July 21, 2026

US Looks to Speed Supersonic Planes to Market (Source: Reuters)
The U.S. Federal Aviation ‌Administration said it was working to help industry deploy air taxis, supersonic airplanes, boost space launches and expand drone operations as it embraces next-generation aviation. Deputy FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau told Reuters in an interview at the Farnborough Airshow the agency is moving to address ​issues with certification and regulations.

In June, the FAA proposed the first of two ​rules needed to lift a ban imposed in 1973 on supersonic air transport ​over land. ⁠The agency plans to propose a second rule to define acceptable noise thresholds for takeoff, landing, and supersonic cruise flight and finalize both by mid-2027. "We think the rules are old and outdated," Rocheleau said. The era ⁠of regular ​commercial supersonic flights ended in 2003 when Concorde, flown by ​Air France and British Airways, was retired after 27 years of service. (7/21)

50 Years After Viking 1's Historic Mars Landing, NASA is Looking to the Red Planet's Skies (Source: Space.com)
Half a century after first putting hardware down on Mars, NASA is looking to explore the Red Planet's skies. If all goes according to plan: Skyfall, which will send three Ingenuity-like choppers to Mars on a nuclear-powered rocket. "Equipped with a suite of scientific instruments, these aerial scouts will map hidden ice deposits and analyze weather patterns," NASA officials wrote in a description of Skyfall. "The mission will also demonstrate how aerial vehicles can generate wide terrain and subsurface maps to identify safe and resource-rich destinations for future American astronauts venturing to Mars." (7/20)

Midland Development Board Approves AST SpaceMobile Deal for 1,600 Jobs (Source: Midland Reporter-Telegram)
Midland Development Corporation board members have approved what could be one of the largest economic development agreements in the organization’s history. At a special meeting, board members unanimously approved a resolution authorizing an economic development agreement between the MDC and AST & Science, whose subsidiary AST SpaceMobile manufactures satellites near Midland International Air and Space Port.

Under the agreement, AST will lease a 23.107-acre tract owned by the city of Midland near its present location at the Spaceport Business Park at the northeast corner of the intersection of La Force Boulevard and Business Interstate-20. AST plans to construct a 400,000-square-foot building for satellite manufacturing and production on the acreage. As part of the agreement, AST also agrees to create 1,600 full-time jobs with a payroll of $128 million by the end of 2036 and invest $100 million in facilities and equipment by the end of 2034.

If the facility is fully built out, the agreement would mean $1.466 billion in annual regional economic output and expand Midland’s gross domestic product by 1.8%. It would also support 4,000 additional jobs across the region. AST arrived in Midland in 2018 under an agreement to create 162 jobs and make $14.25 million in capital investments in exchange for MDC incentives. Last year, the two entities approved a new agreement for AST to create 50 new jobs and make $3 million in capital investments. The agreement just approved does not replace either agreement, Harris said. (7/20)

Russia Launches Second Batch of Broadband Constellation Satellites (Source: TASS)
Russia launched a second batch of satellites for a communications constellation Sunday. Bureau 1440 launched 16 satellites for the Rassvet constellation, reportedly at about 5 p.m. Eastern Sunday on a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. A first set of 16 satellites launched in late March. The constellation is intended to provide communications services using 5G protocols. (7/21)

Space Florida to Replicate Israel Collaboration with UK Joint R&D Grant Program (Sources: Space News, SPACErePORT)
Space Florida and the U.K. Space Agency will provide funding for joint space projects. The organizations announced Monday they will provide a combined $400,000 for joint research, innovation and commercialization projects. To be eligible, projects must involve at least one Florida-based aerospace company or organization, include an international partner and demonstrate clear commercialization potential. The organizations plan to start accepting applications this fall for funding in 2027. This is similar to a joint annual Florida/Israel program that has funded millions in aerospace R&D collaborations. (7/21)

Atmosphere Detected Around Rocky Exoplanet (Source: Scientific American)
Astronomers have detected an atmosphere around a rocky exoplanet, raising hopes it could support life. In a paper published last week, astronomers said they detected helium escaping from the atmosphere of LHS 1140b, a "super Earth" exoplanet about 5.6 times the mass of the Earth orbiting a red dwarf star 49 light-years away. The detection of helium is evidence that the planet has a denser atmosphere of other gases, including water vapor. Astronomers said the planet is the only one found to date that is similar in size to Earth, orbits in its star's habitable zone and has an atmosphere, all critical criteria for supporting life. [Scientific American]

KBR Turns Focus to Golden Dome (Source: Space News)
Engineering and defense contractor KBR is positioning to compete for work on the Golden Dome missile defense system. The Houston-based company announced Tuesday it assigned two executives to lead the effort and said it is increasing internal investment in modeling, simulation, prototyping and secure facilities that could be used to test and integrate components developed for the sprawling defense architecture. Golden Dome is expected to combine satellites and other systems supplied by multiple companies. KBR said it is targeting the engineering and integration work needed to connect those systems across the military services, combatant commands and federal agencies. (7/21)

Germany's deltaVision Raises $11 Million to Produce Propulsion Components (Source: Space News)
German component supplier deltaVision has raised funding to expand production of valves and related components. The Munich-based company announced Tuesday it raised 10.2 million euros ($11.6 million) from several venture capital funds and private investors. It will use the company to scale up production of valves and related propulsion components to 5,000 units a year. This is the first outside funding the company has raised since it was founded in 2022. It has plans to develop technologies for in-space refueling of spacecraft, offering what it calls a "modular, interoperable technology stack." (7/21)

Japan's IHA and Finland's Kuva Space Plan Hyperspectral Constellation (Source: Space News)
Japan's IHI is considering adding next-generation hyperspectral satellites from Finnish startup Kuva Space to an Earth observation constellation. The companies announced a memorandum of understanding Tuesday to explore building and operating Kuva's Hyperfield-2 satellites in Japan, including potentially manufacturing them in the country. About 20 Hyperfield-2 satellites would be enough to provide daily coverage of about 20 million square kilometers across Japan, neighboring countries and surrounding ocean areas. The Kuva satellites would be part of a multi-sensor sovereign Earth observation constellation IHI is developing with about 100 satellites. (7/21)

Relativity Space Expands on Florida’s Space Coast (Source: EDC of FSC)
Relativity Space has committed to expanding its operations on the Space Coast, bringing substantial capital investments and creating thousands of high-skill, high-wage jobs for Floridians. Details of the expansion, announced by Gov. Ron DeSantis at the Farnborough Air Show, were not shared. (7/20)

Italy's ORiS Raises €4.5 Million for Laser Power Beaming in Space (Source: Space News)
Italian startup ORiS has raised funding to demonstrate wireless power-beaming technology using lasers. The company said Tuesday it raised 4.5 million euros in a pre-seed funding round from several investors and also won a 500,000 euro grant from an Italian regional program for startups. ORiS is developing technology to transfer power from one satellite to another using lasers, with plans to test the technology in space on two missions next year. OriS has already demonstrated the technology on the ground using lasers to transmit power to drones. (7/21)

Midland Business Leaders Launch Aerospace Venture for Texas' Permian Basin (Source: MRT)
Two business leaders are teaming up in an effort to turn the Permian Basin into what they call the “Space Basin.” Midland business and investment leader P. Lourcey Sams and aerospace development strategist Oscar S. Garcia have formed Permian Aerospace Development LLC, a joint venture platform dedicated to developing the aviation, aerospace and space industries in the Permian Basin.

Garcia said turning the Permian Basin into the “Space Basin” would create jobs, attract investment and broaden the tax base. “Texas, with its optimal land and airspace, should have inland launch and reentry abilities,” Garcia said. “Texas should have access to the Permian Basin.” In those efforts, he said, Midland has emerged as the optimal Texas location and the center of the universe for Permian Basin aerospace. (7/21)

Redwire Expanding Huntsville Facility with $8.5 Million Incentives, Adding 150 Jobs (Source; Fox 54)
Aerospace and defense company Redwire Corp. announced Monday it is expanding its Huntsville facility, a move expected to create about 150 new high-skilled jobs. The company announced the 164,000-square-foot expansion during the Farnborough International Airshow. Redwire said the expanded campus will increase production of its Stalker unmanned aircraft systems, Octopus gimbal payloads, advanced energy solutions and space capabilities supporting defense, exploration and national security efforts.

Construction is expected to be completed by late 2027. The expansion includes about $8.5 million in state and local economic development incentives, according to officials. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, Redwire currently employs about 1,400 people across North America and Europe. (7/20)

China and Russia: Attacking Starlink (Source: National Review)
Humanity’s ability to exploit space, especially (for now) in near-Earth orbit, is rapidly increasing. And where one country gains an advantage, there will be others looking to neutralize that lead. China and Russia are working on a joint plan to “kill” Starlink. A cache of recently unearthed documents contains previously undisclosed details about the growing military cooperation between Russia and China.

The documents date from 2023, and, along with much else, they make a nonsense of China’s claims to be some sort of neutral in the Russo-Ukrainian war, claims that few ought to believe anyway. The length of the war, and the impact of sanctions on Russia, has worked very well for China, forcing Moscow into a position of dependency on Beijing.

Given China’s long-term geopolitical ambitions, securing a huge, resource-rich quasi-vassal is a valuable prize. And for the much longer term, China has some territorial issues in Russia’s far east, which Beijing still regards as unsettled business. Additionally, while China will dislike the way that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is triggering the rearmament of NATO, it won’t be too sad to see that Western support for Ukraine is coming at a considerable cost in money, matériel, and distraction. Russia can also offer China something else: battlefield experience. (7/19)

Could Space Become Korea’s Next Powerhouse Industry After Chips? (Source: JoongAng Ilbo)
Space has become much more of a national priority. On July 3, the fifth National Space Committee convened at Gyeongsang National University in Jinju, South Gyeongsang. President Lee Jae Myung attended as committee chair, while the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) unveiled a national strategy to foster the industry as a future growth engine.

Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan and senior executives from Hyundai Motor and Samsung Electronics also attended the meeting. The committee itself was elevated in January 2024 when its chairmanship was transferred from the prime minister to the president, and KASA was officially launched four months later, in May that year. (7/20)

Port Canaveral’s Exploration Tower Could Inspire New Space Age (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The Canaveral Port Authority is weighing the future of the landmark overlooking Port Canaveral. It should choose a future that transforms Exploration Tower into the front door to America’s Space Coast. Nearly 10 million cruise passengers begin or end their vacations at Port Canaveral each year, making it the world’s busiest cruise port. Among them are hundreds of thousands of families sailing aboard three Disney cruise ships, all homeported there. Their journeys illustrate how a Central Florida vacation often begins at Walt Disney World and continues to the Space Coast.

The future of Orlando and the Space Coast is increasingly interconnected. Visitors arrive through Orlando, experience Disney, sail from Port Canaveral, watch rocket launches and return home with impressions of the entire region. Exploration Tower can become the place where those experiences come together. Yet millions never realize that, just minutes away, they are standing beside one of the world’s greatest concentrations of space activity. Public and private investment continues to reshape the Space Coast and few regions in America are experiencing this level of sustained growth.

What is missing is a place that brings these experiences together. Exploration Tower can become that place — a welcoming orientation center where visitors discover not only the history of Port Canaveral but also why Central Florida is becoming a global center for maritime commerce, national security, commercial spaceflight, tourism, innovation and future lunar exploration. Imagine families arriving from Orlando before boarding a Disney cruise. Instead of waiting to embark, they could explore exhibits explaining why rockets launch here, how the U.S. Space Force enables access to space, how commercial companies are opening the pathway to the moon, and why the Space Coast is becoming the center of a growing off-Earth economy. (7/19)

The Best Human Landing System is the One That Can Beat China to the Moon (Source: The Hll)
The SpaceX Starship Human Landing System will need at least 15 Starship launches to get it to the moon — one for a fuel depot, another 13 to send Starship fuel tankers to top off the depot, and one for the human landing system to refuel at the depot before going to the moon. The Blue Origin Blue Moon MK2 lunar lander will be less complex. It will need three New Glenn launches to get it to the moon, which will include the lander and two transfer stages.

For both human landing systems to become operational, the companies will have to achieve at least a daily launch cadence with the Starship and New Glenn respectively. Thus far, only SpaceX has been able to achieve this with the Falcon 9. Both companies have enormous challenges establishing such a tempo for rocket launches.

The problem is that NASA has been given two tasks concerning the moon that may be in conflict. One is to build a lunar base for large, complex landers such as Starship and Blue Moon, which will move large amounts of astronauts and material to the lunar surface. The second is to beat the Chinese back to the moon, for which maybe something smaller, like the Apollo-era lunar module, would be best suited. Unfortunately, such a small, light lunar lander does not exist. NASA is relying on its larger, complex human landing systems to fulfill both of its mandates, build the lunar base and beat the Chinese back to the moon. (7/19)

After Skyroot, More Private Firms Aim to Take Commercial Dreams to the Sky (Source: Times of India)
India’s private space industry is set to accelerate its activity after Skyroot created history with its Vikram-1 maiden mission...a feat no private launch company globally  has matched. Agnikul Cosmos too is planning to launch within a year, carrying paying customer satellites and attempting to land the rocket's lower state on a sea barge. (7/20)

Sweden Readies First SAR Satellite Launch, Eyes More Spacecraft (Source: Aviation Week)
Sweden aims to launch its first Iceye synthetic aperture radar before year-end as part of an accelerated push to field what is expected to be a growing fleet with Earth observation capabilities, the Swedish Armed Forces' space chief says. Sweden initially planned to field Earth observation capabilities in the 2030 timeframe, but pushed that up four years given the “severe security situation,” says Rear Adm. Anders Sundeman. (7/19)

China's Space Crew Assesses Emergency Choices, Emotions in Long-Stay Study (Source: Xinhua)
China's Shenzhou-23 space station crew has completed emergency decision-making assessments and tests on emotional states, as part of a broader effort to study how long-duration spaceflights affect behavior. The trio, including one female member from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, have been aboard the Tiangong space station for nearly two months. One of them will stay in orbit for one year to conduct China's first space human research program and collect data on the longer-term flight of astronauts.

In a recent weekly video released by the China Manned Space Agency on Sunday, the crew members were seen wearing sensors and VR headsets for brainwave monitoring. The tests are among more than 100 science and application projects underway aboard the station. Besides space medicine, the crew has also installed a radiation biology exposure device and an external camera on one of the space station's lab modules, and has conducted cargo tests of measurement instruments. According to the agency, a new type of energy storage battery will be tested in orbit, with results expected to support future upgrades to the space station. (7/20)

Astronomers Outraged After Regulators Approve ‘Space Mirror’ Permit (Source: Physics World)
Astronomers have raised concerns over a decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to permit the launch of a private satellite that can reflect sunlight onto the Earth’s surface after dark. Astronomers, however, fear that the mirror, and the several thousand that could follow it, will negatively impact both optical and radio astronomy.

The proposal by the Californian company Reflect Orbital involves putting a mirror-carrying-satellite – Eärendil-1 – into low-Earth orbit. Reflect Orbital aims to use the craft to test technology intended to deliver sunlight to solar farms after sunset, thus expanding the production of solar power at a time of peak demand for electricity. In orbit, the satellite will unfold an 18 x 18 m aluminumized Mylar reflector that can deliver a roughly 5 km circular spot of light to the ground with about the brightness of a full Moon. (7/17)

Korea AeroSpace Administration Unveils K-Space Vision (Source: Business Korea)
The Korea AeroSpace Administration of the Republic of Korea is accelerating the establishment of a global cooperation system by presenting a blueprint for national space policy in Toulouse, France, the heart of the European space industry.

The Korea AeroSpace Administration announced that it will attend the ‘2026 Europe-Korea Conference on Science and Technology (EKC 2026)’, held for two days starting on July 20 local time in Toulouse, France, to present the policy direction for aerospace in the Republic of Korea. Toulouse is a hub city densely packed with the Airbus headquarters and European aerospace industry infrastructure, making it an optimal location to concretize a development model for domestic aerospace clusters.

Administrator of the Korea AeroSpace Administration Oh Tae-seog will serve as the keynote speaker at the opening ceremony on July 20, the first day of the event, and will deliver a lecture under the theme of ‘Direction of Korea’s Space Policy’. Administrator Oh plans to explain the ‘Republic of Korea Aerospace Industry Fostering Strategy’ confirmed at the 5th National Space Committee, and share with European experts the vision of leaping into one of the world’s top five aerospace powers by 2045. (7/20)