July 5, 2026

Semiconductor Manufacturing Test Bed Took Suborbital Flight on Falcon 9 Starlink Launch (Source: Spaceflight Now)
Two semiconductor fabrication test beds hitched a sub-orbital ride on the first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched another batch of Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral shortly after sunrise Sunday. The Falcon 9 first-stage booster carried two manufacturing pods for Washington, D.C.-based startup Besxar Space Industries on an eight-minute, 19-second ride to space and back.

In October 2025, the company revealed it had booked 12 Falcon 9 flights to test the space-based semiconductor substrate manufacturing plants it calls ‘Fabships’. In announcing its plans, Besxar said it would use the vacuum of space to produce ultra-pure substrates and precursor materials for the semiconductors essential for electronic devices. (7/4)

Austria Taps R-Space for Its Second Military Sat (Source: Payload)
The Austrian Ministry of Defense has selected local startup R-Space to act as the prime contractor for the country’s second military satellite, which is expected to launch in 2027. The mission—dubbed Aurora—will attempt to demonstrate space-to-ground laser communications, as well as quantum encryption technologies, using Austrian space industry expertise. (7/2)

Military Spectrum is Now Fair Game for Private Sector; X-Band is a Target at the ITU’s WRC-27 Conference (Source: Space Intel Report)
International regulators are facing increased pressure from the private sector to free up historically military spectrum for commercial space and terrestrial networks, part of a broader push by the private sector on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Regulators said the pressure will only increase as new technology could make it simpler for satellite constellation operators to bypass the ITU as too slow and too wedded to consensus. (7/2)

Vodafone Ireland Conducts Emergency Services D2D Call With AST SpaceMobile (Source: Via Satellite)
Vodafone Ireland has conducted a successful test call with AST SpaceMobile’s satellite constellation as part of tests for connectivity for emergency and first responders. Vodafone Ireland reported the tests on July 2, which were conducted with Satellite Connect Europe, the joint venture between Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile, also working with Ireland’s Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO). (7/2)

Southern Launch Closes $25 Million Funding Round (Source: Southern Launch)
Southern Launch, Australia's leading space company, the force behind the nation's first commercial rocket launch and the world's first commercial spacecraft re-entry, has closed a $25 million Series A to scale its spaceport infrastructure, grow its workforce and accelerate launch, re-entry, and range services. (6/30)

Nebex Raises $30M to Build Market Infrastructure for the Global Space Economy (Source: Nebex)
Nebex announced a $30M seed investment led by GV (Google Ventures). The company also announced a banking relationship with J.P. Morgan. The capital raise and new banking relationship will help Nebex scale its platform and connect sovereign space programs with the founders and companies building new technologies to serve the space industry. Nebex builds on a $1B-plus track record in commercial space deals with sovereign governments, SpaceX, and NASA. (6/29)

Ascent Solar’s Thin-Film Space Solar Products Experience Zero Damage in Atomic Oxygen Exposure Test Campaign (Source: Ascent Solar)
Ascent Solar Technologies, an innovator in the design and manufacturing of featherweight, flexible thin-film photovoltaic (PV) solutions, announced the results of its preliminary Atomic Oxygen (AO) exposure testing for its space grade thin-film PV products. Testing has shown significant resilience to Atomic Oxygen in Low-Earth Orbit. (6/29)

ICEYE Extends Wildfire Intelligence Coverage to Canada (Source: ICEYE)
ICEYE announced the expansion of its wildfire intelligence capabilities to Canada, cementing the company’s position as a global wildfire intelligence provider and bringing critical tools to one of the world’s most wildfire-exposed countries. (7/1)

Texas Space Commission Approves Multiple Studies and Grant Initiatives (Source: TSC)
The Texas Space Commission (TSC) Board of Directors (Board) met last week and approved multiple solicitations and information-gathering instruments, including for: a study and report on the viability of Texas sites that may support launch and/or re-entry activities; and a matching fund for SBIR/STTR grants.

Also approved were: an RFI to identify existing thermal vacuum chamber facilities that could support in-space environmental testing and evaluation; an RFI to identify existing facilities and mobile technologies that could support vibroacoustic and electromagnetic environment evaluation; an RFI to identify critical infrastructure needs for Texas companies engaged in national security space architecture; an RFI to identify environmental control and life support systems (ECLSS) for emergent human spaceflight missions; and an RFI to identify a shared-user propulsion facility for testing, evaluation as well as research and development. (7/3)

Unseen Threats Overhead: Drones Endanger U.S. Launch Sites (Source: Space News)
Drones have already proven disruptive to launch operations, and spaceports and launch sites need better technological, legislative, and military protection in order to keep the launch cadence running, according to Greg Hoyt and Chuck Webb at ENSCO. They argue that "we need better situational awareness, proper response plans and an updated legal framework to respond to drone interference with space launch."

Specifically, they suggest that FAA controllers, range safety teams and security forces need better shared situational awareness that's intuitive to use across multiple sensors and systems. Also, Hoyt and Webb argue that every launch should develop a drone risk assessment and response plan, and that military and security forces be enabled to prevent and intervene when a drone approaches a launch site.

"The question for policymakers and leaders is not whether unauthorized drones will continue to appear near launch sites; they will. The question is whether U.S. space launch ranges will be prepared to prevent the drone disruption when they do," they wrote. (7/3)

GAO Flags Satellite Costs, Launch Risks in Space Force Portfolio (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force has earned a reputation inside the Pentagon for moving faster than traditional military acquisition programs. But a new government watchdog report suggests some space procurements continue to confront many of the same problems that have plagued defense acquisitions for decades. (7/4)

South Korea Sets 2035 Target for Homegrown Starlink-Style Network (Source: Korea Economic Daily)
South Korea plans to build a homegrown low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications network by 2035, as it seeks to reduce its reliance on foreign systems such as SpaceX’s Starlink. The initiative comes as satellite connectivity becomes central to 6G, national security and commercial space ambitions. (7/3)

SpaceX Launches Wednesday Starlink Mission From California (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites Wednesday night. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 10:57 p.m. Eastern, placing 24 satellites into orbit. The satellites joined more than 1,600 launched in the first half of the year. (7/3)

China Launches Marine Science Satellite on Long March 4B (Source: Xinhua)
China launched a marine science satellite. A Long March 4B lifted off at 7:46 p.m. Eastern Wednesday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. It placed into orbit Haiyang-2E, the latest satellite in a program to study ocean conditions. (7/3)

Explosion at Anduril Solid Rocket Motor Plant (Source: WIRED)
Defense technology company Anduril suffered an explosion at a plant that produces solid rocket motors. The explosion took place last Friday on a test stand at an Anduril factory in Mississippi. There were no injuries, but the extent of the damage was not clear. The company is developing motors there for use in testing prototype motors. The company had planned to start full-scale motor production there a year ago, but sources said that has yet to get underway. (7/3)

ESA Decommissions Sentinel 1-A, Prepares for De-Orbit (Source: ESA)
ESA has decommissioned a radar-imaging satellite. Sentinel-1A ended operations on Monday, more than 12 years after launch. Controllers will now work to deorbit the satellite. Sentinel-1A, part of the Copernicus Earth observation program, has been replaced by two newer satellites, Sentinel-1C and -1D. (7/3)

NASA Seeks Volunteers for Exploration Analog Mission at JSC (Source: NASA)
If you're looking to really get away from it all, NASA has just the thing. The agency is seeking volunteers for a year-long analog astronaut mission called the Moon and Mars Exploration Analog, in which people will spend a year in simulated habitats at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The agency has done similar tests before, including an ongoing year-long mission in a simulated Mars habitat. The upcoming test will combine the Mars habitat with another habitat that will simulate a spaceship. The simulated mission is scheduled to begin no earlier than August 2027. (7/3)

First Known Congressional SpaceX Stock Buys Surface After Record IPO (Source: CNBC)
Reps. Dan Meuser, R-PA, and Gil Cisneros, D-CA, appear to be the first members of Congress known to have disclosed that they or their family members purchased SpaceX stock after Elon Musk’s company went public in June. The filings are notable because Meuser sits on the House Financial Services Committee, while Cisneros sits on the House Armed Services Committee, which oversees the Defense Department, a major SpaceX customer.

There is no evidence either lawmaker traded on nonpublic information or violated the law. The purchases could be an early sign of more congressional SpaceX trades to surface in coming disclosures. (7/3)