June 27, 2026

Flight Ticket Initiative Aims to Foster European Launch Industry (Source: Douglas Messier)
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission are inviting commercial launch providers to apply to the European Flight Ticket Initiative, which would allow companies to bid to launch satellites into orbit. If accepted into the program, launch providers would compete to launch In-orbit Demonstration and Validation (IOD/IOV) satellites that test new space technologies in orbit. Funding for the launches will be provided through the EU Horizon Europe program and ESA’s ‘Boost!’ program. (6/27)

Space Weather Could Bust the AI Boom (Source: Space News)
Space weather such as solar storms can disrupt electrical systems on Earth, and it can damage satellites or alter their orbits, creating downstream problems. As the AI industry looks to megaconstellations of orbital data center as a solution to the power and environmental constraints of terrestrial data centers, leaders must take space weather seriously. That's the warning issued by Scott McIntosh, vice president of space operations for Lynker Space and former deputy director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

"As that dependence grows, the grid’s resilience against space weather becomes both an economic and a national security imperative... Another major solar storm will eventually strike. The companies building the future of AI should be among the loudest voices pushing to ensure our energy infrastructure is ready for it." (6/27)

Space Command's Second Redstone Facility (Source: Axios)
After a leadership event on Redstone Arsenal this week, U.S. Space Command is taking control of its second facility there. Space Command continues to gain momentum in its move from Colorado Springs to Huntsville as it plans construction of its permanent headquarters. (6/26)

Blue Origin Cleared Debris From LC-36 New Glenn Explosion (Source: MyNews 13)
Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp says reconstruction has started at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex 36 after a New Glenn rocket exploded on the pad last month during a test fire. This week, Limp shared a video on X that showed crews working at Launch Complex 36 to repair the damage caused by the New Glenn explosion. He said it only took nine days to clear all the debris from the site. (6/26)

FTC Gives Musk the OK to Acquire Startup Mesh Optical Technologies (Source: Tech Crunch)
Elon Musk is eyeing an acquisition of Mesh Optical Technologies, a startup founded by three former SpaceX engineers last year developing hardware for fast data center communications. The potential acquisition, which was revealed in a Federal Trade Commission filing and first reported by Bloomberg, confirmed the agency expedited its antitrust review. Mesh Optical came out of stealth in February when it announced that it raised a $50 million Series A led by Thrive Capital.

Before founding Mesh Optical, the startup’s co-founders, Travis Brashears, Cameron Ramos, and Serena Grown-Haeberli, developed the optical communication links that keep thousands of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites interconnected. (6/26)

NASA’s Cheapest Missions Deliver Less Scientific Bang for the Buck (Source: Science)
A sweeping analysis of NASA missions suggests its cheapest spacecraft rarely deliver breakthrough science, raising questions as the agency considers relying more on low-cost missions amid budget pressures. Researchers at the Planetary Society analyzed 90 NASA science missions across astrophysics, heliophysics, and planetary science that launched since 1994 and began science operations by 2023.

They compared the missions’ inflation-adjusted life cycle costs with their scientific output, as measured by papers cited more than 100 times. The most expensive missions generally produced the most highly cited papers. Missions costing less than $100 million produced few such papers. In fact, all NASA planetary science missions below that threshold didn’t publish any highly cited science results—a sign that many of the spacecraft had failed. (6/26)

India Tests Next Generation Rocket Engine at 88% Thrust (Source: CNBC)
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has taken a significant step towards upgrading its heaviest operational rocket, successfully test-firing a semi-cryogenic engine powerhead at 175 tonnes of thrust, the highest level achieved in the program so far. The test, the eighth in a series, was conducted on June 24 at the ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC). It ran the engine's Power Head Test Article (PHTA) — a configuration that includes all engine systems except the thrust chamber — at 88% of the SE2000 engine's full rated capacity. Previous tests in the series had topped out at 60% thrust, or 120 tonnes. (6/27)

SaxaVord Spaceport Tells Unst Folk to Apply for Local Resident Passes to Access Homes During Launch Windows (Source: Shetland Times)
Spaceport officials have told people in Unst they will need to apply for “local residents passes” to access their homes during launch windows. In a letter sent out last month, SaxaVord Spaceport informed residents about temporary traffic regulation orders (TTROs) which will be in place for “several hours at a time” at the north of the island. “Managed control points” will be in effect during the launch windows—the first of which could potentially take place as soon as next month.

External affairs manager Elizabeth Johnson said the restrictions are essential for ensuring public safety and the secure operation of the launch. The spaceport has permission to carry out as many as 30 launches per year, although it will take several years to build up to that level. (6/27)

Army Establishes New Branch Dedicated to Space Operations (Source: Defense Scoop)
The Army announced Thursday that it has officially created a branch for soldiers specializing in space operations. The new Space Operations Branch will consolidate the service’s space professionals — including Army Space Operations Officers and enlisted Tactical Space Operations Specialists under the military occupational specialty (MOS) 40D created in 2025. The decision elevates space ops from a functional area to basic branch, formalizing the career within the service. (6/26)

Japan to Rename Air Force in Nod to Growing Space Capabilities (Source: Breaking Defense)
Japan’s government has confirmed it will rename its air force to reflect a broadened mission set to include outer space. The upper house of Japan’s parliament approved a bill today to rename the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) to the Japan Aerospace Self-Defense Force. The name change will come into effect at the beginning of the next Japanese fiscal year, which starts on April 1, 2027, according to the JASDF. (6/26)

$1 Billion Needed to Repair KSC's Stressed Infrastructure (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
NASA officials have been shouting for years more money is needed to support infrastructure of a souped-up launch rate on the Space Coast, and now it has an audit confirming things are bad, and could get worse. NASA’s Office of the Inspector General identified needs at both Kennedy Space Center and the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. While both are in need of help, the situation at KSC is already crumbling and the OIG warns a potential deal breaker for the agency’s Artemis plans. KSC alone needs $1 billion to address its shortcomings and so far has only about $250 million set aside to help allay the needs.

Those funds will go to many of the things detailed in the new audit, including beginning work on an electrical grid upgrade and dealing with the increase in wastewater from increased activity. "The sewer lines are as valuable as the launch pad,” said Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R-FL).

“At Kennedy, common use launch infrastructure that the Center and government and commercial partners use to provide electrical power, gas supply and distribution, and transportation to launch pads is in poor condition and lacks the capacity to support growing needs,” NASA's audit reads. The electrical grid problems are among the most critical. Some of its issues result from hardware installed in the 1960s, with collapsed duct banks that prevent easy electrical line replacement, as well as corrosion on transformers. (6/26)

SpaceX Might Have To Acquire T-Mobile For As Much As $320 Billion To Break The Carrier-Led Chokehold Over Terrestrial Spectrum (Source: WCCF Tech)
The idea that SpaceX might acquire one of the so-called 'Big Three' carriers in the US is getting floated on a weekly basis now. SpaceX recently acquired around 65 MHz of nationwide, exclusive-use, contiguous spectrum for $19.6 billion, divided into three distinct bands.

But apart from the relatively limited AWS-3, the bulk of SpaceX's existing terrestrial spectrum is not supported by most existing cellphones (AWS-4 and H-Block). What's more, OEMs like Apple, Samsung, and Google are unlikely to make the effort to bridge this compatibility gap unless SpaceX has substantial skin in the game, so to say.

At the same time, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have refused to enter into a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) agreement with SpaceX as they feel eminently threatened by the satellite giant's ambitions. Without an MVNO with one of these three carriers, SpaceX has no easy path to gaining access to the correct terrestrial spectrum in bulk quantities to power its planned direct-to-cell services. (6/26)

Germany: Europe is Key to US Space Success (Source: Times of India)
Germany has a strong reminder for America and it is that the United States of America needs Europe to go to outer Space. In an interview to Politico, German Space Minister Dorothee Bar said, "Germany and Europe provide critical key technologies" for U.S. space missions. "That is why we can confidently say: without us, it cannot be done." She added pointing to European-built technology used in NASA's missions as proof that Europe still has leverage in the new space race. “There are clear mutual dependencies,” she said. (6/23)

Musk-Connected Company Buys Land, Water Infrastructure Before Texas County’s SpaceX Tax Vote (Source: KBTX)
Documents show WIT TECH LLC, a company connected to Elon Musk, purchased six parcels of land in Grimes County on May 27, 2026. The acquisitions include critical water infrastructure, a three-acre parcel containing a pump station on the Navasota River, and a one-acre parcel consisting of the river itself. This happened one week before Grimes County commissioners voted on June 4th to approve a 100% tax abatement for the SpaceX Terafab project, a deal worth up to $119 billion.

On May 5th, SpaceX announced it was potentially bringing its massive Terafab chip manufacturing center to Grimes County. Three of the parcels sit directly on or adjacent to Gibbons Creek, a major water source in the area. Documents show WIT TECH LLC purchased a three-acre parcel containing a pump station on the Navasota River. Right next to it, it bought a one-acre parcel that consists of the river itself and what appears to be a low dam. The deed explicitly references river pumps. This wasn’t just land acquisition. This was a water infrastructure acquisition.

A semiconductor manufacturing facility the size of Terafab requires enormous amounts of water for cooling and processing. The strategic positioning of these purchases, particularly the acquisition of the Navasota River pump station and direct river access, suggests SpaceX was securing critical water infrastructure before publicly announcing the project to Grimes County. These heavy-duty pumps have drawn water directly from the Navasota River and piped it to the Gibbons Creek basin, a critical backup system for the area’s water supply. (6/26)

Embry‑Riddle Professor Spies Stellar System’s Orbit Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (Source: ERAU)
A massive star locked in orbit with an unknown object became a source of fascination for Dr. Pragati Pradhan, assistant professor of Physics and Astronomy at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University. The stellar system, known as IGR J16318-4848, has been shrouded in mystery since its discovery in 2003, due to the thick clouds of gas and dust surrounding it. Astronomers know one member of the pair is a giant star. But the identity of its companion — a compact object that is feeding on the star’s material — is unclear. “We think it’s a neutron star or a black hole. We don’t know for sure,” Pradhan said. (6/16)

Hegseth Reinstates Vaccine Mandate for Military, After Sicknesses and Death (Source: New York Post)
The Pentagon is once again requiring recruits across all branches of the military to receive flu vaccines, an exception to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s earlier decision to lift the military’s long-standing annual flu vaccine mandate. This reinstated mandate comes amid news of a flu outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. In recent weeks, at least 275 recruits have been diagnosed with influenza, and four have been hospitalized with the virus. The Air Force confirmed that a recruit died in a military hospital on June 16, but it is unclear if the loss is linked to the flu outbreak. (6/26)

Astronauts Report 'Observer' Sensation After Long Missions (Source: Space Daily)
Astronauts coming home from long stays on the International Space Station have, for years, described a strange perceptual aftertaste: a sense of watching their own lives from a half-step outside the frame. They sit at dinner with family and feel like a guest. They drive on a familiar street and feel like they’re piloting it. The room is loud and they are in it, but a part of them is hovering near the ceiling, taking notes. (6/26)

Two Approaches for Easing Solar Panel Development on the Moon (Source: Autonocion)
Blue Origin wants to stop shipping one of the heaviest things a Moon base needs and grow it on site instead. The company wants to make solar panels out of the dust already lying on the lunar surface, with nothing in the cargo hold: no panels, no glass, no wire. Dirt goes into a reactor, finished solar cells come out the far end. That used to be a slide in a conference deck. It is a lot closer to hardware now.

Blue Origin’s regolith-to-power system, called Blue Alchemist, cleared its Critical Design Review in September 2025, the engineering checkpoint that says a design is locked down enough to start building for real. The next step is a full demonstration in 2026, and there is a university team chasing the same prize from a completely different angle. Both are circling the one number that decides whether anyone ever lives up there: how much of this you have to launch from Earth.

Blue Origin’s approach is the maximalist one, making everything, silicon included, from scratch on the surface. A separate group of researchers thinks there is a faster way in. Their argument is that purifying silicon is the hard, energy-hungry step, so why not skip it. Instead, they melt regolith into a rough “moonglass” and use that as both the base and the protective layer, then ship up only the active ingredient: an ultrathin film of perovskite, a cheap crystal that is very good at turning light into electricity. (6/25)

Space Force Seeks Fresh Bidders for Satellite-Control Antennas (Source: Space News)
The Space Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office earlier this month issued a pre-solicitation under the Satellite Communication Augmentation Resource program, known as SCAR, seeking industry proposals for electronically steered phased-array antennas that can supplement the military’s aging Satellite Control Network. (6/25)

Austrian Startup Readies for First Launch of Microgravity Pods (Source: Aerospace America)
When SpaceX’s next rideshare mission lifts off, among the payloads onboard will be a cubesat containing four soda-can-sized pods that represent an Austrian startup’s first step toward making microgravity as accessible as terrestrial mail service is today. Tumbleweed is among the handful of companies developing spacecraft meant to loiter in low-Earth orbit for extended periods, allowing customers to utilize the microgravity environment for research, manufacturing and other purposes. (6/25)

Mitsubishi Electric Contracts MDA Space for Digital Payload for Japanese Defense Satellite (Source: Via Satellite)
MDA Space secured a significant contract to support a next-generation defense communications satellite for Japan. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has contracted the Canadian manufacturer to build the digital payload, antennas, and various subsystems for a communications satellite that will replace Japan’s Kirameki-2 milsatcom satellite. (6/25)

What Time is it on the Moon? The US and China Disagree (Source: Space.com)
The U.S. and China, the two largest space powers, disagree on what time it is on the moon. That's a problem because experts say satellites from one country will be unable to coordinate with spacecraft from the other during future space missions — which could risk accidents. The White House has tasked NASA with establishing Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC) as a universal time on the moon, which would set the standard for NASA's LunaNet satellite system. But China has other ideas.

China's Chang'e Program, named after the Goddess who flew from the Earth to the moon in Chinese folklore, is the only space program with active lunar relay satellites, Queqiao-1 and Queqiao-2. These relay satellites are the first basis of a moon-wide GPS system meant for future space missions could rely on, meaning they compete with NASA's LunaNet — and because of the way GPS works, these satellites will need a standardized time situation.

While the U.S. surpasses China in terms of total space missions, the relay satellites could give China the edge when it comes to establishing the first lunar GPS system for future moon landings. China also hasn't agreed to use LTC for this system, raising the prospect that timekeeping standards could diverge. Private space-faring companies are also looking to governments to set international standards before spending money on expensive equipment. If China sets the standards before the US, private companies might gear with investments for Chinese customers, giving the country the edge over competitors. (6/25)

Weather Stream Releases First Imagery From GEMS2 Microwave Radiometer (Source: Space News)
Weather Stream, a Boulder, Colorado, commercial weather satellite operator, is collecting global atmospheric observations with its GEMS2-Amethyst satellite. Launched March 30 aboard the SpaceX Transporter 16 rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, GEMS2-Amethyst is equipped with a commercial microwave radiometer to provide 3D atmospheric temperature and moisture profiles. (6/26)

Quantum Space Gets CFO Before Going Public (Source: Quantum Space)
Quantum Space has hired a new chief financial officer as it prepares to go public. The company said Thursday it hired Adarsh Parekh, who previously worked as CFO at Terran Orbital and Sidus Space. Quantum Space announced plans earlier this month to go public through a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger. (6/26)

Eclipse Space to Support Satellite Design and Manufacturing (Source: Space News)
Former SpaceX engineers who helped build and scale Starlink have launched a startup aiming to deliver megaconstellations for governments and companies. Eclipse Space emerged from stealth Friday a year after its founding in Redmond, Washington. Eclipse's business model is to design satellites and set up the manufacturing process, and also work with regional partners to assemble them, giving customers more control and ownership without first having to build a SpaceX-scale organization. Eclipse sees a future where every nation, along with most major enterprises, will want their own constellations, rather than buy capacity on other systems, as satellite networks become increasingly critical infrastructure. (6/26)

SpaceX Rideshare Missions Curtailed? (Source: Space News)
Satellite companies are increasingly worried that SpaceX's rideshare program, which has offered low-cost access to space for several years, is going away. At least nine SpaceX partners and customers say that SpaceX is not accepting Transporter reservations beyond late 2028 or early 2029, and the manifest for the next couple of years is nearly full. The lack of capacity has left satellite companies scrambling to find a way to space, given limited and more expensive alternatives. While some look to SpaceX's Starship to provide new launch opportunities, others warn that the initial years of Starship operations may be focused on SpaceX's own programs, like Starlink and Artemis lunar landings. (6/26)

ISS Spacewalk to Replace Cadadarm2 Joint (Source: Space News)
A planned International Space Station spacewalk highlights concerns about the aging station. NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Chris Williams are scheduled to conduct a 6.5-hour spacewalk next Tuesday to replace a joint on the Canadarm2 robotic arm. NASA says the arm is designed for such repairs, with spare parts like replacement joints stored there. During a meeting of NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, though, members warned of reduced margins for spare parts for the ISS that had reached "alarming levels," as well as the health of the spacesuits needed for spacewalks. (6/26)

Boeing Using 702MP Bus for MUOS (Source: Space News)
Boeing will use its 702MP bus for two military communications satellites. The company said Thursday that the two Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellites it won as part of a $2 billion Space Force contract to build earlier this week will use that bus. The 702MP was introduced more than 15 years ago and is widely used for commercial communications satellites as well as the Space Force's Wideband Global Satcom satellites. The two new MUOS satellites are projected to launch in 2031 and 2032. (6/26)

L3Harris Expands in Arkansas for Propulsion Systems (Source: Defense Post)
L3Harris has broken ground on two facilities at its Arkansas Advanced Propulsion Facilities campus to support production of the US Army's PAC-3 propulsion systems. The expansion includes a 75,000-square-foot assembly facility, as well as a 70,000-square-foot case preparation facility, and will feature advanced manufacturing technologies such as automated X-ray inspection and fully automated casting. (6/25)

Artemis In-Space Refueling Drives Heavy-Lift Cadence Boost, a Challenge for Launchers and Spaceports (Source: Politico)
Buried in a footnote of a new report, NASA revealed just how challenging SpaceX’s plan is to land humans on the moon. The company needs more than a dozen Starship launches to refuel its lunar lander. Starship has launched once this year, leaving it just over two years to step on the gas and meet NASA’s goal of landing humans on the moon in 2028.

And beyond the complex engineering needed to pull off in-space refueling, NASA’s watchdog agency warns that Starship launches, coupled with other rocket companies’ projected launch rates, could overwhelm current launch pad infrastructure. (6/26)