July 17, 2026

Slingshot Wins $69 Million From Space Force for AI Training Environments (Source: Space News)
Slingshot Aerospace won a $69.2 million U.S. Space Force contract to develop artificial intelligence-based training environments. The Small Business Innovation Research Phase 3 contract, spanning four and a half years, supports the service's Operational Test and Training Infrastructure program, or OTTI. That effort aims to give Space Force units more realistic tools for testing systems and preparing personnel for increasingly complex operations in space. Slingshot said it will provide AI-enabled environments in which Space Force operators can rehearse scenarios involving the protection and defense of U.S. space systems, compare possible responses and practice making decisions under conditions designed to resemble an actual conflict. (7/16)

Space Commerce Office Says Mission Authorization Scheme Gives Certainty (Source: Space News)
The Office of Space Commerce says its proposal for mission authorization of novel space activities would give companies regulatory certainty without burdensome requirements. At a House Science Committee hearing Wednesday, Taylor Jordan, director of the office, said the voluntary "Space Commerce Certification" system would ensure companies working on concepts not clearly regulated today could get government approvals quickly. The proposal, announced in March, is awaiting approval by the White House; if that comes, the office will put out a call for applications to help test the process. (7/16)

India's ISRO Takes Steps to Curb Resignations (Source: NDTV)
The Indian space agency ISRO is limiting the ability of key staff to depart after a surge of resignations. An internal memo directed ISRO centers not to accept resignation or retirement requests from key scientists and engineers, referring those requests instead to agency leadership. The order came after more than 100 people left the agency recently, some to join space startups in the country. (7/16)

Former ISRO Chief Joins Launch Startup's Board (Source: The Hindu)
A former chairman of ISRO is joining the board of an Indian launch startup. Agnikul Cosmos said that S. Somanath, ISRO chairman from 2022 to 2024, will be an observer on its board. The company is developing a small orbital launch vehicle with plans to recover and reuse the first stage. The company says it is preparing for an orbital launch attempt called Mission 02, but did not disclose the schedule for that mission. (7/16)

New Jersey Meteorite Contained Amino Acids (Source: Space.com)
A meteorite that hit a New Jersey home two years ago contains amino acids. The meteorite fell through the roof of a house in Hillsborough, New Jersey, and the homeowner carefully preserved the pieces. Scientists said that made the carbonaceous chondrite samples unusually pristine, allowing for detailed analysis. That analysis found traces of amino acids and other organic compounds, and evidence that the asteroid it came from had been altered by water. It adds to evidence that the building blocks for life to form on Earth came from similar asteroids. (7/16)

ISU Founder Pitches Virtual Reinvention Plan (Source: Douglas Messier)
The International Space University (ISU) is looking to reinvent itself as a virtual university in the wake of the bankruptcy of the school’s French organization and the closing of its Central Campus in Strasbourg, ISU Co-founder Bob Richards said. Although ISU France is being liquidated, the university has a separate incorporation in Massachusetts that dates back to its founding in 1987. ISU would be rebuilt under that organization.

Richards said the structure being considered involves the establishment of three to five regional hubs connected to a network of educational institutions around the world. He said he wants Strasbourg to continue to play an important part of ISU even though it will no longer host the Central Campus. Richards stressed that restructuring the university in its very early stages. The primary focus is on winding down ISU France, which is in the hands of a court-appointed liquidator, and assisting more than 100 students who were impacted by the university’s bankruptcy. (7/16)

SpaceX Scrubs Starship Launch at T-0 (Source: Space News)
The launch of Starship on its 13th suborbital test flight was aborted Thursday just as the Super Heavy booster's engines ignited. SpaceX later said that not all of the booster's 33 engines ignited, causing the scrub. SpaceX is targeting early next week for the next launch attempt after replacing two engines. Flight 13 is designed to fly the same suborbital profile as Flight 12 in May, with plans to address issues seen on that earlier flight. Shares in SpaceX, which closed below its IPO price for the first time Thursday, fell several more dollars in after-hours trading immediately after the scrub. (7/17)

SpaceX Launches SDA Mission From California (Source: Space News)
SpaceX successfully launched a set of Space Development Agency communications satellites earlier in the day. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on the T1TL-E mission for SDA, carrying 21 Tranche 1 Transport Layer spacecraft built by York Space Systems. This was the third launch of Tranche 1 Transport Layer but the first since last October. SDA said the pause was driven by hardware and software issues found on the first 42 Tranche 1 satellites. The agency, which previously planned a monthly cadence of launches, is now moving to a readiness-based model, launching "whoever is ready" rather than holding to a fixed schedule. (7/17)

Schiess Says Massive Space Force Budget Needed to Counter China (Source: Space News)
The nominee to be the next commanding general of the U.S. Space Force said the service's proposed massive budget increase is needed to counter China. Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess said at a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing Thursday said the proposed $71.1 billion budget for the Space Force, more than double its 2026 budget, is "exactly what we need." He said most of the proposed increase would pay for weapons, facilities, training and other equipment rather than personnel. If confirmed, Schiess would succeed Gen. Chance Saltzman as the third chief of space operations. He currently serves as the Space Force's deputy chief of operations. (7/17)

DIU Wants Power Beaming (Source: Space News)
The Defense Innovation Unit is seeking commercial proposals to beam electrical power between spacecraft and from orbit to the ground. Companies selected for the project would be expected to complete a laboratory demonstration within 12 months of receiving an award. The government would then assess whether the technology is ready for an on-orbit prototype demonstration within 24 months. The technology could allow spacecraft to operate for longer periods or support more power-intensive payloads without relying exclusively on their own solar arrays and batteries. The Pentagon wants access to an operational space power-beaming capability by fiscal 2030, either by operating its own system or buying it as a service. (7/17)

Serbia Signs Artemis Accords (Source: Space News)
Serbia is the latest country to sign the Artemis Accords, two years after joining a Chinese lunar initiative. Serbia's foreign minister signed the Artemis Accords Thursday at NASA Headquarters. The country is the 10th so far this year to sign the Accords and the 69th overall. The Artemis Accords outline best practices for space exploration, and NASA plans to use the Accords to coordinate cooperation on its lunar base plans. In 2024, Serbia joined the Chinese-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) effort but did not disclose what role it might play in that lunar base effort. Two other ILRS countries, Senegal and Thailand, have also signed the Artemis Accords. (7/17)

AST SpaceMobile Raising $1 Billion, Including for Launches (Source: AST SpaceMobile)
AST SpaceMobile is planning to raise $1 billion as it seeks alternative launch options. The company announced this week it would raise $1 billion in convertible senior notes, with an option to sell an additional $150 million in notes. The company said it would use the net proceeds of the sale to pursue growth options "and secure additional access to orbit for its space-based cellular broadband network, including partnerships and/or acquisitions to further vertically integrate its business and mitigate risks associated with third-party launch providers."

AST's rollout of its commercial broadband direct-to-device service has slipped to 2027 because of launch delays, including the grounding of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket. There are, however, limited launch company acquisition options for AST given the amount of money it has available. (7/17)

NASA to Use Starlink to Augment Artemis 3 Comms (Source: NASA)
NASA plans to use Starlink to augment communications for the Artemis 3 mission. NASA said Thursday it will install optical intersatellite terminals on the Orion spacecraft to enable it to communicate with Starlink satellites, allowing Orion to download 4K video and images. Orion will remain in low Earth orbit for Artemis 3, allowing it to use the Starlink constellation in addition to other ground and satellite communications systems. (7/17)

Isaacman Donates $500K to Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman is making a record-setting donation to a scholarship program. The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation announced this week that Isaacman had donated $500,000, the largest one-time personal donation in the foundation's history. The foundation, established in 1984 by the six surviving Mercury 7 astronauts, awards scholarships to students pursuing STEM degrees. (7/16)

ASI Chief (and COPUOS President) Dies (Source: ASI)
The head of the Italian space agency ASI has died. The agency announced Thursday the "untimely passing" of Teodoro Valente but did not disclose any additional details. Valente had been president of ASI since 2023 and was a professor who did research in composite materials and nanotechnology. Earlier this year he was named president of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, or COPUOS, for a two-year term. ASI's vice president, Elda Turco Bulgherini, will take over as president. (7/17)

$10B Defense Investment Boosts Pennsylvania Aerospace/Defense Workforce (Source: GovCon Wire)
President Trump announced nearly $10 billion in new defense-related investments at the Pennsylvania Defense & Innovation Summit, supporting more than 4,000 jobs. The announcements span defense manufacturing, emerging technologies, workforce development and R&D initiatives. Major projects include facility expansions, new production capabilities and significant shipbuilding, aerospace and autonomous systems investments. Defense leaders emphasize the effort will strengthen the industrial base and accelerate innovation across the national security ecosystem. (7/17)

Amazon Leo Targets South Africa (Source: Independent)
Amazon has announced that its new satellite internet service, Amazon Leo, will launch in South Africa by 2027, positioning the tech giant to potentially outpace Elon Musk’s rival Starlink in Africa’s most developed economy. The tech giant, founded by Jeff Bezos, confirmed a partnership with South African internet provider Herotel to roll out the service in the nation of 62 million people.

This marks Amazon’s inaugural satellite internet agreement on the African continent. Financial specifics of the deal were not immediately disclosed. Amazon’s announcement comes amid sharp criticism from Elon Musk regarding South Africa’s regulatory environment. The world’s wealthiest individual has previously stated that South African regulations have prevented Starlink’s launch there, attributing the issue to his race and accusing the government of racism. (7/15)

SWISSto12 Raises $70 Million for Small GEO Satellite Production (Source: Payload)
European space company SWISSto12 has raised a $70M Series C, which will help it scale to meet the global demand for sovereign hardware in orbit. The Swiss company, founded in 2011, sells two main products: HummingSat: a small sat intended to operate in GEO, which is expected to launch for the first time next year; and HummingLink, a multi-orbit satcom payloads and terminals. (7/16)

Move Over, GPS: Navigation Satellites in Low-Earth Orbit are Making a Comeback (Source: Ars Technica)
New navigation satellites in low-Earth orbit could provide 100 times stronger signal strength compared to GPS and other global navigation satellite systems operating from higher orbital altitudes—enabling greater location accuracy within dense cities, under thick foliage, and even inside buildings. Such signals would also likely prove more resilient to interference at a time when commercial flights, maritime shipping, and even various smartphone apps face increasingly widespread disruption from GPS jamming.

That vision may start to take shape when the first six production satellites of California-based Xona Space Systems are scheduled to launch in October 2026, with early service starting in 2027. Once the full constellation of 258 Pulsar satellites has been launched in the following years, Xona claims that customers will be able to accurately pinpoint their locations anywhere on Earth to within several centimeters. (7/16)

Mission Authorization Hearing Puts Office of Space Commerce Framework Costs Under Scrutiny (Source: Payload)
A hearing to review the Office of Space Commerce’s (OSC’s) proposed framework for novel mission authorization became a referendum on whether the office can afford to run it. On Wednesday, OSC Director Taylor Jordan appeared before a House Science Space and Technology Subcommittee to discuss the mission authorization proposal OSC released in March. Instead, lawmakers spent much of the hearing criticizing the proposed OSC budget cuts— and Jordan conceded that the budget request would not cover the mission authorization plan.

The FY27 budget proposal, released in April, included just $11M for OSC—and no dedicated funding to continue the Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS), an SSA tool that opened the pilot phase to satellite operators in May. Altogether the cuts represent a ~80% markdown from the $52.5M Congress enacted for FY26.

Despite the cuts, Jordan said that the office was still pursuing TraCSS alongside its mission authorization proposal. But Democratic lawmakers weren’t buying that the office could make its budget stretch that far.
(7/16)

Eutelsat FCC Filing Suggests its 440-Satellite Airbus OneWeb Order Could Add New Capabilities (Source: Space Intel Report)
Eutelsat’s FCC filing tied to its Airbus Defence and Space order for 440 OneWeb satellites indicates the batch may not be a straight continuation of the current 640-satellite fleet. The filing points to potential additional features—such as optical inter-satellite links—that are not present across today’s satellites. (7/15)

Commercial Space Federation Launches State and Local Council to Tackle US Commercial Space Capacity Constraints (Source: Space News)
The Commercial Space Federation (CSF) announced the launch of its State and Local Council (SLC), a new membership body aimed at convening state and regional stakeholders. The group will address the industry’s most pressing capacity challenges and align regional capabilities to strengthen the national industrial base. (7/15)