July 12, 2026

What Is The Oldest Artificial Satellite Still Orbiting Earth? (Source: Slashgear)
The oldest one still orbiting Earth went up in 1958 and was actually the second successful satellite put into service by the United States. The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory built Vanguard 1 for the International Geophysical Year, an 18-month multinational Earth study. Vanguard 1's mission was to collect scientific data on Earth's atmosphere and how space would affect satellites.

It was also designed to demonstrate new technology, becoming the first orbital satellite powered by solar cells. The batteries on Vanguard 1 only lasted 20 days, but the solar cells continued to provide power until 1964. This marked a major milestone in the early days of U.S. space exploration and an important stage in the evolution of solar energy. (7/8)

NASA is Creating a Fifth State of Matter on the ISS (Source: Live Science)
A new upgrade to the International Space Station's (ISS) quantum laboratory is enabling NASA to probe the behavior of atoms further than ever before, the space agency has announced.

Combining the ISS's newly upgraded "Cold Atom Laboratory" with the near zero-gravity of low Earth orbit, scientists are attempting to understand the properties of so-called "ultracold" atoms in an environment impossible to replicate on Earth. The aim of the mission is to study how clouds of atoms behave at temperatures close to absolute zero (minus 459.67 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 273.15 degrees Celsius) — the coldest possible temperature in the universe, where atoms lose all their energy of motion. (7/10)

Researchers Design Crash-Resistant Locator Beacons for Nuclear Spacecraft (Source: Aerospace America)
Nuclear fission has emerged as an attractive option for propelling deep space missions to Mars and beyond. However, launching such spacecraft from Earth poses a potential safety risk — and a group of Chinese researchers believes it may have a solution. Researchers described their concept for a “Micro Black Box,” or MBB, that combines a satellite locator beacon and a flight data recorder.

This 4.5-kilogram device, they wrote, would allow space agencies to quickly track down nuclear materials lost in such incidents before the substances leak into the wider environment or harm people. And they are confident of its impact resistance because they have been firing prototypes into dirt and water using a piece of recoil-less weaponry called a Davis gun. (7/9)

Rocket Lab's Approach to Fairing Reuse (Source: Motley Fool)
Rocket Lab's approach, built for its upcoming medium-lift Neutron rocket, is different. The two fairing halves are hinged to the top of the first stage and never detach. Once the rocket climbs high enough, the halves swing open like a set of jaws -- the reason engineers nicknamed it the Hungry Hippo -- release the second stage and payload, then snap shut again in about 1.5 seconds. (7/11)

Could Permanent Magnets Protect Astronauts From Solar Storms? (Source: Phys.org)
Shielding astronauts from the deadly radiation they face is a central challenge for any designer of a deep-space crewed mission. Even relatively low levels of exposure over long periods can lead to everything from central nervous system damage to cancer. But current solutions, such as passive water shells or active superconducting magnets, have their own limitations.

To get around those, a team of researchers from Italy and Germany looks at the feasibility of using a permanent magnet (and its associated permanent magnetic field) to potentially block some of that radiation without the costs of competing technologies. They require continuous cryogenic cooling and a constant power supply for both the cooling system and the magnets themselves. (7/11)

National Space Intelligence Center Welcomes New Commander Amid Growing Threats (Source: Dayton Daily News)
The National Space Intelligence Center welcomed its third commander Thursday, July 9, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Col. Patrick Hamlin, a former squadron commander at the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (also at Wright-Patterson), took command of the NSIC during a change-of-command ceremony at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. (7/9)

In-Space Manufacturers Chart the Path to an Industrial Future (Source: Aerospace America)
Six companies gathered at an ISS National Laboratory technical session at ASCEND 2026 to describe their progress in in-space manufacturing, commercial space station development, and the computing and logistics infrastructure that will underpin a low Earth orbit (LEO) economy. Taken together, their presentations reflected an ecosystem still being built — but one with real hardware, real data, and real customers. Click here. (7/9)

AT&T May Be Left Out of the Starlink Deal Everyone Wants (Source: The Street)
For decades, the U.S. wireless market has operated like a private club. Three companies own the national networks, and everybody else, from Mint Mobile to your cable company’s phone plan, pays rent to get on them. That rent flows through a mobile virtual network operator agreement, known in the industry as an MVNO. The host carrier collects wholesale fees, and the renter gets nationwide coverage without spending tens of billions of dollars on spectrum and cell towers.

The unwritten rule of the club is simple. You rent to partners, never to predators. That rule is now being stress-tested by SpaceX. Wall Street has started handicapping which of the three landlords blinks first. On July 8, Wells Fargo gave its answer. The bank initiated coverage of AT&T with an underweight rating and an $18 price target, calling the carrier the least likely of the big three to cut a deal with SpaceX’s Starlink, and the most exposed if the satellite giant decides to compete head-on instead. (7/9)

SpaceX Announces Date for 13th Starship Launch (Source: KRGV)
SpaceX has set a date for its next target launch of Starship from Starbase in Texas. The target date for the 13th flight test is Thursday, July 16. As part of the test, SpaceX will set up a safety zone perimeter in coordination with law enforcement. That will include temporary closures of Highway 4 and Boca Chica Beach. The 90-minute launch window will open at 5:45 p.m. (7/11)

Startup Auriga Space Plans to Catapult Satellites Into Space (Source: Forbes)
Auriga Space which is developing a linear electromagnetic accelerator to catapult rockets to high altitudes, where their engines kick in to bring them to orbit. It essentially replaces the typical first stage of a rocket. Auriga has raised more than $12 million from investors and Department of Defense grants. Earlier this month, the company announced that it’s going to market with its Prometheus accelerator–not for bringing payloads into space, but for testing materials at hypersonic speeds. Axiom Materials has signed on as a pilot customer.

Auriga is also developing its technology for defense purposes, such as anti-drone weapons. And in the long run, Auriga aims to build a multi-kilometer accelerator that can deliver small satellites into orbit. (7/10)

Churn at Vaya Space with Workforce Layoffs (Source: SPACErePORT)
Space Coast-based Vaya has been developing hybrid-fuel rocket motor technology as the basis for its Dauntless launch vehicle that will launch from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, sharing Launch Complex 13 with Phantom Space, but also pursuing offshore and inland launch sites. The company recently has pivoted toward military missile motor production, having won DoD SBIR work for hypersonic propulsion. Last month the company laid off over a dozen engineering and leadership personnel. (7/10)

Scientists Sounding the Alarm Over Hidden Objects Threatening Critical Satellites (Source: The Debrief)
For many years, scientists have been tracking even the tiniest fragments of space debris orbiting our planet to keep tabs on whether these small leftovers from decades of spaceflight might become a problem, whether for astronauts or for populations here on Earth. Now, in new research, scientists say they have uncovered dozens of previously undetected fragments of space debris orbiting high above Earth, revealing a hidden population of tiny objects that some liken to a “potential minefield” in space that could pose a growing hazard to some of the world’s most important satellites.

Close to 80 percent of these newly detected objects had been absent from catalogs available to the public that track such debris, meaning that there could be even more unrecognized leftovers from past space missions circling the Earth than experts realize. (7/9)

LEGO Reveals Hubble Space Telescope Icons Set Coming August 1 (Source: CollectSpace)
The Hubble Space Telescope has been revealing the building blocks of the cosmos for more than 35 years. Now, it is its turn to be made up of toy bricks. The LEGO Icons Hubble Space Telescope is a 1,252-piece kit aimed at adult LEGO fans. Set to be released on Aug. 1 for $139.99, the set creates a desktop model roughly to scale with the included astronaut minifigure. (7/10)

The High Financial Stakes Behind the Modern Super Heavy Lift Launch Vehicles (Source: SpaceQ)
“It is too early to tell if the SHL launch vehicle will result in a boom for an audacious space race or a bust for a space economy where existing and more agile rockets succeed,” concludes an Aerospace Corp. report on super-heavy-lift launchers, including Starship and New Glenn.

If these oversized rockets prove financially viable, they might catalyze new markets that impact everyday life. To ensure their cargo holds stay full, rocket builders are relying heavily on the deployment of vast satellite internet networks. Amazon has already secured up to 27 launches on Blue Origin’s New Glenn for its internet constellation. Meanwhile, SpaceX has tied the future of Starship to an ambitious expansion of its space network. The company is planning a constellation of up to one million satellites to operate enormous orbital data centers.

The report compares this strategy to the shipping and commercial aviation industries. Ultra-large container ships successfully lowered the cost of moving ocean freight because they integrated perfectly into standardized global supply chains across land, rail, and sea. By contrast, the Airbus A380 jumbo jet struggled because its enormous size introduced unexpected operational complexities and costs. Point-to-point air travel replaced the hub-and-spoke model, leaving the giant planes with few profitable routes. (7/10)

SpaceX Brands Data Center Satellites As Starmind (Source: Aviation Week)
SpaceX plans to operate its future data center satellites under the name Starmind. The company detailed its plans for the data center constellation in late January in a regulatory filing, saying it may deploy as many as 1 million satellites into low Earth orbit as part of the project. (7/10)

SpaceX Launches Friday Starlink Mission From California (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launched its latest batch of Starlink satellites Friday night from Vandenberg Space Force Base using its second most-flown Falcon 9 first stage booster. The Starlink 17-48 mission added another 24 broadband internet satellites to the company’s low Earth orbit constellation. SpaceX currently has more than 10,700 spacecraft within its constellation. (7/11)

The Space Industry is Weighing Ambitious Hiring Against Heritage (Source: Space News)
But now a growing swell of young ventures is attracting millions of dollars to pioneer some of the most ambitious space markets — some with little or even no prior space experience. Take Orbital, a Los Angeles-based startup founded by electric scooter entrepreneur Euwyn Poon earlier this year. The company recently raised $5 million for plans to deploy more than 100,000 orbital data centers. Poon has no space experience, though he plans to assemble a team of experts from SpaceX and others who have built and flown spacecraft at scale.

“Hiring from legacy companies is indeed a key way to acquire heritage indirectly,” said Gabriel Deville, a manager at research firm Novaspace. Deville pointed to how Blue Origin hired extensively out of United Launch Alliance and other legacy space companies to acquire knowledge, while former SpaceX engineers have seeded many others.

“Still, acquiring talent is only the first step of developing a company’s own knowledge base, before the slow process of development and production leading to heritage and credibility,” he said. Heritage is widely regarded as key for most space markets, Analysys Mason principal analyst Dallas Kasaboski said, especially if hardware is involved and particularly for the high-stakes launch sector. (7/10)

Space Capitalism Needs More Than a Bull Market (Source: Space News)
By most measures, commercial space is thriving. Washington produced a flurry of activity over the past year: two major executive orders, a raft of directives, and “space superiority” elevated to official doctrine. More recently, Wall Street answered in kind when SpaceX went public in the largest initial offering in history. The public and private sectors agree that the commercial space age has arrived.

But there are still major barriers to space capitalism. Despite capital owners’ confidence and the government’s directives, the rules of the game are not settled. Policy changes mean little until and unless they result in durable institutional change. And market optimism is no substitute for long-term strategic thinking.

Consider the policy record. Last August’s executive order streamlines licensing for launch and reentry. That’s genuinely good. It clears regulatory underbrush, lowering costs at the margin. However, we need legislation, not executive discretion, to secure lasting gains. December’s order did well to emphasize space as a strategic imperative. But that was already obvious to anyone paying attention. The binding constraints — especially security of celestial property rights and ambitions to develop the space industrial base — haven’t moved much. (7/10)

Supreme Court Ruling on Mail-in Ballots Ensures Astronauts Can Vote From Space  — or Anywhere Else (Source: Space.com)
A new ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court protecting voter rights could extend to astronauts living and working in space and training internationally, their families, and the multitude of NASA workers who travel to support their missions.

On Monday (June 29), the Supreme Court ruled that mail-in ballots can be counted toward a total vote even if they arrive after election day, as long as they are postmarked by election day. The ruling followed efforts by the Trump Administration to place restrictions on mail-in voting. In a new statement, the nonpartisan activist organization Astronauts for America spoke out in support of the Supreme Court's decision, which supports absentee voting. (7/10)

Earth Observation Satellites Pass Telecom in European Space Industry Sales (Source: Space News)
European space industry sales rebounded in 2025 after a contraction in 2024, Eurospace reported in its latest Facts and Figures report, presented July 7. The growth is driven in large part by military acquisition of Earth observation satellites, which are now the largest revenue-producing space sector for the continent. (7/10)

NASA Selects Seven Companies To Enhance Mobility On Mars (Source: Aviation Week)
NASA has selected seven companies eligible for contract awards to advance robotic surface mobility on Mars under the Mars Exploration Program's Science Transport and Robotic Innovation for Deployment and Exploration (STRIDE) initiative. Under STRIDE, the agency seeks to support the development of innovative robotic mobility systems that may enable future Mars missions to access more challenging terrain, travel greater distances, and investigate scientifically valuable regions that are difficult to reach with current mobility systems.

The STRIDE awards have a total potential value of approximately $17 million with a period of work targeted to begin in Fall of 2026. Contract awardees are: AeroVironment, Arlington, Virginia; Astrobotic, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Venturi Astrolab (Astrolab), Hawthorne, California; Ground Control Robotics, Atlanta, Georgia; Honeybee Robotics, Longmont, Colorado; Intuitive Machines, Houston, Texas; and MEI Technologies, Webster, Texas. (7/10)

An Orbiting Disco Ball Gave Einstein’s Theory its Most Precise Test Yet (Source: Ars Technica)
Measuring how much the Earth twists spacetime as it rotates has been much more challenging because our pale blue dot of a planet is millions of times lighter than a typical black hole and rotates rather slowly. But now, a team of astronomers reports the most accurate measurement of the terrestrial Lense-Thirring effect to date. Their work brings our uncertainty down from a few percentage points to just 0.2 percent. And they did it with a satellite that looks like a cross between a golf ball and a disco globe. (7/10)

ESA’s First Chemical Propulsion Lab Now Operational (Source: ESA)
ESA has officially kicked off testing at its new Chemical Propulsion Laboratory (CPL). The CPL is ESA’s first dedicated facility for testing small propulsion systems for space missions. The CPL is a combined green propellant chemistry lab and engine test cell that will support the growing need for safe and accessible propulsion testing infrastructure and training. Designed specifically for propulsion systems used on small satellites and other small missions rather than large launch vehicle engines, the facility offers rapid-turnaround testing in a safe and regulated environment. (7/8)

Starship Booster 20 Completes Record Duration Static Fire (Source: NSF)
SpaceX ignited all 33 engines on Booster 20 for a record 24 seconds. With the static fire completed, SpaceX is pushing hard to fly Flight 13 as soon as possible, with notices popping up for next week and the week after. Booster 20 is now expected to rollback, before both the booster and Ship 40 head out to the launch site to join forces for launch.

The previous record duration for a Superheavy Booster static fire was on August 11, 2022, when Booster 7 static-fired a single engine for 20 seconds. That static fire was without a water deluge system and was used to test the brand-new autogenous pressurization system. Going straight to a 33-engine static fire on only the second Block 3 booster shows the confidence SpaceX now has in its hardware and software for the booster and the launch pad. (7/10)

JAXA Successfully Lands Test Rocket for Future Reuse (Source: Jiji.com)
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, successfully landed a small test rocket on Saturday, with the goal of reusing rockets in the future. At its Noshiro testing center in northeastern Japan, the RV-X test rocket slowly landed after rising about 11 meters and moving horizontally while maintaining a vertical position during its 40-second flight. JAXA found no major issues with the test rocket after the landing. (7/11)

Gaganyaan: The Mission That Could Change How the World Sees India’s Space Ambitions (Source: WION)
India is preparing to launch its first human spaceflight that could place India among a select group of nations that have independently sent humans into space. So far, only the United States, Russia and China have achieved that milestone. While a rocket carrying a satellite only needs to protect a machine, a spacecraft carrying astronauts has to ensure human lives remain safe. Having a significance far beyond the launch pad, Gaganyaan is a test of whether India can move from mastering robotic missions to building the much more demanding ecosystem required to keep humans alive beyond Earth.

The mission, approved by the Union Cabinet in 2018 with an initial budget of ₹9,023 crore, aims to send Indian astronauts into a low Earth orbit of around 400 kilometers and bring them back safely. The spacecraft will be launched using India’s heaviest operational rocket, the human-rated Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3), after extensive testing and validation. (7/10)

Starlink Deployments on Record Pace (Source: The Verge)
SpaceX is currently ahead of last year’s record-setting pace for Starlink satellite deployments. SpaceX launched 1,589 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit in the first half of 2026, compared to 1,489 satellites deployed at the same point in 2025. To put these numbers into perspective, Amazon’s fledgling Leo service has only deployed about 400 satellites over the last 15 months, en route to a total planned constellation of 3,232 satellites. In other words, SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rocket is capable of deploying one Leo-sized space internet constellation every year. (7/9)

Fire Damages NASA Langley Waste-to-Energy Facility in Virginia (Source: WAVY)
An overnight two-alarm fire damaged the NASA Steam Plant in Hampton, and officials are still investigating to determine its cause. “We will not have a definitive answer today, but we hope that there may be more information to report on Friday,” the Hampton Division of Fire and Rescue said Thursday afternoon. The roof of the steam plant was burned through and will most likely have to be replaced, and the cranes were badly damaged, though it is not known at this point whether they will have to be completely replaced.

The Hampton/NASA Steam Plant is an award-winning facility that serves Hampton residents, the City of Poquoson, five federal installations, and the private sector. Completed in 1980 in a partnership with the federal government, the plant burns municipal trash to generate steam, and has conserved millions of gallons of fuel oil, acres of landfill space, and saved the city millions of dollars in disposal costs. (7/9)

ESA Calls for Ideas to Give Space Robots Embodied Intelligence (Source: ESA)
Launched on 30 June 2026 through the Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP), the campaign invites researchers and industry to submit early-stage concepts, feasibility studies, enabling technologies and mission concepts that bring embodied intelligence to autonomous space robotics. The campaign targets three scenarios where this kind of autonomy is needed.

The first is autonomous exploration: long-traverse science missions, surveys of permanently shadowed regions, and opportunistic science that requires a robot to spot something interesting and act on it without waiting for instructions. The second is fully autonomous in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), covering everything from prospecting and excavating regolith to coordinating teams of specialized robots building surface infrastructure. The third is support for long-term human presence, where robots work alongside astronauts – inspecting habitats, maintaining life-support systems, and operating safely in close proximity to people. (7/10)

Russian Fregat Upper Stage Delivered to Vostochny Spaceport (Source: TASS)
Roscosmos announced that the Fregat upper stage has been airlifted to the Vostochny spaceport for subsequent testing. An AN-124-100 aircraft transported the Fregat to Vostochny’s airport, after which it will be moved to the spacecraft assembly and testing facility. There, it will be installed at its designated workstation for further evaluation. (7/10)

On the Brink: Ukraine War Weakening Russia's Space Program Along with Economy (Source: SPACErePORT)
Russia’s war in Ukraine has significantly weakened its civil space program. Western sanctions have cut Roscosmos off from critical electronics, manufacturing equipment, and commercial customers. Reduced revenues and wartime budget priorities have delayed programs such as GLONASS modernization, lunar exploration, and scientific missions.

The war has accelerated Russia’s technological isolation and reduced its role in the global space market. Cooperation with Europe on projects such as ExoMars has ended, Soyuz launches from French Guiana have stopped, and Russia has become more dependent on domestic suppliers and partners such as China. While Moscow continues to invest in military space capabilities supporting the war, its civil space ambitions and commercial competitiveness have declined sharply.

The broader economic effects of the war have placed additional pressure on Russia’s industrial base. Defense spending has drawn resources away from civilian sectors, while sanctions have limited access to advanced technologies, foreign investment, and global markets. Although energy revenues and wartime production have helped sustain the economy in the short term, the conflict has contributed to inflation, labor shortages, reduced productivity, and long-term challenges to Russia’s ability to modernize high-technology industries such as aerospace. (7/11)

Ketcham Retires From Space Florida (Source: SPACErePORT)
After 18 years with Space Florida and more than 45 years contributing to America's space program on the Space Coast, Dale Ketcham has retired from Space Florida. As Vice President for Government and Community Relations, Ketcham played a pivotal role in helping transform Florida from a government-led launch center into the nation's premier commercial spaceport, while supporting the state's transition into a national leader in aerospace industry development.

His career spanned positions with Rockwell International, the U.S. Congress, Enterprise Florida, the University of Central Florida, and ultimately Space Florida, where was a recognized voice for the commercial space industry. Ketcham indicated he intends to remain engaged in advancing Florida's space future. (7/11)