March 8, 2026

NASA: Spacecraft’s Impact Changed Asteroid’s Orbit (Source: AP)
An asteroid that NASA used for target practice a few years ago was nudged into a slightly different route around the sun, findings that could help divert a future incoming killer space rock, scientists reported Friday. It’s the first time that a celestial body’s orbit around the sun was deliberately changed. The asteroid that NASA’s Dart spacecraft slammed into was never a threat to Earth. (3/6)

Satellite Firm Pauses Imagery After Revealing Iran’s Attacks on US Bases (Source: Ars Technica)
Planet Labs, one of the world’s leading commercial satellite imaging companies, said Friday it is placing a hold on releasing imagery of some parts of the Middle East as a regional war enters its second week. The company operates a fleet of several hundred Earth-imaging satellites designed to record views of every landmass on Earth at least once per day. (3/6)

DARPA Seeks Faster Production of Hypersonic Heat Shields (Source: Defense Blog)
DARPA has launched a new program aimed at accelerating the production of heat-resistant structures used in hypersonic weapons. The initiative, called Carbon Crunch, focuses on developing faster manufacturing methods for carbon-carbon aeroshells that protect hypersonic vehicles during flight. The effort is intended to address a major production challenge facing hypersonic weapon programs. While several countries are developing missiles capable of traveling at extreme speeds, manufacturing the specialized materials required to withstand those conditions remains slow and complex. (3/6)

Amazon Urges FCC to Deny SpaceX Plan to Launch 1 Million Satellites (Source: PC Mag)
Starlink rival Amazon Leo is calling on the Federal Communications Commission to shoot down SpaceX’s 1 million-satellite proposal for orbiting data centers, going as far to claim the project would take “centuries” to deploy. “In short, the Application seems to describe a lofty ambition rather than a real plan—and a speculative placeholder rather than a complete application under the Commission’s rules,” Amazon Leo said.

On Friday, the Amazon business sent a 17-page filing to the FCC, urging a denial, when SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wants to use the “up to” 1 million satellites to create a massive network of orbiting data centers around the planet. (3/7)

Air Force Lab Awards BlackSky Contract Worth up to $99 Million for Large Optical Satellite Payload (Source: Space News)
The Air Force Research Laboratory has awarded BlackSky a contract worth up to $99 million to develop a large optical imaging payload intended for future space-based intelligence systems. (3/7)

Rocket Lab Introduces Silicon Solar Arrays for Space-Based Data Centers (Source: Insider Monkey)
Rocket Lab introduced advanced silicon solar arrays specifically designed to power gigawatt-scale space-based data centers. As terrestrial facilities face increasing constraints regarding land use, water consumption for cooling, and power availability, the company is positioning orbit as the next frontier for computing infrastructure. (3/6)

China Investment is Challenging US to Become the Next Great Space Power (Source: CNBC)
Chinese investment in its commercial space sector, including from private and government sources, increased from $340 million in 2015 to about $3.81 billion in 2025 according to Orbital Gateway Consulting. Over the last decade, China has spent over $104 billion on civil, military and commercial space efforts.

“The immediate question you’ll probably ask me is what did the U.S. spend in the equivalent amount of time? The estimates that we had was over five times more.” ASU's Jonathan Roll said. “But the real narrative is that China keeps increasing its expenditures. So they’re progressing towards their goal of being a leader, if not the leader in space science.” (3/7)

Humanity Heating Planet Faster Than Ever Before (Source: The Guardian)
Humanity is heating the planet faster than ever before, a study has found. Climate breakdown is occurring more rapidly with the heating rate almost doubling, according to research that excludes the effect of natural factors behind the latest scorching temperatures. It found global heating accelerated from a steady rate of less than 0.2C per decade between 1970 and 2015 to about 0.35C per decade over the past 10 years.

The rate is higher than scientists have seen since they started systematically taking the Earth’s temperature in 1880. “If the warming rate of the past 10 years continues, it would lead to a long-term exceedance of the 1.5C (2.7F) limit of the Paris agreement before 2030,” said Stefan Rahmstorf. The researchers said the acceleration fell within the scope of climate models. (3/6)

When Will New Glenn Fly Again? (Source: USA Today)
New Glenn has yet to get off the ground in 2026. Blue Origin had been working toward a February launch of the rocket, which hasn't lifted off since its second-ever flight in November. All signs point to liftoff no earlier than sometime in March from Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. And this time around, the rocket is due to help deliver to orbit broadband network satellites for AST SpaceMobile. (3/5)