April 1, 2026

NASA Rover Finds Glowing, Ruby-Like Crystals on Mars for the First Time (Source: Gizmodo)
Over the past five years, a six-wheeled robot has been exploring the Martian terrain and capturing unusual features like a leopard-spotted rock, a tangle of strings, and textured rock formations that look like popcorn. Now, NASA’s Perseverance rover has found tiny gemstones that resemble rubies. An international group of researchers spotted evidence of precious stones hidden inside Martian pebbles. The gem grains are made of corundum, a crystalline material that’s known as ruby or sapphire. (3/31)

France's Unseenlabs and Japan's Space BD Announce Collaboration (Source: Unseenlabs)
Unseenlabs, a French leader in space-based radio frequency (RF) detection, signed an agreement with Japan's Space BD to accelerate its international expansion and strengthen its presence in the Japanese market. The partnership intends to combine Unseenlabs' proprietary maritime surveillance technology with Space BD's expertise in providing launch opportunities and business development, enabling enhanced detection of non-cooperative vessels and supporting the growing demand for RF intelligence in Japan. (4/1)

Japan's SpaceData and France’s Look Up Announce Partnership to Build a Space Situational Awareness Data Platform in Japan (Source: SpaceData)
Tokyo-based SpaceData announced a business partnership with France's Look Up, a space situational awareness (SSA) company, to build a data platform for space situational awareness (SSA) and space traffic management (STM). Through this partnership, the two companies will leverage Look Up’s radar observation data and data processing platform “SYNAPSE” to develop a domestic SSA/STM data processing infrastructure in Japan. (4/1)

Air Force Awards BlackSky $99M to Large Aperture Optical Payload for Space-Based Imaging (Source: Via Satellite)
BlackSky Technology on Tuesday said a $99 million contract it received from the Air Force Research Laboratory in early March that will accelerate the design and development of a large aperture optical payload that could be used for space-based Earth imaging and space domain awareness. An initial $2.1 million obligation using fiscal year 2026 research and development funds from AFRL is to accelerate design of the payload. (4/1)
 
Delta Plans High-Speed Wi-Fi with Amazon Leo Satellites (Source: CNBC)
Delta Air Lines plans to introduce high-speed internet on 500 aircraft in 2028 through a partnership with Amazon's Leo satellite service. The initiative will begin with Boeing and Airbus planes that are primarily used on domestic routes. The move is part of Delta's effort to enhance passenger experience, potentially offer new commerce opportunities and compete with other airlines' in-flight entertainment options. (3/31)

Vantor Wins Satellite Spying Contract (Source: Space News)
Vantor, an Earth imaging company, has won a contract to also provide intelligence on space objects in low Earth orbit. The $2.3 million contract from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is the first for non-Earth imaging, or observations of objects in orbit rather than the Earth's surface. The move reflects a broader push by the U.S. government to incorporate commercial capabilities into space domain awareness missions, traditionally handled by classified military systems. The award is the third for Vantor, the former Maxar Intelligence, under NGA's Luno program. (4/1)

China's Sustain Space Demonstrates Robotic Arm (Source: Space News)
A Chinese commercial company has conducted an on-orbit demonstration of a flexible robotic arm. Sustain Space's Xiyuan-0 satellite, also known as Yuxing-3 (06), launched in mid-March. The satellite features a flexible robotic arm with the aim of testing simulated refueling operations, force-compliant manipulation and precision control. Sustain Space said all the planned tests of that robotic arm have been successfully completed. The tests mark apparent progress towards on-orbit servicing capabilities such as satellite life extension, in-space assembly and debris mitigation, although the company has not yet outlined detailed plans or timelines for next missions and the transition from demonstrations to operations. (4/1)

Virgin Galactic Plans Return to Flight by End of 2026 With $750K Ticket Prices (Source: Space News)
Virgin Galactic expects to resume commercial suborbital launches by the end of the year. In an earnings call this week, the company said its first next-generation suborbital spaceplane is in final assembly, with ground tests starting in April and flight tests in the third quarter. Once in service, the vehicle will initially fly four times a month, ramping up to 10 or more flights monthly by mid-2027. The company, with a backlog of more than 650 customers, is reopening ticket sales, offering 50 tickets at $750,000 each. (4/1)

SDA Picks SpaceX for Two Launch Orders (Source: Inside Defense)
SpaceX won a Space Force task order for two launches of Space Development Agency satellites. Space Systems Command announced Tuesday it selected SpaceX to launch two sets of missile tracking satellites being built by Sierra Space starting in the second quarter of 2027. One Falcon 9 launch will take place from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and the other from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The task order under the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 contract is valued at $178.5 million. (4/1)

China's CAS Plans $600 Million IPO (Source: Reuters)
Chinese launch company CAS Space is seeking to raise more than $600 million in an initial public offering. The company filed Tuesday on the STAR Market to raise 4.18 billion yuan ($607 million). CAS Space, spun out of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, would use the money to support work on reusable launch vehicles. The company successfully launched its first Kinetica-2 medium-lift rocket on Monday. (4/1)

SpaceX Readies Banks for IPO (Source: International Financing Review)
SpaceX will meet with the banks running its IPO next week. Morgan Stanley is leading the meeting next Monday alongside Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs. A syndicate of other banks will also participate in the IPO, which is expected in June. SpaceX is seeking to raise up to $75 billion in the IPO, valuing the company at $1.75 trillion. (4/1)

ESA Gets New Space Transportation Chief (Source: ESA)
The European Space Agency has a new head of space transportation. ESA announced Wednesday that Géraldine Naja had taken over as its director of space transportation. Naja had previously been director of commercialization and industry partnerships at the agency, and will retain that role on an acting basis as she moves full time into leading the space transportation directorate. She succeeds Toni Tolker-Nielsen, who is retiring after nearly 40 years in various roles at the agency. (4/1)

NASA is Leading the Way to the Moon, but the Military Won't Be Far Behind (Source: Ars Technica)
The US military views space as a potential battlefield—a “warfighting domain” in Pentagon parlance. The great power competition between the United States and China already extends to space. Potential conflict zones in space are limited to a region between low-Earth orbit and geosynchronous orbit, from a few hundred miles’ altitude up to 22,000 miles. The Space Force is in the final stages of developing a roadmap for the next 15 years, and Pentagon officials have said it will address the possibility of the Moon or cislunar space, the region of space around the Moon, becoming a theater for military operations. (4/1)

Scotland Gathering Ignites Space Growth (Source: Space Scotland)
Senior diplomats from 20 countries and some of Scotland’s innovative space companies gathered in Edinburgh to turn international interest into tangible partnerships at “Space Connects the World: Consular Corps Scottish Space Forum.” Convened by the Space Scotland International Engagement Working Group, the forum brought representatives from Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, India, Ireland, Japan, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, and USA into focused sessions with Scottish companies. (4/1)