November 30, 2025

Vaya Space Teams With Seagate Space to Chart New Course for Sea-Based Rocket Launches (Source: Space Coast Daily)
By any measure, America’s space industry is crowded with innovation — but on Florida’s Space Coast this fall, two home-grown companies quietly sketched out a plan that could reshape how and where rockets leave Earth. Vaya Space and Seagate Space announced Nov. 19 that they are working together to develop an offshore launch capability for Vaya’s Dauntless hybrid rocket, using Seagate’s uncrewed, floating Gateway platform in the Gulf of America.

If realized, the project would introduce a mobile launch system that operates beyond the limits of fixed land spaceports and promises new levels of flexibility in where satellites go — and when. Seagate Space’s Gateway platform is designed as a modular, floating spaceport — a purpose-built offshore structure capable of hosting rocket launches and, eventually, recovery operations at sea. Uncrewed and reconfigurable, Gateway is envisioned as a launch site that can be repositioned based on mission needs, ocean conditions, or orbital requirements. (11/30)

A Giant Leap in Orbital Imagery is What We Need to Realize Advanced Moon Missions (Source: Open Lunar)
At over 1.6 petabytes, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission hosts by far the largest dataset from any planetary science spacecraft ever launched. LRO’s high-resolution lunar imagery and topographic data has been the bedrock for selecting landing sites of most Moon missions launched this century from around the world.

But the next generation of landers and rovers will explore unknown ground truths about water ice and other resources amid unfavorable lighting conditions at the Moon’s south pole. These will not only need more granular orbital imagery to plan precision landings but comprehensive environmental datasets that allow missions to last long enough.

NASA has not approved any LRO successor despite the LExSO mission being proposed by members from the LRO team itself. NASA’s FY2026 Presidential budget request does not ask for any funding for the same. All of these commercially driven orbiters, while welcome, are specialized and have relatively limited use cases. The expansive scope of future missions leading up to Moonbases still requires having the whole spectrum of orbital datasets. (11/4)

Lunar Orbital Imagery Has Reached its Limit (Source: Roberto M.)
It’s time to move towards the ground. Orbital imagery is useful, but for construction it has reached its limit. We already know where the interesting sites are. What we do not know is how the ground behaves under load, excavation, compaction, or repeated traffic. Designing pads, roads, foundations, and excavations requires in-situ data: penetrometers, GPR, core samples, trafficability tests, and local geotechnical measurements. None of that can be obtained from orbit. If the objective is to build and operate on the surface, the priority now should be ground reconnaissance, not additional orbital mapping. (11/29)

Anticipating a Loud, Shaky, Dirty Future of Super Heavy Lift Launches (Source: SPACErePORT)
Local residents accept that there will be an increased launch cadence at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, with the near-daily roar of rockets not dissimilar to jet engine noise in communities around Air Force bases or major airports. But adding frequent super-heavy-lift launches and landings to the mix is another matter.

The inevitable window-rattling rumbles and sonic booms, mega-discharges of wastewater, and many other environmental impacts have residents worried about their quality of life and the local environment. Can these impacts be mitigated or prevented?

The FAA, NASA, and Space Force seem disinclined to put up any serious barriers to the Cape's growth, and the state's environmental protection agencies have been similarly pro-development under current leadership in Tallahassee. Space Florida is empowered to do things that could ease the growing pains, but their primary motivation is maximizing the spaceport's use. (11/29)

The Spaceport Company Signs Contract for Offshore Launch Testing (Source: TSC)
The Spaceport Company signed a contract to conduct offshore testing for a major defense prime. Additional details will be provided in the coming weeks (including the name of the company!). But what I can tell you right now is that TSC was the only organization with the physical assets, regulatory fluency, and organizational flexibility capable of meeting this customer’s needs in a timely manner.

We completed feasibility assessment, mission planning, and pricing negotiation in less than two days and a contract was signed within 72 hours of initial discussions. We were onboarded to this company’s internal system in less than one day. The mission will occur in the very near future, enabling our partner to expeditiously meet the needs of the warfighter. (And, in case you’re wondering: no, this is not referring to the SHIELD IDIQ for Golden Dome activities. We are also progressing to contract negotiations with MDA for that opportunity, along with many other entities in the aerospace industry.) (11/30)

UAE Payloads Launched on Transporter Mission (Source: The National)
The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre on Saturday announced the “successful launch” of the PHI-1 satellite in California. PHI-1 is the first modular satellite platform developed under the Payload Hosting Initiative with the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs.

It is carrying payloads from several space programs, including the MBRSC and the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences and Technology. The mission strengthens the UAE’s international partnerships and reflects national efforts to support a more inclusive and globally connected space ecosystem. (11/29)

How a Surrey Firm Disrupted the Satellite Industry (Source: BBC)
Some of the satellites that monitor earth, enable GPS and drive space exploration forward are built in Surrey. Nestled in a research park in Guildford is Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), where more than 70 small satellites have been built across four decades.

Sophie Bywater says that SSTL began in 1981 as the brainchild of company founder Sir Martin Sweeting, who at that point was a professor at the University of Surrey. "[He] got a really good idea that he could use commercial parts to launch small satellites and really disturb the whole classic satellite industry," she told Secret Surrey.  (11/29)

ArkEdge Space Named Japan’s “Start-up of the Year 2026” (Source: Forbes)
ArkEdge Space, a Japanese space startup based in Tokyo that provides comprehensive solutions from planning and design to mass production and operation of micro-satellite constellations, today announced that CEO Takayoshi Fukuyo was named Japan’s Start-up of the Year 2026 as part of the Forbes ranking of leading founders. The recognition goes to standout entrepreneurs driving Japan’s most promising unlisted start-ups. (11/28)