August 13, 2026

Texas Broadband Grants Paused as Critics Allege Favoritism Toward Elon Musk’s Starlink (Source: Texas Tribune)
The Texas Broadband Development Office placed a temporary hold Tuesday on all disbursements of billions of dollars in federal funds related to the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, or BEAD. The hold comes after the office was accused of favoritism to certain companies, specifically Elon Musk’s Starlink, which led to lawmakers announcing an audit.

In an email obtained by The Texas Tribune, the state broadband office shared with subgrantees that the hold was effective as of Monday, and will be in place “until further notice.” The office did not give a reason as to why the disbursements were paused. Last week, Comptroller Don Huffines announced a comprehensive internal review of his office, which includes the broadband office. Lawmakers began questioning the Broadband Office in June on how it doled out more than $3 billion in BEAD funding. According to Bryant Clayton, the BDO’s director, the change was a directive from Gov. Greg Abbott’s office and made just days before the grant was awarded. (8/12)

Whiting Wants Space Command to Counter pLEO Constellations (Source: Space News)
The head of U.S. Space Command says his highest priorities are offensive space capabilities and systems for countering proliferated low Earth orbit (pLEO) constellations. Gen. Stephen Whiting said that "integrated space fires" and "counter-pLEO" top the list of needs the command has identified for fiscal years 2029 through 2033, signaling where the combatant command sees some of the biggest gaps in preparing for a future conflict in space. The Integrated Priorities List is Space Command's assessment of capability gaps based on emerging threats, planned Pentagon investments and technologies under development. It serves as a signal for the military services, labs and industry. Other capabilities on his list include joint integrated space command and control, dedicated space domain awareness and sustained space maneuver. (8/13)

Astranis Plans Inspector Satellites (Source: Space News)
Astranis, a manufacturer of small GEO communications satellites, unveiled a design for an inspector satellite. The company's Perceptor spacecraft, based on its microGEO bus, carries sensors to observe and inspect other satellites while using electric propulsion to reposition itself across the geostationary belt. The company said Perceptor will be able to conduct flybys of other satellites, and multiple satellites could operate together, allowing military operators to observe spacecraft from different locations and making it more difficult for a target to evade surveillance. Astranis is one of 14 companies selected by the Space Force in April to compete for task orders under its Andromeda contract vehicle supporting RG-XX, a planned next-generation constellation of surveillance satellites in geostationary orbit. (8/13)

Space Force Buys Maneuverable Spacecraft From Impulse Space (Source: Space News)
The Space Force is buying two more maneuverable spacecraft from Impulse Space. The service added $28 million to an existing contract for the additional spacecraft that will be used for tactically responsive missions. The contract modification will fund Victus Salo 2 and Victus Salo 3, which will use Impulse's Mira spacecraft to host government-provided payloads for missions in low Earth orbit, according to the Space Force. Victus Salo is part of the Space Force's broader Tactically Responsive Space, or TacRS, effort to shorten the time needed to deploy and operate spacecraft, with Victus Salo 1, also using the Mira spacecraft, slated to launch in 2027. (8/13)

China's iSpace Raises $150 Million for Reusable Launcher (Source: Space News)
Chinese reusable launch vehicle iSpace has raised additional funding. The company said it completed an initial close of a Series E round, bringing in about $150 million. The new funding will go toward research and mass production of the Hyperbola-3 reusable launch vehicle, manufacturing of a methane/liquid oxygen engine and initial research on a future heavy-lift vehicle. The development follows iSpace securing a record $729 million in February this year, dedicated to reusable rocketry and expanding the company's industrial footprint. The company plans to attempt a first launch of Hyperbola-3, with a reusable first stage, by the end of the year. (8/13)

Golden Dome Digital Portal Seeks to Ease Entry (Source: Space News)
A new digital portal is intended to make it easier for companies and others to get involved with the Golden Dome missile defense program. The "Golden Dome for America Ecosystem Hub," announced Tuesday at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium, is designed to provide companies with a channel to submit concepts and gain access to unclassified information about the program's technology needs, even as most of the architecture remains classified. The hub reflects a broader effort by the Pentagon to bring commercial technology and private capital into the program, an effort challenged by the high classification level of the system that makes it difficult for startups and newer entrants to understand where the government intends to invest. (8/13)

Pentagon Missile Buildup Changing the Factory Floor (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon's push to replenish missile inventories is creating an opening for a new class of manufacturers. Startups such as Machina, Hadrian and Freeform are applying software, robotics and highly automated production techniques to aerospace and defense manufacturing. They are challenging a model that has long relied on dedicated machinery, specialized tooling and skilled labor to make relatively small numbers of complex parts. At the Space and Missile Defense Symposium, Machina is displaying a fuselage for a hypersonic vehicle that it manufactured for Ursa Major using robotics systems and AI. (8/13)

Paragon Lays Off 70 After Gateway Project Stops (Source: Space News)
A subcontractor on NASA's lunar Gateway program is laying off employees after work on the program stopped. Paragon Space Development Corporation said this week it laid off 70 employees as part of a "companywide restructuring" after its contract to provide life support systems for the Gateway's HALO module was terminated by Northrop Grumman. HALO was to be part of the Gateway, but NASA announced in March it was effectively canceling the program to focus instead on a lunar base. Paragon said it retains the intellectual property for that life support system and is looking for ways to apply it to NASA's planned lunar base or other projects. (8/13)

Fincke Leaves NASA (Source: NASA)
Veteran NASA astronaut Mike Fincke has left the agency. NASA announced Wednesday that Fincke has retired from the astronaut corps, 30 years after being selected. He flew on four missions to the International Space Station on Soyuz, the Space Shuttle and Crew Dragon, spending 549 days in space. His last flight was the Crew-11 mission that ended a month early in January after a medical issue that Fincke later said he experienced. (8/13)

Push to Rename NASA Wallops Facility Sparks Debate Over Eastern Shore History (Source: WBOC)
A proposal by a local Virginia government seeks to rename at least part of NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. A resolution passed by the Accomack County Board of Supervisors last month asks NASA to rename the launch complex at Wallops the "A. Thomas Young Space Flight Facility" after Tom Young, a former NASA and industry official who is from the county. Some local residents, though, oppose the proposal, preferring to keep the Wallops name. They are asking the board to reconsider the resolution. County officials said the name change would not apply to the whole facility but only the launch site part of it. NASA, which would have to agree to any name change, said it is aware of the resolution but did not comment further on it.

Editor's Note: Young was also a Florida aerospace industry leader. He co-chaired the first Florida Governor's Commission on Space (which I staffed), which led to creation of the state's spaceport authority. He gained this role because he also led Martin Marietta's Electronics & Missiles Group in Orlando. (8/11)

AST SpaceMobile Targets 45-Satellite Constellation by Early 2026 (Source: Space Intel Report)
AST SpaceMobile says it expects to expand its low Earth orbit constellation from 13 to 45 satellites by early next year, supporting beta direct-to-device service in the U.S. this year with roughly half-day coverage. Continuous service is targeted for 2027, with 10 missions booked across two launch providers. (8/12)

FAA Proposes Waiving 13 Environmental Laws to Accelerate Airport-to-Spaceport Conversions (Source: Skift)
Dozens of airports have land, runways and remote buffer zones that could be repurposed as spaceports, according to the proposal. The FAA is seeking to speed those conversions by waiving requirements under 13 environmental laws, potentially reducing regulatory barriers to new launch sites. Typically, an airport looking to expand would have its plans reviewed by the FAA to make sure it meets environmental requirements. If the fresh proposal goes ahead, developments related to space would skip that step.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, and Clean Air Act are among those that could be scrapped for qualifying projects. One attraction is a new law allowing spaceport-adjacent industrial parks--or "space parks"--to qualify for tax-exempt bond financing. (8/12)

Why Sonic Booms Happen and How NASA’s X-59 Quesst Plans to Eliminate Them (Source: Aerospace Global News)
NASA has published a detailed explanation of how sonic booms are created as its X-59 experimental aircraft moves closer to the part of its mission that could determine whether quieter supersonic flight can eventually be accepted over land. The timing is significant. The X-59 has already reached the speed and altitude NASA says it needs for future community flights, while the US Federal Aviation Administration is working on a regulatory framework that would replace the longstanding prohibition on civil supersonic flight over land with a performance-based, noise-focused approach. Click here. (8/11)

Scientists Create Largest 2D Map of the Universe With 5.6 Trillion Pixels and Nearly 4 Billion Cosmic Objects (Source: Space.com)
Astronomers have released the largest two-dimensional map of the universe ever created, offering a sweeping new view of nearly 4 billion celestial objects across roughly three-quarters of the sky. The new map, created by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Legacy Imaging Surveys team, contains a staggering 5.6 trillion pixels and combines more than 263,000 telescope exposures collected over more than a decade. The observations span visible and near-infrared wavelengths, providing an enormous portrait of stars, galaxies and other cosmic phenomena across the sky. (8/11)

Firefly Aerospace Pushes Debut of Alpha Block 2 Rocket to the Fourth Quarter of 2026 (Source: Spaceflight Now)
Firefly Aerospace said it will be at least another two months before it’s ready to launch its next Alpha rocket. Alpha Flight 8 (FLTA008) will debut the Block 2 configuration of the rocket. During its second quarter earnings call on Tuesday, Firefly CEO Jason Kim said the next two Alpha launches are now expected to take place in the fourth quarter of 2026. (8/11)

Marlink to Acquire GRC to Expand Sovereign European Defense and Critical Infrastructure Capabilities (Source: SatNews)
On August 11, 2026, global managed network solutions provider Marlink signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100 percent of Global RadioData Communications Ltd (GRC), a UK-based specialist in defense and government communication networks. (8/11)

Ukraine War Sparked Race for Countries to Build Spy Satellites (Source: CNBC)
Countries are racing to expand their spy satellite fleets, as the war in Ukraine forces them to reconsider the intelligence they would rely on in a conflict. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 marked a “pivotal moment” for the space industry, ICEYE co-founder and CEO Rafal Modrzewski said. Europe, as well as Japan, India and Brazil, are now looking to substantially expand their satellite fleets, he said. The market has “suddenly tenfolded in size,” Modrzewski said, adding that countries increasingly view the technology as critical to securing their sovereignty. (8/11)

SpaceX Increasing Footprint in Missile Defense (Source: Space News)
The 2026 Space & Missile Defense Symposium opens this week against a backdrop that would have seemed unlikely only a few years ago: SpaceX is no longer simply the Pentagon’s dominant launch provider but is also becoming a central supplier of the satellite networks and communications infrastructure underpinning the military’s next-generation missile defense architecture. Recent Space Force awards totaling roughly $8.1 billion place the company at the center of the Pentagon’s push under the Golden Dome program to build a layered missile-defense architecture.

The deals with SpaceX arrived in rapid succession. In May, the Space Force awarded SpaceX a $2.29 billion contract to build the initial backbone of the Space Data Network. Days later, the Space Force selected SpaceX for a separate $4.16 billion contract to build the initial constellation for its space-based Airborne Moving Target Indicator, or AMTI, program. (8/11)

Guetlein: Golden Dome has ‘First Operational Site’ and Completed Two Tests (Source: Aerospace America0
The Pentagon official overseeing the Trump administration’s planned multilayered missile defense shield said today the initiative has its “first operational site” at Fort Story, Virginia. “We are digging dirt around the homeland,” said Gen. Michael Guetlein, Golden Dome’s program manager. (8/12)

Remember When Blue Origin Patented Barge Landings and Tried to Block SpaceX? (Source: Space Daily)
In 2014, Blue Origin patented the idea of landing a rocket vertically at sea, before it had launched a single orbital rocket, then used the patent to try to block SpaceX from doing exactly what SpaceX was already attempting to do. The dispute lasted barely a year, and it ended with Blue Origin walking away from its own patent rather than let a court finish the job of killing it. At that point Blue Origin had flown suborbital test vehicles but had not come close to landing an orbital-class booster anywhere, at sea or otherwise.

SpaceX, meanwhile, had already made its first real attempts to land a Falcon 9 first stage on an ocean platform, attempts that were failing in dramatic, well-documented fashion, but were attempts all the same. The company had built what it called an autonomous spaceport drone ship specifically to catch a returning booster, and it was actively trying to use it while Blue Origin’s patent was still working its way through the grant process. (8/12)

Wenchang Spaceport Reaches 50 Launches (Source: NSF)
The state-run Wenchang launch site, located on Hainan Island off China’s southern coast, celebrated its 50th launch on July 29 when a Chang Zheng 7A (CZ-7A) launched the Tianlian-3-01 mission, a third-generation Tianlian-3 relay satellite which took flight just days after the final Tianlian-2 had launched from Xichang. (8/12)

Virgin Galactic Delays Delta-Class Debut to February 2027 as it Raises Seat Prices (Source: Leonard David)
Virgin Galactic has pushed the first full-power flight and initial commercial service of its Delta-class spaceplane to February 2027, while raising prices for future suborbital flights. The company says $750,000 expeditions are selling out early as it works to reduce cash burn and prepare the new vehicle. (8/12)

Artemis I Radiation Vest Reduced Astronaut Exposure During Simulated Solar Storms (Source: Space.com)
In the new study, researchers experimented with the AstroRad vest, which was designed by the Israeli startup StemRad with support from the Israel Space Agency and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin. The garment was created to protect astronauts from explosions from the sun known as solar particle events.

Editor's Note: StemRad in 2019 received a $250,000 grant through the Space Florida and Israel Innovation Authority partnership program. The funding supported the final development and testing of the AstroRad radiation shielding vest. (8/12)

Satellogic Reports First Positive Operating Income (Source: Space Intel Report)
Satellite geospatial imagery provider Satellogic Inc., confirming what it said would be its turnaround year, reported its first quarter of positive operating income and adjusted EBITDA and said the performance would continue for the rest of the year and into 2027. The company has concluded transactions this year to provide regular streams of imagery to government customers, including an $18-million win in Portugal, a similar deal with an unnamed government and a $12-million sale of an in-orbit Satellogic satellite to a government. (8/12)