February 6, 2026

China Provides Glimpse of Colossal Orbital Aircraft Carrier (Source: Futurism)
Last weekend, a China Central Television YouTube channel shared a video showing off some recent developments in autonomous aerial vehicles. One segment of the video, however, showcased a conceptual spacecraft called the Luan Niao, an orbital mothership designed to launch uncrewed fighter drones and “hyper-ballistic missiles” from the edge of space. The Luan Niao design specs point to a behemoth spaceship that would measure nearly 800 feet nose-to-tail and span some 2,244 feet in width. With that size, designers say it could weigh as much as 120,000 tons, with a payload of 88 “Xuan Nu” autonomous fighter drones that operate in the upper limits of the stratosphere. (2/4)

Space-Based Interceptors Make Even Less Sense Now (Source: Defense One)
The rationale behind Golden Dome’s mandate for space-based boost-phase defense made some sense. If orbiting interceptors could hit an enemy missile very early in flight—before it could deploy countermeasures—they would avoid the Achilles’ heel of defense systems that target missiles in midcourse. But now the Pentagon and contractors are proposing to also use space-based interceptors for midcourse defense, which would jack up the cost while defeating the purpose of going to space in the first place.

Today’s Ground-based Midcourse Defense, or GMD, system and its 44 ground-based interceptors in Alaska and California are designed to intercept warheads during their 30-minute travel through space. But in outer space, lightweight decoys follow the same trajectory as the heavier warheads—preventing the defense from identifying and destroying the true warhead. Any country that can build a long-range missile and nuclear warhead can also build decoys and other countermeasures, creating a defensive problem that remains unsolved.

One response to this problem is to focus on a different portion of a missile’s flight: its boost phase, when its rocket motors are burning and before it deploys countermeasures. But the boost phase lasts only about three minutes. The only way to station interceptors close enough to every possible launch point in “peer, near-peer, and rogue” countries is to put them in space. And “to station” is a misnomer that conceals the true difficulty and massive resource consumption of creating an effective boost-phase defense. (2/3)

China Takes Big Step Toward Developing ‘Starlink Killer’ Weapon with Compact High-Power Microwave (Source: Independent)
Chinese scientists have developed a compact ultra-powerful energy generator, paving the way for next-generation weapons that could one day be turned on satellite swarms like SpaceX’s Starlink constellation. High-power microwave weapons have gained traction in recent years as a low-cost alternative to missiles and guns due to their near-unlimited firing capacity. Researchers in the US, Russia, and China in particular have all been investigating whether the technology could be developed into directed-energy weapons that can disrupt satellites. (2/6)

Morpheus Space Receives $15 Million (Source: Via Satellite)
German manufacturer Morpheus Space said it received a $15 million investment to expand production of its in-space propulsion system from a space-based venture capital firm and the European Union’s investment arm. The funding will be used to expand capabilities at its mass production facility in Dresden. The facility currently produces 100 units of the company’s proprietary GO-2 electric propulsion systems. (2/5)

Giant Star is Changing Before Our Eyes and Astronomers are Watching (Source: The Conversation)
For decades, astronomers have been watching WOH G64, an enormous heavyweight star in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy visible with the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere. This star is more than 1,500 times larger than the Sun and emitting over 100,000 times more energy. For a long time, red supergiant WOH G64 looked like a star steadily reaching the end of its life, shedding material and swelling in size as it began to run out of fuel.

Astronomers didn’t think its final demise would happen anytime soon, because no-one has ever seen a known red supergiant die. But in recent years astronomers – including our team working with the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) – discovered that this star has started to change, growing dimmer than before and seemingly warmer. This has surprised scientists and suggests the star’s final stages of life may be more complicated, and perhaps unfold faster, than once thought. (2/5)

German Firm to Build Two-Stage Hypersonic Plane with Horizontal Takeoff and Landing (Source: Interesting Engineering)
Germany has awarded Polaris Spaceplanes a contract to develop and flight test a two-stage reusable hypersonic test vehicle that could double up as a spaceplane. The concept, built under the Hypersonic Test and Experimentation Vehicle (HYTEV) program, was first developed between 2024 and 2025. Under the new agreement, it is scheduled to be flight-ready by the end of 2027. (2/5)

Trump Administration Could Pour Trillions Into Golden Dome That is Unlikely to Work (Source: FNN)
The Trump administration’s Golden Dome missile defense system could cost taxpayers as much as $3.6 trillion over the next 20 years — far exceeding the White House’s $175 billion estimate — and still fail to deliver on its central promise to protect the United States from nuclear threats.

In a new report, Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan fiscal watchdog organization, argues that some of the technological challenges for the project are likely “insurmountable.” “If Golden Dome could guarantee our security for nuclear weapons, one could argue that these astronomical costs would be worth it, but from all these viability problems and the history of failed attempts, it’s very clear that it won’t,” said Gabe Murphy. (2/5)

Administration Moves to Strip Federal Workforce Protections (Source: FNN)
An estimated 50,000 career federal employees will soon be easier to fire and will lose their ability to appeal disciplinary actions, in the Trump administration’s latest step to overhaul the federal workforce. The Office of Personnel Management on Thursday issued a final rule on “Schedule Policy/Career” — a new classification of government employment that, once fully implemented, will exempt tens of thousands of federal employees in “policy-influencing” positions from long-standing civil service protections. (2/5)

Musk Says it's Hard to Convince Engineers with Families to Move to SpaceX's 'Technology Monastery' in Texas (Source: Business Insider)
Musk, the CEO of both SpaceX and Tesla, said married technicians, engineers, and scientists have struggled to bring their families to certain parts of Texas. The problem is most acute at SpaceX's south Texas launch site and headquarters, known as Starbase. "I call it the 'significant other' problem," Musk said. "For Starbase, that was particularly difficult, since the odds of finding a non-SpaceX job are pretty low." (2/5)

SpaceX xAI Merger Insulates SpaceX (Source: Reuters)
The merger of SpaceX with xAI is structured in a way to largely insulate SpaceX from the artificial intelligence and social media company. The deal is set up so that xAI remains a wholly owned subsidiary of SpaceX rather than fully integrating the companies. Doing so means that xAI's debt and legal liabilities remain separate from SpaceX, which could protect SpaceX from any legal action taken against xAI. The arrangement also has financial benefits, allowing SpaceX to avoid repaying xAI debt and allowing shareholders to avoid taxes. (2/6)

SpaceX Acquires Norwegian Producer of Composite Tanks (Source: Hexagon Purus)
SpaceX has acquired Norwegian company Hexagon Purus' aerospace business, Hexagon Masterworks for $15 million. That unit produces high-pressure composite storage cylinders for aerospace and space launch applications in North America. Hexagon Purus said that unit reached a stage where "an industrial owner with a dedicated aerospace focus is deemed to best support its future," adding that potential other applications of those products for hydrogen-fueled vehicles had not materialized. (2/6)

Astronauts Can Now Bring Smartphones to ISS (Source: Ars Technica)
NASA astronauts will get to take their smartphones on their missions. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said late Wednesday a new policy, which will take effect in time for the upcoming Crew-12 and Artemis 2 missions, will allow astronauts to use the "latest smartphones" on their flights. Isaacman said the agency "challenged long-standing processes and qualified modern hardware for spaceflight on an expedited timeline." He did not disclose the specific smartphones astronauts will be able to use. (2/6)

Tomorrow.io Raises $175 Million for Weather Satellite Constellation (Source: Space News)
Tomorrow.io has raised $175 million to fund work on a new weather satellite constellation. The company announced the new round this week, led by Stonecourt Capital and HarbourVest, to fund DeepSky, a satellite constellation designed for gathering vast quantities of atmospheric data for artificial intelligence models. The company operates a set of cubesats that collect weather data with a 60-minute global revisit time. In January, it announced DeepSky, involving larger satellites with new instruments. (2/6)

Golden Dome to Demonstrate Risk-Tolerant Acquisition (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon sees the Golden Dome missile defense initiative as a way to demonstrate a more risk-tolerant approach to acquisition. Marcia Holmes, the deputy director of the Golden Dome program, said at a conference Thursday that the program is being used deliberately to test acquisition reforms championed by the Trump administration. The goal, she said, is to move away from what officials see as an overly cautious procurement culture that has slowed the delivery of advanced capabilities. She added that Golden Dome is being used internally to rethink how the Pentagon staffs and manages major programs. (2/6)

NASA Picks STRIVE and EDGE for Earth Science (Source: Space News)
NASA has selected two Earth science missions for development. The agency said Thursday it picked Stratosphere-Troposphere Response using Infrared Vertically resolved light Explorer, or STRIVE, and the Earth Dynamics Geodetic Explorer, or EDGE, as the first Earth System Explorer missions. STRIVE will provide daily measurements of atmospheric temperature, composition and aerosol properties from the upper troposphere to the mesosphere.

EDGE will use a laser altimeter to make three-dimensional measurements of terrestrial ecosystems, such as forests, and map surface features on glaciers and other icy terrain. The missions are the first for the Earth System Explorer program, a line of competitively selected Earth science missions with higher cost caps that smallsat missions but less expensive than directed missions. Each mission has a cost cap excluding launch of $355 million, with launch no earlier than 2030. (2/6)

China Readies Mngzhou Capsule Test Flight (Source: Space News)
China is days away from an in-flight abort test of its Mengzhou crewed spacecraft. Airspace closures indicate a launch on the evening of Feb. 10 (U.S. time) from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center. The launch will use a Long March 10A rocket carrying a prototype Mengzhou spacecraft, which will separate from the rocket near maximum dynamic pressure to test the performance of its abort system. A successful test would pave the way for a potential first full mission of Mengzhou and the Long March 10A rocket to low Earth orbit and even a visit to the Tiangong space station later this year. (2/6)

Voyager Partners with Max Space on Expandable Module Tech for Moon (Source: Space News)
Voyager Technologies is partnering with Max Space on expandable module technologies for lunar exploration. The companies announced a strategic partnership Thursday to leverage the expandable modules Max Space is developing and Voyager's space technology expertise on concepts such as lunar habitats. The companies said they are working toward an in-space demonstration of the concept by the end of the decade. Voyager separately announced earlier this week a "strategic lunar initiative" using technologies it has that could be used to meet a new goal, included in a space policy executive order in December, of establishing the initial elements of a permanent lunar outpost by 2030. (2/6)

Quindar to Provide Mission Management Software for Starfish (Source: Space News)
Quindar will provide its mission management software to satellite servicing company Starfish Space. Under an agreement announced Thursday, Quindar will provide software to manage and automate operations for Starfish's initial Otter missions, which are expected to begin launching this year. Financial terms were not disclosed. Quindar offers a cloud-hosted platform that allows satellite operators to track spacecraft, send commands and automate routine ground operations as an alternative to traditional custom-built control systems. (2/6)

Russia Launches Classified Mission on Soyuz-2.1b From Plesetsk (Source: Russian Space Web)
Russia launched a classified mission on its first launch of the year Thursday. A Soyuz-2.1b rocket lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. Russian officials did not disclose the payload for the launch, but it appears to include multiple satellites on a classified mission. (2/6)

FAA Approves Starship Launches From LC-39A, Complex Now Devoted to Starship and Falcon Heavy (Source: Space News)
The FAA has approved Starship launches from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A. The FAA released a final environmental impact statement and record of decision for SpaceX's proposal for up to 44 Starship launches annually from LC-39A, along with 44 landings each of the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage. The FAA concluded that the benefits of the launches outweighed any concerns about noise or impacts on air traffic. SpaceX is moving Falcon 9 launches from the existing pad at LC-39A to nearby SLC-40, devoting LC-39A for Falcon Heavy and Starship. (2/6)

For Space Structures: Architecture Before Optimization (Source: DIA)
Over the years, working across engineering, aerospace, and advanced infrastructure projects, we’ve learned an important lesson: even the most skilled teams can struggle when early decisions aren’t guided by clarity. We’ve seen projects stall not because the people involved lacked knowledge or effort, but because complexity was underestimated or choices were delayed. In one NASA related project, for example, months were spent refining subsystem details before the overall architecture was fully understood. Even with talented engineers and advanced tools, progress slowed, and rework became inevitable.

In complex technological fields, particularly aerospace, advanced infrastructure, and extreme-environments, time is often the most constrained resource. Funding windows are finite, technologies mature rapidly, and opportunities are frequently won or lost long before a system reaches traditional development milestones. Many advanced projects do not fail because of a lack of ambition or information. They stall because too many decisions are postponed, or because teams attempt to optimize too early within an undefined system. (1/16)

Airbus Makes the Case for Space Merger with Thales & Leonardo, and Also Makes the Case Against It (Source: Space Intel Report)
Airbus Defence and Space Chief Executive Michael Schoellhorn had the stage all to himself Jan. 28 at the 18th European Space Conference here and could have defended the proposed merger of the Airbus, Thales and Leonardo space divisions any way he wanted. In the event, Schoellhorn inadvertently veered close to making the case that the merger is no longer needed given the large funding commitments Europe’s governments have made to the space sector in recent months. (2/2)

Voyager Technologies CEO Says Space Data Center Cooling Problem Still Needs to be Solved (Source: CNBC)
Voyager Technologies CEO Dylan Taylor said two years would be an “aggressive” timeframe for space data centers and cooling remains a problem for the developing technology. While SpaceX has the heavy lift rockets to bring components to space, Taylor told CNBC’s Morgan Brennan that the lack of a cooling solution to transfer the heat remains a major barrier. (2/6)

ULA Offloads First Vulcan Rocket at Vandenberg at it Preps its Next Cape Launch (Source: Spaceflight Now)
United Launch Alliance is staging rockets at launch complexes on both the West Coast and the East Coast for the first time since November 2022. On Tuesday, the company announced the arrival of its transport barge, called the R/S Rocket Ship, at a port at Vandenberg Space Force Base. There it offloaded the booster and upper stages for the first Vulcan rocket that will fly from California. (2/6)

Israel Readies Space 'Surprises' for Next Conflicts (Source: Jerusalem Post)
Israel is quietly developing new space‑based capabilities designed to give the country an edge in the next war with Iran, said Avi Berger, head of the Space Office at the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research & Development (MAFAT). Speaking during Israel’s Space Week, Berger said the lessons of recent conflicts have pushed Israel to accelerate innovation in orbit.

 “We knew right away that we had to build and create new surprises for the next war,” he said. “Whatever was deployed in June won’t be enough next time. The IDF now has new capabilities – and we can’t forget that the enemy will be different next time around, too.” (2/3)

SpaceX Rivals AST SpaceMobile and Rocket Lab Join Space-Stock Selloff (Source: Market Watch)
Space stocks are having a rough week, with SpaceX rivals AST SpaceMobile and Rocket Lab taking some of the biggest hits. The share price for AST SpaceMobile, which is building a satellite cellular broadband network, fell more than 10% on Wednesday as AT&T linked up with Amazon Web Services and Amazon Leo, the company’s satellite-internet business formerly known as Kuiper. (2/4)

NASA’s Next Space Suit for Artemis Has Out-of-This-World Mobility (Source: Scientific American)
A space suit isn’t so much an outfit as an anthropomorphic spacecraft. One designed for lunar surface operations must protect astronauts from perilous cosmic radiation, extreme temperatures, lung-clogging moon dust and the harsh vacuum of space. It must also carry its own supply of air, as well as water for cooling (and the occasional sip), while also having room for carrying equipment astronauts might need while in orbit or exploring other worlds.

Axiom Space, a U.S.-based space infrastructure company, has been developing a space suit for the Artemis III mission since 2022. Like the original Apollo space suits, the AxEMU has been built with the moon’s unique conditions in mind. Whereas Apollo space suits were akin to wearing an inflated balloon that greatly hindered motion, the AxEMU is designed with flexible joints that give astronauts mobility to kneel, jog or even do the splits. Besides allowing space-suit-clad astronauts to fit within multiple different vehicles, the AxEMU’s enhanced range of motion should also make working on the lunar surface easier.

The new suit’s unique joints are shaping up to be a major advancement over previous space suits, but the AxEMU’s relatively high weight is still a cause for concern. Axiom Space has not revealed the exact weight of its new suit, but it is more than that of previous space suits, including the Apollo suits, which weighed nearly 200 pounds on Earth. Even under the low gravity of the moon, wearing several hundred pounds still feels heavy and could even cause injuries. (2/5)

Life-Friendly Molecules Are Leaking Out of Jupiter's Giant Moon Europa, Galileo (Source: Live Science)
A new finding of ammonia on the icy surface of Jupiter's moon Europa could have important implications for the search for extraterrestrial life. Al Emran, a researcher with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, spotted ammonia on the surface of Europa while looking through old data from the Galileo mission, which studied Jupiter and its moons from 1995 to 2003. (2/4)

Ranked: Countries Spending the Most on Research and Development (Source: Visual Capitalist)
For decades, the U.S. stood as the global leader in research and development (R&D) spending, however, China is increasingly challenging the scientific balance of power. Backed by rapid growth and strategic investment, China’s share of global R&D has surged from 4.0% in 2000 to 27.4% in 2024. South Korea and India are also increasing their R&D presence, helping push Asia to the forefront of global innovation.

China ranks first globally, spending $785.9 billion on R&D in 2024. Much of that investment is shaped by China’s centralized funding model, where a large share of research flows through government labs aligned with national priorities such as energy, biotech, space, and frontier technologies. The U.S. ranks second at $781.8 billion. Unlike China, American R&D is driven primarily by the private sector, with Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta among the world’s largest corporate R&D investors. (2/4)

Space Force Plans to Create Contractor Pool for ‘Physical/Live’ Training Needs in Summer (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Space Force is planning to issue a new contract this summer to create a pool of qualified vendors to help fill Guardian needs for hands-on training in electronic, cyber and orbital warfare — with the latter to eventually involve dedicated satellites on orbit, according to service officials leading the effort. The development of physical/live training capabilities and ranges is one major sub-efforts being pursued by the OTTI program, along with the creation of a digital environment for virtual training, and a basic layer of infrastructure such as modelling and simulation tools and secure facilities. (1/30)

UK Invests in Satellite Timing Infrastructure to Strengthen National Resilience (Source: UK Space)
Through a competitive process, GMV has been selected to enhance the UK’s national capabilities in delivering nationally assured, secure and continuous Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) services for critical infrastructure, defense and the broader economy.

GMV is leading the design, development and testing of a Two-Way Satellite Time and Frequency Transfer (TWSTFT) system under the TOUCAN (TWSTFT Capability Demonstration) project. The contract, funded by the UK Space Agency and supported by the UK National PNT Office, is managed through ESA’s navigation program, NAVISP. (2/3)

Muon Space Ramps Up Multi-Mission Satellite Constellations (Source: Smallsat News)
On February 4, 2026, Muon Space announced a major transition from executing discrete satellite missions to the sustained deployment of multi-mission constellations. This strategic shift follows a period of rapid growth for the Silicon Valley startup, which reported a 100 percent year-over-year revenue increase for the second consecutive year. To support this operational scale-up, Muon Space has expanded its production capacity by ten times, now capable of manufacturing up to 500 satellites per year at its 130,000-square-foot facility in San Jose. (2/4)

The Cure for Space Blindness: Why Europe Must Wake Up Before the Lights Go Out (Source: Spacewatch Global)
“Those who are not competitive in orbit will lose sovereignty in key areas on Earth.” Fragmentation vs. Scale: While the U.S. successfully fuses venture capital, aggressive procurement, and national security into a single, high-speed flywheel, Europe is still tripping over its own borders and duplicating efforts across institutions. Our bureaucratic procurement cycles and risk-averse funding models are moving at a 20th-century pace in a 21st-century race. In the current space economy, if you aren’t fast, you’re irrelevant. From launch access to critical technologies, Europe remains vulnerable exactly where it needs autonomy most. (2/5)

Out with EVs, In With Spaceflight (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Green pundits can still be heard insisting China has seized a strategic high ground in solar. But the conviction is noticeably leaking from their voices. Solar panels are useful; they seem less and less strategic by the hour. China’s makers will have to keep cutting prices to find customers in a world of expanding energy options. Those expanding energy options are the real story. Certain green technologies like EVs have become a focus for strategic investment and policy, but private spaceflight represents a better model for strategic industry—one driven by market innovation and profitability rather than government mandates or subsidies. (2/5)

Could a Toxic Chemical in Mars Dirt Help Us Build a Red Planet Base? (Source: Space.com)
Surprisingly, a toxic compound found on Mars could help bacteria produce brick-like substances that could be used to assemble habitats on the Red Planet. In 2025, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science showed how the bacterium Sporosarcina pasteurii, which is commonly found in Earth soils, could help create bricks out of regolith on the moon and Mars. The bacterium produces urea as a waste product, which can then react with calcium to produce calcium carbonate crystals. Then, by mixing these calcium carbonate crystals with guar gum, which is a natural adhesive extracted from guar beans, particles of the local regolith can be bound together to form a brick-like material. (2/5)

Voyager Technologies and Max Space Partner on Lunar Infrastructure (Source: Space News)
Voyager Technologies and Max Space, a company working on expandable habitats, plan to work together to see how that technology could be used for lunar exploration. (2/5)

Saudi Space Agency Announces Winners of Global ‘DebriSolver’ Competition (Source: Space News)
The Saudi Space Agency announced on Tuesday the names of the winning teams of the global “DebriSolver” competition, one of the flagship initiatives accompanying the Space Debris Conference 2026. Launched by the agency, the competition aims to stimulate scientific innovation and develop practical solutions to address space debris challenges, and enhance the sustainability of the near-Earth space environment. The competition was organized in partnership with several leading international organizations, including Slingshot Aerospace, LeoLabs, Astroscale, and Aldoria. (2/1)

Deep Space, Dim Objects: Why Asteroid Mining Caught the Space Force’s Eye (Source: Space News)
United States national security planners and the Space Force are interested in asteroid mining primarily for the technical solutions the industry is developing, rather than for its potential economic or mineral wealth. Tracking and maneuvering near dim objects in deep space provides critical experience for Space Domain Awareness beyond traditional Earth orbits. And mining requires spacecraft to perform complex proximity operations and maintain stability near low-gravity bodies, which is valuable for future military satellite defense and service missions.

The extreme communication delays in deep space (exemplified by recent missions losing contact) necessitate advances in on-board autonomy that the military can leverage for resilient space systems. Developing technology to process materials in-situ could eventually support long-term military logistics and "gas stations" in space, reducing the need to launch heavy supplies from Earth. (2/5)

The Exploration Company Completes Nyx Splashdown Tests (Source: European Spaceflight)
European space logistics startup The Exploration Company has successfully completed a controlled splashdown test of a subscale prototype of its Nyx spacecraft. Founded in 2021, The Exploration Company is developing a reusable space capsule called Nyx that will initially be used to ferry cargo to and from low Earth orbit destinations. Planned variants of the vehicle will be capable of delivering cargo to lunar orbit and the surface of the Moon.

The company is also exploring a crewed variant, saying in June 2025 that it could be operational as early as 2035, a projected timeline that it admitted would be contingent on a “political decision.” At present, however, the company is focused on completing an initial test flight to the International Space Station in 2028 under the European Space Agency’s LEO Cargo Return Services program. A key milestone on the path to that inaugural mission is validating Nyx’s performance during a splashdown. (2/5)

ReOrbit Partners With Google Cloud for Space Data Network (Source: Via Satellite)
Helsinki-based satellite manufacturer ReOrbit is planning a satellite network called Space Cloud, capable of secure data movement and processing, in collaboration with Google Cloud. Space Cloud is designed to use optical signals to link a network of data processing satellites with localized AI compute, creating an orbital data center, ReOrbit said in a Thursday release. (2/5)