August 16, 2026

NASA, Space Force Seek Industry Concepts for Regional Methane Production and Storage to Serve Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: NASA)
NASA and the Space Force are conducting market research to identify U.S. entities interested in designing, constructing, and operating a regional liquefied natural gas (LNG) production and storage facility on KSC or CCSFS property. This follows a recent public rejection of plans to develop a Methane liquefaction plant near Port Canaveral. Click here. (8/16)

JAXA Unveils Martian Moon Probe, Aiming to Be 1st to Take Home Samples (Source: Yomiuri Shimbun)
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has unveiled to the press an unmanned probe to be used in the Martian Moons eXploration project, which will explore the Martian moon Phobos. The probe is scheduled to be launched as early as this autumn. If it succeeds in returning samples collected on Phobos to Earth, it would be a global first. It is scheduled to be launched from the center aboard an H3 flagship rocket and enter the gravitational field of Mars next year.

The probe will then land on Phobos to collect sand and other samples from its surface. Phobos is located about 6,000 kilometers from Mars and measures about 20 to 30 kilometers in diameter. The probe will also conduct a flyby to observe another Martian moon, Deimos, as it passes nearby at high speed. After completing its observations, the probe is to return to Earth and drop a capsule containing the samples in an Australian desert in 2031. (8/15)

Space Kinetic Awarded $50M for Space Maneuverability (Source: Payload)
Cheap, swarming, and potentially disposable—all words used in drone economics and now one startup wants to apply them to space. On Thursday, Space Kinetic announced a $50M OTA award from the Space Force to develop Whirlwind—its space maneuverability and deployment system. It’s the largest award yet for the company, which raised a $12M seed round in 2025. (8/13)

SpaceMD to Use Starfall for Space-Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing Mission (Source: The Hill)
SpaceMD will use Starfall for a space-based pharmaceutical manufacturing mission, positioning low Earth orbit as a potential production environment for treatments targeting diseases including cancer and Alzheimer’s. The effort underscores the expanding commercial-space sector’s interest in translating orbital manufacturing into medical applications. (8/16)

SpaceX Sets Launch-Cadence Record with Two Falcon 9 Missions 38 Minutes Apart (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX launched two Falcon 9 rockets just 38 minutes apart on Aug. 15, establishing a new spaceflight record. The rapid succession highlights the company’s ability to compress launch operations across separate missions and further increase the utilization of its launch infrastructure. On Saturday evening (Aug. 15), SpaceX launched two Falcon 9 rockets just 38 minutes apart. The first was Saturday morning at 9:12 p.m. (EDT) from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, carrying eight Globalstar satellites. The second was from California at 9:50 (EDT) carrying classified Space Force satellites (probably Starshield). (8/16)

China’s New Lunar Map Signals Ambitions to Shape How the Solar System is Charted (Source: Space.com)
Chinese researchers have presented a comprehensive lunar map, with a scale of 1:5 million. It is an update of a 2024 edition and puts forward new boundaries for the ancient Aitkenian, Nectarian and Imbrian lunar periods. (The researchers use the term Aitkenian, whereas the term pre-Nectarian is often used to describe the lunar geologic period from roughly around 4.5 billion to 3.9 billion years ago.)

"This goes beyond showcasing technological soft power. This standard will be extended to future planetary geologic mapping, establishing an independent intellectual property framework for China's deep space exploration," Yang Zhiming said.

Both China and the United States have interests in setting standards as humanity renews its interest in exploring the moon. While on Earth everyone agrees on Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the two countries currently disagree about what time it is on the moon, where clocks run faster due to weaker gravity. This suggests that leadership in space will be contested not just through missions and firsts, but via whose technical standards are followed, with China's new map playing into these efforts. (8/16)

NASA Funds Spherical ‘Aerobots’ for Potential Cave Exploration on Titan (Source: Space.com)
An early-stage NASA grant is supporting the concept of spherical “Aerobots” designed to navigate Titan’s caves, offering a potential approach to exploring environments inaccessible to conventional rovers. The proposed demonstration mission would build on the technology-validation model established by Mars’ Ingenuity helicopter. (8/16)

NASA Plans Three Additional CLPS Lunar Missions, Including an Orbiter to Replace LRO (Source: Space News)
NASA expects to award three more lunar task orders through its Commercial Lunar Payload Services program this year. The planned missions include an orbiter intended to replace the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, extending the agency’s lunar observation capabilities as commercial providers take on more exploration work. (8/15)

Orbital Data Centers Converge on Sun-Synchronous Orbits, Raising Traffic-Management Questions (Source: Spacewatch Global)
The emerging orbital data-center sector is converging on sun-synchronous orbits, intensifying questions over congestion, coordination and operational rules. The development also raises a strategic policy issue for Europe: whether it will help shape the traffic-management framework governing a potentially important new class of space infrastructure. (8/14)

How NASA Flew Back to the Moon with a Big FAA Assist (Source: FAA)
In January, the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI), then led by Dr. Melchor Antunano, M.D., M.S. (who now leads University of Central Florida aerospace medicine programs) informed Dr. Austin Ciesielski that Dr. James Polk, NASA’s chief health and medical officer had just sent an urgent request. The space agency was weeks away from launching its Artemis II mission, the first to carry a crew around the moon in 54 years. Unfortunately, they had just discovered a troubling reading for a mission-critical system on the Orion crew module.

“In our recent water sampling of the potable crew water on the vehicle at the pad, we found both high silver and isopropyl alcohol, also a level that is close to exceeding that which is safe for long term consumption,” Polk wrote. “Would you be able to run the analysis of a sample to verify the findings?” In short, it appeared that a cleaning agent may have contaminated the astronauts’ drinking water supply. Quickly following up, Ciesielski learned that NASA had conducted two different tests of the Orion’s potable water system which obtained different readings—one showing the water system was safe, the other registering an unsafe reading.

“They didn’t know which one was the real number,” said Ciesielski. “So, they reached out to us and said, ‘Hey can you guys do this analysis?’” Before the FAA could assist, NASA needed CAMI’s assurances that its Forensic Science Laboratory could provide gold-standard analysis. To demonstrate the FAA was up to the task, Ciesielski analyzed several water samples containing known amounts of isopropyl alcohol and sent the results to NASA, which met their approval. (8/12)

Fibonacci Space Brokerage and Space Ocean Corp Announce Brokerage Partnership (Source: Fibonacci)
Fibonacci Space Brokerage announced a brokerage partnership with Space Ocean Corp, a company developing on-orbit water and fluid transfer capability for the commercial space economy. Under the agreement, Fibonacci will serve as introduction broker for Space Ocean Corp, connecting the company with qualified counterparties across in-space refueling and propellant infrastructure, commercial space stations, and orbital manufacturing.

Space Ocean Corp is building the infrastructure to make water and fluid resources available on-orbit — starting with near-term applications in commercial space station life-support consumables and spacecraft propellant, and extending toward a longer-term vision of lunar and off-world water sourcing. As orbital and lunar activity accelerates, the ability to source, store, and transfer water and fluid resources in space is emerging as foundational infrastructure for the industry. (8/14)

FCC Says Starlink Has Over 7 Million US Subscribers. Wait, What? (Source: PC Mag)
A new report from the Federal Communications Commission suggests that Starlink’s growth in the US has somehow tripled, reaching over 7 million subscribers. The 7 million figure is in a report from the FCC, which examines broadband access nationwide, covering fixed and mobile services. In releasing the report, the commission not only touted progress in expanding access to high-speed broadband and 5G mobile, but also highlighted the expansion of satellite internet services, including SpaceX’s Starlink.

“Satellite service is also rapidly expanding,” the 182-page report says. “Starlink alone has launched over 2,300 satellites between mid-2024 and mid-2025 and has now deployed more than 7,800 satellites—a worldwide network already with over 7 million American subscribers.” Although it’s clear Starlink has been growing, the FCC figure blows past our expectations, considering SpaceX told the FCC in September 2025 that Starlink was serving “more than 2 million subscribers in the United States alone." In August 2024, the number was over 1.4 million. (8/14)

New Space Mirrors May Threaten the Night Sky (Source: The Oklahoman)
Have you ever stood out in your backyard or a park after dark and look up at the stars? Have you ever been in a really dark location and stared in wonder at the beauty of our Milky Way galaxy as its hazy band stretches across the sky? If one company has its way that may not be something you can do for much longer.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted permission for a company called Reflect Orbital to put a giant space mirror, called Earendil-1 in orbit. The company’s plan is to use the giant mirror to reflect sunlight down to Earth for “extra solar energy and area-wide lighting” at night. Their ultimate goal is to place 50,000 of these in Earth orbit by 2035. They claim the nighttime lighting could be used for agriculture, emergency response, and other industrial sectors. (8/15)

Pentagon Awards Deorbit-as-a-Service Deals to Catch Satellites Built to Never Be Caught (Source: Tech Times)
The Space Development Agency and the Defense Innovation Unit responded last week by awarding preliminary design contracts to three commercial companies — Firefly Aerospace, D-Orbit Space, and Katalyst Space — to develop autonomous systems capable of doing something the entire history of satellite servicing has rarely attempted: physically capturing military satellites that were never designed to be captured. (8/15)

NASA Opens Call on Moon Base Health Research (Source: Payload)
The human body has evolved to withstand many environments, but the Moon isn’t one of them. NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP) is asking researchers what they want to know as the agency transitions from short-term lunar missions to long-term stays at a Moon Base. The RFI asks researchers to submit questions and ideas to guide the agency’s research planning, and reduce risks to astronauts during lunar and Mars exploration missions.

“We know a lot from work on the International Space Station, but exploration on the Moon will happen at a different scale and with different parameters, and we’re looking forward to exploring those differences,” said Michael Stenger, the chief scientist of NASA’s HRP.  A permanent base would let researchers study how a partial-gravity environment impacts astronaut health over long stretches of time. According to Stenger, it may even have opportunities for a dedicated laboratory on the lunar surface. (8/14)

Zelenskyy Claims Ukraine Struck Russian Space Facility in Samara (Source: Bloomberg)
Ukraine said it attacked a production unit of the Roscosmos space agency as it continued strikes at military and related infrastructure deep within Russia. In the Samara region, some 900 kilometers (560 miles) from Ukraine’s border, Flamingo missiles hit the Progress Rocket and Space Center, “involved, among other things, in electronics production,” Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. “Our plan of long-range sanctions against Russia for this war is being carried out.” (8/15)

Will the New Moon Race Turn Earth's Nearest Neighbor Into a Dumping Ground? (Source: Space.com)
Around 200 tons of Earth stuff have been either deliberately left on or crashed into the moon since the beginning of the space age. Some of this material has a prominent place in history books, but there is also a lot of stuff on the moon that wasn't really meant to end up there. Astronomer and space historian Jonathan McDowell says that many rocket stages and other objects left in orbit between Earth and the moon since the first lunar missions in the 1960s may have ended up on the gray dirt.

Gregory Radisic, a space law expert, said the recent Falcon 9 stage's lunar crash was timely, as it can stir debate about responsible behavior in space before the moon gets too busy. "It's not by good planning that this didn't hit something important," he said. "It's by pure luck that we're only having a conversation about theoretical problems down the line and that this did not destroy a million-dollar experiment or an important site of scientific study."

He added that spaceflight companies may start paying attention to the risks only after human lives are lost or expensive infrastructure suffers, resulting in tangible fines and consequences. (8/14)

Policy Experts: Europe Stuck Between “Rock and a Hard Place” on Launch (Source: Ars Technica)
Researchers assert that nations in Europe and elsewhere that decide to rely solely on their domestic rockets for launch needs will see their costs go up, which could slow their efforts to expand space-based operations such as satellite constellations. This leaves policymakers in a difficult position.

“Looking specifically at Europe, for now the continent is stuck between a rock and a hard place, having to choose between continuing to depend on lower-cost American launch technology and relying on expensive, poorly scalable domestic technology to expand its strategic presence in space,” the authors write.

Ultimately, to remain competitive, spacefaring nations will need to develop better and more modern launch capabilities. The United States is far and away the current leader of reusable launch, and virtually all new commercial rockets under development incorporate some aspect of reuse. Chinese firms are similarly pushing forward with this technology. To date, Europe’s efforts have been slow and stodgy. (8/14)

Constipation is Common in Astronauts – Blood Tests Provide New Answers (Source: University of Copenhagen)
For astronauts in space, constipation is a well-known problem. But why this happens has long been unclear. Now, a new study from the University of Copenhagen in collaboration with NASA provides an idea of what happens in the stomach without the influence of gravity. The researchers have examined blood samples from 52 astronauts who have participated in months long missions to the ISS. The study results identified gastrointestinal changes that occur shortly after the astronauts leave Earth and gravity behind.

Protein fermentation is when gut bacteria begin to break down protein instead of fiber because the fiber in the diet has been used up. This is not abnormal, and it also happens to many people on Earth. "The lack of gravity in space probably causes food to move more slowly through the intestine, and this fits with the fact that we are seeing signs of increased protein fermentation." (8/14)