February 4, 2026

Lompoc Grants One-Year Extension for Space Base California Project (Source: Construction Owners)
In late December, the Lompoc City Council approved a one-year extension to the development timeline for the proposed Space Base California project, a Central Coast space-themed destination designed to inspire families and encourage interest in science and space exploration. The extension was granted through a first amendment to the long-term ground lease and development agreement between the city and Pale Blue Dot Ventures Inc. The amendment was approved Nov. 18 as part of the consent calendar without discussion.

Pale Blue Dot Ventures is the investor group behind the educational and recreational center planned for approximately 82 acres of city-owned land near Ken Adam Park, located south of Hancock Drive and west of Highway 1. The Space Base California project has been in development since July 2019, when Pale Blue Dot entered into a memorandum of understanding with the City of Lompoc. The original lease and development agreement was executed in September 2024 and became official Dec. 5, 2024. This pushes substantive permitting and construction milestones back, with full entitlements due by late 2028 and construction to start by 2031. (12/27)

SmallSat Alliance Shifts Focus to Proliferated Constellations for Warfare (Source: Space News)
An industry group that spent the last decade promoting the development of smallsat constellations is shifting gears. The SmallSat Alliance, formed in 2016, originally advocated for the development of proliferated satellite constellations. With such systems now being deployed by the Space Development Agency and others, the SmallSat Alliance says it now wants to shift its focus to ways proliferated constellations can better support the warfighter. Chuck Beames, chairman of the group, likened the current moment to the early days of the personal computing revolution, when standalone machines became transformative only after they were connected through networks, later supercharged by advances in software and processing power. (2/4)

Space Force Sees Cislunar Space as Strategic Domain (Source: Space News)
The Space Force wants to think more about operations in cislunar space. At an event last month, Gen. Shawn Bratton, deputy chief of space operations, said operations in cislunar space could affect missile warning, space domain awareness and the protection of satellites operating far from Earth, where monitoring and defense are more difficult. He said thinking about commanding and controlling spacecraft in that region is part of the service's 15-year planning horizon, Space Force 2040. That planning also involves thinking about offensive space operations as well as doubling the number of personnel. (2/4)

Senate Committee Delays FCC Streamlining Bill (Source: Space News)
A Senate committee delayed consideration of a bill that would streamline FCC reviews of satellite license applications. The SAT Streamlining Act, introduced last month, would require the FCC to rule on space and ground station applications within one year, with no more than 180 days of extensions for "extraordinary circumstances." At a Senate Commerce Committee session Tuesday, though, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the committee's ranking member, raised concerns about a provision that would automatically approve such applications if the FCC does not either approve or deny them by the deadline. That could, she noted, allow the automatic approval of SpaceX's proposal for one million orbital data center satellites. She proposed an amendment to remove that provision, but a lack of a  quorum prevented the committee from considering that amendment or advancing the bill. (2/4)

Amazon Exec Skeptical on Orbital Data Centers (Source: Reuters)
An Amazon executive is skeptical about the near-term prospects for orbital data centers. Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services, said at a conference Tuesday that it would be difficult and not economical to launch large numbers of satellites into orbit to serve as data centers. He said the industry is "pretty far" from being able to seriously consider such systems, despite interest from SpaceX and other companies. (2/4)

India's Space Agency May See Budget Increase (Source: The Hindu)
India's space agency ISRO would get a small budget increase for its next fiscal year. A budget proposal released by the Indian government would provide about 137 billion rupees ($1.52 billion) for ISRO in the 2026-27 fiscal year, a 2% increase from last year's budget but a 10% increase over revised spending levels for 2025-26, suggesting the government did not spend the full amount allocated to ISRO in the previous year. The focus of the budget is on hardware and mission development, particularly in space technology and science. (2/4)

NASA Mercury Mission Saw Geographic Activity (Source: Sky & Telescope)
A reanalysis of images from a NASA Mercury mission has provided evidence the planet is still geologically active. Researchers used AI tools to examine images from the MESSENGER mission to Mercury, detecting streaks on the walls of some craters. The streaks, scientists speculate, are caused when impacts create fractures that release volatiles below the surface. Those volatiles, ices heated up by the sun into gas, create streaks down the sides of the craters. The streaks may be residue from the volatiles or fresh rocky material exposed by the volatiles. (2/4)

Nye Stepping Down From Planetary Society (Source: Planetary Society)
The longtime CEO of The Planetary Society is stepping down. Bill Nye announced last week that he will leave the post of CEO effective Feb. 17, and be replaced by the organization's chief operating officer, Jennifer Vaughn. Nye, who became CEO of the organization 15 years ago after a career that included becoming famous for the "Bill Nye the Science Guy" television show, will remain on the society's board of directors. He will also be its first "chief ambassador," representing the space science advocacy group at public events and on Capitol Hill. (2/4)

Space-Comm Expo Europe Comes to London on March 4-5 (Source: SpaceComm)
In four weeks, London will serve as the host city for the largest and most influential space industry event ever held in the UK. Global policymakers and business leaders will gather at Space-Comm Expo Europe, taking place on March 4-5 at ExCeL London. Space-Comm Expo Europe will welcome over 5,400 delegates, 250 exhibitors and 200 speakers from over 50 countries, with inspirational speakers and cutting edge technology, exploring new opportunities to accelerate the future of the European space industry. (2/4)

Rafael Deepens Space Focus As IPO Decision Looms (Source: Aviation Week)
Rafael is boosting its focus on space while the company also awaits a decision by the Israeli government about taking the state-owned defense technology specialist public. Rafael is splitting the cyber and intelligence operations that house space activities from the aviation portfolio, giving them more prominence. “The space business has grown, and we are entering into a new era, so we want that level of management attention,” CEO Yoav Tourgeman said. (2/4)

New Pentagon Science-and-Innovation Board Arrives as Administration Cuts Research Funding (Source: Defense One)
The Pentagon's new Science, Technology, and Innovation Board—a merger of the decade-old Defense Innovation Board and the 70-year-old Defense Science Board—is meant to “streamline” the department's approach to the hardest technological and scientific national-security challenges. But it comes on the heels of Trump-administration cuts that could hinder those efforts. (2/4)

Furuno, Xona Sign MoU to Bring LEO PNT into Timing Portfolio (Source: Inside GNSS)
Furuno has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Xona Space Systems to develop products that integrate Xona’s Pulsar low Earth orbit positioning, navigation and timing (LEO PNT) service, with a particular focus on timing and synchronization applications, the companies announced February 3. (2/4)

Voyager Outlines Infrastructure-Led Roadmap for Long-Term US Lunar Presence (Source: Space Daily)
Voyager Technologies has launched a strategic lunar initiative designed to align with the White House Securing American Space Superiority executive order and to reinforce United States leadership beyond low Earth orbit. The initiative is framed as a long-term effort to support exploration, national security and commercial activity on and around the Moon by focusing on durable infrastructure rather than one-off missions. Voyager plans to concentrate its lunar efforts on what it describes as foundational infrastructure for both human and robotic operations. That includes systems to support crews, distribute power, build communications backbones, provide on-orbit and surface computing, and enable automated logistics needed for continuous operations rather than short-duration visits.

Beyond internal research and existing intellectual property, Voyager says it will pursue additional partnerships, investments and phased development activities to match evolving government and commercial timelines. The company states that its objective is to be a leading player in the emerging lunar ecosystem by the end of the decade, positioning itself across civil, defense and commercial markets that view the Moon as a strategic domain. (2/4)

ESA Adjusts Cluster Orbits for Rare Twin Reentry Campaign (Source: Space Daily)
When satellites fall back to Earth, most of their structure burns up in the atmosphere, but engineers still lack detailed data on how real spacecraft actually break apart during reentry and which components survive the plunge. To close this gap, the European Space Agency has retargeted the final orbits of its remaining two Cluster satellites so that both can be observed from an aircraft during their destructive descent over the South Pacific Ocean on 31 August and 1 September 2026. The Cluster mission, launched in 2000, consists of four identical satellites that have studied Earths magnetosphere for more than two decades. (2/4)

Muon Space Ramps Up Multi-Mission Satellite Constellations (Source: Space Daily)
Muon Space is entering a new phase of operational scale as it moves from discrete missions to sustained, multi-mission satellite constellation deployment for government and commercial customers. The Mountain View based company reports that its growing mission portfolio, expanding launch manifest and increasing demand for end-to-end, mission-optimized systems are driving this transition. In 2025 Muon Space secured major government contracts supporting missile warning and tracking and dual-use environmental monitoring while launching new commercial satellites and advancing multiple operational constellations. During the same period the company more than doubled its employee headcount and delivered over 100 percent year-over-year growth for the second year running. (2/4)

UK's Lunar Nuclear Reactor Dream On Hold as Rolls Royce Struggles to Find Launch Support (Source: Interesting Engineering)
The UK’s vision of powering a future Moon base with nuclear energy has quietly slipped into uncertainty. A lunar micro-reactor project led by Rolls-Royce, once backed by the UK Space Agency, has reportedly been placed on indefinite hold after government funding ran out and no launch partner stepped forward. The idea itself was ambitious but practical. Rolls-Royce’s proposed micro-reactor was designed to produce about 100 kilowatts of electricity—enough to keep habitats warm, equipment running, and astronauts alive.

It was pitched as the kind of dependable, off-grid power source needed for long-term lunar living, especially near permanently shadowed craters where valuable water ice may be mined. Launched three years ago, the project was presented as more than just space hardware. UK officials described it as a way to strengthen Britain’s role in advanced science, support high-skill jobs, and spin off technologies useful back on Earth. While the company is said to be ready to restart development, the lack of a confirmed launch route has left the reactor stuck on paper. (2/2)

Space Force Association Gets New CEO (Source: SFA)
SFA is thrilled to welcome Damon Feltman as our new CEO! Damon has hit the ground running. Since its creation in 2019, SFA has grown from a concept to an established voice for spacepower. We are entering 2026 with a refreshed Strategic Plan to champion spacepower, uplift Guardians, and unite the public and private sectors on U.S.-led space security. (2/4)

ICEYE Floats a 1,000-Satellite Vision for "Constellation Europe" (Source: Space News)
During a press briefing in Brussels, ICEYE co-founder, president and CEO Rafał Modrzewski outlined what he called "Constellation Europe" — a proposed thousand-satellite, multi-sensor constellation aimed at giving Europe fast, independent space-based intelligence capabilities.

The concept has not yet been discussed with European authorities and has no budget attached. ICEYE envisions it as a collaborative effort involving both private and institutional stakeholders. "We designed a system that we believe would provide Europe with space domain superiority and full autonomy in space," Modrzewski said. "It has a sensing layer, a transport layer, a space situational awareness layer and an endpoint defense layer." (2/4)

US Navy Wants Commercial Satellites for Nighttime Earth Observation (Source: Defense News)
The U.S. Navy wants commercial satellites that can perform nighttime observation of the Earth, according to a Naval Research Laboratory Request for Information. “The objective is to understand the availability of systems that can provide data and services related to the remote sensing of nighttime scenes from space to inform potential future collaborations and acquisitions for a technology demonstration,” according to the RFI. (2/3)

Tomorrow.io Raises $175M to Build Out DeepSky Weather Constellation (Source: Via Satellite)
Tomorrow.io has raised $175 million in new funding to fund its next-generation DeepSky weather monitoring constellation. Stonecourt Capital and HarbourVest led the funding round. Tomorrow.io operates a weather monitoring constellation and recently announced plans for the upgraded DeepSky constellation to provide faster revisit rates and more coverage. The company hasn’t shared a target for how many satellites will make up DeepSky, but said the satellites will be equipped with multimodal sensors that are able to scan the full electromagnetic spectrum at high frequency. (2/3)

CNES to Fill Commercial Launch Facility Vacancy Left by MaiaSpace (Source: European Spaceflight)
The French space agency CNES has opened a call for launch operators to fill a vacancy at its new multi-user commercial launch facility in French Guiana after MaiaSpace withdrew in late 2025. The facility, being built on the former Diamant launch site, was originally intended to host multiple commercial operators. MaiaSpace had signed a binding term sheet but formally vacated the site in the last quarter of 2025, having been selected instead to convert the old Soyuz launch facility for its own use following Russia's suspension of Soyuz operations in 2022.

CNES is investing €50 million in shared infrastructure at the ELM facility, including power, fluid, and communication systems, with construction expected to complete in the second half of 2026. Applicants must be headquartered in EU or ESA member states with significant production capacity in those countries. They'll be evaluated on compatibility with regulations, launch system maturity, social and economic impact, and environmental impact. Other companies that previously signed term sheets include Isar Aerospace, PLD Space, Rocket Factory Augsburg, and Latitude, though additional vacancies could open if any of these fail to proceed.

Spain's PLD Space is expected to conduct the facility's inaugural flight later this year with its MIURA 5 rocket, even though Germany's Isar Aerospace is more advanced in its commercial preparations but is conducting initial operations from Norway instead. Individual launch operators will be responsible for building their own launcher-specific facilities like launch tables and assembly buildings once the shared infrastructure is complete. (2/3)

HawkEye 360 Taps Hale for Space Weather Forecasts (Source: Payload)
Predicting the future is no simple task, but for space weather forecasting startup Hale SWx, it’s part of the business model. The startup predicts the Sun’s activity with greater accuracy than existing approaches—and customers are quickly signing on to leverage those insights (and what they can do for the lifespan of sat constellations.)

Today, signal intelligence constellation operator HawkEye 360 announced a five-year deal to use Hale’s forecasts and atmospheric density predictions to inform its satellite deployment plans. HawkEye may be Hale’s latest customer, but it’s not the first: Hale signed similar agreements with Planet, and is running both paid and unpaid pilot programs with other constellation operators. (2/3)

constellr and Sky Perfect JSAT are Partnering to Deliver Thermal Intelligence to the Japanese Market (Source: Spacewatch Global)
constellr and SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation have launched the commercial sales of high‑resolution thermal infrared satellite data for the Japanese market, marking the first time a private company in Japan will commercially deliver such data from constellr. The relationship introduces a new Earth observation capability for government and industrial users in Japan, complementing optical and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems with object-level activity information. (2/3)

NASA Backs Studies to Boost Hypersonic Flight Testing (Source: Space Daily)
NASA is preparing for a new phase in hypersonic aviation by funding industry studies aimed at expanding flight test capabilities for reusable airbreathing vehicles that can cruise at several times the speed of sound. The agency has awarded short term study contracts to SpaceWorks Enterprises of Atlanta, Georgia, and Stratolaunch of Mojave, California, to examine how existing platforms could be adapted to conduct frequent and affordable hypersonic flight experiments. The work is managed under NASA's Hypersonic Technology Project within the Advanced Air Vehicles Program. (2/2)

NTU Singapore Boosts Agile Space Access with Trio of New Projects (Source: Space Daily)
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore is launching three new space projects under Singapore's Space Technology Development Program, a national initiative to accelerate the commercialization of space technologies. The projects are among the first supported under the Space Access Program, which targets annual launches in 2026, 2027 and 2028 to give local researchers and companies faster, more cost effective access to space for in orbit testing and validation.

One of the new projects will see scientists from NTU's Satellite Research Centre integrate an edge computing artificial intelligence payload into a nanosatellite built by space technology firm Satoro Space. The 3U nanosatellite, measuring 30 centimeters by 10 centimeters by 10 centimeters, will process images directly on board using small AI models and an edge engine. This approach reduces the need to send large volumes of raw data back to Earth and enables quicker, more intelligent decision making in orbit.

The same satellite will also test next generation perovskite solar cells in space. These lightweight solar panels are being developed by researchers from NTU's School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, and local technology start up Singfilm. In orbit demonstration of the devices will provide critical data on their performance and durability in the harsh space environment. (2/2)

MDA Space and Hanwha Target Korean K-LEO Defense Network (Source: Space Daily)
MDA Space has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hanwha Systems to pursue collaboration on Korea's planned sovereign Low Earth Orbit K-LEO defense constellation, targeting enhanced military communications and data services for national security operations. The agreement sets a framework for the two companies to explore how MDA Space's AURORA software-defined digital satellite platform can contribute to the architecture and capabilities of the constellation.

The K-LEO constellation is described as a flagship national initiative intended to strengthen the Republic of Korea's defense posture with secure, resilient satellite-based connectivity. By deploying a network of low Earth orbit spacecraft, the program aims to support secure communications links and mission-critical data distribution across defense users and domains. (1/30)

Tethered Orbital Data Centers Aim to Power AI with Solar Energy (Source: Space Daily)
Penn Engineers have proposed a solar-powered orbital data center architecture that could scale to meet growing demand for artificial intelligence computing without drawing electricity from terrestrial grids. The concept uses flexible, tether-based structures in orbit to host thousands of computing nodes for AI inference, relying on established space tether technology rather than massive rigid platforms or vast constellations of independent satellites.

The design resembles a leafy plant, with multiple stems holding computing hardware and branching, leaf-like solar panels. Each stem is effectively a long tether populated with identical nodes that carry computer chips, solar power systems and cooling hardware, forming a modular chain that can be extended by adding more nodes. (1/30)

NASA Finally Acknowledges the Eephant in the Room with the SLS Rocket (Source: Ars Technica)
The Space Launch System rocket program is now a decade and a half old, and it continues to be dominated by two unfortunate traits: It is expensive, and it is slow. The massive rocket and its convoluted ground systems, so necessary to baby and cajole the booster’s prickly hydrogen propellant on board, have cost US taxpayers in excess of $30 billion to date. And even as it reaches maturity, the rocket is going nowhere fast.

SLS hardware is extraordinarily expensive. A single rocket costs in excess of $2 billion, so the program is hardware-poor. Moreover, tanking tests might have damaged the launch tower, which itself cost more than $1 billion. As far as I know, there was never any serious discussion of building a test tank. Hardware scarcity, due to cost, is but one of several problems with the SLS rocket architecture. Probably the biggest one is its extremely low flight rate, which makes every fueling and launch opportunity an experimental rather than operational procedure. This has been pointed out to NASA, and the rocket’s benefactors in Congress, for more than a decade.

A rocket that is so expensive it only flies rarely will have super-high operating costs and ever-present safety concerns precisely because it flies so infrequently. Until this week, NASA had largely ignored these concerns, at least in public. However, in a stunning admission, NASA’s new administrator, Jared Isaacman, acknowledged the flight-rate issue after Monday’s wet-dress rehearsal test failed to reach a successful conclusion. “The flight rate is the lowest of any NASA-designed vehicle, and that should be a topic of discussion,” he said. The Trump administration would like to fly the rocket just two more times, culminating in the Artemis III human landing on the Moon. Congress has passed legislation mandating a fourth and fifth launch of the SLS vehicle. (2/4)

New European Infrared Sounder Maps Atmosphere In Three Dimensions (Source: Space Daily)
The first images from Europe s pioneering meteorological infrared sounder were unveiled at the EU Space Conference in Brussels, marking a significant advance in observing the atmosphere in three dimensions ahead of severe weather.

The new data come from the Infrared Sounder instrument on Meteosat Third Generation Sounder 1, the first European geostationary satellite to carry a hyperspectral infrared sounding capability designed specifically for meteorology.

From its geostationary orbit, the Infrared Sounder scans the atmosphere over Europe and adjacent regions every 30 minutes across nearly 2,000 narrow infrared channels, retrieving vertical profiles of temperature, humidity and trace gases throughout the troposphere and lower stratosphere. (1/28)

Runaway Massive Stars Mapped Across the Milky Way (Source: Space Daily)
Astronomers have carried out the most extensive observational study so far of massive runaway stars in the Milky Way, combining detailed measurements of how fast these stars move, how rapidly they spin, and whether they live alone or in binary systems. Researchers from the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB) and the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC), working with the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC), focused on a large sample of O-type stars, the most massive and luminous stellar objects in our galaxy.

Runaway stars are stars that travel through space at unusually high speeds and gradually drift away from the regions where they formed. For decades, astronomers have debated how massive runaway stars gain these high velocities, generally favoring two main scenarios. In one case, a star receives a strong kick when its companion in a binary system explodes as a supernova. In the other, the star is flung out of a dense, young star cluster through strong gravitational encounters with other massive stars. (1/29)

Autophage Rocket Concept Wins EU Prize for Debris-Free Launch Technology (Source: Space Daily)
Alpha Impulsion, a space startup based in Toulouse and Naples, has received a 950000 euro award from the European Union for a major innovation in space propulsion aimed at more economical, efficient, and debris free access to orbit. The company has been recognized as the first enterprise to gain international acknowledgment for a propulsion solution that from the outset addresses sustainable use of Earth orbit, competitiveness, and European sovereignty in space activities.

The funding supports the development of autophage propulsion for next generation launchers and satellites, designed to enable access to space without leaving orbital debris once missions are complete. In an autophage rocket, the vehicle fuselage is consumed by the engine as fuel during ascent, so the vehicle effectively burns and shortens like a candle and does not leave a discarded upper stage or large structural elements in orbit after operations.

This architecture reduces deadweight throughout flight and is reported to deliver about a 40 percent reduction in liftoff mass compared with conventional launch systems, which translates directly into an estimated 40 percent reduction in launch costs. (1/29)

NASA Testing Advances Space Nuclear Propulsion Capabilities (Source: Space Daily)
Nuclear propulsion and power technologies could unlock new frontiers in missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. NASA has reached an important milestone advancing nuclear propulsion that could benefit future deep space missions by completing a cold-flow test campaign of the first flight reactor engineering development unit since the 1960s.

Teams at Marshall Space Flight Center conducted more than 100 tests on the engineering development unit over several months in 2025. The 44-inch by 72-inch unit, built by BWX Technologies of Richmond, Virginia, is a full-scale, non-nuclear, flight-like development test article the size of a 100-gallon drum that simulates propellant flow throughout the reactor across a range of operational conditions. (1/27)