April 21, 2026

China Ramps Up Satellite Manufacture (Source: Space News)
China is ramping up its ability to mass-manufacture satellites to support constellations. Chinese space industry outlet Hello Space has identified at least 55 satellite factories in China, with 36 already in operation. According to the analysis, this provides a total production capacity of 4,050 satellites per year from the already operational facilities, with a projected additional capacity of 3,310 satellites from the future factories.

This is in part to help meet the requirements of the Guowang and Qianfan megaconstellations, which are planned to comprise a total of 28,000 satellites, as well as future proposed systems. However, the number of satellites actually reaching orbit is far lower than that capacity, thanks to launch constraints and the still-maturing commercial viability of large satellite constellations. (4/20)

Russia Launches Military Payload on Soyuz Rocket (Source: Russian Space Web)
A Soyuz rocket launched a Russian military payload. The Soyuz-2.1b rocket lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome Thursday at 7:17 p.m. Eastern carrying a classified mission for the Russian Ministry of Defense. By Saturday, the U.S. Space Force had tracked 10 objects from the launch in two sets of inclinations, suggesting a plane-change maneuver by the rocket's Volga upper stage during the flight. (4/20)

China Extends Astronaut Stay on TSS (Source: Space News)
Chinese astronauts currently on the Tiangong space station will spend an extra month there. The three astronauts, who arrived at the station in late October on the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft for a six-month stay, will now return by late May. That is linked to a switch in spacecraft for their return: Shenzhou-21 was used by the astronauts who arrived on Shenzhou-20 after that spacecraft suffered damage from a micrometeoroid or orbital debris impact. China launched the uncrewed Shenzhou-22 spacecraft in late November that will be used by the current crew. (4/20)

NASA Switches Off Voyager 1 Instrument as Power Levels Decline (Source: NASA)
NASA has turned off an instrument on Voyager 1 as that spacecraft's power levels decline. NASA announced Friday it turned off the Low-energy Charged Particles (LECP) experiment to conserve power after an unexpected dip in power readings on the spacecraft in late February during a routine maneuver. The version of LECP on Voyager 2 was turned off last year. The two Voyager spacecraft use radioisotope thermoelectric generators to produce power, and those power levels are dropping as the plutonium in them decays. (4/20)

NASA Switches Off Swift Instrument as Orbit Decays (Source: NASA)
NASA announced Friday it turned off the Burst Alert Telescope instrument on its Swift gamma-ray observatory spacecraft to conserve power as that spacecraft's low Earth orbit decays. NASA is modifying operations of the spacecraft to reduce drag, buying time for the launch of a reboost mission being developed by Katalyst Space slated for as soon as June. (4/20)

Artemis III Moon Rocket Rolls Out of Factory Onto Barge (Source: Boeing)
Boeing rolled the top four-fifths of the Artemis III core stage from New Orleans and loaded it for barge shipment to Kennedy Space Center. It will travel without the engine section so engines can be installed at Kennedy, which speeds up production. (4/20)

Moon Base Essentials Include Transportation, Surface Power (Source: Aerospace America)
Reliable transportation, persistent communication relays and surface power are among the technologies and capabilities needed for NASA’s planned moon base to succeed, an industry panel told attendees at Space Symposium. The first phase, which spans through 2028, calls for conducting nearly monthly launches of robotic spacecraft to the lunar surface to begin testing early versions of the instrumentation and equipment required for “permanent habitation,” said Carlos Garcia-Galan, NASA’s moon base program manager, in on-stage remarks before the panel. (4/20)

This Giant Telescope Could Discover Habitable Exoplanets and Secrets of Our Universe — If it Gets its Funding (Source: Space.com)
The Giant Magellan Telescope project is gearing up for a crucial 12–24 months, with their final design phase underway as the team behind the project seek further funding to make the dream of the 25.4-meter (83 feet) multi-mirror telescope a reality. (4/20)

ESA Taps Kepler to Lead Next Stage of HydRON Optical Program (Source: Via Satellite)
The European Space Agency has selected Toronto-based Kepler Communications as prime contractor for HydRON Element 3, the third part of a sovereign optical communications constellation. HydRON, short for High-throughput Optical Network, is a sovereign European data transport layer. Kepler was tapped to lead the first stage of the program in October 2024 with a $39 million contract to demonstrate a ten-satellite data transport system in LEO. (4/17)

What’s This Fast-Moving Wave of Darkness Creeping Across Mars? (Source: Scientific American)
Volcanic ash is creeping across the surface of Mars with startling speed. A side-by-side comparison with views of the same patch recorded by NASA’s Viking orbiters in 1976 reveals a striking spread of that dark coloration. Visible changes to the Martian surface are more often marked by millions of years, not by dozens of them. This wouldn’t be the first time observers have witnessed strange waves of darkness spreading on Mars. (4/17)

Space Force Sets Up ‘Cislunar Coordination’ Office to Focus Beyond Earth Orbit (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force is setting up a dedicated acquisition office focused on cislunar space, the region between Earth and the moon, as it begins to more formally assess requirements beyond traditional Earth orbit. Officials say civil-military overlap with NASA will grow as lunar activity accelerates. The new group will be led by Jamie Stearns, who has been serving as the head of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Vehicle’s Directorate space control shop at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. (4/20)

Vast and Cedars-Sinai Partner on Microgravity Science and Crew Health (Source: Spacewatch Global)
Vast announced a strategic collaboration with Cedars-Sinai, one of the nation’s premier academic health systems and a pioneer in regenerative medicine and biomedical research. Cedars-Sinai has established the Center for Space Medicine Research to advance space medicine. The center has sent several experiments to space to study how microgravity influences cell biology and human physiology. It also is advancing the use of microgravity to manufacture unique biomaterials in space for translational use on Earth.

Vast and Cedars-Sinai will work together on a broad range of initiatives, including collaborative research and development in areas including stem cell and organoid research and biomanufacturing technology demonstrations in microgravity, with applications in regenerative medicine, longevity, and disease modeling. Additional collaboration areas include astronaut medical support, space-based research, and joint education and outreach initiatives. (4/20)

Rheinmetall Signs MoU with the Norwegian Municipality of Andøy to Establish a Satellite Test Center in Andøya (Source: Rheinmetall)
Andøy Municipality and Rheinmetall Nordic AS have agreed to enable the establishment of the Rheinmetall Integrated Process Facility (RhIPF) at Prærien Business Park. The planned facility is intended to serve as a satellite test center and will represent a significant contribution to the growing space and defense industry cluster at Andøya. The project remains subject to a final investment decision by Rheinmetall AG. Rheinmetall retains exclusive rights to a designated area in Andøy. (4/17)

Amazon Leo Satellite Internet Comes to Professional Golf (Source: Amazon)
The DP World Tour has partnered with Amazon Leo to bring fast, reliable satellite internet to its golf tournaments around the world—a first in professional sports. The Tour hosts 42 tournaments across 25 countries and five continents each year, many in remote or rural locations where traditional internet infrastructure is limited or non-existent. (4/20)

AI and Robotics Will Aid, Not End, Human Space Exploration (Source: The Hill)
The new technologies of AI and robotics will take over tasks that involve pattern optimization and matching. Humans will still retain tasks that require creativity, emotional intelligence and determining why actions need to be undertaken.

What does that mean for a lunar base? An AI data center on the moon would have several functions, including controlling robot rovers to map terrain and prospect for resources; processing imagery and sensor readings on site and transmitting the results back to Earth; maintaining the base’s systems, especially life support, and predicting equipment failures before they occur; monitoring astronauts’ health and maintaining situational awareness around the base, especially detecting incoming space debris.

Robots, working in partnership with the astronauts, will perform manual labor that doesn’t require human ingenuity. Exploration teams will likely include at least one humanoid robot along with the astronauts. The humans at the lunar base, relieved of the drudgery of maintaining the facility, will be free to explore the moon, uncover its secrets and exploit its resources. (4/19)

Largest-Ever 3D Map of the Universe Shows 47 Million Galaxies (Source: Life Science)
The image is from the largest high-resolution 3D map of the universe ever created. The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), which is mounted on the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, uses 5,000 robotic fiber-optic sensors to capture light from distant celestial objects. Each tiny point in the image represents a galaxy mapped by DESI. The galaxies aren't randomly distributed; instead, they form in filaments and clusters known as the cosmic web. Between these luminous strands of galaxies are vast empty regions known as voids, where few stars or galaxies exist. (4/18)

Japanese Gundam Robot Heading to ISS (Source: Japan Times)
A spherical robot resembling Haro, a character from the popular Mobile Suit Gundam anime, is set to go to work on the ISS. Space Entry Co., a Japanese robotics company, planned the project and commissioned th design from the creator of Haro. It will be launched from the US to Japan's Kibo module on the ISS.

The aluminum robot, measuring 21 centimeters in diameter, moves through the microgravity environment by blowing air through fans. It is equipped with a camera and microphone to facilitate communication between astronauts and personnel on Earth. (4/20)

SpaceX Notches Landing Milestone After Sunday Starlink Launch From Florida (Source: Space.com)
At SpaceX, what has gone up has now successfully come down 600 times. The company marked its 600th successful landing with the recovery of the first-stage booster that put a new batch of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit on Sunday. (4/20)

France, Poland Boost Defence Ties with Military Satellite Project (Source: Reuters)
France and Poland ‌will build a telecommunications satellite for the Polish military, the companies involved in the project said on Monday, as Paris and Warsaw strengthen their economic and defence ties. Thales Alenia Space, Airbus Defence and Space, and Poland's ​RADMOR will jointly develop a satellite in geostationary orbit, which will support military communications ​for Poland's armed forces. (4/20)

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has Discovered 11,000 New Asteroids, and It's Barely Even Started! (Source: Universe Today)
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory was built with an ambitious purpose in mind. As part of its 10-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), the Rubin Observatory will gather about 30 petabytes of data. This will include creating an inventory of the Solar System, transient objects (such as supernovae and variable stars), and mapping the Milky Way. Using preliminary data gathered by the Observatory, scientists have already discovered 11,000 new asteroids in the Solar System. These results were confirmed by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center (IAU-MPC). (4/19)

More Work Needed to Streamline EU Space Act; Hold the Line on 2028-34 Defense & Space Budget (Source: Space Intel Report)
European Defense and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said more modification was needed for the proposed EU Space Act and urged the EU Parliament to hold the line on the Commission’s proposed defense and space budget for 2028-2024. Kublius said he would accept, in principle, a parliamentary proposal that an industry board be created to actively take part in the Space Act’s evolution. (4/20)

Six New Isolated Millisecond Pulsars Discovered with FAST (Source: Phys.org)
Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), Chinese astronomers have inspected two nearby galactic globular clusters, namely NGC 6517 and NGC 7078. The study resulted in the discovery of six new millisecond pulsars in these clusters, which are isolated and faint. (4/20)

Hunt For Ancient Ocean Features On Mars Reveals Red Planet’s Equivalent Of A Continental Shelf (Source: IFL Science)
Since the first close-up observations of Mars, the ground of the Red Planet has revealed evidence of rivers, lakes, and more. The whole northern hemisphere of Mars is at a lower elevation, showing fewer craters than the southern. This suggested an ancient ocean, but the evidence for a shore was a bit muddled. New research drops that approach completely and finds a better way to showcase evidence of this bygone body of water.

The possible Martian ocean shorelines appeared to have wildly different elevations, with variations of kilometers. On top of that, on Earth, the location of shorelines changes significantly, some by tens of meters per year. The researchers ask behind the new study asked themselves if shorelines are the best topographic signature of an ocean. They came up with something better. (4/15)

NASA Welcomes Latvia as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory (Source: NASA)
The Republic of Latvia signed the Artemis Accords Monday during a ceremony hosted by NASA at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, becoming the 62nd nation to commit to responsible space exploration for all humanity. (4/20)