July 13, 2026

SpaceX Shares Rise Nearly 20% in Historic IPO (Source: Space News)
SpaceX shares rose on the first day of trading as the company went public in a milestone event for both the company and the broader space industry. SpaceX sold nearly 555.6 million shares at $135 per share in an initial public offering June 12, raising $75 billion before expenses for the company. SpaceX did not change details about the IPO after disclosing the number of shares and pricing June 3. (6/12)

The Transition From Early Infrastructure to Sustained Operations (Source: SpaceCom)
NASA’s mission-based exploration is episodic by design. Artemis II, like Apollo before it, was a tightly integrated, bespoke effort calibrated to achieve a specific objective. Success is binary: the mission is completed, or it is not.

What is now emerging, in fits and starts, is a structural transition, from exploration as a sequence of singular achievements to space as an operational domain defined by persistence, cadence, and interdependence. This is the threshold to continuous presence. Sustained presence requires something fundamentally different. It depends on repeatable operations, logistics networks, transportation layers, supply chains, and systems that endure beyond any single mission. Success is measured not by arrival, but by uptime, reliability, and continuity over time. Click here. (7/12)

Putin Vows to Expand Starlink Rival With Aim to Step Up Attacks (Source: Bloomberg)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country is expanding a constellation of domestically produced satellites as he vowed to step up strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure. Speaking at a Kremlin meeting with servicemen Friday, Putin said Russia had begun deploying a low orbit satellite system similar to Starlink, though the number of 16 craft was “absolutely insufficient.” (6/12)

Musk’s Rocket Launches are a Nuisance for This California Town (Source: LA Times)
The sonic booms often arrive without warning. In the strawberry fields outside Lompoc, Calif., farmworkers flinch and look skyward. They feel the vibrations in their toes. Children jump in their seats in classrooms a few miles away. Inside the Lompoc federal prison complex, more than 3,000 inmates absorb the shock waves and rattling walls with no way to escape them. And across a coastline the Chumash people have considered sacred for thousands of years, the ground shudders. This is what a SpaceX launch feels like from below. (6/13)

Blue Origin Says it Will Fly Again This Year After Explosion. NASA Needs It To (Source: Guardian)
As Blue Origin tells it, the most spectacular launchpad explosion in recent memory, which destroyed its pioneering New Glenn space rocket last month and severely damaged almost everything around it, was merely a blip. “We will fly again before the end of this year. Gradatim Ferociter,” Dave Limp, the company’s chief executive, posted on X on 1 June, using the Latin form of its motto, “Step by step, ferociously”.

What has transpired since has been an all-hands effort to identify what went wrong and get New Glenn swiftly back to flight, a response unmatched in speed and intensity since the Columbia space shuttle tragedy of 2003.

Jared Isaacman, among the first to survey the wrecked pad, promised a “whole government response” to help Blue Origin, reflective of the importance of Jeff Bezos’s company to Nasa’s moon schedule. “Everybody is responding quickly. NASA is going to deploy subject matter experts to help with the investigation to get to the root cause of the problem [and] help them rebuild the pad,” he said. (6/13)

Out-of-This-World Medical Tech Could Boost Health Care on Earth (Source: CBC)
The ear thermometer. Portable ultrasounds that plug into an iPhone. A virtual doctor's appointment. All of these now-common medical tools were adapted from space technology. Now, deep space exploration is set to bring new innovations to health-care systems on Earth, researchers say, including portable medical technology and robotic care.

And these developments could be particularly beneficial for remote and under-resourced communities. "The lessons that we can learn from a lunar habitat for delivering remote medical care [are], in a similar manner, transferrable to northern Canada," said Dr. Dave Williams, a former emergency room doctor and astronaut based in Toronto. (6/13)

Japan's Strategic Headquarters for Space Development (Source; Japan's Prime Minister)
On June 12, Prime Minister Takaichi held the 34th meeting of the Strategic Headquarters for Space Development at the Prime Minister’s Office. At the meeting, the participants engaged in discussions on the priority measures for the revision of the Roadmap of the Basic Plan on Space Policy.

"My administration has positioned the space sector as one of its seventeen strategic sectors. Investment in space is an important investment in next-generation national infrastructure that supports our security, economic activities, and the daily lives of our people.

From the perspective of national security, we will strengthen our space domain awareness capabilities and make greater use of satellite constellations, thereby fundamentally enhancing our defense capabilities through the utilization of space. At the same time, we will further strengthen cooperation with our allies and like-minded countries and ensure free and open access to space." (6/12)

Boeing Expands in Kansas (Source: ENR)
Global aerospace manufacturer The Boeing Co. plans to invest $1 billion over three years to construct new buildings, upgrade facilities, expand employee training and strengthen production systems at its facilities in Wichita, Kan., while also partnering with Wichita State University on its initiative to build a 35,000-sq-ft, $45-million aerospace training facility. On June 9, the Wichita City Council approved $450 million in industrial bonds to abate the company’s property taxes and support construction of new buildings. The Sedgwick County Board also is considering $100 million in bonds that would enable Boeing to pay nothing in county property taxes for new buildings and improvements over the next 10 years. (6/10)

Air Force Releases Draft RFP for TETRAS III R&D Support IDIQ (Source: GovConWire)
The Department of the Air Force has issued a draft request for proposals for Test and Evaluation Technologies for Ranges, Armaments and Spectrum III, opening industry review of the planned multiple-award recompete of its TETRAS contract vehicle. The Air Force Test Center at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is running the procurement. The competition will be conducted on a full and open basis, with security requirements ranging from confidential to top secret. (6/12)

ISU Course Focuses on Foundations of Spaceport Leadership (Source: GSA)
Foundations of Spaceport Leadership is the inaugural course in the ISU–GSA Professional Certification in Spaceport Leadership. It is designed as an intensive, executive-level program that delivers the “decision advantage” required to lead, evaluate, or enter the global spaceport sector. It is a fast track to the knowledge and confidence required to make consequential decisions, generate revenue, and lead in the global spaceport sector. Participants will complete six modules spanning infrastructure, operations, policy, economics, and industry application. (6/12)

Latitude Ditches the Name Zephyr for Its Two-Stage Rocket (Source: European Spaceflight)
French launch startup Latitude has removed all mentions of the Zephyr name from its website, now referring to its rocket simply as “Our Launcher”. The rocket, previously known as Zephyr, is a two-stage launch vehicle that will stand 19 meters tall and is designed to deliver up to 200 kilograms to low Earth orbit. The company is currently targeting the second half of 2027 for the rocket’s inaugural flight. The Zephyr name is already trademarked within the aerospace sector by Airbus subsidiary AALTO, whose solar-powered High Altitude Platform Station aircraft bears the name. (6/12)

Canadian Government Awards EO Satellite Contracts to Calian, Kepler, MDA Space (Source: Via Satellite)
The Canadian government has signed a slew of new contracts as it looks to boost its capabilities in Earth Observation (EO). It has signed three contracts, valued at C$2.4 million ($1.7 million) in total, awarded to Calian, Kepler and MDA Space. These contracts will support the development of concepts for the systems used to control Canada’s new generation of EO satellites and manage their data on Earth. This funding complements the funding announced late last year for the satellite infrastructure in orbit. (6/12)

U.S. State Department Taps SpaceX’s Starlink for Two-Year Disaster Response Initiative (Source: Via Satellite)
The U.S. Department of State signed a two-year agreement with SpaceX to utilize the Starlink satellite internet system to enhance international disaster preparedness and U.S. humanitarian response efforts worldwide. The effort aims to leverage Starlink’s LEO satellite technology to restore critical communications when crises and natural disasters damage infrastructure. The Department’s Bureau of Disaster and Humanitarian Response will coordinate with Starlink to provide rapid connectivity to emergency responders, humanitarian organizations following disasters, and people in need. (6/12)

The Critical Robot Arm on the ISS isn't Working Properly, but NASA Has a Plan to Fix It (Source: Space.com)
One of the space station's robot arms, crucial for catching cargo ships and doing a share of maintenance duties, is offline for at least a few weeks for repairs. Canadarm2, which just passed 25 years of service in April on the International Space Station (ISS), will require a spacewalk to fix an apparently broken part that seized up during routine work on May 27, NASA said in a blog post Wednesday (June 10). The arm is in a stable spot, but it is awaiting help from spacewalking astronauts on June 30 — the day before Canada Day, a national holiday in that country. (6/12)

Aligning Ariane 6 Production with Demand (Source: Space Intel Report)
European governments spent years trying to figure out how to stimulate demand for their Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket so that, even it it’s not profitable, its losses could be kept to a level acceptable to its contributing nations. That script has been turned on its head. The challenge now is whether Ariane 6 can increase its production rate in time to capture the coming demand from European governments, especially in the next few years. (6/12)

What the Space Force Is Eyeing for Its Future GPS Enterprise? (Source: Air and Space Forces)
After years of talking about the issue and a few fits and starts, the Space Force is refining its plans to bolster its legacy GPS architecture amid fears that its satellites and ground systems are increasingly vulnerable to threats like jamming, spoofing, and even kinetic attack. The service has equipped its newest GPS satellites with more powerful military signals and defenses against signal jamming and spoofing.

The Space Force’s roadmap for modernizing the system includes near-term upgrades to the constellation, including fielding 12 more GPS IIIF satellites, part of what the service refers to as its “Generation 3” architecture. Those spacecraft, expected to start launching in 2028, will be equipped with stronger signals and accuracy than previous spacecraft. Barnas said the service is weighing potential modifications to those satellites, including adding an antenna to strengthen its military signal. (6/10)

Policies Drive Sharp Reduction in Small Business and Set-Aside Contracting (Source: FNN)
A new report from the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee found since January 2025, when President Trump took office, agencies have reduced spending with small business contractors by $47 billion, and more than 6,500 firms have left the federal market.

They not only found total dollars going to small firms dropped over the last year, but every socio-economic group from small disadvantaged to women-owned to Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) to veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small firms have felt the impact of the Trump administration’s policies. Contract set-aside dollars to small businesses in HUBZone firms are down 31%. Set-aside contract dollars to firms in the 8(a) program are down 29%. Contract set-aside dollars to women-owned small businesses are down 24%. Contracts to veteran-owned and service disabled veteran-owned small firms are down by 11%. (6/11)

Boom Supersonic Targeting Late 2027 for First Deliveries of Ground Turbines (Source: Aerospace America)
Boom Supersonic is targeting “the end of next year” to ship the first five units of its Superpower ground turbines, founder and CEO Blake Scholl said at AIAA AVIATION Forum. “There’s a lot of work left to do to make that happen, but nothing impossible,” he said in a Thursday morning keynote. (6/11)

Why Orbital Data Centers Are Harder Than Silicon Valley Thinks (Source: IEEE Spectrum)
The cost of delivery and space hardening of the payload makes general-purpose space-based data centers difficult to justify economically today, despite the fact that data-center builders in many regions are scrambling for electric power. However, there are niche applications where the much higher costs of computing in space could be justified. (6/12)

ESA Eyes Ariane 6 For Human Spaceflight (Source: Aviation Week)
As Europe pursues its goal of becoming more autonomous in space, ESA is exploring whether its Ariane 6 rocket could take astronauts to orbit. Ariane 6 is Europe’s flagship heavy-lift rocket that has been used to deploy spacecraft for two years. While it is not currently human-rated, “this is something that we're investigating right now,” ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said.

A final assessment has not been made, but Aschbacher was upbeat about the prospects. “The chances are pretty high, or pretty good, that this can be materialized,” he told reporters at the ILA Berlin air show. It would require some adaptation of the rocket, he acknowledged. (6/11)