February 22, 2026

Prometheus Energetics Developing Solid Rocket Motor Manufacturing Campus in Indiana, with State Incentives (Sources: Prometheus, SPACErePORT)
Prometheus Energetics, a joint venture between Kratos and RAFAEL, broke ground on a new solid rocket motor manufacturing campus in Indiana. The campus will span approximately 600 acres and is designed to support four solid rocket motor production lines. Kratos and RAFAEL have jointly committed up to $175 million in capital to establish Prometheus Energetics and the  manufacturing campus

Prometheus will be the anchor tenant for a National Security Industrial Hub (NSIH) in Bloomfield, Indiana. Prometheus will establish its headquarters and primary production operations on approximately 600 acres of the NSIH site. Following construction and certification of RAFAEL's manufacturing processes, Prometheus is projected to begin SRM production in 2027.

The Indiana EDC committed up to $10 million in tax credits, up to $250,000 in workforce training grants, up to $2 million in conditional redevelopment tax credits, and up to $2 million in conditional structured performance payments. For Kratos separately, for a related nearby facility, the IEDC committed up to $9 million in tax credits, up to $7 million in regional development tax credits, and up to $2 million in conditional structured performance payments, tied to plans to invest more than $456 million and create up to 628 new jobs by the end of 2029. (2/20)

SpaceX Launches Record-Breaking Starlink Mission at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Florida Today)
SpaceX's Starlink 6-104 mission lifted off successfully on Saturday night from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The mission saw a booster achieve its 33rd launch and landing − a new record for SpaceX. (2/22)

A Risky Maneuver Could Send a Spacecraft to Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS (Source: Space.com)
Scientists think it's possible for a spacecraft to gain enough velocity to catch up with iconic interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, which is currently speeding away from us, by firing its booster rockets during a very close approach to the sun. If this mission could launch in 2035, the researchers say, it could at minimum catch up with 3I/ATLAS by 2085 at a distance of 732 astronomical units (AU) from the sun.

The idea is to first fly out to Jupiter, and use Jupiter's gravity to slow the spacecraft enough that it is then able to loop back around and fall towards the sun. The spacecraft could have a mass of about 1,100 pounds which is about the same as NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto. The mass of the heat shield would have to be deducted from this 500 kilograms.

Separate to this payload would be two or three solid-rocket boosters needed to provide the immense thrust needed at perihelion for the solar Oberth maneuver. The team suggests that several Starship Block 3s (featuring nine Raptor 3 engines) attached to the spacecraft in low Earth orbit before it departs on its mission would be sufficient. (2/20)

Living Off Earth Will Physically Change Humans in Shocking Ways (Source: New York Post)
The descendants of today’s spacefarers may not remain fully compatible with the people who stay behind on Earth. They may not be able to come home. And, over enough generations, they may no longer be entirely the same species. Bones, for example, do not simply thin in low gravity. They grow differently. “As a child’s body is growing and developing in lower gravity,” Solomon said, “their bones might not form in the same way.”

The problem is not just weakness, but structure. Certain microscopic connections inside bone may never form without Earth’s constant downward pull. “There’s this possibility,” he said, “that a child born in lower gravity wouldn’t form a skeleton strong enough to support being able to come back to Earth.”

The immune system presents an even deeper problem. On Earth, it’s trained from infancy by constant exposure to a vast and chaotic ecosystem of microbes. Every breath, every touch, every meal helps teach the body what is dangerous and what’s not. “But most microbes on Earth won’t be on Mars," (2/21)

With Musk Now Focused on the Moon, Will This Plucky Rival Claim Mars? (Source: Gizmodo)
SpaceX has pursued its founder’s dream of reaching Mars for decades, but now that Elon Musk has shifted the company’s focus to the Moon, another aerospace firm appears prepared to take the lead in the race to the Red Planet.

Rocket Lab—a California-based aerospace firm—isn’t directly competing with SpaceX yet, but it has come a long way from the small-satellite launches that defined its early years. The twin spacecraft it built for NASA’s ESCAPADE mission are currently en route to Mars, marking its biggest leap into interplanetary exploration yet. Now vying to build NASA’s Mars Telecommunications Orbiter, Rocket Lab appears to be positioning itself as the new “Mars company.” (2/20)

Researchers Examine How We Could Achieve Sustainable Water Systems for Space (Source: Universe Today)
According to a recent study published in *Water Resources Research*, the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) aboard the ISS is a good example of the progress being made in water recycling. To date, the ECLSS has demonstrated the ability to recover 93% of the water lost by astronauts through urine, sweat, and humidity. However, the authors note that significant challenges remain and explore multiple approaches to realizing Sustainable Water Systems (SWS) that are energy-efficient, durable, and capable of providing a steady supply of clean water.

Current systems like the ECLSS are too power-intensive for use beyond LEO and not efficient enough to be sustainable over indefinite periods. Moreover, extracting resources in off-Earth locations faces challenges such as microgravity, vacuum conditions, temperature fluctuations, weight limitations, and analysis and communication issues. In remote environments like the lunar South Pole or deep space, where access to solar power is limited by long periods of darkness, alternative energy sources must be developed.

There's also the issue of maintenance, since conventional water recycling systems are subject to corrosion and wear and tear over time. On long-duration missions, the ability to perform regular maintenance is limited, making system durability paramount. (2/20)