June 24, 2026

SpaceX Launches Starfall Test (and Probably Something Else) on Tuesday From Florida (Source: Space News)
SpaceX launched a test flight of its Starfall reentry vehicle Tuesday. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 6:53 a.m. Eastern on what SpaceX called the Starfall Demo mission. The mission was designed to test the company's Starfall reentry vehicle, including demonstrating controlled flight in space and a reentry and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. SpaceX released few other details about the mission, including confirmation of a successful splashdown. The secretive nature of the launch and use of a droneship landing for the first stage despite the relatively small size of Starfall led to speculation that the launch also carried other, classified payloads. (6/24)

Sophia Space Picks Apex Bus for In-Space Computing (Source: Space News)
In-space computing company Sophia Space will use a satellite bus from Apex for its first mission. Sophia said Tuesday it plans to demonstrate its Thermal Integrated LEO Edge (TILE) compute module in 2027 in an Apex Nova bus. TILE is designed to enable passive computing alongside in-situ data processing, AI acceleration and edge computing for satellites, defense systems and commercial space stations. Sophia Space also raised $7 million in additional funding to accelerate that test flight, which had been scheduled for 2028. (6/24)

Loft Orbital Testing AI with JPL for Earth Science (Source: Space News)
Loft Orbital is working with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to test the use of AI on spacecraft to improve Earth science monitoring. The company said Tuesday it signed an agreement with JPL to use the lab's AI software on its spacecraft, showing how it can be used to analyze imagery in real time onboard. That analysis can be used to autonomously identify areas of interest and transmit that information to other spacecraft for followup observations. Tests of the AI system started this month with additional tests planned for 2027 and 2028, as Loft deploys a 10-satellite system equipped with sensors and AI computing systems. (6/24)

Ireland's Ubotica Raises $11 Million for Satellite AI (Source: Space News)
Ubotica Technologies, an Irish company focused on artificial intelligence for spacecraft, has raised $11 million. The company said the funding round, led by Act Venture Capital and Greencode Ventures, will help it expand commercial sales of its maritime-intelligence platform. That platform, Live Maritime Intelligence (LMI), was unveiled in April and is designed to help satellites analyze data and take action in orbit. (6/24)

Satellogic and SynMax Developing AI for Imaging Satellites (Source: Space News)
Satellogic is partnering with analytics firm SynMax to develop AI-powered intelligence products for its imaging satellites. The companies said Tuesday that SynMax will integrate data collected by Satellogic's satellites with additional intelligence sources through its analytics platform, aiming to help customers detect changes, close coverage gaps and identify potential threats more quickly. Satellogic operates 18 Earth observation satellites and is preparing to begin deploying its next-generation Merlin constellation, which will provide daily global coverage at a resolution of one meter. (6/24)

New Zealand Joins NATO Responsive Launch Program (Source: Radio New Zealand)
New Zealand is joining a NATO responsive launch program. The New Zealand government said it had obtained observer status for Starlift, a NATO program to pool launch resources to be able to rapidly launch spacecraft during a crisis. The country's military said that joining Starlift was a "low-cost, low-risk step" to keep the country aligned with allies and keep open opportunities for future involvement. New Zealand's participation in Starlift would likely involve Rocket Lab, but officials provided no specifics. (6/24)

Japan's Rakuten Partners with AST SpaceMobile for Satellite Expansion (Source: Yomiuri Shimbun)
Japanese mobile operator Rakuten Mobile plans to partner with AST SpaceMobile. The companies are planning a joint venture that would fund multiple AST SpaceMobile satellites, using them to provide direct-to-device services to Rakuten Mobile customers. The companies did not disclose financial details of the partnership. (6/24)

Boeing Wins $2 Billion Contract for Space Force Commsats (Source: Space News)
Boeing won a contract worth up to $2 billion to build two next-generation military communications satellites for the U.S. Space Force. The contract announced Tuesday covers the design, development, production and testing of two satellites for the Mobile User Objective System, or MUOS, the military's primary narrowband communications constellation operating in geostationary orbit.

Often described as a cellphone network in space, the system allows users equipped with relatively small terminals to communicate far beyond the reach of terrestrial networks. Lockheed Martin built the five MUOS satellites currently operating, and competed with Boeing for this contract. The new satellites are scheduled for delivery by 2035. (6/24)

BAE to Build Imaging Satellites for Vantor (Source: Space News)
BAE Systems will build new imaging spacecraft for Vantor. The companies announced Wednesday that BAE Systems will build two Vantage satellites, capable of providing imagery at a resolution of 20 centimeters. The Vantage satellites will enter service by the end of the decade. The award returns a familiar name to Vantor’s supply chain. Before its acquisition by BAE Systems in 2024, Ball Aerospace built DigitalGlobe’s Earth-observation satellites, including WorldView-1, WorldView-2 and WorldView-3. Ball supplied the spacecraft buses, imaging instruments and camera systems. DigitalGlobe later became part of Maxar, then split off to become Vantor. (6/24)

Germany's OHB Raises $557.6 Million in Stock Sale, Supporting RFA and Other Ventures (Source: Space News)
OHB is raising about half a billion euros in a stock sale to fund expansion and potential acquisitions. The company announced this week it would sell shares to raise 490.2 million euros ($557.6 million) after expenses. The stock sale will increase the number of shares available on the public markets; previously, nearly all the shares were owned by the Fuchs family that founded the company and private equity firm KKR. OHB said the capital raised from the sale would allow it to capitalize on growing opportunities, particularly on civil and defense space activities in Europe. The funds will also help Rocket Factory Augsburg, a launch startup that OHB owns 65% of, as it prepares for its first launch later this year and development of upgraded vehicles. (6/24)

SpaceConnect Association to Support Non Geostationary Satellite Operators (Source: Space News)
A new trade association seeks to help the NGSO satellite industry, but is missing its largest player. The SpaceConnect Association, announced Wednesday, was founded by Amazon along with Globalstar, Iridium and Telesat. The organization says that it will work to advance policies to help companies like those developing non-geostationary orbit satellite systems. That includes agenda items for next year's World Radio Communication Conference and concerns about the EU Space Act. Notably absent from the group is SpaceX, by far the largest NGSO satellite operator. The group said that SpaceX is welcome to join. (6/24)

Hegseth: $1.5 Trillion DoD Budget Crucial for US Economic Stability (Source: New York Post)
SecDef Pete Hegseth has emphasized the need for significant defense spending to maintain America's economic strength, supporting President Trump's proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget and highlighting efforts to pass a financial audit and reduce non-priority spending. "If America loses its unquestioned military edge, no amount of fiscal austerity can maintain this nation's economic health," Hegseth writes. (6/23)

A US Military Exercise in Space Got Underway with Barely Anyone Noticing (Source: Ars Technica)
Victus Haze is the US military’s latest responsive space mission. The Space Force announced plans for the mission in 2024 when it selected Rocket Lab and True Anomaly to build and launch two satellites into low-Earth orbit. At a high level, the idea was to launch a small satellite built by True Anomaly first, posing as a satellite from a potential adversary, like China or Russia. Rocket Lab was supposed to have a satellite on standby to go up and inspect True Anomaly’s spacecraft, ready to launch on short notice once military officials gave the order. The objective of the Victus Haze mission is to demonstrate how the military and its commercial partners might be able to quickly go up and assess a threat in orbit. (6/22)

Former SES Exec John-Paul Hemingway to Lead Vast’s Satellite Business (Source: Via Satellite)
SES’s former CCO John-Paul Hemingway has joined Vast to lead business development for Vast’s new satellite manufacturing business. Hemingway is now senior vice president of satellite business development and commercialization for Vast. (6/22)

California Startup Building Commercial GPS Alternative as Jamming Threats Grow (Source: AeroTime)
As GPS jamming and spoofing become a growing concern for aviation, defense and space operators, a California satellite startup is developing a low-Earth-orbit navigation network designed to provide a commercial backup that is harder to jam. Xona Space Systems is developing Pulsar, a positioning, navigation and timing constellation that differs from GPS because its satellites will operate much closer to Earth. The company says the system is designed to provide high-accuracy location and timing services, including centimeter-level positioning. (6/22)

ISS De-Orbit Raises Concerns About Ocean Health Impacts (Source: Space.com)
NASA's plan to deorbit the ISS has stirred up a wave of reaction by a leading ocean conservation organization. The Ocean Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-headquartered group with a mission to improve global ocean health and the human relationship with the sea via carefully chosen strategies and projects, says the planned deorbit of the ISS "raises serious concerns for ocean health that the space community has not adequately grappled with," according to Mark Spalding, president of the foundation.

"There is a troubling structural gap in international law that the ISS de-orbit throws into sharp relief." Under the Space Liability Convention of 1972, if space debris falls on another nation's territory or damages property, Spalding said, the launching nation owes compensation - absolutely and without needing to prove fault. "But no equivalent protection exists for the ocean," he said.

"As a result, when space agencies have control over where debris falls, they aim for the high seas, and in doing so, they incur no legal obligation to pay for cleanup or environmental remediation," said Spalding. "The ocean and its creatures deserve the same protection that international law affords to national territories." (6/23)

Hidden Dark Force May Slow Cosmic Structure Growth, Not Speed it Up (Source: Phys.org)
Dark matter is often portrayed as a cosmic loner, interacting with itself and the rest of the universe only through gravity. But what if dark matter particles also exert a hidden force on one another? A new study explored this possibility and uncovered an unexpected result. While an additional attractive force does help dark matter particles cluster together, it does not necessarily produce the extra growth of cosmic structure that intuition would suggest. In fact, the opposite is usually the case. (6/23)

Europa’s Surface is Almost Too Clean (Source: Space Daily)
Europa, the ice-covered moon of Jupiter, has a problem that turns out to be a clue. Almost nothing has left a lasting mark on it. In a Solar System that has been pelting its planets and moons with rock and ice for four and a half billion years, an old surface should be crowded with impact craters. Europa’s is nearly bare. That absence is the whole story. If the craters are not there, the simplest reason is that the surface has not been around long enough to collect them.

Something keeps wiping it clean. To keep remaking a surface, a moon needs a source of energy, and Europa has a powerful one. Its orbit around Jupiter is slightly stretched, held that way by a steady gravitational tug-of-war with the neighbouring moons Io and Ganymede. As Europa travels that orbit, Jupiter’s enormous gravity flexes it, and the constant flexing generates heat inside the moon. (6/23)

Einstein Probe Detects Mysterious X-Ray Transient That Doesn't Fit Any Known Class (Source: Phys.org)
Astronomers have reported the discovery of an unusual X-ray transient detected by the Einstein Probe that does not fit any known class of cosmic explosions. On March 5, 2024, a space telescope called the Einstein Probe—designed to scan the sky for sudden X-ray flashes—caught a brief, never-before-seen source called EP240305a. It produced two brief X-ray flares, one right after the other, separated by about 200 seconds of quiet.

Researchers quickly pointed several telescopes at this source to gather more data in X-rays, infrared, optical and radio wavelengths. They noticed that the X-rays faded rapidly over the following days, while radio observations faded much more slowly over weeks, revealing evidence of an evolving jet. A faint, fading near-infrared source was spotted at the location, and there was no detection at optical wavelengths. (6/23)

NASA Awards Solutions for Federal Enterprise Procurement Contracts (Source: NASA)
NASA will begin processing the awards of multiple contracts for the Solutions for Enterprise‑wide Procurement (SEWP) VI Government-wide Acquisition Contract. The contract provides streamlined access to commercial products and services, including hardware, software, cloud services, cybersecurity tools, engineering and consulting services, and data intensive mission support capabilities. Click here. (6/23)

Ukranian Mobile Operator Kyivstar: We Have 6 Million Users of Starlink Mobile D2D Using 2×5 MHz; No Interference Issues (Source: Space Intel Report)
Ukrainian mobile network operator Kyivstar said it booked more than 5 million unique users in the first three months of using Starlink Mobile’s direct-to-device (D2D) service, with more than 9 million messages transmitted. The 2x 5MHz spectrum available for the service can support up to 2 million SMS users per day, including during blackouts, with a standard usage of up to 300,000 users per day. (6/23)

ESA Details Next Steps for Agency’s Gateway Contributions (Source: European Spaceflight)
ESA has made initial decisions on the future of its contributions to NASA’s Gateway space station after NASA “paused” the program. The agency largely expects to proceed with developing most of its planned Gateway hardware while awaiting the results of studies on how best to repurpose each element. ESA committed to providing three primary contributions to Gateway: the Lunar I-Hab habitation module, the Lunar View logistics and refueling module, and the Lunar Link communications system.

Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA’s director of human and robotic exploration, said work to develop I-Hab would continue until its critical design review, the last major design phase before full-scale manufacturing begins. The agency will then assess whether it can be repurposed. On Lunar View, Neuenschwander explained that the agency would “slow down the pace of activities.” The agency intends to “keep the key technologies required in order to go towards deep space exploration.” (6/23)

India to Share Rocket Tech to Hasten Development of Space Firms (Source: Bloomberg)
India said it plans to share its technology involving the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, the country’s most reliable rocket, to help speed up development of the local space industry. “We have released an expression of interest to transfer the technology of the PSLV rocket to the private sector,” Pawan Goenka, chairman of Indian National Space promotion and Authorization Centre, said in a recent interview. Only “companies that are majority owned and controlled by Indians” will qualify, he said. (6/22)

Military Expert Issues Warning About Australia’s Space Defenses (Source: News.com.au)
Chinese and Russian space weapons could leave Australia “deaf, dumb, and blind” at the beginning of a war, a military expert has warned. Dr Malcolm Davis from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said Australia’s enemies could target GPS satellites, leaving our forces unable to communicate and completely unaware of what’s happening on the battlefield. (6/23)

Australia Closer to Space Warfare as 16 Recruits Pass First Defense Space Command Training (Source: Nine.com)
Australia is one step closer to fighting the threat of space warfare as the first troops of a sophisticated new recruitment campaign earn their credentials. Sixteen recruits have graduated from the Defense Space Command’s inaugural training course as part of the government’s $10 billion investment into expanding the country’s capabilities over the next decade. (6/21)

Vandenberg Space Force Base Seeks Industry Partners to Revive Inactive Launch Complex (Source: EdHat)
The U.S. Space Force is looking for commercial partners to develop and operate a new small to medium rocket launch facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base, officials announced. Vandenberg has issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking launch service providers interested in financing, designing, constructing, and operating Space Launch Complex-9 (SLC-9), one of 11 currently inactive launch sites at the base. The selected company would enter into a real property use agreement to provide launch services for the Department of War, other federal agencies, and commercial customers. (6/22)

SpaceX Shares Eke Out a Gain to Snap Three Day Losing Streak (Source: Bloomberg)
SpaceX shares ended higher on Tuesday, snapping a three-day selloff that wiped out more than $600 billion from the Elon Musk-led rocket and satellite company’s market value. The stock gained 1% to close at $156.11 after a choppy session that saw shares slip as much as 4.8%, then jump 7.1% before paring much of that advance by market close. The volatility came amid a broad-based slide in technology and other high-momentum stocks after a selloff in Korean chipmakers stoked fears about the rally in companies involved in artificial intelligence. (6/23)

With Help From Florida's RS&H, Utah's Spaceport Ambitions Enter a New Phase (Source: Tech Buzz)
In a Senate Building at the State Capitol, a committee of policymakers, aerospace experts, transportation leaders, and economic development officials took a step that could reshape the state’s economic and aerospace future. The Utah Spaceport Exploration Committee, meeting for the ninth time since its creation under SB 62 in the 2025 legislative session, formally advanced into Phase Two of a state-commissioned study to identify where — and how — Utah might build a commercial spaceport. The answer, at least for now, comes down to two places: Delta and Green River.

Those two small, rural communities, separated by roughly 140 miles of high desert, survived a rigorous multi-criteria screening of seven candidate sites conducted by the committee’s consulting team, RS&H, a national aerospace infrastructure firm with six decades of spaceport work in its portfolio.

Founded in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1941, RS&H initially built its reputation designing military aviation facilities. By the 1960s, the firm had been selected to support NASA's piloted spaceflight infrastructure and U.S. Air Force missile programs. Over the decades, RS&H expanded into one of the country's leading aerospace infrastructure consultancies, working across airports, launch facilities, military installations, and commercial space projects. Today the company provides end-to-end spaceport consulting services. (6/19)

BRICS Space Agencies Meet in Bengaluru (Source: The Hindu)
The two day BRICS Heads of Space Agencies (HOSA) 2026 meet began on Tuesday in Bengaluru. India, as Chair of BRICS for 2026, is hosting HOSA and heads and senior representatives of the space agencies of the 11 BRICS member countries — Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates — are attending the meeting. The theme is ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability’. (6/23)

Final Meetings Planned for Texas' Concho Valley Spaceport Feasibility Study (Supported by Florida's RS&H) (Source: Concho Valley Homepage)
The Concho Valley Council of Governments is set to host its final two spaceport feasibility study meetings soon in separate counties, offering residents an opportunity to ask questions about the region-wide evaluation. The meetings come months after CVCOG was awarded grant funding from the Texas Space Commission “to conduct a regional feasibility study examining the potential for inland spaceport development." The council selected Florida's RS&H to lead and conduct the study, with the first public meeting held in February. (6/22)