March 4, 2026

Space Force Eyes More Funding in 2027 for New Missions (Source: Air & Space ForceS)
Space Force leaders anticipate a substantial budget increase in 2027, following a $14 billion boost in 2026. The funds are expected to enhance space domain awareness, missile defense and personnel to manage the growing demand for space capabilities. "We have incredible enlisted Guardians that are taking on more responsibilities," says Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Schiess, deputy chief of space operations for operations. "But it's still a people problem." (3/3)

SNC, Specter Detail Low-Cost Plasma Ramjet Missile Plan (Source: Aviation Week)
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and startup Specter Aerospace plan to develop and flight test a supersonic ramjet-powered cruise missile under a collaborative agreement signed between the companies in February. Flight tests of the low-cost, air-to-air missile (LCAAM) are scheduled for the third quarter of 2026, says SNC. (3/4)

Spire GNSS-Reflectometry Data Enables Arctic-Wide Sea Ice Mapping (Source: Inside GNSS)
New research supported by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Third Party Missions program has generated Arctic-wide sea ice freeboard maps using GNSS-Reflectometry (GNSS-R) data captured by Spire Global’s GNSS-Reflectometry (GNSS-R) multipurpose listening constellation. (3/4)

Return of the (Space) SPAC (Source: Space News)
Former investment banker Raphael Roettgen had to abandon a space-focused special purpose acquisition company in 2022 as hype around mergers with blank-check shell companies turned radioactive. Four years later, he's back after helping raise more than $200 million to take a private space company public. (3/4)

ESA to Open Call for European-Led Space Station Studies (Source: European Spaceflight)
ESA announced a call for tenders to conduct studies exploring the feasibility of a European-led, modular, multi-partner space station in low Earth orbit. In response to the planned retirement of the ISS, ESA presented member states and key partners with three possible scenarios for its post-ISS strategy in the lead-up to its November 2025 Ministerial Council Meeting (CM25).

The first scenario would see no European investment in LEO infrastructure, with the agency fully relying on US CLDs. The second scenario, labelled the agency’s baseline, would involve limited investment and a hybrid use of CLDs alongside European elements.

Scenario three was the most ambitious of the three by some margin, with the agency proposing a European-led initiative to develop and deploy a space station in low Earth orbit. While the initiative would be European-led, it would include contributions from institutional or commercial partners. On 27 February, ESA published an intended call for tenders for two Pre-Phase A studies under Scenario 3. (3/4)

Netherlands Space Office Becomes Netherlands Space Agency as Dutch Government Prioritizes Space (Source: Spacewatch Global)
The Netherlands Space Office has officially transformed into the Netherlands Space Agency during the ongoing Amsterdam Space Symposium. Due to the growing importance of space both internationally and nationally, efforts in recent years have focused on broadening its scope and strengthening the Netherlands Space Office. The new name is a logical next step. (3/4)

ICEYE Launches New Deforestation Monitoring Tool (Source: Payload)
ICEYE just one-upped the Lorax. Instead of speaking for the trees, the SAR satellite manufacturer is letting the trees speak for themselves. ICEYE announced the launch yesterday of a new deforestation monitoring tool, which uses SAR imaging to provide near-real-time insights into illegal deforestation of the world’s largest rainforests.

Going under cover: Traditional optical satellites have spotted the results of illegal deforestation from space for years, in places like the Amazon. Traditional optical EO capabilities, however, struggle to uncover deforestation while it’s in progress. Essentially, rainforests like the Amazon are so dense that they generate their own cloud cover. It’s estimated that the Amazon experiences cloud cover for about 66% of the year on average. (3/4)

Top Trump Aally Threatens Retaliation Over EU Space Tech Law (Source: Politico)
Washington will retaliate if Europe imposes measures that favor its own satellite companies over American ones, the head of the United States' communications regulator Brendan Carr said. He was responding to the EU's push to promote homegrown firms over foreign competitors in a series of laws covering defense procurement, space technology, digital supply chains and green tech.

Carr joins a growing chorus of U.S. officials railing against the plans in recent weeks, including the U.S.'s EU and NATO ambassadors Andrew Puzder and Matthew Whitaker. The U.S. will not hesitate to push European satellite firms out of the American market if it finds that Europe is doing the same, the Federal Communications Commission chairman warned EU officials. (3/3)

India's Skyroot Plans April Launch of Vikram-1 Rocket (Source: Via Satellite)
Skyroot Aerospace is set for a critical year as it counts down toward the debut launch of its Vikram-1 rocket, targeted for April of this year. The launch startup, founded in India in 2018, hopes to build on India’s space heritage and become a reliable provider of launch services to commercial and government customers worldwide. The company is working on two launch vehicles, Vikram-1 and Vikram-2, as it looks to target different customer subsets. (3/3)

NASA Tests Prototype 3D Printed Titanium Antenna in Space (Source: Universe Today)
Additive manufacturing has a proven track record for reducing waste and efficiently producing made-to-order tools and components. NASA has been testing the technology aboard the ISS to investigate how it may increase astronauts' self-sufficiency. With their latest experiment, the JPL Additive Compliant Canister (JACC), NASA demonstrated another application: 3D printing space antennas.

The spring-like antenna was deployed on Feb. 3 aboard Proteus Space's Mercury One spacecraft, a small commercial satellite and the first developed using AI. An onboard camera captured video footage of the spring popping out of its container. JACC is one of two technology demonstrators designed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to take up less volume while precisely deploying antennas on future satellites. (3/3)
 
Details of EchoStar Transformation After SpaceX-Spectrum Sale Are Still Unclear (Source: Via Satellite)
EchoStar is still not ready to give more insight into how it plans to deploy capital after it closes the sale of spectrum rights to SpaceX. Leadership CEO Hamid Akhavan and Chairman Charlie Ergen didn’t give a business update in its first quarter financial call on Monday, and instead mostly took questions from investors about what its SpaceX holdings will look like after the spectrum sale.

Overall, EchoStar reported $15 billion in revenue in 2025, down 5% compared to 2024. The company’s Broadband and Satellite Services segment, including Hughes Network Systems, posted $1.5 billion in revenue, down 8% year-over-year. EchoStar lost 144,000 satellite broadband subscribers during the year, ending 2025 with 739,000 broadband subscribers. (3/3)

PLD Space Raises $209 Million to Shift Into Serial Rocket Production (Source: Space News)
Spanish launch startup PLD Space has raised more than $200 million. The company announced Wednesday a Series C round of 180 million euros ($209 million) led by Japanese satellite maker Mitsubishi Electric. The company plans to use the funds to scale up production of its Miura 5 small launch vehicle, slated to make its first launch before the end of the year. PLD Space expects to launch up to 30 Miura 5 rockets annually by the end of the decade. As part of its funding, Mitsubishi Electric partnered to secure priority access to the rocket as part of plans to support missions in the Asian market. The funding brings PLD Space's total financing raised to date to more than 350 million euros since it was established in 2011; it also secured 169 million euros in ESA's European Launcher Challenge last fall. (3/4)

Space Force Acquisition Push Hampered by Personnel Losses (Source: Space News)
The Space Force's push to accelerate procurement of new systems is being delayed by a lack of acquisition personnel. At a conference last week, senior leaders and industry executives described a procurement system under strain as the Pentagon pushes the Space Force to move faster, using alternative contracting approaches and commercial-style buying models. However, that approach is being slowed by a lack of contracting officers and managers. Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, senior adviser to the secretary of the Air Force for space acquisitions, said the service needs procurement professionals not just to manage its current portfolio but also implement more intricate contracting approaches.

Editor's Note: The Space Force lost a significant portion of its civilian acquisition personnel due to Trump administration initiatives to reduce the federal workforce, and similar actions under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In 2025 the Space Force lost 14% of its civilian workforce—nearly 1,000 people—including key specialists in procurement and contracting. (3/4)

SLS Helium Problem Fixed, April Launch Targeted (Source: Space News)
NASA says it has fixed a problem with the Space Launch System upper stage that required rolling back the vehicle to the Vehicle Assembly Building. NASA said Tuesday that workers traced a blockage of helium flow into the SLS upper stage to a dislodged seal in a quick-disconnect fitting. The seal was repositioned and tests showed that helium was flowing into the stage again. The problem forced NASA to roll back the SLS last week since it could not be fixed at the pad. NASA expects to roll the vehicle back to the pad later this month for the next Artemis 2 launch window in early April. (3/4)

FCC Asked to Scale Back Satellite Regulatory Streamlining (Source: Space News)
The leaders of the House Science Committee have asked the FCC to scale back parts of a satellite licensing streamlining effort. In a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr last week, Reps. Brian Babin (R-TX) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) said the FCC was exceeding its statutory authority by including space safety requirements in its proposed rulemaking to improve satellite licensing. They noted that the FCC, under law, has no authority to oversee space safety issues such as mitigating orbital debris.

The committee raised similar concerns in the past as the FCC took moves such as reducing the time to deorbit a satellite at the end of its life from 25 years to five. Babin, chair of the committee, said last week he wants the committee to take up a new commercial space bill this year that might address space safety, among other topics. (3/4)

Mixed Opinions on Blue Origin's TeraWave Constellation Plan (Source: Space News)
The space industry has mixed opinions on a proposed Blue Origin satellite constellation. The company took many by surprise earlier this year when it announced TeraWave, with more than 5,000 satellites in low and medium Earth orbits to provide broadband services for enterprise customers. Some industry observers see an opportunity for TeraWave, as it will not compete head-to-head with systems like Amazon Leo and Starlink that are more focused on consumers. Others, though, are skeptical that Blue Origin can deploy TeraWave as quickly as it has proposed, with first launches in at little as 18 months. (3/4)

SpaceX Launches Wednesday Starlink Mission From Florida (Source: Florida Today)
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites early this morning. A Falcon 9 lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, placing 29 satellites into orbit. The predawn liftoff created a brilliant "jellyfish" effect as the plume of the ascending rocket was backlit by the sun. The launch was the 16th  this year from Florida, all but one of them by Falcon 9. (3/4)

Japan's Space One Scrubs Kairos Launch Attempt (Source: Jiji Press)
Japanese company Space One scrubbed a launch of its Kairos small rocket Tuesday. The rocket was scheduled to lift off at 9 p.m. Eastern from Spaceport Kii in southern Honshu, but the launch was called off after a "safety system" was activated 30 seconds before liftoff. The company did not disclose additional details about the problem or announce a new launch date. This is the third launch for the small solid-fuel Kairos rocket, which failed to reach orbit in its first two launches in 2024. (3/4)

Honeywell to Spin Out Aerospace Unit (Source: Honeywell)
Honeywell plans to spin out its aerospace business into a standalone company. Honeywell said Tuesday that Honeywell Aerospace will become a separate company, traded on the Nasdaq exchange. That spinout is expected to take place in the third quarter. Honeywell Aerospace had $17.4 billion in revenue and $1.5 billion in net income in 2025 supporting aviation, defense and space customers, including components and instruments for spacecraft. (3/4)

Varda Plans Spacecraft Production in El Segundo (Source: LA Times)
A California factory that had been used to design Barbies and Hot Wheels will soon be producing spacecraft. Varda Space Industries has signed an agreement to take over a 205,000-square-foot facility in El Segundo, California, that was previously used by toy maker Mattel as a research and development center. Varda will use the facility to expand production of its spacecraft and reentry vehicles, joining two other buildings the company already has in El Segundo. (3/4)