April 27, 2026

NASA Wants to Use a Fleet of MoonFall Drones to Scout the Lunar South Pole (Source: Defense News)
One aspect of the NASA chief's Artemis makeover is use of hopper drones under what's called MoonFall. A Request for Proposals for moving MoonFall forward was issued the day of the NASA Ignition event. MoonFall involves the release of four camera and sensor-laden "drones" over a still-to-be-selected site at the lunar south pole, Baker told Space.com. "Our goal is that each drone can cover a range of roughly 30 miles," he said, "and get that done by the end of 2028." (4/27)

Meta Secures Overview Energy Space Solar Power Capacity (Source: Payload)
Meta announced an agreement today to secure up to 1 GW of power capacity through Overview Energy’s planned solar power-beaming satellite system. The deal comes amid AI’s rapid expansion, which has put a strain on terrestrial power grids. As large tech companies pour billions into new data centers, their energy needs are already equivalent to the entire power demand of Ireland in 2023, according to one estimate—and are expected to double or triple by 2028. The explosive demand has forced many data-center operators to get creative about their power inputs. In January, Meta announced three deals to secure up to 6.6 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2035, and now the tech giant is turning its sights to space. (4/27)

Global Military Spending Reaches Record $2.89 Trillion (Sources: Business Standard, Reuters)
Global military spending grew by 2.9% to $2.89 trillion last year, marking the 11th year of increases, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The US, China and Russia accounted for 51% of the total, with US spending falling by 7.5% due to a halt in aid to Ukraine. The decline in US spending is expected to be temporary, with projections exceeding $1 trillion in 2026. (4/27)

FAA Plans User Fees for Commercial Launches and Reentries (Source: Space News)
The FAA is moving forward with plans to charge user fees for commercial launches and reentries. The agency, in a public notice last week, said it will begin incorporating terms and conditions for user fees in new licenses, while operators with existing licenses remain liable for fees incurred for operations starting at the beginning of the year. Last year's budget reconciliation act directed the FAA to start charging fees based on the mass of the payload for each launch or reentry, with the fees going to a fund for improving integration of launches and reentries into the national airspace system.

The fees could generate more than $1 million for the FAA this year alone, with revenue growing with increased launches and an escalating fee schedule included in last year's bill. The FAA's commercial space office, which saw its budget cut by 5% in 2026, is seeking a significant increase in fiscal year 2027 to accommodate a growth in launches. Editor's Note: Maybe invest the proceeds into the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and expand grant eligibility to spaceports. (4/27)

Mars MTN Mission Opens 20 kg for Science Opportunity (Source: Space News)
NASA is reserving a small amount of payload space on a Mars communications mission for science. An updated draft RFP for the Mars Telecommunications Network (MTN), released earlier this month, says the agency plans to reserve up to 20 kilograms on the mission for a science payload that the agency will select. NASA did not disclose what payloads are being considered but noted that it could be used to deploy cubesats once the mission arrives at Mars. MTN, formerly the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter, would launch by the end of 2028 to provide relay services for other spacecraft at Mars. NASA received $700 million in last year's budget reconciliation act to fund the mission. (4/27)

India Plans New Class of Astronauts (Source: Times of India)
India is planning to recruit a second class of astronauts. A committee of Indian's space agency ISRO recommended that it select 10 more astronauts, six of which would be military pilots and the other four civilian scientists and engineers. India has four astronauts, all Indian Air Force pilots; one of the four, Shubhanshu Shukla, flew on an Axiom Space private astronaut mission to the ISS last year. The new astronaut class would support an anticipated two crewed missions a year for India's Gaganyaan program, with each mission carrying two or three astronauts. (4/27)

Germany's RFA Plans July Launch at SaxaVord (Source: RFA)
German launch startup Rocket Factory Augsburg is projecting a first launch as soon as July. The company announced Monday it filed for a maritime license needed for the inaugural launch of its RFA ONE rocket from SaxaVord Spaceport in the Shetland Islands. The application includes a date of no earlier than July 1 for the launch, but the company emphasized that the date in the application was "a legally required step for planning" and that it has yet to set an official launch date for the mission. (4/27)

New York City Will Throw an Artemis Parade if NASA Pays (Source: New York Post)
New York City is willing to throw a ticker-tape parade for the Artemis 2 astronauts — if someone else picks up the bill. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said last week that his office is reviewing a request made by several members of the city council for a parade for the crew. He noted, though, that such parades are typically funded by the entity being honored. The city's last ticker-tape parade was in 2024 for the New York Liberty championship basketball team, with the team paying most of the multimillion-dollar cost for the parade. (4/27)

ESA Paid €51.65 Million to Launch Sentinel-1C on Vega-C Return to Flight (Source: European Spaceflight)
European Space Agency disclosures show that the agency paid more than €51 million to launch the European Commission’s Sentinel-1C Earth observation satellite aboard a Vega C rocket on 5 December 2024. The flight marked the rocket’s return to flight after being grounded for nearly two years following a December 2022 failure.

While the European Union is responsible for the overall management of the Copernicus Earth observation satellite constellation, ESA is tasked with managing contracts with European industry for its development, launch, and operation. As part of this responsibility, the agency publishes an annual list of all contracts awarded with a value exceeding €15,000. (4/27)

SpaceX Flies 25 Starlink Satellites From California  on its 50th Falcon 9 Launch of 2026 (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launched its 50th Falcon 9 rocket of the year from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Sunday, carrying another batch of satellites for its Starlink internet service. Liftoff of the Starlink 17-16 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East occurred under cloudy skies . The rocket carrying 25 of SpaceX’s Starlink V2 Mini broadband internet satellites took a southerly trajectory on departure from the central California coast. (4/26)