August 28, 2026

L3Harris, Leidos Scaling Up Infrared Sensor Technology for SDA Missile Tracking Satellites (Source: Aerospace America)
Launches of the additional missile tracking satellites the U.S. Space Development Agency contracted in July are slated to begin at the end of the year. The effort is meant to accelerate the use of a technology expected to play a major role in tracking advanced threats from space: infrared sensor payloads. (8/28)

Space Force Plans ‘Scorecard’ to Evaluate Programs’ Commercial Integration and More (Source: Air & Space Forces)
The Space Force is exploring ways to incentivize acquisition leaders to leverage more commercial innovation across their programs, including a new “scorecard” to quantify their efforts. The service is making sweeping reforms to its acquisition enterprise in response to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s call for “acquisition transformation.” That includes changing the way it sets requirements, manages programs, and fields capabilities. In June, the Space Force announced nine portfolio acquisition executives who will manage programs by mission areas, and officials are now working to put the authorities and structures in place to support those PAEs. (8/26)

Trump Officially Plans for Civilian Federal Pay Freeze in 2027 (Source: FNN)
"I have determined that for 2027, base pay and locality pay for civilian federal employees will not change from the 2026 rates," Trump wrote in his alternative pay plan letter, quietly transmitted to Congress on Wednesday. "This decision will maintain fiscal responsibility without harming the government's ability to recruit and retain well qualified employees." (8/28)

Trump Directs Government to Establish US Space Academy (Source: SPACErePORT)
President Trump has established a commission aimed at creating a US Space Academy. The commission will be chaired by the NASA Administrator, with presidential assistants for science/technology and economic policy serving as vice chairs. Membership will also include the Secretary of War, Secretary of the Air Force, and others. The commission will guide the creation of "a NASA-led Federal academy dedicated to combining rigorous technical education with leadership development, discipline, and a durable commitment to public service." 

At first glance, this doesn't appear to be a new military academy, serving the Space Force alongside others for the Army, Navy, and Air Force. But that might depend on what the commission ultimately recommends. Maybe it's more like the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York. The USMMA is tied to the US Department of Transportation and, like the military academies, requires a post-graduation commitment to service (including with the Navy or Coast Guard). Also like the military academies, USMMA is highly selective, with a system for accepting Congressionally nominated candidates.

The existing academies are expensive. We can expect a huge startup cost for a new Space Academy's capital facility development, added to annual operating cost in the hundreds of millions. Each of the academies already operating are seeking FY-2027 operating/maintenance appropriations of between $250M and $380M. (8/28)

After This Week's Baltic GPS Jamming - is it Possible to Have Precision Without Satellites? (Source: Aktyvus Photonics)
This week's GPS blackouts across Poland and NATO's confirmation that the minehunter ORP Albatros was jammed in the Baltic on 21 August make one thing clear. NATO's eastern flank can no longer depend on satellite navigation. Yet much of the precision-strike toolkit still quietly depends on it. Laurynas Šatas of Aktyvus Photonics believes laser designation is a better solution in today’s situation.

“The signal can be degraded or switched off across an entire region, and increasingly is. The lesson is that our precision can't keep depending on a single signal someone else can take away. Laser designation is built for exactly this. The capability exists, it's standardized, and much of it can be built in Europe rather than licensed from outside it. So there is no need to put all the trust in the satellites anymore.”

Editor's Note: "GPS jamming" is a misnomer. It's GNSS jamming, because Galileo's and BeiDou's signals are interoperable with GPS, making them vulnerable to the same interference. GLONASS is a partial exception because it operates at a higher frequency that can escape jamming from narrow-band emitters. (8/28)

A Power Grid on the Moon (Source: SpaceCom)
Future lunar operations may include scientific stations separated by kilometers, autonomous mining equipment operating in permanently shadowed regions, mobile robots exploring new terrain, and commercial facilities manufacturing products on the Moon. Each will have different energy demands and operating schedules.

Astrobotic envisions a flexible network capable of routing electricity where it is needed while supporting mobile charging stations, wireless power transfer, and standardized connections that simplify how future systems work together.

That approach reduces duplication, improves reliability, and lowers the cost of expanding operations. Instead of every mission solving the same power challenges independently, new customers can build upon infrastructure already in place. (8/27)

A SPAC Resurgence (Source: Space News)
Another space company is going public through a SPAC deal. Singapore-based Astrum Space announced plans Thursday to merge with a publicly listed blank-check company in a deal valuing the satellite direct-to-device (D2D) venture at about $1 billion. The transaction would combine Astrum with Black Spade Acquisition III Co., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by Black Spade Capital, the private investment arm of casino magnate Lawrence Ho.

The SPAC has $172.5 million in trust. Chinese property investor and Astrum founder Zhou Qingzhi has separately committed up to $168 million to support the company, according to regulatory filings, including development and launch of Neastar-1, the small geostationary satellite ordered last year from Swissto12. Neastar-1 would use L-band spectrum to provide low-bandwidth multimedia and mass notification services across Asia, in addition to basic connectivity for remote networks, with a launch planned by early 2029. (8/28)

European Court Annuls Italian Defense Contract (Source: Space News)
A European court has annulled a decision by the European Defence Agency (EDA) to award a contract for satellite communications to Telespazio, while leaving the contract itself intact . The European Union's General Court ordered EDA, the European organization that coordinates defense across member nations, to pay 4.32 million euros in damages to Airbus Defence and Space and Marlink Events, the consortium partners behind a rejected bid that brought the case against the agency. That amount is the estimated profit on the contract.

The ruling was based on the court's assessment that the consortium would have had a 95% chance of winning the 2023 contract over Telespazio had the procurement been handled correctly, as Telespazio's original bid didn't meet specific requirements. However, the contract remains in force and EDA can continue placing orders with Telespazio under it. An EDA spokesperson said the agency is evaluating how to respond to the judgment. (8/28)

Golden Dome Live-Fire Exercises Tests Industry-Supplied Tech (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon is testing technologies outside established military programs in Golden Dome live-fire exercises. Army Lt. Gen. Brian Gibson, the deputy head of Golden Dome, said at a conference this week that two live-fire tests conducted at different locations in the United States over the past eight months included technologies supplied by industry that were not part of existing Pentagon programs of record. That illustrates how the program is trying to combine established missile defenses with technologies that have not gone through the military's traditional acquisition process. Gibson said the exercises were designed to validate software and new links between sensors that detect and track threats and the weapons assigned to engage them. (8/28)

Space Force Makes Use of Commercial Data Marketplace (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force spent nearly $124 million through its commercial data marketplace in less than three years. A GAO study released Thursday said the purchases through the Global Data Marketplace from January 2023 to September 2025 supported missions ranging from tracking satellites in orbit to detecting GPS interference and supplying commercial imagery and analysis to combatant commands.

More than half of the purchases were by the Joint Commercial Operations Cell, which uses unclassified commercial data and analysis to augment military sensors and provide information that can be more easily shared with allies and other partners. The report found that the Pentagon has yet to fully organize how it buys, shares and reuses commercial data, with some concerns within the Space Force about data rights and long-term access. (8/28)

NorthStar Earth and Space to Add Tracking Sensors to Kepler Data-Relay Satellites (Source: Space News)
Northstar Earth and Space will install space tracking sensors on Kepler Communications data-relay satellites. The two Canadian companies announced an agreement Thursday where Northstar will add 11 optical space domain awareness sensors on future Kepler spacecraft. NorthStar plans to announce a manufacturer later for the payload sensors that are slated to deploy across two separate launches in 2028 for Kepler's next-generation relay spacecraft. The sensors will replace four Northstar spacecraft launched in 2024 that later failed in orbit. (8/28)

Ariane 6 Launches Weather Satellite on Thursday (Source: Space News)
An Ariane 6 launched a European weather satellite Thursday. An Ariane 62 lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, deploying the MTG-I2 satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit 36 minutes later. MTG-I2 is the third satellite in the Meteosat Third Generation program developed by ESA and Eumetsat, and will provide images of Europe and North Africa every 2.5 minutes to aid weather forecasting. The launch was the fourth launch of an Ariane 6 so far this year. At a prelaunch briefing last week an Arianespace executive said the company still expected to perform seven to eight launches this year. (8/28)

China Developing Wharf to Support Sea-Launch Operations (Source: Space News)
Shanghai has begun construction on a wharf intended to connect a planned commercial rocket manufacturing hub to sea-launch operations. The Linzang Road wharf in Shanghai's Minhang district will handle rocket rollout, dockside loading and river-sea transfer once complete in 2027. The development is a piece of Minhang's planned "Rocket Star City," a 9.3-square-kilometer commercial space cluster announced in January. The plan targets 80 rockets and 200 satellites in annual production by 2027, rising to 150 rockets and 500 satellites by 2030. The facility will allow companies to build rockets there and ship them either to other spaceports or for launch from offshore facilities. (8/28)

Jonny Kim to Leave Astronaut Corps (Source: NASA)
NASA astronaut Jonny Kim is leaving the agency to return to military service. Thursday was the last day in the astronaut corps for Kim, who was part of the agency's 2017 astronaut class. He spent eight months on the International Space Station in 2025. Kim, a U.S. Navy lieutenant commander who served as both a Navy SEAL and doctor, is returning to the Navy to complete his military career in naval aviation training. (8/28)

Air Force Also Has a "Starbase Louisiana" (Source: KATC)
It turns out there is another Starbase in Louisiana. On Tuesday, SpaceX and the state government announced plans to develop a massive spaceport for SpaceX's Starship launch vehicle that the company called "Starbase Louisiana." The announcement prompted a statement from the U.S. Air Force, noting it has a program called "STARBASE Louisiana" that is a STEM learning initiative. The Air Force said it was "aware of recent inquiries regarding a potential affiliation" between its program and the spaceport. "The operations and planning for Starbase Louisiana by SpaceX are not affiliated with STARBASE Louisiana," it added. (8/28)

Blue Origin Expands at Space Coast Airport, Potentially Into Space Perspective Building (Source: Talk of Titusville)
Blue Origin is establishing a foothold at Space Coast Regional Airport as the private company continues rebuilding its New Glenn launch complex at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport and expanding its massive manufacturing facilities there. According to Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority records, the airport entered into a temporary nine-acre space use agreement along Challenger Avenue with Blue Origin to accommodate the influx of contractor activity. The company is paying $16,880 a month under an agreement running through June 30, 2027.

Airport Director Kevin Daugherty announced that a pending agreement will see Blue Origin lease space at the airport’s former terminal building at 1 Bristow Way, where the company plans to make property improvements and move in. Daugherty also noted that Blue Origin has evaluated Space Perspective’s former balloon factory—a massive white 700-foot-long tent structure near the old terminal—as a potential option for future light manufacturing or logistics. (8/26)

Astrum Space Plans $1 Billion SPAC Merger to Advance Satellite Direct-to-Device Venture (Source: Space News)
Singapore-based Astrum Space plans to merge with a publicly listed blank-check company in a transaction valuing the direct-to-device satellite venture at about $1 billion. The deal places Astrum among space startups using public-market combinations to fund connectivity ambitions and potentially expand investor access. (8/27)

Kepler and NorthStar Partner on Optical Data Relay and Space Domain Awareness (Source: Via Satellite)
Kepler Communications will combine its optical data relay infrastructure with NorthStar’s space domain awareness services under a strategic partnership. The agreement also includes a hosted payload arrangement, linking high-speed space-based communications infrastructure with capabilities for monitoring and characterizing objects in orbit. (8/27)

SpaceX Shares are Doing Something Very Unusual. Options Traders are Taking Note (Source: CNBC)
After an explosive debut and equally impressive crash, SpaceX shares are now, well, hovering in midair. After debuting as the most volatile stock among its large-cap peers, Elon Musk’s astronomic equity hasn’t moved in three weeks, with shares trading in a $10 range around the $140 level. Implied volatility, a rough measure of the costs of options, in SpaceX is now 57, down from over 120 before to its earnings report, ThinkOrSwim data shows. On its debut, it would have been the most volatile stock in the S&P 500. Today, it wouldn’t crack the top 25. (8/27)

Could the Delay to China’s Moon Mission Ease Pressure on NASA? (Source: SCMP)
China’s delay of a high-stakes mission to hunt for water ice near the moon’s south pole may slow its lunar ambitions, but is unlikely to change the bigger contest with the United States over who can build a lasting presence on the moon, according to space experts. “The same variables that caused the Chang’e-7 postponement can just as easily happen – and have happened – to US lunar missions,” said analyst John Sheldon.

However, politically it could ease some pressure on Nasa, Sheldon said. A later Chang’e-7 launch pushed back the prospect of another successful Chinese moon landing, avoiding – for now – some of the “media and political angst” that could generate in Washington.

Svetla Ben-Itzhak, a space security researcher, said she was not particularly surprised by the delay, because “space is hard”. While all lunar missions were complex, Chang’e-7 was “especially ambitious”, Ben-Itzhak said, with its combination of orbiter, lander, rover and a hopper designed to investigate permanently shadowed regions. (8/26)

Arkansas Lawmakers Meet with NASA Officials on Artemis Opportunities (Source: KATV)
NASA officials met with Arkansas lawmakers Wednesday to discuss the Artemis program and how businesses and universities in the state could benefit from the growing space economy. The meeting included U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-AR, who said Arkansas should continue recruiting businesses that could become part of NASA's supply chain. "The future is to follow the same approach that we've taken under Governor Hutchinson and Governor Sanders, where we invest in recruiting businesses that are in that supply chain," Hill said. (8/26)

Leaf Space Activates Ground Station at Spaceport Nova Scotia (Source: SpaceQ)
Leaf Space has completed its first ground station in Canada at Spaceport Nova Scotia near Canso, N.S. in partnership with Maritime Launch Services. The station handles S- and X-band signals, the radio frequencies commercial satellites commonly use for high-speed data downloads. The antenna, radome and supporting electronics are installed and active, Leaf Space said, and the site is now licensed and open to paying satellite customers following clearance from Canadian regulators. (8/26)

15,000 Years of Solar Wind in Four Hours? A Seattle Company Gives it a Go (Source: Ars Technica)
A handful of companies, including a Seattle-based firm called Interlune, have been interested in potentially mining the helium-3 on the Moon. But before any company can send a full-scale extractor to the Moon to attempt to sift through regolith and collect helium-3, someone should probably attempt to determine whether this is physically practical.

Inside a vacuum chamber at the company’s offices, ionized helium was accelerated into lunar regolith. This process mimicked the solar wind, delivering equivalent helium-ion exposure at a far higher rate. Over the course of four hours, 15,000 years of solar wind was implanted into the lunar regolith. The helium implanted into the lunar regolith was released at the same temperatures that scientists have observed helium-3 being released from rocks returned by Apollo astronauts. This gave confidence that the simulant accurately mimicked lunar conditions.

Interlune plans to use its new simulant to test the hardware it is developing to extract and process helium-3 on the Moon and will also offer it for sale to other lunar mining companies. The goal, when the company sends a prototype mission on a lunar lander later this decade, is to test everything on Earth in conditions similar to those on the Moon. (8/26)

Louisiana Governor ‘Not Concerned’ About Environmental Impact of Gulf Coast SpaceX Facility (Source: The Hill)
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) brushed aside fears Wednesday morning about possible negative environmental impacts from SpaceX’s planned $100 billion launch facility in the state. He said he was “not concerned about the environmental impact” of the new spaceport, which will be constructed along the Gulf Coast on a former Exxon property in Vermilion Parish. SpaceX got into hot water over its operations at its first launch site in Boca Chica, Texas.

In 2024, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality found that the company violated environmental regulations by repeatedly releasing pollutants into nearby bodies of water. This followed an earlier warning by the Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 office, which oversees Texas, that SpaceX violated the Clean Water Act with these actions. (8/26)

NBN Plans Delayed by Amazon Leo Service (Source: Whistle Out)
NBN Co today confirmed that its next-generation satellite internet plans won't be available until after the middle of 2027, despite initially planning a full launch in quarter four of this year. While NBN Co will be using similar Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite technology to Starlink, NBN Co's service will be backed by Amazon Leo instead. WhistleOut understands that the delay is at least partially due to Amazon running behind schedule. The company was meant to have 1,618 satellites in orbit by the end of July, but currently only has around 400.  (8/27)

Can Humans Get Pregnant in Space (Source: NatGeo)
Space is a hostile environment for adult astronauts, let alone babies or pregnant people. Without pressurized spacecraft or spacesuits, astronauts can lose consciousness and die within seconds. Solar flares and galactic outbursts can release high-energy cosmic rays that cause DNA damage and cellular dysfunction. The lack of gravity can also lead to muscle and bone loss, increased cardiovascular risks, immune system dysfunction, and neurological issues. The question might seem far-fetched, more sci-fi fantasy than biological reality.

But as humans push the limits of living beyond Earth and prepare for long-term space missions to the moon and Mars, some scientists see human reproduction in space as inevitable. Despite the enormous risks, researchers are exploring how reproduction might work beyond Earth. They are testing pregnancy in model organisms, launching embryos in satellites and spaceships, running spaceflight simulations, and building new tools to understand how microgravity, radiation, isolation, and stress could affect fertility, fetal development, and long-term health. (8/26)

SpaceX Sends Starlink Satellites to Orbit on Predawn Launch From California (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX launched 27 more of its Starlink broadband satellites to orbit on Aug. 26 in a predawn Falcon 9 liftoff from California's central coast. The rocket's first stage came back to Earth as planned about 8.5 minutes later, landing atop the SpaceX droneship "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Pacific Ocean. It was the 24th flight for this particular booster. (8/26)

NorthStar to Deploy Optical Sensors on Kepler Relay Satellites (Source: Space News)
NorthStar Earth & Space plans to place 11 optical space-domain-awareness sensors on Kepler Communications data-relay satellites in 2028, shifting its orbital-tracking architecture after the failure of its first four spacecraft. The deployment would expand NorthStar’s planned ability to monitor objects in orbit without relying solely on dedicated tracking satellites. (8/27)

Infleqtion Wins $20 Million NASA Contract to Advance Space-Based Quantum Gravity Sensor (Source: Space News)
Colorado-based quantum technology company Infleqtion will continue developing a mission to launch what NASA describes as the world’s first space-based quantum gravity sensor under a $20 million contract. The work advances quantum sensing for space applications, with the mission’s objective and launch timing not disclosed. (8/27)

StarFighters Space in Litigation with Ex-CEO, Aerovision (Source: Aviation Week)
Starfighters Space is in litigation with its founder and former CEO, Rick Svetkoff, and his wife for allegedly removing millions of dollars of the company’s funds without board authorization. Svetkoff suddenly left the company in February. At the time, Starfighters did not mention any disagreements, and its announcement praised him and his wife, who also resigned as secretary. Svetkoff has filed a counter-suit seeking millions of dollars in payments. In separate litigation, the company is suing Aerovision LLC over an aircraft acquisition deal, seeking the return of $5 million for undelivered jets. (8/20)

ESA Funds More Projects Under Launcher Challenge (Source: Astrospace)
The European Space Agency has signed the first three operational contracts for the European Launcher Challenge, the program through which it supports the development of new European launchers to increase the number of operators capable of offering space access services. The contracts were signed with the German companies Rocket Factory Augsburg and Isar Aerospace and the Spanish company PLD Space , for a total value of approximately €544 million.

The highest amount, €197.8 million, was awarded to Isar Aerospace for the development of Spectrum. Rocket Factory Augsburg will receive €186.9 million for the RFA ONE rocket, while PLD Space's contract is worth €158.9 million for the development of Miura 5. Funding comes primarily from the Member States supporting each project and will be made available upon achievement of the contract objectives. A fourth company, the French company MaiaSpace , had been selected along with the other three for this phase of the program. However, the contract signing process has not yet been completed and should resume in the coming weeks. (8/27)

City Labs Plans Second Nuclear Demo (Source: Payload)
One nuclear satellite does not a nuclear space age make. Two though? Now we’re talking. Following the success of City Labs’ first nuclear-powered payload demo—BOHR, which launched on SpaceX’s Transporter-17 rideshare in July—City Labs is planning a second, higher-power nuclear demo flight as early as next year, according to CEO Peter Cabauy.

BOHR demonstrated City Labs’ Tritium-powered betavoltaic battery, which is designed to provide payloads with a source of energy independent of solar power. The second demo will test the company’s Tritium-powered radioisotope heating unit (RHU), which will provide payloads with a source of heat. Ultimately, the technology is intended to help lunar payloads continue operating throughout the epicly frigid lunar night. (8/26)

TraCSS Traffic Coordination System Remains in Pilot Mode Due to Budget ‘Uncertainty’ (Source: Via Satellite)
The Office of Space Commerce’s space traffic management system, known as TraCSS, has onboarded more than 70 satellite owners and operators and more than 10 nations — but remains in the pilot phase due to budget “uncertainty,” an OSC official said Wednesday during the Small Satellite Conference.

TraCSS is part of a years-long effort for OSC to take over space situational awareness (SSA) services from the U.S. Department of Defense, which maintains spacetrack.org. The effort began in 2018 with Space Policy Directive-3. After a beta launch in late 2024, OSC released the TraCSS production environment in March of this year with 17 users, kicking off the pilot period. Registration is now open for all spacecraft owner/operators and national governments. (8/26)

From Spy Satellite to Space Telescope: The Unlikely Origins of NASA's Roman Space Telescope (Source: Space.com)
NASA took the guts out of old spy satellites to build the groundbreaking Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. At the core of the observatory lies the Optical Telescope Assembly. This houses the telescope's primary mirror, its main mechanism through which it surveys the cosmos, nine additional mirrors, supporting structures and various sorts of electronics. This tech came from National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

In 1999, the NRO stood up the multibillion-dollar "Future Imagery Architecture" program, which contracted out new spy satellites. The NRO contracted Boeing for the project, having the company design a whole suite of new optical and radar imaging reconnaissance satellites. In 2012 the NRO donated two unused space telescopes from this program to NASA, with optics said to be similar to the Hubble Space Telescope's. (8/26)

Infleqtion Wins $20 Million NASA Contract to Advance Space-Based Quantum Gravity Sensor (Source: Seeking Alpha)
Colorado-based quantum technology company Infleqtion will continue developing a mission to launch what NASA describes as the world’s first space-based quantum gravity sensor under a $20 million contract. The work advances quantum sensing for space applications, with the mission’s objective and launch timing not disclosed in the article. (8/27)

Solar Storm Losses Forecast to Reach $44.27B Annually by 2035 (Source: Payload)
A Mission Space report estimates that solar storms will generate $20.65 billion in losses in 2026, with annual costs more than doubling to $44.27 billion by 2035. The forecast underscores the growing economic exposure of space-based and terrestrial systems to severe space-weather events. (8/27)

SpaceX Sets Rocket-Reuse Record on 100th Falcon 9 Launch of 2026 (Source: Space.com)
Starlink launches may have become commonplace, but this one was definitely worth staying up for. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with 29 Starlink internet satellites lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday (Aug. 25). It was the 100th Falcon 9 flight of 2026 and the record-breaking 37th mission for this rocket's first stage. (8/24)