August 27, 2026

SkyFi Unveils Rowan AI Imagery Tool (Source: Space News)
Geospatial data and analytics provider SkyFi unveiled a new AI tool for imagery. With the AI navigator, called Rowan, users can search among the datasets of SkyFi partners, using natural language queries to find images from more than 300 sources. In July, SkyFi announced the release of a model context protocol to enable customers to use Claude, ChatGPT and other AI agents to search its geospatial imagery archives, task satellites, place recurring orders and run analytics.  (8/27)

Space Force to Expand Starshield Use on Military Aircraft (Source: Space News)
The Space Force is expanding its use of SpaceX's Starshield constellation by military aircraft. The Space Force's Commercial Space Office posted an award notice this week for "Starshield Custom Fleet Aviation Services" that includes antennas and subscriptions. The value of the award was redacted. An acquisition document showed that U.S. government organizations have already funded development and qualification of ruggedized Starshield terminals for a range of military aircraft, including cargo planes and tactical fighter jets, and that additional installations are planned. While other companies are part of the Space Force's Proliferated Low Earth Orbit Satellite-Based Services contract, SpaceX has dominated task-order awards and the Space Force concluded that SpaceX was the only provider currently able to meet its needs for this latest award. (8/27)

LeoLabs Wins $20 Million From Space Force for Scout Tracking Radar (Source: Space News)
LeoLabs won a Space Force contract worth more than $20 million for a version of its Scout radar. The $20.68 million award, in the form of a prototype Other Transaction Agreement, calls for LeoLabs to provide a Scout system for a new defense mission. LeoLabs developed Scout as a transportable radar for tracking satellites and debris in orbit. The company said it could not disclose the specific program or test activity the radar would support under the new award. LeoLabs, founded a decade ago to provide space tracking services, is now moving further into defense hardware, looking to sell radar systems and related sensing technology directly to U.S. and allied government customers. (8/27)

Katalyst Repurposes Link Spacecraft After Swift Mission Halted (Source: Space News)
Katalyst Space is continuing to operate its Link spacecraft even after calling off an effort to reboost NASA's Swift spacecraft. NASA and Katalyst said last week that attitude-control problems with the company's Link spacecraft meant that it could no longer carry out its original mission to grapple Swift and raise its orbit. In an interview Wednesday, Katalyst Space CEO Ghonhee Lee said the company is continuing to operate Link and maneuvering it to the vicinity of Swift, with the goal of getting close enough to image it. The attitude-control problems with Link were caused by heating issues that burned out electronics used to operate two reaction wheels. He said the lessons from Link will inform its future satellite servicing missions. (8/27)

China's Galactic Energy Schedules Pallas-1 Rocket Launch on Sep. 1 (Source: Space News)
Chinese launch company Galactic Energy has scheduled the first launch of its Pallas-1 rocket. The company is expected to attempt a launch Sep. 1, from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Test Zone at Jiuquan spaceport, based on airspace closure notices. Pallas-1 is Galactic Energy's two-stage liquid launch vehicle, with an optional Eros upper stage for extended missions. It is designed to place up to 7,000 kilograms into low Earth orbit and its booster is designed to be reusable, although no recovery attempt of the first stage is expected for the first flight. The company has not announced any payloads for the upcoming launch. (8/27)

China Rolls Back Long March 5, Marking Significant Delay of Chang'e-7 Lunar Mission (Source: Space News)
The Long March 5 that was to launch China's Chang'e-7 lunar mission has rolled back to its assembly building. The mission was scheduled to launch last Sunday but was abruptly postponed less than 24 hours before liftoff. The mission is expected to be delayed into 2027, and potentially to a similar window this time next year. A likely explanation is that the tropical depression Narra threatened Hainan island during the short, usually once-a-month lunar launch window. The knock-on effect for Chang'e-7 is that there are no later launch windows due to the mission's landing site selection and solar illumination constraints. (8/27)

Japan's Sarmony to Launch Satellite on Kairos Rocket in 2028 (Source: Space News)
A Japanese radar-imaging company plans to launch its first demonstration satellite on a Kairos rocket. Sarmony announced this week it signed an agreement with Space One for the launch of its first SAR DiskSat satellite on a Kairos rocket in 2028. Sarmony plans a second demonstration mission in 2030 before deploying an initial constellation of 48 satellites, which will operate in very low Earth orbit. Kairos has launched three times to date, and in all three cases failed to reach orbit. Space One said it is completing the investigation into the most recent failure in March but has not set a date for the rocket's next flight. (8/27)

ISS Spacewalk Planned to Replace Docking Port Retroreflector (Source: NASA)
NASA has scheduled another International Space Station spacewalk for next week. The agency said Wednesday that NASA's Jessica Meir and ESA's Sophie Adenot will carry out a spacewalk next Tuesday to replace a retroreflector on a docking port and other maintenance work. Those tasks were originally scheduled for a spacewalk carried out Tuesday by Adenot and NASA's Anil Menon, but that spacewalk was instead used to install a new antenna. This will be the fourth ISS spacewalk in the last month. (8/27)

France's Miratlas Courts Investors for Atmospheric Modeling (Source: Space News)
A French startup is raising money to provide services to assist optical communications companies. Miratlas is seeking investors to expand atmospheric-monitoring technology that helps operators find the best sites for their weather-sensitive optical ground stations. The company is aiming to raise 20 million euros ($23 million) to grow its network of Sky Monitor sensors from roughly 60 sites worldwide to more than 150. Each site hosts a mix of imaging, weather and astronomy-based instruments to measure cloud cover and atmospheric turbulence, two key obstacles for laser links between satellites and the ground. U.S. satellite broadband operator Viasat and French telecoms giant Orange are among the venture's largest customers that can be disclosed. (8/27)

Alleged Chinese Hackers Targeted NASA (Source: CNN)
NASA was among the targets of an alleged Chinese hacker group. The Justice Department said it has disrupted the group, which reportedly compromised computer systems at NASA and other agencies as well as at the U.S. Senate, power companies and hospitals. The attacks started in 2018 and were only recently halted, officials said. It was unclear what information the hackers had access to and what other impacts their activities had. (8/27)

NASA Completes Astronaut-Deployed Science Instrument for Lunar Surface (Source: Douglas Messier)
ASA has declared “wrenches down” on the first completed payload designed for Artemis astronauts to deploy on the Moon’s surface. Engineers working on NASA’s Lunar Environment Monitoring Station, or LEMS, have completed hardware development and testing and the payload is ready for its permanent home near the lunar South Pole. With the hardware complete, LEMS is ready to support one of the Artemis program’s core goals: enabling sustained lunar science and exploration.

The LEMS instrument package contains two highly sensitive seismometers that will monitor ground vibrations from moonquakes and meteorite impacts, providing scientists with insights into the Moon’s interior and the seismic hazards astronauts might encounter at the surface. Its modular design allows the system to be adapted or expanded to host new instruments in the future, creating a reusable platform that can evolve as scientific priorities grow. The payload will remain in a clean room at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, where it was built, until it is assigned to an Artemis mission for deployment to the lunar surface. (8/27)

Smaller Space Companies Want To See Programs Of Record For Their Investments (Source: Defense Daily)
Smaller space companies want to see how the "commercial first" mantra of Pentagon acquisition reform translates into programs of record. The Space Force contends that its nine, new program acquisition executives (PAEs) will lead to more opportunities for smaller companies trying to get their foot in the door, as military forces in the field press the PAEs for more commercial technology. "These PAEs will enjoy an unprecedented high level of authority--acquisition authorities being pushed down to a very low level. (8/26)

TraCSS Remains in Pilot Phase as Budget Uncertainty Slows U.S. Space Traffic Management Rollout (Source: Via Satellite)
The Office of Space Commerce’s TraCSS system has onboarded more than 70 satellite owners and operators across more than 10 nations, but remains in pilot mode because of budget uncertainty. The status underscores the gap between growing demand for space traffic coordination and operationalizing the U.S. system. (8/26)

NOAA Awards Muon Space, Weather Stream and Spire Contracts for TMATE Weather-Satellite Instruments (Source: Via Satellite)
NOAA has selected Muon Space, Orbital Micro Systems—doing business as Weather Stream—and Spire Global to develop weather satellite instruments for the Temperature and Moisture Advanced Technology Evolution project, advancing a multi-company effort to strengthen future temperature and moisture measurement capabilities. (8/26)

Small-Satellite Market Moves Toward Larger, More Capable Platforms and Space-Based Sensing (Source: SpaceQ)
New spacecraft developments span 500-kilogram modular buses, thermal-imaging constellation expansion, spectrum monitoring for electronic-threat detection and a military satellite launch from Plesetsk. Together, the activity highlights growing demand for microsatellites that combine greater payload capacity with specialized sensing and defense applications. (8/26)

Kratos’ Space Revenue Rises 22% Organically in Q2, with Orbit and Nomad Acquisitions Adding Momentum (Source: Space Intel Report)
Kratos Defense and Security Solutions said its space business delivered 22% organic revenue growth in the second quarter, supported by its Orbit and Nomad acquisitions. The company said demand is expanding at the expected high rate, though classified contracts make its growth difficult to assess externally. (8/26)

Is 1000 US Launches Per Year Realistic? (Source: Space News)
In 2025, there were 181 American launches (165 of which used the Falcon 9), and there were 144 in 2024. “I think [1000] is at the upper limit but not totally unreasonable,” Todd Harrison said. “If you look at the rate of growth in U.S. launches from 2020 through 2025, the compound annual growth rate was a little over 37%. If you extrapolate that exponential growth rate through 2030, it puts you at around 900 launches per year.”

However, he thought that the number may be “far-fetched,” given that newer and upcoming launch vehicles have higher payload capacity than their predecessors, suggesting that there may be fewer launches of more heavily-laden spacecraft in the next few years. Ultimately, the number may not prove realistic. But that’s not the end of the world, Harrison said, since the stakes of a general policy document making an incorrect projection are fairly inconsequential.

“If it is used for budgeting, setting staffing levels, or building facilities, I would want something that accounts for projected satellite launches, new launch vehicles coming online and other factors to make it more bounded and realistic,” he said. (8/26)

Spire Wins $28 Million NOAA Contract to Advance Hyperspectral Microwave Sounding Technology (Source: Space News)
Spire Global won a $28 million NASA contract to build and flight qualify a satellite and hyperspectral microwave sounder for operational weather forecasting. The system will be designed to support NOAA weather-forecasting needs and to help the agency analyze the impact of hyperspectral microwave observations on numerical weather prediction. The latest award is a two-year contract to advance “the technology beyond on-orbit demonstration and toward the scale required for operational weather observations,” Spire said. (8/26)

Friends in High Places: Louisiana Spaceport Project Comes a Week After FAA Announces Plans to Waive Environmental Regulations for Launchers (Source: SPACErePORT)
SpaceX's announcement of its mega-spaceport project--to be located on an environmentally sensitive coastline in Louisiana--came only a week after the FAA announced the proposed waiver of key environmental permitting regulations for commercial space projects. (8/26)

Panel Warns of Growing Threats to Smallsat Constellations (Source: Space News)
Small satellites face growing threats because potential adversaries recognize their expanding role in providing communication, Earth observation and navigation services, a panel of satellite and cybersecurity experts said at the 2026 Small Satellite Conference. (8/26)

Sarmony to Launch SAR Demonstration Satellite on Kairos (Source: Space News)
Space One and Sarmony announced Aug. 25 that they signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the launch of Sarmony’s first SAR DiskSat spacecraft on a Kairos rocket in 2028. The satellite will test technologies that Sarmony plans to deploy on a constellation of satellites with synthetic aperture radar payloads. (8/26)

Miratlas Seeks Funds to Expand Optical Ground Station Mapping Technology (Source: Space News)
French startup Miratlas is seeking investors to expand atmospheric-monitoring technology that helps operators find the best sites for their weather-sensitive optical ground stations. The company is aiming to raise 20 million euros ($23 million) to grow its network of Sky Monitor sensors from roughly 60 sites worldwide to more than 150. (8/26)

SkyFi Unveils AI Navigator for Geospatial Platform (Source: Space News)
U.S. geospatial data and analytics provider SkyFi unveiled an artificial intelligence navigator Aug. 26 compares availability, resolution and price across more than 300 sources. (8/26)

Ukraine Honors Elon Musk as Kyiv Seeks Expanded Starlink Access for Drone Operations (Source: The Independent)
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded Elon Musk Ukraine’s Order of Freedom, citing his contributions to protecting life and freedom, as Kyiv seeks broader access to SpaceX’s Starlink terminals for battlefield communications and potentially drone strikes deep inside Russia—an expansion Musk has been reluctant to approve. (8/26)

Canada Backs Telesat’s Lightspeed Constellation in Push for Sovereign Space Defense (Source: Space News)
The Canadian government is providing a major financial lifeline to Telesat Canada to support its planned Lightspeed telecommunications satellite constellation. The move underscores Ottawa’s effort to build sovereign space capabilities and strengthen the project’s prospects amid rising defense and strategic reliance on space-based connectivity. (8/26)

RTX’s Blue Canyon Technologies Unveils FleXbus Spacecraft Subsystem (Source: Space News)
Blue Canyon Technologies, the small-satellite manufacturer and mission-services provider within RTX’s Raytheon business, has introduced FleXbus, a new spacecraft subsystem. The company describes the product as a mission enabler, adding another offering to its portfolio for small-satellite platforms and space missions. (8/26)

Satellites Reveal War Damage to US Facilities in Middle East (Source: Space News)
On May 6, the Washington Post published the most complete public account of what Iran’s missiles had done to American bases in the Gulf. At least 228 structures and pieces of equipment were damaged or destroyed across 15 sites in six countries. Hangars, barracks, fuel bladders, a power plant at Camp Buehring, Patriot and THAAD equipment, an E-3 Sentry at Prince Sultan. Damage at the Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain severe enough that officials told the Post operations might shift to MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.

The Pentagon had acknowledged a only fraction of the damage. Reporters had to geolocate 128 satellite images published by Iranian state-affiliated media, then verified 109 of them against Sentinel-2 imagery from Copernicus, the European Union’s civil earth observation program, using high-resolution Planet imagery where it was still available. Nineteen images were discarded as inconclusive. None showed signs of manipulation. The adversary supplied the pictures. A European civil satellite adjudicated them. That is the story the commercial imagery sector should be arguing about, and it is not principally a story about journalism. (8/26)

Lunar Test Facility Prepares Artemis Hardware for Moon (Source: Douglas Messier)
Before astronauts return to the Moon’s surface through NASA’s Artemis program, the hardware they depend on must first prove it can survive the unforgiving lunar environment. At NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, engineers at the Lunar Development and Test Facility are tackling one of exploration’s biggest challenges: Moon dust.

Unlike sand on Earth, lunar dust is sharp, abrasive, and clings to nearly everything. Without mitigation, lunar dust could damage equipment and spacesuits while posing health risks to astronauts. Understanding and mitigating the effects of lunar dust is essential as astronauts prepare to live and work on the surface of the Moon.

Located within the Energy Systems Test Area and managed by NASA engineers, the Lunar Development and Test Facility supports the development and testing of hardware in simulated lunar conditions. Engineers evaluate systems and subsystems inside vacuum chambers using lunar regolith simulant to better understand how spacesuits, spacecraft components, and mechanisms with moving parts and joints will perform during future Artemis missions. (8/26)

‘It Seems Crazy’: SpaceX’s Orbital Data Center Bet Tests Physics and Finance (Source: Financial Times)
SpaceX has sold investors on a trillion-dollar vision of millions of solar-powered satellites in orbit, packed with the chips needed to power AI. SpaceX expects to begin launching orbital data centers into space as soon as next year. Its 407ft-tall rocket known as Starship is central to this plan. “This is not some sort of far-future, distant thing,” Musk told investors this month.

But company filings, technical documents and interviews with aerospace engineers suggest the company needs to solve three significant interlocking problems to achieve this at scale: how to launch rockets cheaply at unprecedented cadence, cool power-hungry computers in a vacuum, and regularly replace them with the latest chip technology.

The company’s own IPO filing makes clear how speculative its bet remains. “Many of our initiatives . . . including those to develop orbital AI compute at scale . . . involve significant technical complexity, unproven technologies or technologies that do not exist, and such initiatives may not achieve commercial viability,” it wrote. (8/25)

A New NASA Design Turbocharges Nuclear Spacecraft (Source: IEEE Spectrum)
We want to make it possible to dramatically reduce the length of time crews must spend in space—down to just 335 days in transit or less. This will both simplify many engineering challenges and keep astronauts healthier and safer. Some engineers would suggest we build two separate systems—one reactor for thermal propulsion and another reactor for power and electric propulsion. But since at least the 1990s, it has been the dream of many engineers to combine nuclear thermal and nuclear electric in one package, with one reactor: the bimodal nuclear rocket. Click here. (8/26)

CAPSTONE 02 Mission Includes Two Lunar Smallsats (Source: Space News)
A lunar smallsat mission will pick up where a cubesat mission left off. NASA and Advanced Space announced last month the CAPSTONE 02 mission, which will fly a pair of smallsats in lunar orbit to test rendezvous and proximity operations. The mission will build upon the CAPSTONE cubesat mission launched in 2022 to study operations in a near-rectilinear halo orbit around the moon. While Advanced Space and NASA had been talking about a follow-on to CAPSTONE for a year and a half, NASA's announcement in March that it will develop a lunar base, requiring dozens of missions, helped crystallize plans for CAPSTONE 02. NASA said CAPSTONE 02 will cost just under $100 million, excluding launch. (8/26)

TrustPoint to Use C-Band Signals for Navigation (Source: Space News)
TrustPoint has tested C-band signals it plans to use for navigation services. The company said Tuesday a NovAtel receiver from Swedish company Hexagon acquired and tracked a live C-band signal from a TrustPoint satellite, while a separate laboratory test evaluated a combined L-band and C-band receiver under simulated jamming. The company said a main goal of the test was to show that C-band capability could be added to established satellite navigation receiver technology and used alongside conventional L-band signals, helping reduce the effects of GPS signal jamming. (8/26)

UK's Odin Space Extends Arkisys Collaboration for Debris Detection (Source: Space News)
Odin Space, a British startup focused on addressing lethal, non-trackable space debris, has extended its agreement to fly its Black Box on Arkisys Cutter spacecraft. The companies said Tuesday that four additional Odin Black Boxes will launch on Arkisys Cutter small spacecraft. Those payloads are designed to help detect debris too small to be tracked from the ground. Under the agreement, evidence-based collision insurance, underwritten through Lloyd's of London, will become a standard offering for Cutter hosted payloads. (8/26)

Astronauts Install New ISS Antenna (Source: Space.com)
Two astronauts installed a new antenna on the ISS during a spacewalk Tuesday. NASA's Anil Menon and ESA's Sophie Adenot spent six and a half hours outside the station on a spacewalk that concluded at 2:57 p.m. Eastern. The two successfully installed a space-to-ground antenna, replacing one that had malfunctioned. The antenna was originally scheduled to be installed on a spacewalk last week, but it took astronauts longer than expected to remove the old antenna. This was the third of three spacewalks conducted from the station this month, although NASA said last week it was considering adding a fourth in early September for additional ISS maintenance work. (8/26)

SpaceX Launches California Starlink Mission on Wednesday (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites from California early this morning. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 5:35 a.m. Eastern, putting 27 Starlink satellites into orbit. The booster for this mission completed its 24th flight. (8/26)

CesiumAstro Raising More Money for Acquisitions (Source: Space News)
CesiumAstro is raising more money as it continues to acquire other companies. CesiumAstro said Tuesday it acquired mission software specialist 1Aardvark, the third such deal in less than a year to bring more capabilities in house. While CesiumAstro has not disclosed its valuation, which a source previously said crossed the $1 billion threshold with a $270 million Series C disclosed in February, the company said an ongoing Series D round will raise it from its current level. CesiumAstro is preparing to deploy the first Element spacecraft in October as a precursor to Synchronicity, a proposed constellation of 737 satellites to provide connectivity for enterprise and government users. (8/26)

Workforce Crunch Impacting Space Industry Growth (Source: Space News)
As the space industry grows, it is facing a hiring crunch. Businesses and government agencies are struggling to find the engineers, cleared workers and mid-career managers needed to turn surging investment and demand into spacecraft and services. The industry has long bemoaned the struggle to attract enough engineering talent, but the issue has become even more acute in recent years. That includes, in the government, both scaling up of missions but a loss of experienced civil-service personnel. (8/26)

Impulse Space Ramps Up Rideshare Plans (Source: Space News)
Impulse Space is ramping up a GEO rideshare program because of high demand. The company announced two years ago it would pursue a program using its Helios kick stage that can deliver several tons of payload to GEO when launched on vehicles like the Falcon 9. Last year, Impulse Space said it expected to run one such rideshare mission a year, but the company said it would now seek to fly at least two such missions a year. The manifest for the first mission, scheduled for the first half of 2027, is now closed, and the company is opening waitlists for missions scheduled for 2028. (8/26)

High Demand for Rideshares Prompts Concerns and Creativity (Source: Space News)
High demand and uncertainty about the future of SpaceX's rideshare program have led companies to get creative about providing such services. One launch service provider, SEOPS, converted a planned GEO rideshare mission on a Falcon 9 to a mid-inclination LEO mission, seeing high demand from LEO customers. Portal Space Systems, which bought a Falcon 9 for its first Supernova satellite launch, is working with Maverick Space Systems to sell excess capacity on the launch for rideshares. The moves come amid industry concern that SpaceX will end its rideshare missions in the next few years. (8/26)

Simera Sense Aims for Smaller Hyperspectral Imagers (Source: Space News)
Simera Sense, a developer of imaging payloads for spacecraft, is pushing to expand imaging capabilities for smaller spacecraft. Simera Sense has supplied 10 hyperspectral imagers to U.S. satellite services provider Loft Orbital over the past year, it announced Wednesday. Loft integrates the imagers on standardized satellite buses it orders in batches, mainly from Airbus, to host customer payloads and operate the spacecraft on their behalf. According to Simera Sense, more than 15 of its HyperScape100 imagers for other customers have been deployed to date and are all operating successfully in orbit. (8/26)