February 24, 2026

AST SpaceMobile Awarded $30 Million Prime Contract by U.S. Space Development Agency for HALO Europa Program (Source: AST)
AST SpaceMobile has entered into an agreement with the United States Space Development Agency (SDA) for the Europa Track 2 Commercial Solutions program. The agreement, executed under the Hybrid Acquisition for proliferated Low-earth Orbit (HALO) program, has a total contract value of approximately $30 million.

This Other Transaction (OT) agreement focuses on the rapid demonstration and delivery of innovative capabilities to the United States warfighter. Under the contract, AST will utilize its BlueBird satellite constellation to demonstrate resilient, low-latency tactical satellite communications directly between government end devices. (2/23)

How the Free Market Can Free NASA From the Space Launch System (Source: The Hill)
An analysis by the Planetary Society suggests that the Space Launch System was more a creation of political parochialism than sound engineering. It was also the result of a perfect storm of bad policy decisions, with an economic recession thrown in for good measure. The Space Launch System will fly just three more times under the current schedule, once every two years. It is clearly not sustainable if we mean to open the moon for human settlement.

Fortunately, help may be on the way. The House Science Committee has passed a NASA authorization bill that allows the space agency to procure commercial services to take crews and cargo to and from the moon without stipulating a time frame. The provision allows NASA to move away from the Space Launch System and all of its problems. The bill has to pass the full House and then the Senate before being signed into law, by no means a certain proposition. In the meantime, the two biggest commercial space companies are stepping up.

Once the commercial sector gets involved in every aspect of lunar exploration and settlement, a new space age will begin that was unimagined when humans first went to the moon. NASA will still be involved, but increasingly as a customer rather than as a controlling government agency. The moon will be only the beginning. When Musk can turn his attention back to Mars, the first expedition will likely be a mix of commercial, NASA and international astronauts. And it can happen within the lifetimes of most people alive today. (2/22)

Orbital Space Race Heats Up in Arctic North (Source: BBC)
Esrange has emerged as a player in a Europe-wide race to deliver orbital rocket launches. "Within a couple of years, we will have the first satellite launch from here," says SSC business development director Mattias Abrahamsson. The new launchpad was inaugurated in early 2023, but has faced delays. Two clients are preparing rockets to carry satellites into orbit from northern Sweden: South Korea's Perigee; and American company, Firefly, which achieved a lunar landing last year.

"We are now building out more infrastructure that is specific to Firefly's Alpha rocket," explains Katarina Lahti from SSC's orbital launch and rocket test division. That includes different fuelling, security and safety systems, she adds. The signing of a technology safeguard agreement between the US and Sweden, allowing American companies to send advanced space technology to the Scandinavian country, is another major milestone, Lahti says. Meanwhile, Esrange is hosting ground tests for Themis, Europe's first reusable rocket, as well as engine testing for German start-up Isar Aerospace.

Elsewhere, there's Norway's Andoya, the Atlantic Spaceport Consortium (ASC) on the Portuguese island of Santa Maria, and start-up EuroSpaceport hopes to launch orbital flight from a ship anchored in the North Sea, 50km off the Danish coast. On Scotland's Shetland Islands, SaxaVord is the UK's first licensed vertical spaceport, and is working with a number of companies, including Germany's Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) and HyImpulse. (2/23)

Committee to Probe ‘Systemic Issues’ Behind Repeated Failure of PSLV Rocket (Source: The Hindu)
A committee that includes K. VijayRaghavan, former Principal Scientific Advisor, and S. Somanath, former Chairman, India Space Research Organization (ISRO), will probe “systemic issues” underlying the successive failures of ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). They will investigate questions on whether “organizational” problems may have played a role in the debacles involving the PSLV. (2/23)

“We Failed Them”: NASA Grapples with Starliner (Source: Space Review)
Last week, on very short notice, NASA released an independent report on the flawed Starliner crewed test flight in 2024. Jeff Foust reports on that study and its assessment of both the technical and organization problems at the root of that mission. Click here. (2/24)
 
Prometheus Bound: The Legacy of the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (Source: Space Review)
More than 20 years ago, NASA embarked on an effort to develop a massive nuclear-powered mission to the moons of Jupiter. Dwayne Day examines that ill-fated effort and the legacy it created for future missions. Click here. (2/24)
 
We Can Build Cities on the Moon—but Who Will Govern Them? (Source: Space Review)
As companies follow the lead of countries in returning humans to the Moon, it raises new questions of governance of those efforts. Rachel Williams and Jatan Mehta discuss how precedents set in the coming years should shape lunar activity for decades to come. Click here. (2/24)
 
When Iran Took the Internet Hostage, Elon Musk Held the Keys (Source: Space Review)
Protestors in Iran turned to Starlink to maintain connection with the outside world when the government restricted Internet access. Bharath Gopalaswamy argues this puts private companies into roles of making policy traditionally held by governments. Click here. (2/24)
 
AI and Army Astronauts: A Judge Advocate’s Solution to Protecting the Soldier-Astronaut (Source: Space Review)
As astronauts, including those from the military, go deeper into space, they will face medical challenges that can’t be resolved by simply returning to Earth. Mitch Topaloglu says alternative solutions have to be balanced with those that protect the astronauts’ privacy. Click here. (2/24)

Aalyria Laser Data Firm Reaches Unicorn Status (Source: Space News)
Aalyria has become the latest space unicorn with a $100 million funding round. The company, which is developing laser terminals and software for dynamically routing data across space, air and ground networks, announced the funding round Monday, giving the company a valuation of $1.3 billion. Aalyria, spun out of Google's parent Alphabet four years ago, says its Spacetime platform can coordinate those links in real time, allocating capacity and routing traffic as satellites, aircraft and ground terminals move. Telesat's Lightspeed constellation will be the first commercial customer of Spacetime. Alongside Spacetime, the company said the funds will help expand deployment of its Tightbeam laser terminals, which also stem in part from Alphabet-era research. (2/24)

SECAF Says Space Force Must Grow (Source: Space News)
The Secretary of the Air Force and chief of the Space Force said the service needs to be bigger. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said the Space Force is preparing for a period of sustained expansion as its mission set broadens and its workload increases. That will require more personnel and a more specialized workforce, he said. Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman, speaking after Meink, noted the Space Force's 15,000 personnel need to support a joint force of about 1.3 million service members. Because of its lean structure, Saltzman said, the service has limited surge capacity. (2/24)

Lockheed Martin To Test Digital Atomic Clock On Next GPS III Sat (Source: Aviation Week)
Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Space Force are testing several new technologies aboard the next GPS III satellite, including a new digital atomic clock. The 10th GPS III satellite, scheduled to launch in early 2026, will carry a new digital version, Lockheed Martin Vice President for Navigation Systems Malik Musawwir said. (2/24)

Space Force Seeks Industry Input on In-Space Refueling (Source: Space News)
The Space Force is seeking industry input on concepts for in-space refueling. A request for information (RFI) released earlier this month asks for "technical concepts and approaches to refueling services for prepared clients in orbit," with an expectation that solutions could be operational by 2030. The RFI suggests the Space Force is looking beyond demonstration missions toward a broader architecture. Industry officials, including those developing satellite refueling technologies, said they welcomed the release of the RFI. (2/24)

AST Wins SDA Broadband Contract (Source: Space News)
AST SpaceMobile won a Space Development Agency contract for a broadband demonstration. The $30 million contract, announced Monday, is part of SDA's Hybrid Acquisition for Proliferated Low Earth Orbit, or HALO, an Other Transaction Agreement designed to fund rapid on-orbit experiments. Under the contract, AST SpaceMobile will use its BlueBird satellite constellation, intended to provide direct-to-device broadband services to smartphones, to test resilient, low-latency tactical satellite communications, including to existing tactical military radios. For AST SpaceMobile, the new contract represents another step toward positioning a consumer-focused broadband system as relevant to defense missions, after receiving a $43 million contract last year to support SDA through an undisclosed prime contractor. (2/24)

Pentagon Buyer: We’re Happy With Our Launch Industry, But Payloads are Lagging (Source: Ars Technica)
The Space Force officer tasked with overseeing more than $24 billion in research and development spending says the Pentagon is more interested in supporting startups building new space sensors and payloads than adding yet another rocket company to its portfolio. The statement, made at a space finance conference in Dallas last week, was one of several points Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy wanted to get across to a room full of investors and commercial space executives. (2/24)

Telespazio Awarded €20 Million Contract for Canary Islands Constellation (and Launch) (Source: European Spaceflight)
Telespazio Ibérica, the Spanish subsidiary of the Italian space technology company Telespazio, has been awarded a €20 million contract to develop an Earth observation constellation for the Canary Islands. The constellation would consist of eight satellites in low Earth orbit and would have a proposed budget of €21.3 million, with funding allocated over six years in the island’s 2026–2031 budgets. It also stated that the satellites would be “launched from the island,” despite the absence of any orbital launch infrastructure.(2/24)

Sophia Space Raises $10 Million for Space-Based Compute (Source: Space News)
Sophia Space raised $10 million in seed funding to accelerate development of space-based edge computers and orbital data centers. The seed round, announced Tuesday, was led by Alpha Funds, KDDI Green Partners Fund and Unlock Venture Partners. With the funds, Sophia Space will accelerate development of its orbital computing systems and proprietary thermal technology. The company is working on Tile, a compute module measuring one meter by one meter by one centimeter that contains servers, solar arrays and a passive cooling system. (2/24)

Boeing Tests AI LLM on Space-Grade Hardware (Source: Space News)
Boeing has tested an artificial intelligence large language model that can operate on space-grade hardware. In recent ground tests, Boeing engineers demonstrated that a large language model running on commercial off-the-shelf hardware could examine telemetry and report in natural language on the health of a satellite. This technology would allow controllers to check a satellite's status without downloading and analyzing telemetry, as the AI model would do that work on the satellite instead. (2/24)

Japan's Space One Delays Kairos Launch From Kii Launch Site (Source: Jiji Press)
A Japanese company is delaying the launch of a small rocket. Space One said it was postponing the launch of its third Kairos rocket, which had been scheduled for this week, from the firm's Spaceport Kii launch site near the town of Kushimoto, citing poor weather. The company said the launch would be rescheduled for some time in March but did not give a more precise date. This will be the third flight of Kairos, a small solid-fuel rocket. The first two launches failed to reach orbit. (2/24)

Starlab Completes NASA Commercial Critical Design Review (Source: Starlab Space)
tarlab Space, developer of a next-generation commercial space station, has successfully completed its Commercial Critical Design Review (CCDR) with NASA in attendance, marking a decisive transition from design to manufacturing and systems integration. The CCDR data supports the 28th milestone on the NASA Commercial LEO Destinations Space Act Agreement. Starlab also completed a review of the business plan and business model, validating the commercial intent underpinning the Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) program. (2/23)

LambdaVision Books Space on Starlab Station for Retina Production (Source: Space News)
LambdaVision, a company that produces artificial retinas in microgravity, has booked space on a commercial space station. The company said Tuesday it reserved payload space on Starlab, the commercial space station under development by the Starlab Space joint venture. LambdaVision has flown experiments on the ISS demonstrating the ability to create layers of thin protein films for its artificial retinas. The announcement came a day after Starlab Space announced it completed a commercial critical design review for the station. (2/24)

Momentus to Host 10 Payloads on Vigoride 7 Spacecraft Aboard Transporter 16 Rideshare (Source: Space News)
Momentus will fly 10 payloads on its first mission in three years. The company said its Vigoride 7 spacecraft is slated to launch in late March on the SpaceX Transporter-16 rideshare mission. Vigoride 7 will fly payloads for NASA, DARPA, the Air Force Research Laboratory, SpaceWERX, Portal Space Systems, Orbit Fab, CisLunar Industries, DPhi Space and Solstar Space. (2/24)

The Legal Void of the Asteroid Gold Rush (Source: Universe Today)
Asteroid mining companies are finally getting off the ground, and that is raising some concerns about the impact those activities will have on the space environment. Dr. Anna Marie Brennan discusses a framework that she thinks might work to solve the legal challenges facing those who want to protect the space environment and those who want to exploit it. She argues two main points. First, asteroid mining can irreparably break an asteroid, destroying the “scientific, cultural, and potential economic value [of that asteroid] for future generations.” Second, reckless extraction of one company could damage nearby assets or cause “accumulation of space debris that could impede future human activity”. (2/24)

Debris Strike May Have Cracked Chinese Capsule Window Last Year (Source: Space.com)
It has been billed as China's first emergency operation in the country's human spaceflight program. The three astronauts of China's Shenzhou-20 mission were originally slated to return to Earth last Nov. 5, but after discovering cracks in the viewport of their spacecraft, their landing was postponed. Chen Dong, commander of the Shenzhou-20 crew, first noticed the damage to the window while conducting final checks on the return capsule. The believed culprit: space debris striking the window. (2/24)

Astronaut Mission Could Anchor Australia's Place in $900bn Global Space Market (Source: UWA)
The International Space Centre at The University of Western Australia is leading a cross-sector campaign seeking government support for a human spaceflight mission to help anchor Australia to the global space economy. The campaign includes universities, industry associations, chief scientists, STEM organizations and senior political figures from across the country, reflecting rare cross-sector alignment around the strategic importance of space.

Last month, the group submitted a package of nearly 80 letters of support to the Prime Minister and senior Cabinet members, signaling Australia’s appetite to pursue deeper collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) – including the possibility of an Australian astronaut mission. (2/24)

Advancing Research and Development of Large Space Structures (Source: ESA)
Launched in 2024, the Discovery Campaign 'New Approaches for Large Space Structure Construction, Maintenance, and Recycling Technologies, (LATTICE)' aims to develop foundational building blocks that will enable the European space sector to move today's single-use-and-dispose spacecraft towards reusable, efficient, affordable, and sustainable large space infrastructure. Twelve activities are now under way and are already yielding the first interesting results. Click here. (2/24)

Hawaii Lawmakers Look to Space for Economic Diversification (Source: West Hawaii Today)
State leaders are considering what could be a leap toward a decades-old goal of making the aerospace industry a big part of Hawaii’s economy. Two bills pending at the Legislature aim to help a California company launch payloads via rocket into space at low cost from a winged booster ship towed high into the sky by plane. The measures — one to let the firm sell up to $40 million in low-interest bonds and another to have the state help pay for building a high-tech hangar at Hilo International Airport — recently advanced after initial committee hearings.

Public testimony on the bills was all positive or neutral. Yet even if one or both do become law, it wouldn’t ensure realizing what the company, Fenix Space Inc., said could be part of its entry into a $13 billion “orbital launch” market that it projects will grow to over $40 billion by 2030. Yet state leaders also have foregone projects and other efforts to make Hawaii a more significant player in aerospace. One major failed past effort was to develop a space port in Ka‘u in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A more recent setback was the Legislature abolishing the state Office of Aerospace Development in 2021, though some of the office’s work shifted to another agency. Since then, some lawmakers have invigorated aerospace development efforts, but without much, if any, success.

Editor's Note: Fenix Space is developing a reusable tow-launch system to deliver payloads to orbit and enable hypersonic transportation. The company last year was anticipating a $30 million investment from Alaska Capital to operate from one or more Alaska airports. (2/23)

Strong Opposition to Proposed New Hawaiian Telescopes (Source: West Hawaii Today)
As the military moves forward on its plans to build as many as seven new telescopes on the summit of Haleakala, opposition to the project is mounting on Maui. In January, the Department of the Air Force released a draft environmental assessment on the project, which would be known as Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site Small Telescope Advanced Research Facility, or AMOS STAR, when it’s completed. Hundreds of Maui residents attended public hearings, with most expressing staunch opposition. (2/24)
 
Galileo vs. Spoofing: ESA Tests in Real-World Environments (Source: ESA)
From adding timestamps to banking transactions to mapping the best route to a destination, satellite navigation plays a significant role in daily life. At the same time, attempts to interfere with and fake navigation signals are increasing. For the last seven months, a new verification service for Galileo has mitigated the threat of spoofing in the Open Service by confirming that the satellite navigation data used for positioning originated in the Galileo system. The Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA) mitigates the threat of spoofing by adding an authenticity stamp to the real signal from the satellite. The stamp acts as a digital signature that ensures the satellite navigation data obtained by a receiver are coming from the Galileo system. (2/24)

Starfighters Space Stock Tumbles on CEO Leadership Change (Source: Investing.com)
Starfighters Space (NYSE American: FJET) fell 14.4% Monday after the company announced the resignation of founder Rick Svetkoff as Chief Executive Officer, President, Chairman and Director. Svetkoff, 72, stepped down from his leadership roles and his spouse Brenda Svetkoff also resigned as company secretary. The board appointed Tim Franta as the new Chief Executive Officer.

Svetkoff founded Starfighters in 1996 after serving as a U.S. Navy pilot and a Continental Airlines pilot. The company thanked Svetkoff for his leadership in developing Starfighters to its current stage. Franta has served as Starfighters’ Vice President of Development since October 2022. (2/23)

First In-Orbit Test of ATLAS-1 Laser Terminals to Bring Up to 100 Times Faster, Interference-Resilient Communication for Small Satellites (Source: Astrolight)
Astrolight, a space and defense-tech company pioneering laser communication solutions across space, ground, and maritime domains, is set to demonstrate its low-SWaP (size, weight, and power) ATLAS-1 laser communication terminals in space for the first time. The terminals will demonstrate high-bandwidth (up to 1 Gbps), secure space-to-ground links aboard two customer satellites, scheduled for launch this March with SpaceX’s Transporter-16. (2/23)

Two Satellite Proposals Threaten the Night Sky — the Window to Act is Now (Source: DarkSky)
In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the agency responsible for authorizing satellite launches and operations, is reviewing two proposals of unprecedented scale and consequence. If approved, they would alter the night sky as we know it, with impacts that would be increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to reverse. Both proposals are currently open for public comment, making this a critical moment for public engagement as the FCC considers satellite proliferation at unprecedented scales and technologies that pose serious risks to the nighttime environment.

The first proposal comes from Reflect Orbital, which plans to deploy satellites fitted with in-space mirrors to beam reflected sunlight back to Earth at night. Marketed as “sunlight on demand,” the company says the system could extend daylight for solar farms or be sold to cities to illuminate streets at brightness levels exceeding three times that of the full moon. Such illumination would introduce an entirely new source of artificial light at night, with far-reaching consequences, including disruption to wildlife and ecosystems that depend on natural cycles of light and dark, as well as serious public safety concerns.

The second proposal is even more striking in its scale. SpaceX has asked the FCC for permission to launch up to one million satellites, described in its filing as orbital data centers, as part of an expansion of its artificial intelligence infrastructure. DarkSky does not oppose satellite technology. Satellites play an important role in modern life. But the organization does oppose unchecked expansion without oversight and full environmental review, particularly when technologies pose real and lasting risks to the global nighttime environment. Click here to act. (2/11)
 
Aalyria Hits $1.3 Billion Valuation After Raising Funds for Satellite Mesh Network (Source: Space News)
Aalyria announced a $100 million funding round Feb. 23 that values the Californian venture at $1.3 billion, supporting deployment of laser terminals and software for dynamically routing data across space, air and ground networks. (2/23)

Europe’s Access-to-Space Gains Momentum with Reusable Launcher Test (Source: Space News)
Having its own reusable launcher is a cornerstone of Europe’s ambition to enhance its autonomous and sustainable access to space capability by increasing maximum achievable launch rate. Europe is committed to mastering launcher reusability, both through ESA’s and European Commission’s efforts. The SALTO project brings together 26 important EU industry players working on reusable launcher technologies and operations.

The Themis T1H prototype included the development of a flight test demonstrator for low-cost rocket recovery and reuse technologies, at a scale representative of a medium-sized launcher. The SALTO project’s main activity is the T1H flight test campaign, targeting three low-altitude flights (vertical take-off and landing), with the goal of demonstrating the vehicle’s ability to lift off, land, be recovered, refurbished and prepared for the next flight. The Themis development and the SALTO flight test campaign also represent a shift in the European space R&D mindset, embracing greater risk-taking through a “test and learn” approach. (2/23)

Open Cosmos Seeks $200M for Liechtenstein-Licensed Ka-Band Constellation (Source: Space Intel Report)
Open Cosmos of Britain and Spain has started a funding round to pay for deployment of a low-orbit Ka-band constellation to provide broadband links worldwide following the company’s successful launch of two crucial demonstration satellites in January. Under its ITU license from the government of Liechtenstein, the company has until June 10 and Sept. 28 of this year to launch 50% of its network, and then until June and September 2028 to launch the remaining satellites. (2/23)

Singapore's Can Marine to Deploy Eutelsat OneWeb for Asia-Pacific Maritime Connectivity Services (Source: Via Satellite)
Singaporean connectivity provider Can Marine will use Eutelsat’s OneWeb Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation to deliver maritime connectivity to maritime customers in the Asia-Pacific region, the companies announced Monday. Under the new multi-year agreement, Can Marine will use OneWeb connectivity to serve clients in merchant shipping and offshore energy. Can Marine provides end-to-end satellite communications solutions to its customers, including network design, service delivery, and support. (2/23)

China's Mysterious Shenlong Space Plane Recently Launched on its 4th Mission (Source: Space News)
China's reusable space plane is circling Earth once again. The Shenlong ("Divine Dragon") spacecraft launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert on Feb. 6, kicking off the robotic vehicle's fourth-ever orbital mission. (2/23)

Spanish Air and Space Force and GMV Agree to Install Satellite Tracking Antenna (Source: GMV)
The Spanish Air and Space Force, on behalf of the Ministry of Defense, and GMV have signed an agreement to install a Focusear system antenna at Morón Air Base in Seville, dedicated to satellite tracking. Through this agreement, the Space Operations and Surveillance Center (COVE) of the Space Command (MESPA) within the Spanish Air and Space Force will also gain access to data from GMV’s Focusear system. (2/17)

BlackSky Signs Eight-Figure Contract for Accelerated Delivery of Gen-3 Sovereign Space-Based Intelligence Solution (Source: BlackSky)
BlackSky secured a new eight-figure international contract for accelerated delivery of a Gen-3 sovereign space-based intelligence solution. The agreement combines the sale of one Gen-3 very-high resolution 35-centimeter satellite with recurring, multi-year on-orbit operations and subscription-based Assured imagery and analytics services, leveraging the company’s fully automated end-to-end architecture enabled by the BlackSky Spectra® software platform and its ground network to deliver real-time insights at mission speed and scale. (2/17)

Space Solar Power Will Inevitably Trump Trump’s War On Solar Power (Source: Clean Technica)
President Trump's fossil-friendly energy policy isn’t aging well. Solar continues to dominate new capacity additions in the US, and now the futuristic space solar field is gearing up to pull the rug right out from under the president’s phony “reliability” standard. Trump’s energy policy teeters on the unsteady idea that a “reliable” resource is one that delivers a minimum, or base load, of electricity at a steady rate, regardless of the weather, season, or time of day. Fossil fuels meet this standard, of course, while wind and solar are left out in the cold.

The new policy does satisfy Trump’s longstanding thirst for revenge against wind turbines. It also satisfies his supporters in the fossil energy industry, at least partly. However, Trump left a ticking time bomb for them to deal with in future years. The new policy embraces all “reliable” power generation resources, including biomass, geothermal, hydropower, and marine energy along with nuclear energy. As these industries grow, they will help push fossil fuels out of the nation’s power generation profile.

And now, here comes space solar to upend the whole works. Space solar, also called SBSP (short for spaced-based solar power), refers to systems that harvest solar energy in space and beam it wirelessly down to receivers on Earth in a steady, 24/7 stream, regardless of terrestrial conditions. That easily meets the reliability standard set by Trump himself. (2/20)

The Space Race is Being Rewritten by AI – and Europe Risks Falling Behind (Source: EU Startups)
Once upon a time, a company would build large, costly, and unwieldy satellites that would then be sent into orbit to sit, often for decades. Those satellites did their job, supporting navigation, tracking the weather, and enabling disaster response, as they circled the planet. These days, they do much more. They are crucial to modern armies, for example, since they underpin command and control, precision targeting, secure links, early warning, logistics, and intelligence. And their environment, orbit, has also changed. It is contested. The head of the UK’s Space Command says British satellites are targeted by Russia weekly.

It is unsurprising, then, that satellites are changing rapidly. They used to be the size of buses; now, they are often the size of basketballs. The twin pressures of the market and technological change have forced the hand of satellite operators, who must refresh their hardware more often. Applied to capacity management, AI could decide who gets bandwidth, when, and for how long. In contested settings, this matters a great deal. AI will also transform how satellites handle data. If satellites can process the bulk of that data in orbit and downlink only what can be used, the cost savings will be huge.

Machines can simulate creativity, but they cannot, at least not yet, be creative. Only human beings can. With AI handling orchestration and on-board data processing, engineers and operators can focus elsewhere, and innovation becomes more likely. Europe’s structural challenge
What this means is that AI startups could play an outsized role in deciding who wins the space race. That should be of particular interest to policymakers in Europe, which lags behind the US and China in artificial intelligence. (2/20)

Collins Aerospace Expands in Puerto Rico (Source: Invest Puerto Rico)
$40 million. 525 new jobs. One stronger aerospace ecosystem. Collins Aerospace announced today the expansion of its operations in Santa Isabel and Aguadilla, reinforcing Puerto Rico’s role as a strategic node in the global aerospace value chain. The investment will support advanced manufacturing, expand engineering capabilities, and create 525 new high-value jobs — backed by workforce development programs and aligned public-private collaboration. Editor's Note: Also coming soon: Puerto Rico will decide the next steps toward the proposed development of a spaceport at the Roosevelt Roads site. (2/23)