April 29, 2026

European Space Industry Warns EU Space Act Could Slow Competitiveness (Source: Space News)
European space industry officials said they did not oppose regulation itself or the idea behind a common European framework. However, the words most frequently used to describe the first and second drafts of the EU Space Act were “monopoly,” “slow,” “rigid” and “micromanaging.” The proposed implementation would slow down companies through requirements such as licensing that could take up to 12 months to obtain. Another concern is that the act could favor large incumbent players over startups. Its treatment of countries outside the EU, like Norway and the United Kingdom, could affect launch since both countries host spaceports used by EU-based launch companies. (5/28)

Racing to Separate Themselves From US Dependence, European Nations Opt for a Mix of Sovereign, Bilateral, Federated and Commercial Space Capabilities (Source: Space News)
European nations are adopting a mix of sovereign, bilateral, federated and dual-use commercial technologies to enhance military readiness. Still, it can be difficult to determine which capabilities should be owned and operated nationally and when it’s preferable to pool resources to establish multinational space systems. (5/28)

House Defense Authorization Bill Would Reorganize Space Acquisition with SDA and Rapid Capabilities Office Collapse (Source: Space News)
A House defense authorization bill would eliminate the Space Development Agency and the Space Rapid Capabilities Office as standalone organizations. The proposed changes align with the reorganization of Department of the Air Force acquisition programs around Portfolio Acquisition Executives, or PAEs, senior officials responsible for managing broad mission portfolios rather than individual programs.

SDA and Space RCO were established to accelerate space procurement outside the traditional military acquisition system, but their efforts have now become institutionalized across the Space Force. The Space Force plans to have SDA focus on missile warning and tracking, but it is unclear how Space RCO will be realigned. (5/28)

SpaceX Called Upon to Tighten Controls Over Russian Military Starlink Use (Source: Space News)
A former Ukrainian defense official says SpaceX needs to further tighten controls on Russian access to Starlink. Kateryna Chernohorenko, Ukraine's deputy minister of defense from 2022 to 2025, said at SmallSat Europe that while SpaceX has taken measures to limit use of Starlink by Russian forces, the company could do more, like enhanced geolocation controls. She said that while Ukraine has benefited from extensive European contributions in areas like satellite communications, Europe lacks several critical capabilities that continue to make SpaceX an indispensable partner. (5/28)

European Spectrum Moves Could Hinder SpaceX and Viasat (Source: Space News)
A proposal for allocating direct-to-device satellite spectrum in Europe could hinder SpaceX and Viasat. The European Commission outlined plans Wednesday to divide the 2-gigahertz spectrum band into three equal blocks. One would be used by the IRIS² constellation and a second by EU operators entering the market, with only the third available to operators outside the EU.

U.S.-based Viasat is using the spectrum for its hybrid satellite-cellular European Aviation Network, while EchoStar plans to sell off its holdings to bolster SpaceX's Starlink Mobile D2D service. The proposal still needs approval from the European Parliament and Council, leaving room for changes as lawmakers scrutinize the plan. (5/28)

Spire Scaling Up Satellite Production with Germany's Schaeffer AG for Sovereign Capabilities (Source: Space News)
Spire Global plans to collaborate with a German manufacturer on scaling up European satellite production. Spire said it will work with Schaeffer AG, a major German manufacturer of automotive systems and other motion technologies, drawing on Schaeffler's expertise in large-scale manufacturing, precision engineering and production discipline. The two companies said they would create a "sovereign European space hardware and mission business" by the end of the decade. Spire announced earlier this month a new factory in Munich capable of building up to 100 smallsats annually. The first satellites to be integrated in the Munich facility will be for Eurialo, satellite constellation designed to locate and track aircraft by observing their radio-frequency emissions. (5/28)

Kongsberg Scaling Up Satellite Production for SpinLaunch Constellation (Source: Space News)
Kongsberg NanoAvionics is working to scale up satellite production. The company secured a contract last year to build up to 280 satellites for SpinLaunch's Meridian Space broadband constellation. NanoAvionics, founded in Lithuania, plans to retain a "center of excellence" there while establishing new production facilities in other countries. The company also sees opportunities to build and operate sovereign constellations for countries. (5/28)

SpinLaunch Pivot Includes Sovereign Constellation Development (Source: Space  News)
SpinLaunch sees new opportunities for its constellation thanks to geopolitics. The company's CEO, Massimiliano Ladovaz, said in an interview that the company's Meridian system, meant to employ smaller, highly-efficient satellites, could make sovereign constellations financially attainable for countries and regional operators that previously lacked the resources to compete. That would allow, he said, constellations to be built for hundreds of millions of dollars and be deployed on a single launch. (5/28)

Virgin Galactic Uses Older Spaceplane for Flight Training (Source: Space News)
Virgin Galactic's older spaceplane has resumed test flights to train for its new vehicle. Virgin's VSS Unity vehicle performed a glide flight Wednesday, dropped from the company's Eve aircraft and gliding to a landing at Spaceport America in New Mexico. The company plans several such glide flights to train pilots and ground crews ahead of tests of the company's next-generation SpaceShip. Those flights are expected to begin in the third quarter, with commercial suborbital launches starting by the end of the year. (5/28)

Cosmonauts Perform ISS Spacewalk (Source: Space.com)
Russian cosmonauts performed a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Wednesday. Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev spent a little more than six hours outside the station on the spacewalk, installing and retrieving science instruments. That work included installing a telescope called Solntse-Teragerts on the exterior of the Zvezda module that will be used to monitor solar flares. The spacewalk was the second for Kud-Sverchkov and the first for Mikaev. (5/28)

Telesat Offers Secure Satcom for Italy's Government (Source: Reuters)
Telesat is in early-stage talks to provide secure communications services for the Italian government. Sources said the discussions between Telesat and Italian officials remain preliminary, and have not yet included financial details. The Italian government considered giving SpaceX a contract last year to provide similar services using Starlink, but backed off giving tensions between Europe and the United States. (5/28)

Does Gravity Create Reality? A Shocking Path to a Theory of Everything (Source: New Scientist)
For decades, the accepted route to an ultimate theory of everything has involved taking our best theory of gravity and squeezing it into the frame of quantum mechanics. Given that quantum theory is wildly successful in describing the other three of the four fundamental forces of nature, it is an understandable approach. Yet, almost a century later, scientists still haven’t managed to make gravity fit. That’s why a few mavericks have championed an alternative strategy. They suggest that tweaking the equations of quantum mechanics helps explain how the strange world of particles gives rise to our everyday reality.

Various experimental avenues are opening up to probe this approach, involving everything from levitating diamonds and glowing metals to swinging pendulums and ticking clocks. The tests promise to shine a light on how the quantum world operates and guide the search for a more complete understanding of the universe. “This is like going into the open ocean: we have no clue where to go,” says Angelo Bassi, a physicist at the University of Trieste in Italy. “But maybe … by going in the wrong direction, we’ll discover the right thing.” (5/25)

Space Nuclear Power’s Biggest Obstacles Are Logistical, Not Technical (Source: Aerospace America)
“The technology has never been the bottleneck,” Lal said. “What has failed each time is the system around the reactor: the mission case, the scope, the discipline, the political continuity, the leadership architecture. If anyone tells you the American space nuclear program is a technical problem, send them to me. I will tell them that we’ve spent sixty years and over twenty billion dollars proving them wrong.” (5/27)

Blue Origin Readies New Glenn to Launch 48 Amazon Leo Satellites After FAA Clearance (Source: Geekwire)
Five weeks after experiencing its first launch failure, Kent, Wash.-based Blue Origin is getting ready to put its heavy-lift New Glenn rocket back in service to launch 48 satellites into low Earth orbit for the growing Amazon Leo constellation. The mission, designated as NG-4 for the rocket and LN-01 for the payload, will mark the first time Blue Origin’s rockets have launched satellites for Amazon — forging a new connection between the two best-known companies founded by Jeff Bezos. It will also set a new high for the number of Leo broadband satellites launched on a single mission. (5/27)

UCF’s Rosen College is Training the Next Generation of Space Tourism Hospitality Professionals (Source: Orlando Shine)
UCF has been tied to the space industry since before it was even called UCF. The university was built, in part, to support Kennedy Space Center. Established as Florida Technological University in 1964, its primary mission was to provide personnel and engineering talent to the space operations on Florida’s Space Coast. But the industry is changing. Space is moving from propulsion and exploration into habitation and settlement, and someone has to figure out the hospitality side of it.

That someone, at least at UCF, is Dr. Amy Gregory, the Endowed Chair of Space Tourism Programming and Initiatives at Rosen College of Hospitality Management, and she represents the college on the UCF Space Council, a body that recently expanded beyond engineers and physicists to include faculty from across the university in a variety of disciplines. She also lives on the Space Coast. (5/27)

Mainland China Welcomes Taiwan Compatriots in Joint Space Exploration (Source: Xinhua)
The Chinese mainland looks forward to Taiwan compatriots joining its efforts in exploring the universe, a mainland spokesperson said in response to a media query about hopes in Taiwan that locals, especially young people, could take part in the nation's future space programs. The successful launch of the Shenzhou-23 crewed spacecraft on Sunday has drawn widespread attention in Taiwan. Among the crew is Hong Kong astronaut Li Jiaying, who has become the first person from the special administrative region to travel to space.

The success of the Shenzhou-23 mission is a source of pride and honor for all Chinese people, Chen said, noting that advancing the space program and building China into a space power have long been part of the Chinese nation's pursuit of its space dream. (5/27)

Australia’s Place in the Space Industry and Inspiring the Next Generation (Source: The Nightly)
Unlike the Apollo era, where Aussie kids watched on in awe of the US, I hope during the Artemis era Aussies watch on in awe of our own nation’s achievements and of what our futures could hold. This mission has captured people’s attention and inspired them to look up and out, when there are so many issues which give us the perfect excuse to look down and in.

We are once again reminded of the power of ambition and grand pursuits in peaceful partnership, the importance of preparing for the future, while in parallel confronting the challenges of the present. Artemis – the new Apollo - is a new beginning for space exploration, and Australia’s contribution to it is also just beginning. (5/27)

Air Force ‘Still Working’ to Sort Space Programs Into Acquisition Portfolios (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Air Force which oversees Space Force acquisition, has officially announced six portfolio acquisition executives (PAEs): Space Access; Space Based Sensing and Targeting; Infrastructure; Battle Management, Command, Control, Communication & Space Intelligence (BMC3I); Satellite Communication and Positioning, Navigation & Timing; and Missile Warning and Tracking. Thomas Ainsworth said there would be at least three other PAEs set up to cover space control; electronic, cyber and orbital warfare; and integration.

“The majority of the PAEs that have been assigned right now are acting,” Ainsworth said. Each of the new PAE heads also will chair a “capability trade council” for their portfolio that will include “warfighters in the room” representing the operations, intelligence and testing communities, Ainsworth said. He stressed that the DAF worked to ensure that all of the new offices all “work consistently” based on the “same authorities” to make decisions. “[I]f you move between one PAE and another, you’re not sitting there having to figure out a whole new process; everyone’s working off of the same process and the same rule book,” Ainsworth said. (5/27)

Orbital Data Centers Must Tackle Chip Lifespan, Launch Availability, and Cybersecurity Challenges (Source: Via Satellite)
The way processors and chips go through iteration will create a new set of problems. “Instead of a five-year span, the next generation of processors come out every two years … we’re now shortening the lives of the hardware in the data center. That creates a lifespan issue for satellites in orbit.” Compute lifespan and replacement is a significant logistics issue, which will also bring up issues around decommissioning satellites, Paul Struhsaker said. “They burn energy like nobody’s business. Every generation of chip doubles in energy,” said Struhsaker.

Acccording to Oguz Karasu: “We are all are waiting for Starship’s success — but without that, data centers on orbit won’t be feasible either,” he said. “There is an economic danger.” Karasu also pointed to data security concerns, saying that people who build data centers on Earth have raised this question to him, of how to protect a data center in orbit from being targeted. Karasu cautioned against the industry overly investing in this concept at the expense of other areas of space. He believes there’s been “misleading” information about the concept. (5/28)

Europe's Revolv Space Enters In-Orbit Servicing Market with Infinite Orbits Deal (Source: Space News)
The Italian-Dutch company Revolv Space has announced that French in-orbit services provider Infinite Orbits has selected its Solar Array Drive Assemblies (SADAs), the devices used to manage and optimize solar energy capture, for the firm’s geostationary orbit (GEO) in-orbit servicers. Editor's Note: Europe's growing commitment (and investment) toward sovereign space capabilities is impressive, but currently lacks a SpaceX-like low-cost reusable launch system for hardware and humans. (5/28)

Space Startup Raises Funds for Laser Satellite Links (Source: Bloomberg)
Observable Space raised $90 million in its debut funding round as the company seeks to use lasers to help satellites and potentially orbiting data centers move information to and from Earth. On the same day as the funding announcement, the company also secured a $94 million U.S. Space Force contract to build out ground-based optical telescope networks for satellite tracking and space domain awareness.

The startup is tackling the massive data bottlenecks faced by modern satellites and orbital data centers by beaming information to the ground via high-speed optical lasers rather than traditional radio waves. Observable Space operates with a combined 100+ person team across Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and a 57-acre manufacturing and optics research campus in Michigan. (5/28)

SITAEL Adds to Italy's Space Capabilities (Source: Space News)
Italy's SITAEL presented its growth strategy at SmallSat Europe Amsterdam, built on ten years of investment in satellite platforms, electric propulsion and production infrastructure. The plan fits within Europe’s new space cycle, in which secure communications, Earth observation, defense and technological sovereignty require robust industrial capabilities. SITAEL operates through two industrial hubs in Italy: a production facility with five satellites under construction simultaneously; and a production line for Hall-effect electric propulsion inaugurated in July 2025.

The combination of proprietary satellite platforms and electric propulsion sets SITAEL apart in the fields of constellations, orbital management, space sustainability and Very Low Earth Orbit missions. The company develops solutions based on the NextGen and EMPYREUM platforms and has launched with ESA the concept for a propellantless RAM-EP thruster for very low orbits. (5/27)

EarthDaily Partners with Geospatial Intelligence to Strengthen Earth Observation Capabilities in Australia (Source: Spacewatch Global)
EarthDaily and Geospatial Intelligence Pty Ltd have entered a new partnership to expand access to science-grade Earth observation data and analytics for customers across Australia. Through this partnership, Australian customers will gain local access to EarthDaily’s calibrated Earth observation data and analytics, supported by Geospatial Intelligence’s experience serving government and industry across Australia. (5/28)

SpaceX IPO is Filled with AI Bets, Starship Dreams, and Elon Musk at the Center (Source: MexNews)
It contains 36 pages of risk factors to SpaceX’s business, and details legal fights it faces following the absorption of Musk’s artificial intelligence and social media companies — battles SpaceX says will likely cost it $530 million. The company lost about $4.9 billion in 2025 on revenue of more than $18 billion. The filing details a business that is currently dominated by Starlink, which generated more than half of the company’s revenue last year — around $11 billion. It also shows how much SpaceX has burned to get to this point: more than $37 billion lost since inception, according to the S-1.

XAI, the artificial intelligence company Elon Musk created and recently merged into SpaceX, is not helping on that front. The filing shows SpaceX directed around 60% of its capital spending in 2025 to its AI division, or around $20 billion. And yet that division — which houses the chatbot Grok — lost billions last year, and only grew revenue by about 22%.

The company is, of course, making a lot of astronomical promises in the filing. One of the biggest? That it has “identified the largest actionable total addressable market in human history” of $28.5 trillion. The company attributes an enormous portion of that — $22.7 trillion — to “enterprise applications” of AI. Despite SpaceX’s complex business, much of its future is pegged to the success of Starship. (5/20)

New US Stamp Depicts 'Postcrossing' Astronaut (Source: Collect Space)
A new US postage stamp features a colorful graphic of an astronaut carrying a postcard out on a spacewalk. Officially, the stamp celebrates the global hobby of "Postcrossing," but it also offers a welcome nod to the history of space mail. The astronaut-themed stamp is one of four Postcrossing issues at the Boston World Exposition stamp show. The artwork, by illustrator Jackson Gibbs, was inspired by the international project that "enables participants to send and receive postcards from interested people around the world." (5/28)