February 14, 2026

Iran Sends Jaam-e-Jame 1 Satellite to Space on Russian Rocket (Source: Tehran Times)
The “Jaam-e-Jam 1” satellite belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Broadcasting Organization (IRIB) has been successfully launched into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Jaam-e-Jam 1 is Iran’s first geosynchronous satellite and is slated to provide the necessary infrastructure for interactive public broadcast. (2/13)

With $2 Million Incentive, Maine Launcher Startup ‘Shifts’ to Selling Rocket Boosters (Source: Times Record)
Brunswick-based aerospace startup bluShift is shifting its focus to marketing its biofuel-powered engine, a departure from its original mission of using its rockets to launch small satellites into space. A $2 million Maine Technology Institute award announced by Gov. Janet Mills last week will enable the company to start buying the infrastructure needed to produce and test the engines. The company is headquartered on the former Brunswick Naval Air Station base, which has grown as a destination for Maine’s space industry.

BluShift uses a company-secret, non-toxic biofuel in its liquid-solid hybrid engines. It’s meant to be a safer and more environment-friendly alternative to traditional rocket engines, which are essentially bombs, Deri said. “You could literally take our engine down I-95 and you wouldn’t need a special permit.” The company launched its first rocket, Stardust, in 2021 from Loring Air Force Base in Limestone. (2/14)

Rocket Lab Prepares To Launch Latest Hypersonic Test Mission From Virginia Spaceport (Source: Rocket Lab)
Rocket Lab announced its next launch is a dedicated mission on its HASTE rocket for the Department of War’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). The mission, named Cassowary Vex, is scheduled to launch no earlier than late February from the Virginia Spaceport Authority’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia. The HASTE launch, dubbed ‘That’s Not A Knife,” is the latest mission of the DIU and will deploy DART AE, a scramjet-powered aircraft developed by Australian aerospace engineering firm Hypersonix. (2/12)

Stronger Than Starlink: Stratospheric Internet Could Expand Connectivity Across the Entire Planet (Source: Futura)
The solution may lie not in space, but in the stratosphere, halfway between Earth and orbit. And deployment is set to begin this year. This new form of high altitude internet relies on High Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS). These platforms can take the form of airships, balloons, drones, or unmanned aircraft positioned between 18 and 25 kilometers above the ground, compared to roughly 500 kilometers for satellites in low Earth orbit.

Powered by solar panels and batteries, these vehicles can remain airborne for weeks or even months at a time. By drastically shortening the distance between transmitter and user, they deliver high speed, low latency, and lower cost connectivity across hundreds of thousands of square kilometers. (2/13)

Musk Fires Up SpaceX, Bezos Pushes Blue Origin as US Billionaires Race China to Moon (Source: Futura)
The space race between U.S. billionaires is heating up, with Elon Musk's SpaceX planning to build a lunar base and Jeff Bezos pushing Blue Origin's ambitions as both companies aim to return humans to the moon ahead of a planned mission by China in 2030. With a planned IPO this year, SpaceX CEO Musk has said in recent podcast interviews and company meetings that he wants to build "Moonbase Alpha" and put a satellite-slinging launch device on the lunar surface. The lunar base would help build up his envisioned AI-computing network of up to one million satellites. Click here. (2/13) https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/musk-fires-up-spacex-bezos-pushes-blue-origin-us-billionaires-race-china-moon-2026-02-13/

Blue Origin Has a New Lunar Strategy (Source: Gizmodo)
Internal documents detail the accelerated mission architecture Blue Origin will use to attempt to land astronauts on the Moon without the highly complex orbital refueling SpaceX’s approach requires. The two-mission strategy includes an uncrewed demo and a crewed landing. The uncrewed portion will require three New Glenn launches, two carrying “transfer stages” into low-Earth orbit, and the third carrying a smaller version of the MK2 lander. These three vehicles will dock to each other and the first transfer stage will boost them into an elliptical orbit around Earth.

Then the second transfer stage will take over, boosting the MK2-IL lander into an elliptical orbit around the Moon. The lander will then separate, land on the Moon, and ascend back into low-lunar orbit. The crewed landing requires four New Glenn launches, three to put three transfer stages into LEO and a fourth to launch MK2-IL and a docking port. All four vehicles will dock to the port and a transfer stage will boost the stack into an elliptical Earth orbit, and the second will push it to rendezvous with NASA’s Orion spacecraft—carrying a crew of astronauts—in a specialized, highly stable orbit around the Moon.

Orion will dock with MK2-IL to allow the crew to board. The third transfer stage will then move MK2-IL into a low-lunar orbit and separate, allowing the lander to descend to the lunar surface and then ascend to re-rendezvous with Orion. While this approach will not require orbital refueling, Blue Origin still must prove it can pull off complex dockings and deep-space maneuvers it has never attempted before. (2/13)

It is Time to Take Astronomy Off Earth (Source: Space News)
Astronomy and commercial space are often portrayed as being on a collision course, yet their futures are deeply intertwined. As satellite constellations expand, astronomers raise concerns about trails across images, interference with radio telescopes and the loss of dark skies. At the same time, commercial operators point to the enormous economic, scientific and national security benefits enabled by space-based infrastructure. Both activities represent valuable and worthwhile human endeavors, each contributing in different ways to scientific progress, economic development and societal benefit. (2/12)

Starlink Is Dropping From the Sky Again and Again. Scientists Warn Earth Is Already Feeling the Effects (Source: IDR)
For decades, space safety rules assumed satellite reentries would stay rare. By early 2026, with over 70,000 megaconstellation spacecraft planned, that assumption has collapsed. The next major accident involving falling space debris is not a matter of if, but when. And when it happens, the question will not be why a single satellite failed to burn up, but why no regulator was counting the cumulative risk from 70,000 of them.

For two decades, spacefaring nations have operated under a simple rule: any satellite sent into orbit must have a less than one in 10,000 chance of injuring someone on the ground. The rule was written when a few dozen objects reentered the atmosphere each year. By early 2026, with more than 9,000 Starlink satellites in orbit and filings for constellations totaling over 70,000 spacecraft, that arithmetic no longer holds.

Researchers have now done the math that regulators have not. A study published in the journal Acta Astronautica calculated the collective probability that debris from eleven major megaconstellations will hit someone. The result was 40 percent. The figure represents a fundamental gap between how safety is assessed and how risk actually accumulates when tens of thousands of objects come down. (2/13)

Did the UK Block The Exploration Company’s Purchase of Orbex? (Source: European Spaceflight)
A spokesperson for The Exploration Company suggested that the failure of its acquisition of launch services startup Orbex was linked to the UK government’s decision not to approve the transaction. On 21 January, The Exploration Company CEO Hélène Huby said the two companies were working “closely with the UK government to ensure that our combined business reinforces the UK’s launcher roadmap.”

Just three weeks later, on 11 February, the company announced that, after all fundraising, merger, and acquisition opportunities had concluded unsuccessfully, it had formally begun insolvency proceedings by filing a notice of its intention to appoint administrators. In its statement, Orbex made no reference to The Exploration Company or to why its acquisition had fallen through. On 13 February, the company said: “While we are disappointed that this potential transaction will not move forward, we respect the UK decision-making process.” (2/14)

A Course Correction for Pakistan’s Space Ambitions (Source: The Diplomat)
For decades, the story of Pakistan’s space program was one of missed opportunities. While its neighbor India was making global headlines with lunar landings and expansive satellite constellations, Pakistan’s Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) seemed to be stuck in a long period of quiet.

However, the last two years have signaled a profound shift. If the recent flurry of activity is any indication, SUPARCO is making a comeback accounting for the lost time and potential, in the wake of national and regional challenges pertaining to its economy, climate change and national security. The most visible sign of this resurgence came on February 7, 2026, when it was announced that two Pakistani candidates had been shortlisted for advanced training at the Astronaut Center of China (ACC). (2/13)

How the Space Force Is Managing Growth at Its Busiest Launch Range (Source: Air and Space Forces)
If the forecast holds, the world’s busiest spaceport is poised to get even busier. The Space Force’s latest projections show that its Eastern Range at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida could be supporting as many as 500 launches annually by 2036—a fivefold increase over the next 10 years. That forecast is based on business projections from each of the major launch companies who have pads at the spaceport, including SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, and Blue Origin, as well as newcomers like Firefly, Stoke, and Relativity.

The Space Force in recent years been managing that growth by rethinking the way it operates its ranges, running them more like commercial spaceports than government launch facilities. That means streamlining processes, introducing more automation, relocating office buildings to increase efficiency, and pushing for policy changes that allow it to collect more fees from the companies that use its facilities and reinvest them in infrastructure improvement projects.

With funding in hand for the first phase of the Spaceport of the Future infrastructure overhaul, SLD 45 has spent much of the last two years in design mode, finalizing building plans and relocating offices to ensure it’s making the most of its limited footprint. One such project involves relocating government workspaces that are currently scattered throughout what’s known as the “industrial area,” where launch service providers assemble and test their rockets and prepare hardware to be transported. By consolidating the government functions in another area of the range, Chatman said, companies can expand and use that space more efficiently. Click here. (2/13)

China Demonstrates AI Computing Power in Space with Satellite Network Breakthrough (Source: Xinhua)
China has taken a major step toward building an AI-powered space infrastructure, with a satellite constellation deploying 10 AI models in orbit and establishing inter-satellite networking. The deployment demonstrates AI applications in deep space exploration, smart city development and natural resource surveys, according to Zhejiang Lab, which developed the constellation with global partners.

China placed 12 satellites, the first group of the space computing constellation called "Three-Body Computing Constellation," into orbit in May 2025. After nearly nine months of in-orbit testing, the constellation has demonstrated core capabilities including networking, computing, model deployment and scientific payload verification.

Among the space-based models are an 8-billion-parameter remote sensing model and an 8-billion-parameter astronomical time-domain model. These rank among the largest parameter AI models operating in orbit globally. (2/13)

Startup Bets on New Approach to Space-Based Missile Defense (Source: Space News)
Wardstone is staking its future on the Pentagon’s appetite for orbital missile defense. Wardstone is planning satellites that use kinetic interceptors to destroy threats in orbit. The startup was founded by former personnel from Amazon Prime Air, Cruise, Lockheed Martin, and NASA. Having participated in Y Combinator (Fall 2025), the company is working on an accelerated timeline, including a, "ground version of what will happen in space," which they have already demonstrated. (2/13)

NISAR is Revealing Secrets of Indian Soil to Save Farm, Agriculture (Source: India Today)
India is transforming its agricultural landscape with a high-tech eye in the sky. The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, or NISAR, is currently mapping the Indian landmass to provide high-resolution data every 12 days. This mission is a game-changer for farmers and planners because it offers a 100-metre resolution map of soil moisture, a critical factor in determining crop health and water needs. (2/14)

The Trump Administration is Illegally Gutting NASA’s Largest Research Library (Source: LitHub)
Founded in 1959, the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland is home to NASA’s largest research library. For decades, scientists, engineers, students, and a curious public have leaned on the archive to understand the physics and mechanics of space travel and satellite technology.

But late last year, the Trump administration began a shadowy campaign to destroy the library and most of its irreplaceable contents. This shuttering was part of a larger reorganization plan. In 2025, the Trump administration and its henchmen in DOGE proposed drastic cuts to NASA facilities, including the closure of 13 buildings and more than 100 labs. (2/13)