May 27, 2026

NASAWatch Editor Keith Cowing to Receive NSS Space Pioneer Award (Source: NSS)
The National Space Society will honor Keith Cowing at its 44th annual International Space Development Conference on June 4-7, 2026. Cowing will receive the NSS’s Space Pioneer Award for excellence in mass media. Cowing is the editor of NASAWatch.com, a news source and watchdog for U.S. space efforts, and Astrobiology.com. He is a former NASA space biologist and International Space Station payload manager. (5/26)

Space Force Supports Rescue of Plane Crash Off Florida/Bahamas Coast (Source: SLD-45)
Space Launch Delta 45 Airmen and Guardians at Patrick Space Force Base played a key role in the rapid rescue of 11 Bahamian adults who survived the ditching of a Beechcraft King Air twin-engine turboprop aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean on May 12. The operation showcased seamless collaboration among U.S. military services, federal agencies and local partners. It highlighted how Space Force infrastructure and training for domestic emergencies save lives.

An emergency locator transmitter aboard the aircraft activated after engine failure during a flight from Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, to Freeport. The signal reached the international Cospas-Sarsat system, which relies on critical space-based assets. U.S. Space Force satellites, including those supported by launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, helped relay the distress alert swiftly. Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center received the initial notification and alerted the U.S. Coast Guard. (5/21)

US Plans to Significantly Reduce NATO Military Support (Source: The Independent)
The US plans to reduce its military support to NATO during crises, cutting fighter jets, warships and bombers. Envoy Alexander Velez-Green briefed NATO officials on the changes, which would require Europe to provide more of its own military assets. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte says the US cannot be everywhere at once and that the alliance is discussing how to manage multiple threats. (5/26)

SpaceX Wins $2.29B to Speed Space Force’s LEO Communications ‘Backbone’ (Source: Space News)
SpaceX won a Space Force contract worth nearly $2.3 billion for a military satellite data network. The $2.29 billion award, announced Tuesday, is for the development of a network known as the Space Data Network (SDN) Backbone, previously known as MILNET. It will feature optically interconnected satellites that would transport military data through space rather than relying primarily on terrestrial relay networks or ground stations.

The Space Force said the SDN backbone will be integrated with the Space Development Agency's Transport Layer constellation, a separate low Earth orbit mesh network intended to provide military communications and data relay services. Military officials view the SDN as a foundational component of Golden Dome because it would allow missile-tracking satellites to rapidly transmit targeting data through orbital relay networks to command systems or interceptors with minimal delay. (5/27)

Starcloud Buying SpaceX Optical Terminals for Data Center Constellation (Source: Space News)
Orbital data center startup Starcloud is buying optical terminals from SpaceX. Starcloud said Tuesday it signed a contract for more than 50 Starlink Mini Lasers, enough to equip at least 25 satellites with two terminals each as part of a constellation that ultimately envisions 88,000 orbital data centers. The terminals would connect Starcloud satellites directly into Starlink's low Earth orbit mesh network, bypassing bandwidth-constrained ground stations. The company plans to use the links on spacecraft starting with Starcloud 2, a 450-kilogram spacecraft launching in January that is set to be the venture's first to run commercial cloud workloads. (5/27)

Voyager Wins $16.5 Million From DARPA for Solid Rocket Motor Thrust Control (Source: Space News)
Voyager Technologies won a DARPA contract to continue development of a solid rocket motor thrust-control technology. The $16.5 million contract announced Tuesday funds Phase 2 of DARPA's "Burn n' Go" program, an effort launched last year to develop what the agency describes as a "propellant-embedded control technology" that would give solid rocket motors tailorable, post-manufacturing thrust control. The 20-month contract will work to validate Voyager's technology through ground tests. (5/27)

Hermeus Cruises Beyond Supersonic Speed In U.S. Industry First (Source: Aviation Week)
High-speed aircraft maker Hermeus flew the Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 demonstrator aircraft above supersonic speed for the first time, marking a first for a privately funded, uncrewed aircraft in the U.S. Hermeus is testing its aircraft at Spaceport America in New Mexico. (5/27)

European Companies Hopeful for Investor Interest After SpaceX IPO (Source: Space News)
Europe's space industry is closely watching SpaceX's IPO. Industry officials said they believed that the initial public offering could help attract investors into other space companies as those investors seek the next SpaceX-like company. The interest in the IPO has already driven up valuations of other space companies. However, one investor noted Europe's space industry is five to 10 years behind the U.S. in its development and still lacks the large-scale contracts that can provide the foundation for a company to go public. (5/27)

Regulatory and Capital Challenges Hamper European Space Growth (Source: Space News)
Regulations and access to capital remain challenges for European space companies today, though. Executives said it remains difficult for European space companies to raise large rounds without going to American investors. They said Europe remains a good place to start a space company but that there needed to be reforms similar to those in India and Japan to promote the industry's growth. Executives also cited concerns with the EU Space Act, noting that while they approved of the goal of creating a single market for space in Europe, the approach the draft law uses could slow the industry down. (5/27)

SpaceX Launches Tuesday Starlink Mission From California (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launched Starlink satellites Tuesday night from California. A Falcon 9 lifted off at 10:50 p.m. Eastern from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, putting 24 Starlink satellites into orbit. The launch was the second Starlink mission in as many days for SpaceX, after a Falcon 9 launch Monday morning from Florida. (5/27)

Trump Administration Pushes Governmentwide NDA for Federal Employees (Source: FNN)
Federal employees may soon have to sign strict non-disclosure agreements, according to a new governmentwide proposal from the Trump administration. The Office of Personnel Management on Tuesday released plans to create a standardized NDA for all federal employees, in an attempt to stop government documents from being leaked to the press or otherwise made public.

The NDA applies to federal information including, but not limited to, “internal agency operations, personnel matters, procurement processes or any sensitive, pre-decisional or deliberative material that is not currently publicly available and should not be disclosed under applicable law,” OPM said. (5/26)

China Launches Experimental Comsat on Long March 7 (Source: CGTN)
China launched an experimental communications satellite Tuesday. A Long March 7 rocket lifted off from the Wenchang spaceport. It placed into orbit what Chinese media described as a satellite built by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology to test multi-band, high-speed satellite communication technologies. (5/27)

European Military Space Spending Could Boost Industry Growth (Source: Space News)
Increased spending by European militaries on space can help companies but only if it's done quickly. Speaking at SmallSat Europe on Tuesday, Chiara Manfletti, CEO of Portuguese space domain awareness startup Neuraspace, said that while European militaries are planning tens of billions of euros of new spending on space, those agencies are not known for working quickly. That could make it difficult for startups, who have limited cash runways, from taking advantage of that spending: "You either feed innovation quickly, or innovation will perish." (5/27)

SpaceX Allegedly Seeks Major Increase in DoD Price for Connectivity (Source: Ars Technica)
SpaceX allegedly pushed the Pentagon to pay more for satellite connectivity during the ongoing conflict with Iran. According to a report, SpaceX sought a five-fold increase in the price of satellite terminals used on Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones, which are used as munitions. SpaceX CEO denied the report on social media but also said that the manufacturer of the drone erred in placing conventional Starlink terminals on the LUCAS drones rather than the military-grade Starshield alternative, as it is a violation of the Starlink terms of service to use the commercial system for military applications. (5/27)

NASA Aims to Understand Characteristics of Potential Lunar Base Sites, Establish a Perimeter (Source: Ars Technica)
One theme of Tuesday’s news conference was the reality that, decades after humanity’s first visits to the Moon, there remains much we do not know about conditions on the lunar surface. To that end, one of the central elements of the early Moon Base program is the development of the MoonFall program, which will entail three or four drones each about 1 meter tall, with a mass of 225 kg, including propellant.

These drones will perform a number of functions, including scouting for water ice in permanently shadowed regions, identifying areas of scientific interest, and providing detailed information about landing sites, including soil mechanics, lighting conditions, and the terrain. At the end of their flying lifetime, the drones would then be used to set a boundary for the Moon Base. (5/26)

NASA Science Cut Would Hit Colorado Universities and Aerospace Sector (Source: Colorado Newsline)
A congressional panel has voted to advance a spending bill that funds NASA, rejecting the White House’s proposal to cut the agency nearly in half but still imposing a significant reduction on the science programs that underpin Colorado’s aerospace economy and university research base. The state has more than 2,000 aerospace businesses, more than 55,000 direct aerospace employees and more than 184,000 indirect employees tied to the sector.

Bob Cone, chief operating officer of Westminster-based Advanced Space, said Colorado’s aerospace footprint is unusually concentrated along the Front Range. He argued that industry needs both human spaceflight and robotic exploration, even though those programs compete for attention and dollars.

Massimo Ruzzene, University of Colorado Boulder’s vice chancellor for research and innovation, said the proposed science cuts would reach active university missions and future opportunities. “It would mean the inability of CU Boulder to maintain critical missions that we have that are funded by NASA,” Ruzzene said, naming the Parker Solar Probe, Europa Clipper, and the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe among missions connected to the university. “And then we wouldn’t be able to propose new missions or participate in new missions.” (5/25)

Firefly Aerospace Wins Contract to Deliver Drones to the Moon’s South Pole (Source: Firefly Aerospace)
Firefly Aerospace was awarded a $75 million subcontract from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to deliver four drones to the Moon’s south pole in support of the agency’s MoonFall mission, targeted to launch no earlier than 2028. MoonFall is part of the first phase of NASA’s Moon Base, a long-term lunar exploration and infrastructure initiative designed to enable sustained human presence and expanded scientific and commercial activity at the lunar south pole. (5/26)

NASA Plans Three Lunar Lander Missions in 2026 (Source: Douglas Messier)
NASA has announced the first three Moon Base missions to begin building sustained operations. Moon Base I, targeted for launch in fall 2026, will use Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 Endurance lander to deliver NASA payloads. Moon Base II, planned for launch later this year, will deliver more than 1,100 pounds of cargo on Astrobotic’s Griffin lander, including Astrolab’s FLIP rover.

Moon Base III, also targeted for this year, will fly the first payload selected through NASA’s Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon initiative. Its anchor investigation, Lunar Vertex, will fly on Intuitive Machine’s Nova-C Trinity lunar lander. These missions are the first of more than a dozen missions that will be announced this year, each designed to generate operational data and reduce risk ahead of crewed Artemis surface activities. (5/26)

NASA Selects Astrolab, Lunar Outpost for Crewed Lunar Rovers (Source: Douglas Messier)
NASA has selected Venturi Astrolab and Lunar Outpost to supply crewed lunar terrain vehicles (LTVs) for the space agency’s Artemis program that aims to return astronauts to the Moon’s surface in 2028. NASA officials said each company will receive approximately $220 million to supply the LTVs. A pair of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 landers will deliver the vehicles to the lunar surface. Blue Origin will receive $234 million for each delivery mission.

Astrolab has teamed with Axiom Space, Interlune and Odyssey Space Research to develop the LTV. The company said it expects to have its LTV deployed on the Moon by 2028. The company’s contract is valued at approximately $219 million.Astrolab’s Crewed Lunar Vehicle (CLV-1) is designed to transport astronauts and their supplies across the lunar surface. The rover will be capable of being operated remotely.

Lunar Outpost’s Pegasus LTV is designed to support site exploration, science operations, resource prospecting, and surface site preparation. The vehicle will be capable of manual, autonomous, or teleoperated operations on the surface at speeds more than 14.5 km/h. Lunar Outpost has teamed with General Motors (GM), The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, and Leidos to develop the Pegasus LTV. (5/26)

Are We Ignoring Signs of Alien Life? (Source: Connect Sci)
Astronomers admit in a new study that they may be missing signs of extraterrestrial life on other planets. The research suggests that there may be many “false-negative” determinations of whether alien life is present on a planet or moon being studied and that space exploration missions and projects might have to be redesigned.

“We should be aware of these false-negative results,” says lead author Inge Loes ten Kate, professor in astrobiology at Utrecht University and the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. “It means there are shortcomings in recognising the existence of life. These shortcomings are not yet high on the research agenda.” (5/23)

Blue Origin Cleared for Next Launch Within Weeks (Source: WFTV)
Blue Origin is preparing for its return to flight after the FAA signed off on the company’s investigation and corrective actions tied to last month’s New Glenn mission failure, which failed to place a broadband satellite into the correct orbit. Space analyst Dr. Ken Kremer told us the company could be back on the pad in a matter of weeks. He said, “It’s possible they could launch in the next week or two or three,” Kremer said. “They’ve got the first stage ready in their hangar, and they want to roll it out to the launch pad and do a hot fire test that’s upcoming at some point soon.”

Kremer says getting New Glenn back online is critical not just for commercial satellite launches, but also for NASA’s long-term Artemis program and future lunar missions. (5/25)

Virgin Galactic Space Flight Start Stays on Track (Source: Orange County Business Journal)
Space tourism company Virgin Galactic said it’s on track to start commercial flights toward the end of this year. CEO Michael Colglazier said testing of new spaceship would start in the third quarter with spaceflights beginning in the last three months of the year. “We provided our roughly 650 founding astronauts -- who make up roughly a year’s worth of advanced bookings -- with expected flight windows in 2027 and early 2028,” Colglazier said. (5/25)

In ‘For All Mankind,’ America Wins by Losing (Source: New York Times)
When science-fiction worlds are portrayed on TV, the stories usually revolve around a society whose technology is incomprehensibly advanced, or a wasteland where some weather or zombie apocalypse has destroyed modern civilization. “For All Mankind” forgoes both scenarios. The current season of this space drama is set largely on Mars. The creators say this alternate world could have been possible if the nation had stayed focused on the stars [after Apollo].

“We very purposefully leaned into the idea of, What if America lost?” Wolpert said, in a joint interview with Nedivi. “And by losing, we all wound up winning?” The drama shows viewers how after the initial moon loss the space race remains front and center in the national consciousness. Even as ships explode, nations clash and heroes die, there is a tangible optimism about the future and a conviction that humanity is better off when it pushes farther together. (5/25)
 
Starlink Revives GPS Function, But Only for Priority Plans (Source: PC Mag)
It looks like SpaceX is backing off from completely removing a little-known Starlink function that can be used for GPS-style location tracking. The company will retain the feature, but only for customers on its business-focused Priority plans, according to an email sent to Jonathan Pitts, a Starlink provider for businesses. (5/26)

Musk Accuses Trump Admin of Using Starlink for Military Purposes (Source: Newsweek)
Starlink owner Elon Musk on Tuesday accused the Trump administration of breaching the agreement his company has with the Pentagon amid reports of disputes over charges. Musk took to his X social media platform to accuse the Department of Defense (DOD) of violating the terms of service for using Starlink at a time when the U.S. military is relying more and more on external companies and products, specifically those belonging to the billionaire. (5/26)