,000-person research and development nonprofit Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). The mission, named Galactic 5, was barely an hour long, but it was jam-packed with activities for nine separate mission objectives — all of which were successfully accomplished. (11/1)

SpaceX Checks Off 49 Lunar Lander Milestones in Push Toward Artemis III (Source: Teslarati)
SpaceX social media posts claim that it has completed 49 major milestones for NASA’s Human Landing System (HLS) program, marking significant progress in the development of the Starship lunar lander that will deliver astronauts to the Moon.

The 49 milestones that were completed by its HLS team were “tied to developing the subsystems, infrastructure, and operations” needed to safely land humans back into the lunar surface. SpaceX noted that it has only received funding on contractual milestones that have been successfully completed, the vast majority of which have been achieved on time or ahead of schedule. (10/31)

It’s Nearly Time to Say Goodbye to the International Space Station. What Happens Next? (Source: Scientific American)
If all goes as planned, commercial space stations—outposts operated not by government agencies but instead by private companies—will take the ISS’s place to build on its success. The first of these is set to launch next year, with a slew of others scheduled to follow soon after. All of them have the same goal of fostering a vibrant, human-centered economy in Earth orbit—and ultimately beyond.

“We hope to build habitats for the moon [and] Mars and eventually even an artificial-gravity space station,” says Max Haot, CEO of Vast. Vast plans to launch its Haven-1 space station as soon as May 2026. On Haven-1’s heels will be several other habitats from Axiom Space, Blue Origin and Starlab Space. All of them are intended to reach orbit by the end of the decade (and are still somewhat reliant on NASA as a paying customer). (10/31)

Rocket Disneyland at Cape Canaveral: "41% of Tourists Want to See a Launch" (Source: El Mundo)
A Japanese tourist mentions he traveled to Florida just to witness the show. However, upon arriving at the hotel reception, a launch alert screen informed him that in two days he could see another one, a Starlink satellite mission scheduled for 10:27 in the morning. And another one, five days later, at 9:14. "They are launching like twice a week," Karl says. If one is lucky, they might even see a couple of launches in a day, or a part of the Falcon landing, although, "only one out of every ten is visible."

The Space Coast is trending. Over 110 kilometers of beaches overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, facing the Indian and Banana rivers, dotted with swamps and mangroves where alligators, manatees, and dolphins mingle with space rockets. It spans Brevard, Daytona Beach, and Palm Bay counties, who, on a whim, adopted the 321 area code from a countdown. The Space Coast is home to the Kennedy Space Center or, as the road signs say, 'Where Space begins'.

In 2024, three new hotels with 374 rooms opened on the Space Coast. This 2025, seven more, adding another 1,000. Three more are planned for next year, nine for 2027, and so far, another five for 2028. The over three million overnight stays recorded last year will soon be surpassed. In Port Canaveral, cruise tourism surged by 12% with 7.6 million passengers. And in case there were any doubts about the reasons for this boom, Peter Cranis, CEO of the Space Coast Tourism Office, confirms it: "41% of tourists claim to visit the area hoping to see a launch." (10/30)

Safeguarding the 'Golden Age' of Space Exploration (Source: SpaceNews)
Chris Carberry, CEO of Explore Mars argues that America's leadership in space is a matter of political willpower and that, if nothing changes in the United States (or if the federal government shutdown continues), China will take on the mantle of world leader in space. "This will not be a result of us losing our scientific and technological edge, but because we have chosen to weaken our leadership in these areas, potentially leaving China as the world’s leading space power through our own neglect," Carberry says.

"Ceding leadership in space to China would be a disaster for the U.S., and would support the narrative that the U.S. is a power in decline, while the future belongs to China," he says. Carberry argued in his article that funding bills to "stop the bleeding at NASA" aren't enough, and that Congress must demand a clear mandate to return to the moon by 2028, send a crew to Mars by the mid 2030s and accelerate the Mars Commercial Payload Program. (10/31)

Thales Alenia Space Clears Key Milestone for In-Orbit Servicing Demo (Source: European Spaceflight)
A group of companies led by Thales Alenia Space has completed the System Preliminary Design Review for Italy’s In-Orbit Servicing (IOS) demonstration mission, funded through the government’s €191.5-billion National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). In May 2023, the Italian Space Agency (ASI) awarded a €235-million contract for the development of an in-orbit servicing demonstration mission. In addition to Thales Alenia Space, the group includes Leonardo, Avio, D-Orbit, and Telespazio. (11/1)

The International Space Station Is Turning 25. Was it Worth it? (Source: Time)
The ISS has “come into its own as a very sophisticated scientific laboratory,” says retired NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, who famously spent a year in space aboard the station in 2015 and 2016. “We’ve been able to have an international partnership in science that is the longest running in history and with documented returns,” says Henry Hertzfeld.

Has our time aloft taught us more about how to live and operate in space? Could our efforts and revenue have been better spent on a robustly funded return to the moon and later journeys to Mars? NASA, no surprise, sees the station as a win, and is only too happy to tout the benefits it has produced.

That vague payoff tomorrow for hard cash and hard labor spent today has always dogged the space station enterprise. For more than 40 years, what is now known as the ISS has been a sinkhole for money. That kind of orbiting infrastructure does not come cheap. Over the years, the most commonly cited figure for the cost of the station has been $100 billion. But nobody pretends that number is reliable. (10/31)

Kyivstar Prepares to Expand Starlink Direct to Cell Testing Across Ukraine (Source: SpaceNews)
Ukrainian telco Kyivstar said Oct. 31 it is preparing to test SpaceX’s Starlink Direct to Cell service across most of the country, excluding border areas, active combat zones and territories occupied by Russian forces. The company said the satellite technology, enabling connectivity directly to standard phones, will be particularly valuable for de-mining operations and other emergency or rural scenarios where terrestrial networks are unavailable. (10/31)

Lengthening Shutdown Takes Economic Toll (Source: FNN)
With about 75,000 federal employees furloughed and many others working without pay, the ongoing government shutdown is currently the second in US history. It becomes the longest-ever shutdown if it lasts beyond Nov. 5. As of Oct. 31, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the government failure has taken a $7 billion toll on the U.S. economy, climbing to $14 billion if it drags on for another month. (10/31)

High Speed Aero-Space Transportation Workshop Planned in Texas (Source: Midland Air & Space Port)
This November 12-14 Midland TX event will host speakers and thought-leaders in sessions, panels, roundtables and debate about high speed aerospace transportation, including supersonic flight, hypersonics, and point-to-point orbital and suborbital spaceflight. Click here. (10/31)

Trump’s NASA Chief Hits Back at Kim Kardashian Over Fake Moon Landing Conspiracy (Source: Gizmodo)
A showdown between Kim Kardashian and a top Trump administration official was not on my bingo card for 2025, and yet! Kardashian and U.S. Transportation Secretary and acting NASA chief Sean Duffy butted heads in a bizarre exchange over comments made by the reality star regarding the 1969 Moon landing, which she appears to think was fake. On the latest episode of long-running show, Kim tries to convince her co-star Sarah Paulson that the Apollo Moon landing didn’t happen. Kardashian is not alone in her view. About 10% of the U.S. population believe the 1969 Moon landing was fake. (10/31)

Watchdog Calls for FCC to Reject SpaceX Spectrum Buy, Investigate Musk’s Ties to China (Source: Via Satellite)
Watchdog group Frequency Forward is calling for the FCC to deny SpaceX’s purchase of EchoStar spectrum and investigate Elon Musk’s business ties to the Chinese government. The group filed a petition to deny with the FCC on Oct. 30, over SpaceX’s $17 billion deal to buy EchoStar spectrum licenses to bolster its direct-to-cell services. (10/31)

In Historic Shift, ESA Poised to Take on Defense Role (Source: Breaking Defense)
The ESA Council of Ministers is shaping up to be a watershed moment, with senior space officials from the 23 member states set to vote on a package of projects explicitly designed to bolster Europe’s defense capabilities. If the proposal from ESA Director Josef Aschbacher is approved, it would be a historic first — since its founding in 1975 the agency has assiduously disavowed any connection to military space activities, instead insisting on a strictly civil mission.

In particular, the ESA ministerial meeting will debate Aschbacher’s proposal to slate €1 billion ($1.1 billion) for a basket of preliminary activities supporting a fledgling European Union initiative to develop a constellation of electro-optical and radar intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) satellites. ESA is independent from the 27-member EU; not all members of ESA are members of the EU and vice versa. (10/31)

Interest Rate Cut Further Fuels Space Investor Optimism Amid Talk of Returning SPACs (Source: Space News)
Growing space investor optimism got another lift Oct. 29 after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter point for the second time this year, making borrowing cheaper for a capital-intensive industry already buoyed by rising defense investment. “There just has not been a fervor in the markets like there [is] right now,” said Mike Collett. “It’s a great time to be raising money,” he added, across the private and public markets.

Karl Schmidt, managing director at investment bank KippsDeSanto & Co., pointed to a broader four-fold increase in the number of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) launched so far this year. “So I guess SPACs are back,” Schmidt said, adding that this time is different thanks to stricter governance rules adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last year. (10/30)

SpaceX Plans Orbital Data Center (Source: Ars Technica)
As artificial intelligence drives the need for vastly more computing storage and processing power, interest in space-based data centers has spiked. Although several startup companies, such as Starcloud, have begun to address this problem, the idea has also attracted the interest of tech barons. In May, it emerged that former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt acquired Relativity Space due to his interest in space-based data centers. Then, earlier this month, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos predicted that gigawatt-scale data centers will be built in space within the next 10 to 20 years.

Now, Elon Musk, whose SpaceX owns and operates significantly more space-based infrastructure than any other company or country in the world, has also expressed interest in the technology. After Ars wrote a story on the potential of autonomous assembly to construct large data centers in space, Musk responded on X by saying that Starlink satellites could be used for this purpose. “Simply scaling up Starlink V3 satellites, which have high speed laser links would work,” he said on the social media site X. “SpaceX will be doing this.”

Critics say it is economically impractical to build these facilities in space and that supporters underestimate the technology needed to make it work. They rightly note that it would require very large satellites with extensive solar panels to power data centers that rival ground-based infrastructure. However, SpaceX’s Starlink V3 satellites are unlike any previous space-based technology. (10/31)

Venus Exploration Hangs in the Balance (Source: Payload)
The US has Venus science on its wishlist, but funding is, to put it gently, uncertain. Massive cuts to NASA’s proposed science budget have left many missions with unclear direction, even though both the House and Senate budget plans rejected the $10B cut proposed by the administration. (Those budgets, of course, have not yet passed Congress.) NASA’s planned science missions include:

DAVINCI, a somewhat creative acronym for Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging, is targeting the 2030s for launch. It would orbit the planet and send a probe into the dense atmosphere of Venus. VERITAS, short for Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography and Spectroscopy, would launch no earlier than 2031. And where NASA funding is uncertain, industry is looking to take some of the burden for scientific exploration onto its own shoulders. Rocket Lab ($RKLB) is a key example of this. The launcher announced in 2022 that it is planning to launch a private science mission to Venus with MIT, titled the Venus Life Finder, to study the chemistry of the planet’s dense clouds and search for signs of life. (10/31)

China Launches Three Astronauts to TSS (Source: Space.com)
China launched three astronauts toward its Tiangong space station on Oct. 31. A Long March 2F rocket sent Shenzhou 21 mission from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. (10/31)

UK Space Agency Sees Budget Growth Under DSIT (Source: Payload)
When the UK Space Agency announced in August that it would be folding into the UK government’s Department of Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT), industry had a lot of questions about what the move would mean for the UK space program. While the reorganization won’t be finalized until April, this week we got our first indication of what the UK space industry can expect—at least, from a financial perspective. The UKSA was allocated a budget of £618M in 2024/2025. That’s set to go up to £668M for 2025/2026 and will reach £720M by 2029/2030. (10/31)

Romania's ArcaSpace Pivots From Rockets to Fashion (Source: Ars Technica)
For a quarter of a century, a Romania-based rocket organization, ArcaSpace, had been promising to revolutionize spaceflight. But that meme dream ended in late 2024 when the group rebranded itself as ArcaFashion. “The ArcaFashion products are designed and manufactured on the shoulders of innovation and cutting-edge technological achievements, using the vast aerospace capabilities of ArcaSpace,” the group said. (10/31)

Turning Up the Heat in ESA’s Astronaut Reserve Training (Source: ESA)
From September to October 2025, the entire ESA astronaut reserve cohort completed a second phase of training lasting eight weeks at ESA’s European Astronaut Center (EAC), building on their first phase completed in two groups at the end of 2024 and early 2025. This intensive program helps strengthen technical knowledge, operational skills and physical readiness for future missions. 

Training combined theory and practice, from spacecraft systems and ISS operations, to sea survival, firefighting and scuba drills in EAC’s Neutral Buoyancy Facility. Virtual and extended reality simulations provided an immersive familiarization with the ISS, while fitness assessments ensured physical preparedness for spaceflight. Additional modules covered human physiology, science for exploration, payload development, media skills and space law. The group will return in early 2026 for the final training phase. (10/31)

For Clues to the Future of Military Space, Look in the Air (Source: Space News)
Logistics, from satellite life extension to in-space assembly, will become common elements of future military operations. “The way the space domain is evolving is increasingly looking like the air domain,” said Momentus CEO John Rood, former U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy. The comparison to air operations points to a future where space assets may be refueled in orbit; repaired or upgraded with new components; and repositioned to respond to emerging threats or operational needs. This further suggests the need for creating modular, reconfigurable systems that can adapt to changing mission requirements, and the assembly of large structures that cannot be launched in one piece. (10/31)

India's Startup Catalyx Space Wants to Make Space as Easy as Software (Source: Via Satellite)
New startup Catalyx Space has raised a $5.4 million seed funding round to accelerate its technology development to build space infrastructure including satellite buses and reentry platforms. Catalyx Space has moved quickly since Rifath Shaarook co-founded the company in India just last year. It has already launched its first spacecraft, which launched last year with ISRO to demonstrate its satellite separation system and other subsystems, carrying two customer payloads.

The company is now preparing to launch its second spacecraft either in December or January, which will host a number of sensors. It also plans to launch a 100 kg spacecraft next year as well. Shaarook has been building spacecraft from a young age — he garnered media attention at age 18 for building a tiny, 64-gram satellite that won a NASA challenge. He later ran an academic research lab in India where he built and launched eight satellites into orbit. Catalyx wants to make starting a business in space as easy as launching a software business — so space application developers do not have to manage spacecraft, ground operations, launch, Shaarook said. (10/30)

Flyover Video Shows Significant Buildup of SpaceX and Other Facilities at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: NSF)
SpaceX is making significant strides in developing its Starship infrastructure at the Roberts Road facilities. NSF aerial photography has revealed rapid progress on key components, including the LC-39A launch mount, chopstick arms for a new launch tower, and the expansive Gigabay manufacturing facility. North of the launch infrastructure, the Florida Gigabay—a massive manufacturing and storage facility—has seen accelerated development. Click here. (10/30) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afofWwq2Ra0

NASA is Sinking its Flagship Science Center During the Shutdown — and May Be Breaking the Law in the Process (Source: Space.com)
NASA's flagship center for space science is under attack from within, and some of the biggest losses appear to be happening behind the curtain of the government shutdown. Space.com interviewed nearly a dozen current and former NASA workers and reviewed several internal agency communications in an investigation into allegations of unlawful activity by NASA leadership — allegations supported in a recent report by the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

The conclusion: NASA has been prematurely and illegally implementing the President's 2026 budget request before Congress finalizes funding. Space agency officials vehemently dispute this claim. The workforce at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Maryland, say this has put groundbreaking missions at risk, and is degrading roadblocks designed to safeguard human lives. Now, under the cloak of a closed U.S. government, nearly half the GSFC campus — the hub of NASA science — is marked for abandonment. (10/31)

Colombia Launches National Wildfire Monitoring Program Using OroraTech’s Satellite Technology (Source: Aerial Fire)
Colombia has become the first country in Latin America to strengthen its National Disaster Risk Management System through the implementation of a national wildfire detection program using satellite technology. This initiative results from a new partnership between the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) and OroraTech, a global leader in wildfire intelligence, via its local representative, GeoSpatial. (10/30)

New Laser Drill Could Help Scientists Explore Ice-Covered Worlds (Source: Space.com)
A new laser concept could revolutionize how we explore the frozen worlds of our solar system. Traditional drills and melting probes are heavy, complex and consume vast amounts of power. Now, researchers in Germany have developed a promising new solution — a laser-based ice drill that can bore deep, narrow channels into ice while keeping both mass and energy requirements low. (10/30)

Does Rocket Lab Want Satellite Lasercom Builder Mynaric Badly Enough to Allow it to Remain German? (Sources: Space Intel Report, SPACErePORT)
Rocket Lab’s offer to purchase struggling German satellite optical communications terminal builder Mynaric AG has taken on a very different coloration since the two sides announced their tentative agreement in March. In the interval, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has united Europe much more than might have been expected - so much so that Germany this summer modified its constitution to be able to take on debt to finance its defense buildup.

Financially troubled Mynaric completed a restructuring that shifted debt to its principal lender JVF-Holding. The debt was swapped for equity, making JVF-Holding Mynaric's principal shareholder. This was a prerequisite for the Rocket Lab acquisition. The acquisition remains subject to government clearances, likely including German regulatory approval for foreign ownership of a defense-related technology company. A solution might involve some retention of Mynaric and its critical dual-use technology within Germany, which would give Rocket Lab a foothold in Europe. (10/31)

Resources, Reactors and Rivalries Will Decide the New Moon Race (Sources: Space News, Infographics Show)
Experts have pointed out the future of the moon will not be decided by the number of flags placed on it but by having a permanent presence there. Nuclear power generation is the key in this race to build the lunar infrastructure. The U.S., China, Russia, Europe and Canada are all developing lunar atomic reactors. They aim to prospect for and extract water and helium-3, establish nuclear power plants, and capitalize on the economic and strategic advantages that will shape the balance of power in space for decades to come. Also, here's a video! (10/31)