September 1, 2026

Space Force Faces Challenges Integrating Commercial Data (Source: Breaking Defense)
The US Space Force faces challenges in integrating commercial technology and data into daily operations, citing barriers such as requirements, classification and operational integration, according to Col. Tim Trimailo of the Space Systems Command's Commercial Space Office. A Government Accountability Office report highlights hesitancy within the Space Force to use commercial data due to concerns about licensing costs and long-term access. (8/31)

FAA and Japan Sign Commercial Space Licensing Agreement (Source: FAA)
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford and a representative from Japan’s National Space Policy Secretariat (NSPS) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to establish and maintain a shared understanding of U.S. commercial space transportation regulations. The cooperation between the NSPS and the FAA will encourage the safety of commercial space transportation in both the United States and Japan.  

The FAA is committed to enabling a global safety standard for the commercial space transportation industry and has signed other agreements supporting consistent safety approaches with the Bahamas, New Zealand, Sweden, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. (9/1)

Northwood Space Expands California-Based Manufacturing Footprint (Source: Aviation Week)
Satellite ground services startup Northwood Space has opened a new 185,000-ft. 2 manufacturing facility in Torrance, California, as it looks to build hundreds of antennas annually and run three production lines to support its growing global network. (8/31)

Blue Origin Tops 4,500 Space Coast Jobs as New Glenn Buildout Accelerates (Source: Florida Today)
Blue Origin's growing footprint across Brevard County has surpassed 4,500 people, and a surge of rocket-related infrastructure construction projects will only expand that total moving forward, Senior Vice President of New Glenn Jordan Charles said. And "in case anybody's been living under a rock for the last three months," Charles said the site of the May 28 New Glenn rocket explosion is home to an around-the-clock rebuilding campaign at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport.

"It's a beehive of activity. We have over 1,000 people working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to restore that launch complex to an operationally ready state," Charles said. "And Blue Origin remains deeply committed to our goal of launching New Glenn at Launch Complex 36A by the end of this year," he said. Editor's Note: SpaceX is estimated to employ fewer than 2,000 on the Space Coast. (8/31)

FAA Executive Physician/Scientist Joins UCF Aerospace Medicine Team (Source: UCF)
He’s an experienced skydiver, private pilot and scuba diver whose hero since childhood has been moon-walker Neil Armstrong. And now Melchor Antuñano is a UCF Knight.

After 34 years with the FAA — the longest term for any senior executive in the agency’s history — Antuñano has joined the College of Medicine’s aerospace medicine team as a professor, and chief technologist and medical innovation officer. In these roles he’ll help design new procedures and technologies to keep astronauts, pilots and airplane passengers safer and help create a new UCF master’s degree in aerospace medicine and a residency program for aerospace medicine physicians. He’ll also teach across UCF colleges. (8/21)

Leonardo DRS Selected by Space Force to Advance Technology in Support of Advanced Space Superiority Solutions (Source: Leonardo DRS)
Leonardo DRS has been awarded an Other Transaction Agreement contract for Prototype by the U.S. Space Force to advance next-generation technology designed to further strengthen U.S. national defense capabilities. Leonardo DRS will further develop affordable and scalable sensor technology that helps defense systems detect, identify, track, and target fast-moving threats in challenging conditions in support of mission needs for U.S. space superiority and space control efforts. (9/1)

Scientists Discover Massive 'Thermal Anomaly' Beneath the Surface of Mars (Source: Space.com)
New research into the interior of Mars further emphasizes that the Red Planet is a world of two very different halves. Deep inside the southern hemisphere of Mars, the temperature is up to 750 degrees Fahrenheit (400 degrees Celsius) warmer than beneath the northern hemisphere, deepening the mystery of the strange dichotomy between the Red Planet's flattened north and craggy southern highlands. (9/1)

China's Galactic Energy Launches New Pallas-1 Rocket (Source: Space News)
A new Chinese rocket reached orbit on its inaugural launch late Monday. Galactic Energy's Pallas-1 rocket lifted off from the Dongfeng commercial innovation launch site within the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China. The second stage achieved orbit, although there was no payload reported to be on board and there was no attempt to recover the rocket's first stage, which is designed to be reusable. Pallas-1 is capable of delivering 5,000 to 7,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit, with Galactic Energy targeting launching batches of satellites for Chinese megaconstellations. The rocket is rated for at least 25 reuses of its first stage, which is designed to land vertically on legs. Galactic Energy said it will conduct landing tests on the next two to three launches before moving to regular landing and reuse of the first stage. (9/1)

Spain's PLD Space Raises $125 Million (Source: Space News)
Spanish launch company PLD Space has raised an additional $125 million. The company announced Tuesday an extension of a Series C funding round the company disclosed in March, led by Mitsubishi Electric Corp. with support from COFIDES, a Spanish public funds management company, and new investors Endeavor Catalyst and the Spain Oman Private Equity Fund. PLD Space has raised more than $550 million to date. The company says the additional funding will go toward production and test facilities for its Miura 5 small launch vehicle and support that rocket's shift to commercial operations. The company has yet to attempt a first flight of that small launch vehicle, and has not recently confirmed earlier statements it would launch the rocket by the end of the year. (9/1)

OHB Wins $1 Billion+ Contract for IRIS Satellites (Source: Space News)
OHB won a contract worth more than $1 billion to build medium Earth orbit satellites for Europe's IRIS² constellation. OHB said Monday it signed a contract with SES, which is responsible for the MEO shell of the constellation, to build 18 spacecraft. The contract is valued at nearly 1 billion euros ($1.16 billion). The satellites will weigh 2.6 tons each and provide 15 kilowatts of power, although the companies did not disclose details about the satellites' communications payloads, which SES will produce. SES already operates the O3b mPower constellation in MEO for broadband services, but that system uses satellites built by Boeing, an American company likely not eligible for awards for the IRIS² system. (9/1)

Planet to Launch Imaging Satellites on SpaceX Rideshare Mission From California (Source: Space News)
Planet will launch another set of imaging satellites next month. The company announced Monday it delivered its second Tanager hyperspectral imaging satellite, along with 18 SuperDove satellites, to Vandenberg Space Force Base for launch on the SpaceX Transporter-18 rideshare mission scheduled for next month. The SuperDoves contribute to Planet's daily Earth imagery, while Tanager-2 will double Planet's ability to provide hyperspectral imagery, used for applications such as detecting methane and carbon dioxide emissions. Government and commercial demand is picking up for hyperspectral datasets, a company executive said in a recent interview. (9/1)

Quindar Picked by Quantum for Mission Management (Source: Space News)
Quindar won a contract to provide mission management services for spacecraft developed by Quantum Space. Quindar said Tuesday it will handle mission management services for Quantum's Scout and Ranger spacecraft. Quantum Space is developing maneuverable spacecraft for missions including payload hosting, space domain awareness, satellite servicing and logistics, with its first Ranger spacecraft set to launch in mid-2027. Quindar previously won contracts with Starfish Space and Portal Space Systems to provide mission management services for their maneuverable spacecraft. (9/1)

Starcloud CEO Plans Side Mission to Alpha Centauri (Source: Space News)
The founder of an orbital data center startup is pursuing a side project: developing an interstellar probe. The Fermi Explorer Mission, from Starcloud CEO Philip Johnston, proposes to launch a small spacecraft that would undertake an 80,000-year journey to Alpha Centauri, about 4.4 light-years away. The spacecraft would use electric propulsion and a series of close approaches to the sun, called a "perihelion pump maneuver," to escape the sun. According to Fermi, an undisclosed experienced U.S. satellite bus maker has already submitted a proposal to complete the mission for less than $15 million. (9/1)

Turkey Signs Artemis Accords (Source: Space News)
Turkey is the latest country to sign the Artemis Accords. The country's minister of industry and technology signed the Accords at NASA Headquarters on Monday. Turkey is the 71st country to sign the Accords and the 12th so far this year. The Accords are designed to outline best practices in space exploration, and NASA intends to use them to coordinate international participation in its lunar base. Turkey is planning to launch its first lunar mission, an orbiter, next year. Turkey is also hosting next month's International Astronautical Congress, which will include a meeting of Artemis Accords signatories. (9/1)

Florida's Cecil Spaceport Gets State Grant for Rocket Test Facility (Source: Jax Today)
Cecil Spaceport near Jacksonville will receive $5 million for a rocket motor test stand. The grant comes from the Florida Department of Transportation’s Spaceport Improvement Program. The state and Jacksonville-area elected officials hope the dollars for the spaceport lead other aerospace companies to start or expand operations at the facility on Jacksonville’s Westside.

Over the last several years, local and state officials have been pushing to grow both Cecil Airport and Spaceport. City Council President Nick Howland and state. Rep. Wyman Duggan sponsored legislation at the local and state levels to require the airport authority to create an economic development plan for Cecil that includes the spaceport. (9/1)

SpaceX Petitions FCC to Block Viasat Satellite Authorization Over Starlink Interference Concerns (Source: SatNews)
On August 31, 2026, SpaceX submitted a petition to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requesting that regulators block or attach strict operational conditions to a proposed satellite deployment by geostationary (GSO) operator Viasat. SpaceX argued that Viasat’s planned radio frequency allocation and orbital configuration would create harmful electromagnetic interference across Starlink’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) megaconstellation. (8/31)

Powerful New Magnetic System Could Help Spacecraft Survive the Brutal Heat of Reentry (Source: Brighter Side)
Tokyo Metropolitan University researchers built a pulsed electromagnet system that can test magnetic aerobraking under shockwaves traveling about 7.7 kilometers per second. The system produced magnetic fields of 1.24 and 1.58 tesla, reaching roughly 1.7 and 2.1 times the strength of the permanent magnet used for comparison. Applying the magnetic field expanded the glowing shock layer by about 16%, supporting the idea that magnetic forces could someday help protect and slow spacecraft during atmospheric reentry. (8/30)

Retrieving Apollo Astronaut Poop Could Yield Valuable Science (Source: Space Daily)
Across Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17, astronauts discarded human waste and other material before leaving the Moon. The commonly cited total is 96 bags and containers. The oldest have been at Tranquility Base since July 1969, exposed to 57 years of vacuum, radiation and lunar day-night cycles.

The immediate question is irresistible: could anything in them still be alive? The careful answer is that probably nothing is, but nobody has tested the actual material. That gap is why researchers have identified an Apollo jettison bag as a serious recovery target. Even a completely sterile sample could measure how cells, DNA and other biological traces decay in a real extraterrestrial environment. (8/31)

Huntsville Discussed as Possible Home for New U.S. Space Academy (Source: AL.com)
There have been discussions about Huntsville being the site of the recently announced U.S. Space Academy, U.S. Rep. Dale Strong, R-AL, said Monday. Strong said after his Washington update there had been communications about Huntsville being the site of the academy, but stopped short of saying the Rocket City was on a short list and indicated he was unsure of the timeline of when an announcement would be made. (8/31)

NorthStar to Lead ESA Consortium on Uncontrolled Reentry (Source: Via Satellite)
The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected NorthStar Earth & Space to lead a study on uncontrolled atmospheric re-entry. NorthStar’s European subsidiary will lead a consortium for ESA’s Forecasting of Atmospheric Location and Chronology of Re-entry (FALCON) initiative, the company announced Monday. The consortium will assess the limitations of uncontrolled atmospheric re-entry predictions and develop a framework for generating precise, probability-based forecasts of re-entry time and location. NorthStar mentioned the uncontrolled reentry of a SpaceX Falcon 9 second stage over Poland in 2025 as an example of the impact of uncontrolled reentry. (8/31)

OHB Wins Contract to Build IRIS² Medium Earth Orbit Satellites (Source: Space News)
OHB has won a contract worth more than a billion dollars to build the satellites for the medium Earth orbit, or MEO, shell of a European constellation. OHB announced Aug. 31 it signed a contract with satellite operator SES to build 18 satellites for the Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite, or IRIS², constellation. The contract, OHB said, is worth nearly 1 billion euros ($1.16 billion).

The satellites will comprise the MEO portion of the constellation, which also includes satellites in two low Earth orbit bands. SES, part of the SpaceRISE consortium developing the constellation for the European Commission, is responsible for the MEO shell as well as development of user terminals and creation of government control centers. (8/31)

Thales Alenia Space to Develop PRISMA Second-Generation Earth-Observation Satellite for Italy (Source: SpaceWatch Africa)
Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), has signed a contract with OHB Italia for the development of the PRISMA Second Generation Earth observation satellite for the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Scheduled for launch in 2031, the satellite will carry a hyperspectral instrument, built by Leonardo, featuring enhanced functional and resolution capabilities compared to the first generation.

A key challenge in hyperspectral technology is capturing images with high quality and spatial resolution, along with frequent revisit times and a high signal-to-noise ratio. The PRISMA Second Generation satellite will enable improved spatial resolution through enhanced agility of both the platform and the instrument, increasing spatial resolution to at least 10 meters, compared to the current 30 meters. Additionally, it will introduce new functional capabilities designed to meet the diverse requirements of both scientific and operational users. (8/31)

SES Awards OHB Nearly €1 Billion to Build 18 MEO Satellites for Europe’s IRIS² Secure Communications Constellation (Source: Space Intel Report)
SES has awarded German manufacturer OHB a contract worth nearly €1 billion to develop and build 18 medium-Earth-orbit satellites for the European Union’s IRIS² multi-orbit secure connectivity constellation. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2029, marking the start of the program’s long-awaited implementation phase. (8/31)

SLS Picks Up the Pace, Four Vehicles in Production (Source: NSF)
The NASA and contractor workforce continues to make progress ahead of next year’s Artemis III mission, with Solid Rocket Booster stacking continuing, while RS-25 engines are being installed on Core Stage 3. This is taking place while Michoud and Marshall teams advance tanks, engine sections, adapters, and long-lead parts for Artemis IV, V, and VI. The overlapping production line is the clearest hardware sign yet of the higher SLS cadence NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has been pressing the agency to deliver. (8/30)