October 17, 2026

Blue Origin Targets Multiple New Glenn Launches Weekly by End of Decade (Source: Reuters)
Blue Origin ​is targeting multiple flights per week of its New Glenn rocket by the end of the ‌decade, a company executive said on Friday, as it spends billions of dollars on infrastructure needed to match rival SpaceX's launch dominance. Jeff Bezos' space firm also plans to add more launch and landing pads in Florida for New Glenn, its flagship heavy-lift ​orbital rocket that has been grounded for the year since exploding on the company's only launchpad in ​May.

Blue Origin has invested over $3 billion to date in its sprawling Florida production and ⁠rocket integration facilities that span roughly 31 acres with some 5,000 employees, said Ian Richardson. A $330 million expansion to those facilities will support production of a heavier-lift version ​of the rocket, New Glenn 9x4, and is targeted for completion in the summer of 2027, Richardson said, adding it will allow annual production of up to 150 upper stages of the rocket.

"These investments are centered on one goal: building the capacity to support more missions, more reliably, and more efficiently," Richardson said. "As we look ahead, this infrastructure is designed to support multiple flights per week by the end of the decade." (10/16)

Could Russia Be Poised to Use an On-Orbit Weapon Against a Commercial Satellite? (Source: CSIS)
As of October 15, 2026, based on commercial space situational awareness data, a Russian satellite called Cosmos 2612 is on a trajectory that will bring it into very close proximity to a U.S.-registered commercial synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite. The satellite, which supports Ukraine, is operated by ICEYE, a company founded in Finland. Given Russia’s history of testing on-orbit weapons, policymakers should assume Cosmos 2612 could take an action that threatens the commercial satellite.

But the risk extends beyond just one satellite. A Russian counterspace activity in the vicinity of Western satellites should be assessed within the context of aggressive Russian gray zone activities targeting U.S. and European interests. To date, neither the United States nor Europe has been able to deter Russia from expanding the scope and frequency of these gray zone actions. As Russia appears poised to increase hostile actions in outer space to test Western resolve, the United States and Europe should decide how they would respond to a hostile act in space and make that response clear. (10/15)

Small Lunar Missions, Big Ambitions (Source: ESA)
ESA's small missions initiative, renamed Moon Explore, began with an open call for affordable lunar mission concepts with scientific or exploration value, attracting over 60 ideas from across Europe. By accepting a higher level of risk in exchange for lower cost and faster development, the initiative aims to deliver valuable results within just a few years while helping European teams develop new capabilities for future exploration.

The first small mission is already taking shape. Planned for launch in 2029, MAGPIE is set to become the first European rover to explore the Moon. The rover is developed by ispace-Europe in Luxembourg and will operate near the lunar south pole to search for water and other volatile resources for around 10 days using a drill, neutron detector, volatile analyzer and ground-penetrating radar. (10/16)

NASA Langley Transforms Boeing 777 into a Flying Science Lab (Source: WAVY)
NASA Langley Research Center is preparing to take Earth science research to new heights with a Boeing 777 transformed from a commercial airliner into a flying laboratory designed to help scientists better understand the planet. The aircraft will give researchers more room for scientific instruments, longer flight times and the ability to collect different types of measurements during the same mission. NASA plans to use it to study atmospheric conditions, improve satellite observations and develop technology that could help scientists better understand everything from severe winter weather to air pollution. (10/15)

Maritime Launch Services Closer to Listing on Toronto Stock Exchange (Source: Maritime Launch Services)
Maritime Launch Services, developer of Spaceport Nova Scotia, announced that the Toronto Stock Exchange has conditionally approved the listing of the company's common shares, subject to the Company satisfying the customary listing requirements of the TSX and receiving final approval. The Common Shares are expected to commence trading on the TSX under the symbol "MAXQ" and will continue to trade on Cboe Canada until trading commences on the TSX. (10/15)

Governor Newsom Visits Space Beach (Source: Gov. Gavin Newsom)
Governor Gavin Newsom visited Long Beach — also known as “Space Beach” — a dynamic hub for modern commercial and aerospace manufacturing with a deep legacy in the field. From Space Beach to Silicon Valley, California’s commercial space ecosystem is powering America’s next generation of exploration. At “Space Beach,” Governor Newsom toured Rocket Lab, a leading California aerospace company that manufactures designs and manufactures orbital rockets, spacecraft, satellites, and other components.

California’s Space Economy spans launch, testing, R&D, tracking and communications, and defense infrastructure across every region of the state. The Golden State is home to one-third of the nation’s space technology companies and has more aerospace engineers and defense personnel than any other state. California ranks #1 in corporate aerospace R&D spending and #1 in space-technology venture capital. Together, these reflect the nation’s highest concentration of aerospace talent, with California alone accounting for roughly 40% of all U.S. space-technology patents. 

California Community Colleges (CCC), California State University (CSU), and the University of California (UC) form the nation’s most productive public pipeline for aerospace talent. Alongside private institutions such as Stanford, USC, and Caltech, this engine helps California produce more aerospace engineers than anywhere in the U.S. California has over 96,000 aerospace manufacturing jobs, more than any other state. (10/15)

Brain Tissue Sent to ISS for Research (Source: Independent)
Lab-grown human brain tissue arrived at the ISS as part of an unusual experiment. The three-dimensional miniature human brain models called miBrains contain lab-grown neural tissue. Scientists will look for cellular and genetic changes induced by microgravity and radiation, which could impact human aging and neurological disease. (10/15)

NASA's SkyFall Helicopters Will 'Show Us Parts of Mars We've Never Seen Before' (Source: Space.com)
NASA is accelerating the development of three helicopters that will be deployed into the sky above Mars after a voyage aboard NASA's Space Reactor‑1 Freedom spacecraft. Slated for launch in 2028, SR-1 Freedom is the first fission nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft and is assigned the duty of dropping off the SkyFall entry capsule loaded with the trio of aerial vehicles at the Red Planet. SR-1's trajectory will deliver the SkyFall helicopters in Mars' northern hemisphere during the planet's spring season to avoid dust storms.

Each low-flying helicopter is outfitted with a ground penetrating radar (GPR) instrument, one that can detect layering in the near surface, at depths unobservable by orbital radar. Those layers could be assembled from rocky material, buried ice, or combinations of the two. Detection of near-surface ice is of interest both scientifically as well as in support of future human expeditions to Mars. (10/15)

Seraphim Space Investment Trust Doubled its Value in 2026 (Source: Payload)
Seraphim Space Investment Trust published its FY26 financials yesterday, revealing a valuation of £605.5M (€716.3M)—more than double its value in June 2025. Seraphim’s major holdings—ICEYE, ALL.SPACE, D-Orbit, HawkEye 360, and Xona Space Systems, which together represent more than 75% of the firm’s portfolio—all had a great year, and that success has trickled upwards. However, Seraphim has also benefitted heavily from a favorable macroeconomic environment, as government spending on space continues to increase and VC interest in the sector grows. (10/16)

Scientists Discover 'Chemical Starter Kit' for Life in Planetary Birthplaces (Source: Space.com)
Methanol, coming as part of the 'chemical starter kit' around young stars, has produced some unexpected surprises that could ultimately reveal some of the conditions in which planets and potentially life form around protostars. The methanol discoveries were made by astronomers using ALMA (the Atacama Large millimeter/submillimeter Array) in the Atacama Desert in Chile, as part of a project called COMPASS (the Complex Organic Molecules in Protostars with ALMA Spectral Surveys). (10/15)

SDA Transport Satellite Constellation Grows Larger As Integration Lags (Source: Aviation Week)
With more than 80 satellites in orbit, the U.S. Space Development Agency’s nascent orbital mesh network is still proving elusive to establish. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) fourth plane of Tranche 1 Transport Layer satellites—the first such batch from Northrop Grumman—to low Earth orbit on Oct. 10.

That mission was originally slated to launch Oct. 5, but the Falcon 9’s automated systems halted the initial countdown just before liftoff. The launch was then pushed off two more times as SpaceX conducted extra safety checks on the vehicle and worked with the U.S. Space Force to deconflict with other mission deployments. (10/16)

Martian Soil Map Defines 2000 Classes and Names One Most Promising for Crops (Source: Sky Nightly)
Mars has a best soil for growing crops, at least on paper, and it covers 0.14 percent of the planet. A University of Sydney team calls it Nohibareth, and in a proof-of-concept test it scored 0.93 on a zero-to-one scale for plant production. The modelled average profile behind that score is a pH of 6.8, 72 percent clay, little sand or gravel, and an estimated 202 millimeters of water held per meter of soil. Nohibareth is one of 2000 classes in the Provisional Polythetic Areth Classification System, or PPACS, which Daniel Irving, a PhD student, built from orbital observations and models.

The name comes from Irving's proposed term for Martian soil classes, areths, after Ares, the Greek name for Mars. The system sorts almost 800 million locations into 10 realms, 100 assemblages and 2000 forms by properties including texture, mineralogy, pH and profile thickness, and a companion map covers 92 percent of the surface. The university calls it the first comprehensive classification system and map of Martian soils.

The next step is on Earth. The team proposes mixing Mars-like substrates to match the mapped classes and growing crops in them under controlled conditions, with added nutrients and managed water, to compare growth, water use and the treatment each mixture needs to be made safe. Plants have grown in simulant before: in 2014 Wieger Wamelink of Wageningen raised 14 species in NASA-supplied Mars and Moon regolith simulant over 50 days. The map gives such mixtures something specific to match. After that the check moves back to Mars, where rover measurements and samples would show whether Nohibareth really lies where the models put it, on that 0.14 percent of the planet. (10/16)

China Plans Tiangong Test Flights for Mengzhou Ahead of its 2030 Moon Landing Goal (Source: Beyond LEO)
China's spacecraft for its planned crewed Moon landing has yet to reach orbit. The Mengzhou prototype flew on February 11 atop a prototype Long March-10, but the mission was a low-altitude test designed to demonstrate the spacecraft's ability to escape an ascending rocket under maximum aerodynamic stress. The capsule separated successfully and splashed down in the sea, marking an important milestone without testing orbital operations.

The Long March-10 heavy rocket, Mengzhou in orbit and the Lanyue lunar lander must still demonstrate their capabilities, while the complete mission will require two launches and multiple rendezvous and docking operations around the Moon. The next major step is closer to home. The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) plans to send Mengzhou to the Tiangong space station in 2026, followed by repeated station flights intended to test the spacecraft and improve its reliability before it carries astronauts towards the Moon. The landing target remains 2030. The challenge is completing the flight-test program needed to make that date achievable. (10/16)