July 27, 2026

Musk Touts ‘Successful’ Starship Test, Says Rocket Was 'Intentionally' Launched Faster To Test Heat (Source: Benzinga)
“This flight intentionally had much higher acceleration,” Musk said, “to test how well the heat shield tiles would remain attached at high dynamic pressure,” the billionaire added. “Test was successful,” Musk said. (7/27)

Rocket Lab Rallies as SpaceX Slides. Wall Street Is Rewarding Execution Again (Source: Benzinga)
Rocket Lab shares climbed Monday after the company secured its largest missile defense launch contract to date, while SpaceX stock continued its post-IPO slide, underscoring what investors appear to be rewarding in the space sector: tangible execution over future promise. Rocket Lab stock rose more than 2% after announcing a $266 million U.S. Space Force contract for up to 18 HASTE suborbital launches supporting missile defense testing. At the same time, SpaceX stock fell nearly 4% to around $110.61, leaving the stock about 18% below its $135 IPO price and roughly 51% below its post-IPO high. (7/27)

General Dynamics Receives $400M SDA Contract for PWSA (Source: GovConWire)
General Dynamics Mission Systems has secured a $400.4 million sole-source letter contract from the US Space Development Agency for ground segment development under Tranche 3 of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. The contract includes software development, testing, integration and maintenance, leveraging applications previously delivered by General Dynamics. The project will run through September 2030. (7/27)
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Space Force Staffing Shortfall Could Delay Key Missions (Source: SatNews)
A report from the Government Accountability Office says the US Space Force faces a 25% staffing shortfall as it prepares to double its workforce. This deficit affects operational readiness, particularly in satellite operations and engineering units, and raises concerns about the service's ability to support space domain awareness. (7/26)

Amazon Plans 5000+ Satellite Constellation for D2D (Source: Space News)
Amazon has filed plans for a constellation of more than 5,100 satellites for direct-to-device (D2D) services. The company filed an application with the FCC late Friday for the 5,105-satellite system, which would primarily use 1.6 and 2.4 gigahertz spectrum currently assigned to Globalstar. Amazon announced in April it would acquire Globalstar for about $11 billion. The satellites, operating in orbits at altitudes of 510 to 580 kilometers, would provide D2D data and messaging services and work in conjunction with Globalstar's existing satellites and the Amazon Leo broadband satellite constellation. (7/27)

Ground Stations in Spain Escape Major Damage from Wildfires (Source: Space News)
NASA and ESA ground stations in Spain escaped major damage from wildfires there. NASA said Friday it evacuated its Deep Space Network (DSN) facility west of Madrid because of fires in the area. NASA said Saturday that initial inspections of the facility after the fires passed showed no sign of significant damage to the equipment there. The site is one of three DSN facilities, with a 70-meter and several 34-meter antennas for communicating with spacecraft. ESA also closed a ground station with a 35-meter antenna west of Madrid because of fires, but said the facility was undamaged and would resume operations on Monday. (7/27)

FAA Aerospace Medical Chief Joins UCF Center for Aerospace/Extreme Environments Medicine (Source: SPACErePORT)
Last year UCF's College of Medicine established a new UCF center that will lead research and technology development for improving health in extreme environments such as space. The new center will leverage UCF’s location near Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, and it has already attracted internationally known aerospace medicine experts from NASA. Now the university adds another renowned aerospace medical expert, the former director of the FAA's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute. Dr. Melchor Antunano will serve as the UCF center's Chief Technologist & Medical Innovation Officer. (7/26)

Intel Debuts New Chip for Space Computing (Source: Space News)
Intel Corp., one of the world’s largest semiconductor companies, has spent the past several years quietly developing a processor for satellites as the company looks to tap growing demand for onboard artificial intelligence and data processing in a market long served by specialized aerospace chip makers. The new processor, named Starfire, is undergoing testing. (7/27)

Aerospace Fights for Young Recruits as AI Drains Talent Pool (Source: Reuters)
The UK aerospace and defense sector is ⁠facing a shortage of around 10,000 specialized engineers a year — with AI and other newer technologies sucking up talent. More than 50% of licensed aerospace engineers are older than 50 in Britain; fewer than 10% are under 30, a March report by the Royal Aeronautical Society showed. The UK sector has grown 31% in the last decade, but the talent pipeline has not kept pace, trade group ADS said. (7/24)

Two Galileo Satellites Enter Service for Europe (Source: Via Satellite)
Two new Galileo satellites, SAT 33 and SAT 34, have entered service, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced on Friday. These satellites are now adding capability, resilience, and autonomy to Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation constellation. Arianespace launched the two satellites in December of 2025 on an Ariane 6 rocket with two boosters, providing what ESA called the “most precise orbital injection ever achieved for Galileo.”

Since that launch, the satellites have been in commissioning phase including in-orbit testing with satellite operations led by Galileo Control Centre in Germany (GCC-D). ESA designed the test cases and payload configurations executed throughout the test campaign. (7/24)

Io Gets a Checkup (Source: Space.com)
Scientists have measured temperatures beneath the surface of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io, offering the first-ever glimpse of the hidden heat driving the most volcanically active world in the solar system.

During close flybys of Io in late 2023 and early 2024, NASA's Juno spacecraft turned its Microwave Radiometer (MWR) instrument toward the moon, probing roughly six to 20 feet (two to six meters) beneath its surface. Originally designed to peer through Jupiter's thick clouds, the instrument instead revealed a powerful new way to study how heat moves through planetary crusts, according to a statement from the space agency. (7/24)

Protecting Future Astronauts: Embry‑Riddle Researchers Study Radiation Effects on Micro Human Organs (Source: ERAU)
Researchers at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University have designed and built a micro-scale brain, liver and gut system and exposed it to radiation to investigate the effects of one of the most dangerous health risks associated with space travel. “Our research can use human cells, modifying them to develop various organ tissues, and model the organs’ response to radiation,” said Dr. Cassandra Juran.

Space radiation can put astronauts at risk for radiation sickness associated with cell damage, especially affecting the gastrointestinal system, as well as increased incidence of cancer, central nervous system damage and degenerative disease. The experiments will also support testing countermeasures to space radiation, such as pharmaceutical treatments, to maintain the health and well-being of future astronauts. (7/7)