October 27, 2026

FCC Clears Amazon Leo’s $11.5 Billion Acquisition of Globalstar (Source: Via Satellite)
The Federal Communications Commission approved Amazon Leo’s deal to acquire U.S. satellite operator Globalstar, removing a key regulatory hurdle for the roughly $11.5 billion transaction. Amazon says the acquisition will support a communications network spanning satellite broadband, 5G and direct-to-device connectivity, positioning the company to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink. (10/27)

U.S. Intel Confirms This Is China’s Secret Spaceplane (Source: TWZ)
The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has confirmed that an image that has been circulating online for years does indeed show an experimental Chinese reusable spaceplane in orbit. A newly released higher-resolution copy of the image underscores that the design is nearly a dead ringer for the X-37B miniature space shuttles now operated by the U.S. Space Force.

DIA included the higher-resolution image of the Chinese spaceplane in a new unclassified report on global security challenges outside of the Earth’s atmosphere, which was released yesterday. A satellite belonging to Maxar Technologies (now Vantor) captured the image, but when exactly remains unclear. It does have a 2024 copyright date. (10/27)

DIA: China has Tripled its ISR Satellite Fleet Since 2018, Expanding Ability to Track US and Allied Forces (Source: Breaking Defense)
A new Defense Intelligence Agency report says China has tripled its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellite fleet since 2018. The expansion is improving Beijing’s ability to detect, track and target US and allied forces on the ground and at sea. (10/27)

Voyager to Manage Interstellar Lab Plant-Growth Experiment on the ISS (Source: Spacewatch Global)
Voyager will manage Interstellar Lab’s BioPod EDEN ISS experiment, which will study plant growth in microgravity. The work is intended to inform future space agriculture, linking an ISS research project with technologies for growing plants beyond Earth. (10/27)

Israeli Ad Tech Company Allegedly Targeted Starlink Users in Suspected Spying Effort (Source: Reuters)
Experts at a digital defense firm found that an Israeli ad tech company was heavily targeting users of Starlink’s satellite internet service, according to six people familiar with the matter. The activity was described as a likely effort to spy on those users. (10/27)

Craft Prospect, Fraunhofer CAP and Vector Photonics Launch PERSEUS Project on Space Optical Communications (Source: Space News)
Craft Prospect is working with Fraunhofer Centre for Applied Photonics and Vector Photonics on PERSEUS, a project exploring next-generation laser technology for high-performance optical communications in space. The announcement identifies the partners and research focus, but provides no technical specifications, schedule or funding details. (10/27)

Elon Musk Says SpaceX was Behind Restrictions to Ukraine’s Starlink Access (Source: Washington Post)
Elon Musk said his company SpaceX was behind the Ukrainian military’s recent Starlink satellite service restrictions, after Ukraine said its access to the communications network had been restored. Ukraine’s military had experienced days of disrupted access to Starlink and its militarized version, Starshield, impeding its strike campaign on Russian-occupied territory and prompting widespread questions over who had ordered the restrictions. (10/25)

US Space Command Applies Gag Over Auckland Space-Watching Hub (Source: RNZ)
A space-watching network funded by the Pentagon that has one of three global hubs in Auckland has played a direct role supporting combat operations in the Iran war. But US Space Command has gagged the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) from giving details about the Auckland hub's activities to RNZ.

While the NZDF has said it retained sovereignty over the hub, it also said it was not authorised to release the information. "We have received advice from US Space Command that does not change the decision on your request," the NZDF said. It suggested RNZ, instead of using the Official Information Act (OIA), try using the US Freedom of Information Act. (10/25)

What Would Australia Gain by Paying for Astronaut Flight (Source: The Conversation)
We don’t know precisely how much Australia has offered ESA to put our own astronaut forward for a mission, but we assume it’s lower than the reported A$100+ million the agency originally asked for. Some have questioned whether such a steep price tag is worth it for a “ticket to space”. But we must look at this more broadly. Sending Bennell-Pegg to space is about far more than one Australian reaching orbit. It’s about opening doors to international partnerships, research and opportunities that can help shape Australia’s future. In short, we can get a lot in return for the money paid. (10/26)

Blue Origin On Track To Resume New Glenn Pad Ops In November (Sources: Aviation Week, Fox 35)
Blue Origin installed the final segment of a new 430-ft. tower to support launches of New Glenn rockets from Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. “The Vehicle Access Tower is fully assembled, with every module repaired and back in place,” Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said.

NASA leaders praised the swift reconstruction and confirmed more than 100 agency teams are actively assisting with the return-to-flight process. But industry experts warn that Blue Origin has shared minimal details about the rocket issues that triggered the initial blast or potential stage fixes. (10/26)

Space Force Wants Cislunar Kit Ready to Launch by 2029 (Source: Air and Space Forces)
In April, the Space Force set up a new Cislunar Coordination Office, housed within Purdy’s portfolio and tasked with crafting a roadmap for cislunar technology and a future space architecture. Since then, that office – led by Jaime Stearns—has refined that roadmap and crafted strategies for various mission areas, like space domain awareness, communications, and lunar navigation.

The CCO has also drafted a list of high-priority but unfunded requirements, which Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy said includes relatively low-dollar “ticky-tacky” efforts that can help the Space Force make real progress in this area. The service is also pursuing multiple technology development and rapid fielding efforts, Purdy said. In partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory and the innovation arm SpaceWERX, it plans to launch an industry challenge called Lunar Prime to get after some of its more nascent technology and research needs.

The effort has $30 million in funding and is targeting flight demonstrations within two years of contract award. The Space Force also has two requests for information it plans to release “imminently,” Purdy said. The first will call for existing commercial technology that can be ready to launch by 2029. (10/26)

Verizon Says SpaceX Needs Up To 8 Years and a Half Trillion Dollars to Compete in Wireless (Source: Business Insider)
Setting aside Musk's track record of delivering on his eyebrow-raising promises, Schulman said there are significant technical and financial hurdles that Starlink would have to clear to meaningfully compete with established networks like Verizon. But it is possible. "If they build a terrestrial network, it will basically look and feel like every other network," he said. "I think we should take it quite seriously."

"Their service just can't compete with a terrestrial network in suburban and urban areas, where like 98% of our revenues are," he said of the satellite-based system. "We're somewhere between 100 to 1000 times more efficient than they are." (10/26)

Space For Humanity Launches World’s First Citizen Space Agency (Source: Space For Humanity)
For generations, space agencies have carried the ambitions of nations beyond Earth. Today, Space for Humanity is announcing an agency that will carry the hopes of all to the cosmos. Space for Humanity (S4H), a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to space for everyone, unveiled its plans for the world’s first nongovernment, nonprofit Citizen Space Agency at its annual Celestial Soirée in New York City on Friday — a bold new model for human space exploration designed to ensure that access to the power of space belongs not just to governments, corporations, or the privileged few, but to all people everywhere. (10/26)

Want to Go to Space from UAE? It Could Cost You Dh257 Million (Source: Khaleej Times)
The UAE generates about 100 enquiries a year for space tourism, with roughly 15 to 18 percent coming from serious, financially qualified buyers, according to the founder of SpaceVIP. Roman Chiporukha said some enquiries were speculative as people went silent when he told them the price. A seat on a private trip to low Earth orbit costs about $70 million, he said. He said the UAE had made substantial progress through its space agency over the past decade, but argued that the country needed a domestic talent pipeline. (10/27)

Sierra Space Appoints Second CFO In Four Months (Source: Aviation Week)
Sierra Space, the military and civil space spinoff of Sierra Nevada, on Oct. 26 announced the appointment of Daniel Gittsovich as chief financial officer. He is Sierra Space’s second CFO since last summer. Gittsovich joins Sierra Space from L3Harris Technologies. (10/26)

Starlink Doubts Have Put a Rocket Under SpaceX’s Rivals (Source: Bloomberg)
What does a technological kill switch look like? Ask Ukraine. Reports of speed restrictions on its military use of Elon Musk’s satellite network Starlink, essential for fending off Russian aerial assaults, have reminded America’s allies that they rely far too much on access to critical tech that they ultimately don’t control. Using access to life-or-death tech as leverage in a conflict isn’t new but this is a clarifying moment. “Something you can’t unsee,” as Canada’s Mark Carney put it. Even if the restrictions appear to have been lifted, as Ukraine said at the weekend, the threat of being cut off is still there. (10/26)

Virgin Galactic to Move Next Suborbital Vehicle to New Mexico (Source: Douglas Messier)
Virgin Galactic announced that the lead Spaceship of its next-generation fleet is set to fly to its operations base at Spaceport America, New Mexico on October 28. The Spaceship, mated to launch vehicle Eve for a captive-carry flight, will depart the company’s Spaceship Factory in Mesa, Arizona. The arrival marks the transition from vehicle assembly to the start of flight test preparations. (10/27)

Cowboy Space Plans to Enter Launch Services Market (Source: Space News)
Cowboy Space outlined plans for a launch vehicle to support its orbital data center constellation and other applications. The rocket, called Big Iron, is a two-stage rocket with a reusable booster capable of placing about 15,000 kilograms into sun-synchronous orbit. The company is designing the rocket's upper stage to also serve as an orbital data center spacecraft, deploying large solar arrays and radiators. Cowboy Space outlined in a presentation Monday an aggressive schedule for developing the rocket, with a first launch at the end of 2028 even though the company has just started testing one component of the engine it is developing for the vehicle. While Big Iron is designed primarily for the company's constellation of up to 20,000 satellites, it can also be used for flying other payloads. (10/27)

China Could Field Space-Based Directed-Energy Weapons Soon (Source: Space News)
A new assessment concludes China could field space-based directed-energy weapons by the end of the decade. The study by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency released Monday said China already has multiple ground-based lasers capable of disrupting, degrading or damaging satellites in low Earth orbit and could deploy directed-energy weapons in space in the late 2020s. The assessment provides one of the more specific public timelines from U.S. intelligence for China's development of space-based directed-energy weapons. The same study also noted Russia is developing an expanding arsenal of weapons capable of attacking satellites in orbit, including a kinetic anti-satellite weapon and a nuclear weapon. (10/27)

Air Force Recovers Starfall Cargo (Source: Space News)
The Air Force has recovered experimental military cargo containers that traveled into space aboard a SpaceX Starfall capsule earlier this month. The Air Force Research Lab flew experimental cargo pods on the Starfall vehicle to study whether commercial spacecraft could be used to rapidly deliver supplies to forces around the world. The recovery allows researchers to examine equipment that was exposed to the stresses of launch and atmospheric reentry and analyze data collected by sensors measuring temperature, shock and vibration. (10/27)

Space Force Opens Ground Station and Networking Work Under BMC3I (Source: Space News)
The Space Force is opening up work on ground stations and communications networks to companies. The portfolio, known as Battle Management, Command, Control, Communications and Space Intelligence, or BMC3I, covers $21 billion in work that is largely classified. However, at a conference last week, officials with BMC3I outlined upcoming opportunities ranging from satellite-control antennas and data networks to artificial intelligence and battle-management software. One such opportunity is Autonomous Tactical Fabric, a proposed network and computing architecture intended to connect Space Force systems that currently operate largely independently. (10/27)

SpaceX Launches Tuesday Starlink Mission From California (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites overnight. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California carrying 27 Starlink satellites. The launch was the 26th flight of this Falcon 9 booster. [Spaceflight Now]

Former Tesla Engineers Developing Australian Satellite Battery Venture (Source: Space News)
Two former Tesla engineers have established a startup to develop batteries for satellites. Australian company MP Space announced a $16 million seed round Monday led by Australian venture capital firm Blackbird Ventures. The company wants to bring advanced battery technology used in terrestrial systems to spacecraft, meeting a growing demand for spacecraft power systems. Eight MP Space battery systems were recently deployed in orbit across multiple satellites with the systems planned for more than 500 satellites in development. (10/27)

ESA Orders Four Galileo Satellites From Airbus and Thales Alenia (Source: ESA)
ESA ordered four new Galileo satellites from two European companies. ESA announced Tuesday it extended contracts with Airbus Defense and Space and Thales Alenia Space, awarding each two additional Galileo Second Generation satellites. The four new satellites, slated for delivery in 2031, will be identical to the 12 previously ordered from the two companies. Neither ESA nor the companies disclosed the value of the satellite orders. (10/26)

Utah Identifies Proposed Spaceport Site (Source: KUTV)
A Utah committee has identified a site for a potential spaceport in the state. A draft report by the state's Spaceport Exploration Committee concluded that a site near Delta in west-central Utah is the preferred location for a spaceport in the state. The report, to be considered by the committee later this week, recommends the state fund additional study of that site. It does not state what vehicles might operate from there, an inland location usually not considered for orbital vehicles. (10/26)