October 8, 2026

Artemis 2 Dataset Released (Source: Space News)
NASA released Wednesday the full science dataset from the Artemis 2 mission. The data, released at an event during IAC, includes 12,000 photos as well as hours of crew audio records and handwritten annotations the astronauts made as they observed the moon during the April mission. Scientists said the data show the value of human observations in addition to cameras and other instruments. (10/8)

FCC Plans More Spectrum Allocation for D2D Satellite Services (Source: Space News)
The FCC plans to make more spectrum available for satellite direct-to-device services. The FCC said Wednesday it will vote Oct. 29 on a proposal to make an additional 482 megahertz of licensed spectrum available for what it calls Supplemental Coverage from Space (SCS). That spectrum would come from low- and mid-band frequencies already licensed for cellular or flexible use, a senior FCC official said, building on SCS rules that have enabled Starlink Mobile to connect smartphones and other devices in the United States via T-Mobile's spectrum.

The announcement came a day after the FCC authorized SpaceX to deploy 15,000 next-gen direct-to-device satellites for its Starlink Mobile constellation. The upgraded satellites are authorized to operate in shells between 326 and 335 kilometers above Earth to reduce latency, compared with as low as 340 kilometers for existing Starlink Mobile spacecraft. (10/8)

Fortastra Raises $30 Million (Source: Space News)
Fortastra, a startup developing maneuverable spacecraft for on-orbit security, raised $30 million. The funding also will allow Fortastra to expand its engineering and operations workforce, extend its manufacturing infrastructure and enhance the agentic and collaborative autonomy of its satellites. Fortastra seeks to establish a large constellation of highly maneuverable spacecraft to guard critical assets, evaluating surrounding activity and responding to potential threats. (10/8)

ESA Sees Reusable Heavy Lift as Feasible (Source: Space News)
An ESA study concluded it is feasible for Europe to pursue a heavy-lift reusable launch vehicle. In a presentation at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) on Wednesday, an ESA official said the agency study found that it is technically feasible for Europe to build a vehicle that would be partially or fully reusable and place at least 30 tons into low Earth orbit. The business case for such a vehicle also closes, the study found, assuming a flight rate of 24 launches a year. ESA officials have expressed interest in pursuing such a vehicle, which could be one of the topics of an ESA intermediate ministerial meeting in December. (10/8)

Colorado's York Expands to Austin (Source: Space News)
Colorado-based York Space Systems is expanding its presence in Austin, Texas. The company announced Thursday it will open a new office for software development there, joining an existing office from the company's 2023 acquisition of Emergent Space Technologies. The company's Texas workforce is expected to grow by 10% to 15% in the next year. (10/8)

GAO Sees Challenges to Modernizing Military Navigation Systems (Source: Space News)
Some U.S. military aircraft and ground vehicles may not be fully equipped with modernized navigation systems until mid-century. That conclusion came from a GAO report Wednesday on modernization of the GPS system, including new receivers that are more resilient to disruptions of space-based systems. The Army does not expect to complete fielding of its EAGLE-M secure GPS navigation system across its aviation fleet until 2049, while full deployment of the next generation of its MAPS navigation system for ground combat vehicles is projected for 2050 or later. One challenge has been a limited supply of chips for receivers that can use the more secure GPS M-code signals. (10/8)

Artemis Accords Partners Could Gain Space Academy Access (Source: Space News)
NASA is providing more incentives for countries that sign the Artemis Accords. NASA Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson, who co-chaired a meeting of Artemis Accords countries at IAC this week, said that the proposed U.S. Space Academy could be open to students from countries who sign the accords, similar to military academies that enroll a small number of international cadets. That is in addition to offers by NASA to allow Artemis Accords countries to participate in the agency's lunar base effort. The IAC meeting included representatives of 44 of the 76 signatory countries. (10/8)

Musk Decries Indian Oligarchs Blocking Starlink Access (Source: The Statesman)
Elon Musk claimed that "certain oligarchs" are blocking SpaceX from offering Starlink in India. In a social media post, Musk claimed those individuals, whom he did not name, are keeping Starlink from offering service in India "to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people." Indian officials pushed back on the claims, with India's Ministry of Communications stating that Musk's claims are "baseless and misconceived" and that every operator must comply with laws and regulations, including security rules. The ministry said that Starlink, along with OneWeb and India's Jio Satellite Communications Ltd., are all at roughly the same stage of the licensing process. (10/7)

Virgin Galactic Performs Glide Test at Spaceport America (Source: Virgin Galactic)
Virgin Galactic performed a glide test of its old suborbital vehicle as part of training for its new one. The company said Wednesday it flew its VSS Unity vehicle on a glide flight from Spaceport America in New Mexico, dropping it from its carrier aircraft to glide back to the spaceport's runway. The flight was part of pilot training ahead of test flights for its first Delta-class suborbital spaceplane in the coming months. (10/8)

Canada Considers Expanding Astronaut Corps (Source: SpaceQ)
A Canadian government minister said the country will consider recruiting a new astronaut class in the near future. Minister of Industry Mélanie Joly, whose portfolio includes space, said in an interview that the government would consider selecting more astronauts once one of its current astronauts, Jenni Gibbons, is assigned to a spaceflight. With the retirement earlier this year of Jeremy Hansen after Artemis 2, Canada has three active astronauts, including Josh Kutryk, who launched to the ISS last week on his first flight. Joly did not give a schedule for starting an astronaut selection but said she hoped to see measurable progress on a selection process as well as a flight assignment for Gibbons in the next year. (10/8)

Hamilton Passes at 90 (Source: New York Times)
The woman who programmed the computers used on Apollo 11 has died. Margaret Hamilton died Sept. 30 at the age of 90. She worked as a computer programmer in the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory in the 1960s, developing software for the computers guiding Apollo 11. Those computers, state of the art at the time, had just 72 kilobytes of memory. A famous photo shows Hamilton standing next to a printout of the code for the Apollo computers; the stack of paper was as tall as her. Hamilton also popularized the term "software engineering" to describe the complexity of computer programming. (10/8)

World Space Week 2026 Underway with One Event in Florida (Source: Florida Today)
The annual event recently kicked off in October and will last for a few more days, with a bevy of events planned in across the United States – including in Florida – and also around the world. While the weeklong extravaganza occurs every October, this year's celebration couldn't come at a better time. Coordinated by the nonprofit World Space Week Association, the celebration features space-related STEM-themed events around the world. In 2025, for instance, 50,000 events were hosted in 102 countries, the association said.

In Florida, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is getting in on World Space Week with a special exhibit for guests. On Friday, Oct. 9, the bottom floor of the exhibit featuring the Space Shuttle Atlantis – which has a permanent home at the center – will host an expo with NASA's industry partners like Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin. Editor's Note: There actually are multiple events in Florida, including a party at Valiant Air Command in Titusville, the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, and the Sands Space History Center at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. (10/8)

Recovered Starship Returns to Texas Port (Source: Florida Today)
After months at sea and a huge recovery effort by SpaceX, Starship Flight 13’s Ship 40 is back home. It returned to the Port of Brownsville in Texas against all odds. Starship's “lucky Flight 13” on July 24 ended with a major milestone for SpaceX, when for the first time a Starship splashed down intact in the Indian Ocean. No explosion, just some flames. Starship plopped over and bobbed in the sea.

SpaceX personnel quickly scrambled to launch a recovery effort even as the company said they didn't expect the Starship to be retrievable. The arrival comes just over a week after the Sept. 28 Flight 14 from Starbase sent a Starship into orbit for the first time. (10/7)

NASA Faces Uncertain Future as SpaceX Plans to Retire Falcon 9, Dragon (Source: Florida Today)
After years of Falcon 9 and Dragon reliably flying astronauts to orbit, SpaceX’s all-in push for Starship is raising questions about the future of a low Earth orbit economy — especially for NASA’s space station endeavors.

NASA last month awarded SpaceX a $946 million contract extension to continue flying astronaut crews to the International Space Station through 2030. But SpaceX has said that it doesn't intend to fulfil that role forever. Starship, the world's most powerful rocket, is intended to carry massive payloads and, someday, crews to the moon and beyond.

"This is potentially going to be catastrophic," said Ken Kremer, a science journalist and founder of the blog Space UpClose about the future retirement of Falcon 9 and Dragon. "I’m shocked, actually shocked they would say they’re going to hand off this business to Boeing, and they’re basically going to abandon low Earth orbit and not provide any help to NASA when Musk has said repeatedly – and Shotwell and others – that NASA saved them 20 years ago when they gave them that contract." (10/8)

What Comes After Falcon/Dragon? (Source: Florida Today)
With Falcon 9 and Dragon not guaranteed past the end of the decade, experts wonder just what the future of science and human presence in low Earth orbit would look like. Experts have mentioned Sierra Space’s Dreamchaser and a rumored Blue Origin spacecraft as possible contenders. But there's nothing concrete at this point. Blue Origin is focused on getting its New Glenn rocket flying again following a May 2026 explosion that destroyed its Cape Canaveral launch pad.

"We’ve made significant investments in human spaceflight technologies over the past couple of years," Blue Origin's David Limp. However, even with development, it remains unknown if NASA would seek another provider under the current Commercial Crew Program. Starship will eventually carry humans, but the earliest this is publicly promised is with the Starship Human Landing System (HLS) during future NASA Artemis missions.

Before that, astronauts will dock the Orion spacecraft to a modified Starship V3 in low Earth orbit during the Artemis III mission. The crew will not entered the Starship, only test docking capabilities. That mission is slated to occur before the end of 2027. SpaceX has noted that it has already well beyond what they were originally asked to do, and more are contracted. "They should keep flying," said Ken Kremer. "They should do their patriotic duty and keep flying Falcon 9 and Dragon." (10/8)

SpaceX Gearing Up to Launch Starship From Florida for 1st Time (Source: Space.com)
All 14 of the SpaceX megarocket's test flights to date have lifted off from the company's Starbase site in South Texas — including the most recent, on Sept. 28, which saw Starship reach orbit for the first time. But SpaceX is working hard to get three pads on Florida's Space Coast ready for Starship. And one of them, historic Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, is nearly there, according to the company. The pad's new Starship launch tower is nearly complete, as is most other essential construction at the site, according to Julianna Scheiman.

The work at Pad 39A began in late 2021. The fact that it's taken so long shouldn't be surprising, for Starship requires some very specialized infrastructure. After all, it's the biggest rocket ever built, standing about 408 feet (124 meters) tall. SpaceX plans to launch at least one more Starship test flight from Starbase before flying the megarocket out of KSC, Scheiman said on Oct. 1 — meaning the first Florida Starship launch could come as soon as Flight 16. (10/7)

Azercosmos Launches Platerra AI Platform to Automate Satellite Imagery Analysis (Source: SatNews)
Azerbaijan’s national satellite operator Azercosmos has launched Platerra, an AI-driven platform that automates satellite imagery processing and turns imagery into geospatial intelligence. The company says the platform is intended to support decision-making across a range of applications; the announcement did not specify customers or operational deployments. (10/7)

Gogo and Insitu Complete LEO Satcom Integration on Integrator UAS (Source: AIN)
Gogo Special Missions and Boeing subsidiary Insitu have completed integration and testing of a high-speed, low-latency satellite communications capability for the Integrator uncrewed aircraft system. The link is intended to support live video and bring Group 3 UAS operations closer to real time. (10/7)

Study suggests Earth and Mars Formed Through Different Processes (Source: Universe Today)
A new study finds that Earth and Mars may have formed through different processes. The discovery could help scientists assess whether exoplanets are habitable, linking evidence from the formation of neighboring planets to broader efforts to understand which worlds beyond our solar system might support life. (10/7)

The EU Space Act: Building a Market or Adding a Burden? (Source: Via Satellite)
The proposed EU Space Act could become one of the most important developments in Europe’s space economy. For the first time, it would establish EU-wide rules on the safety, resilience and environmental sustainability of many space activities. A common EU framework has long been sought to support competitiveness and create a more level playing field across the Union. Yet, European space law has always faced an important constraint: the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union permits the EU to establish measures necessary to achieve the objectives of European space policy but expressly excludes the harmonization of member states’ laws.

So, what has changed? Strictly speaking, the treaty has not. The European Commission has instead framed the proposed Space Act as an internal-market instrument, relying on EU competences connected with the establishment and functioning of the internal market. That choice of legal basis has consequences. The act’s architecture must be built around the provision of services. This creates a central question of scope. An operator operating its own satellite is not providing a service to a third party, unlike, e.g., an operator providing launch services. The proposal addresses that challenge by coupling the regulation of upstream activities with downstream provision of space-based data in the Union. (10/7)

Lunar Traffic Raises Risks to Historic Sites as Controlled Impacts Become an End-of-Mission Option (Source: Space.com)
As activity around the moon grows, operators are increasingly considering deliberate crashes of orbiters and rocket stages as a way to dispose of them at mission end. The approach could threaten historic lunar sites, adding preservation concerns to decisions about how missions are planned and retired. (10/7)

Musk Accuses Indian Rivals of Blocking Starlink’s Market Entry (Source: Bloomberg)
Elon Musk said unnamed “oligarchs” were preventing Starlink from entering India, in an apparent reference to billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal. The remarks followed a post outlining the case for Starlink in India; the reports do not detail any formal blocking action or response from the named companies. (10/7)

Rocket Launches are Scaling Faster Than the Infrastructure Beneath Them (Source: Space News)
Western launch capacity is often measured by rocket cadence, reusability and cost, but infrastructure is increasingly setting the pace. Cape Canaveral saw 36 rocket launches in 2021, underscoring the growing demand on the ground systems that support launch operations. (10/6)

NASA Stacks Artemis III SLS Booster Segments on Mobile Launcher 1 (Source: NSF)
NASA has stacked the center segments of both Artemis III solid rocket boosters on Mobile Launcher 1, ahead of mating with the Core Stage. Artemis III is currently targeted for no earlier than June 2027. Although it won’t go to the Moon, it will carry Orion and a crew of four and test the lunar modules alongside the spacecraft. (10/6)

Airlines Weigh LEO, GEO and Multi-Orbit Options as Free In-Flight Connectivity Gains Ground (Source: Via Satellite)
As airlines embrace free in-flight connectivity, Starlink has made significant inroads over the past two to three years. Four airlines compare offerings spanning low-Earth-orbit, geostationary and multi-orbit systems, reflecting a market at an inflection point. (10/6)

The Breakthroughs and Bottlenecks of Financing Europe's Space Ambitions (Source: Via Satellite)
“Scale-up funding is increasing and becoming more concentrated,” says João Falcão Serra at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI). “Europe’s five largest ventures raised 629 million euros ($716 million) — half of all 2025 funding — and, for the first time, all five were scale-ups. Scale-up investment rose 28 percent year-over-year.” The diversity of these investment flows is becoming more sophisticated too.

“We’re increasingly seeing major U.S. investors, or European Tier 1s, investing in space,” says Maureen Haverty at Seraphim Space. “That’s a fantastic thing — they see that these European companies can win globally and they’re able to fund much more ambitious plans.” Concerns have not been based on whether Europe has the kinds of strong ideas, robust companies, and fertile opportunities investors were looking for, but rather that the method and culture of its financial infrastructure, forged in more precedented times, may be showing its age. (10/7)

Poland's Space Sector: From Emerging Player to European Partner (Source: Via Satellite)
Before Poland joined the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2012, the country’s space sector was centered around two major public institutions: the Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences (CBK PAN) and the Institute of Aviation. CBK PAN has conducted space research since 1977 and contributed to the 1978 mission of Mirosław Hermaszewski, the first Polish astronaut, while the Institute of Aviation developed expertise in rocket technologies that continues to evolve today.

Poland’s accession to ESA marked a turning point. Combined with systematic public investment in domestic space capabilities, it created an environment in which private companies, start-ups and university spin-offs could emerge and participate in international projects. ESA’s geographical return principle was particularly important for an emerging space economy, enabling Polish entities to enter European supply chains, participate in increasingly sophisticated projects and learn from more experienced partners. (10/7)

Xona Prepares Six Pulsar Satellites for Launch as it Scales Production Toward 250 (Source: Payload)
With FCC approval secured and six satellites ready for the launch pad, Xona is shifting its focus to production capacity for the next 250 Pulsar spacecraft. The effort marks a transition from preparing an initial batch for launch to scaling manufacturing for a much larger satellite program. (10/7)

From Sovereign to Responsive: How International Partnerships and Launch Site Diversification Boost Responsive Space Capabilities (Source: Via Satellite)
Today, Europe is on the move to establish a resilient ecosystem of sovereign launch capabilities on European territory and beyond, by working through partnerships. But Europe needs to plan its next move to catch up in the race: from sovereign to responsive access to space. Responsiveness and speed to serve military needs on demand, be it replacing or adding a satellite/service, whenever needed, is crucial in times of geopolitical tensions and strong dependence of military operations on space services.

Responsiveness is becoming a defining measure of sovereignty in space and will ultimately separate autonomy from dependency. While Europe has been recovering from the launcher crisis and now still has to handle limited sovereign launch capabilities to serve steadily rising military demand to be launched until 2030 (IRIS², SatCom BW4, SPOK2, and others), the U.S. and China are in a race in launch cadence and responsive space capabilities, expanding and diversifying launch sites and options. (10/7)

ArianeGroup Completes Second Themis Wet Dress Rehearsal at Sweden's Spaceport (Source: European Spaceflight)
The European Space Agency announced that ArianeGroup and SSC Space completed a second wet dress rehearsal of the Themis reusable rocket demonstrator at Esrange in Sweden. ESA announced the completion of the latest rehearsal on 7 October, saying that the test had taken place on 29 September. As with the first wet dress rehearsal, completed in July, the demonstrator was filled with liquid nitrogen rather than propellant. The nitrogen was cooled to around -200°C, allowing teams to test the vehicle and ground infrastructure under similar cryogenic temperatures and pressures without the added risk of propellant loading. (10/7)

Northrop Grumman Selects ThinKom Antenna for US Navy TACAMO Aircraft (Source: Via Satellite)
Northrop Grumman has selected a ThinKom antenna to provide satcom for the U.S. Navy’s E-130J Phoenix II aircraft, which will assume the Navy’s TACAMO mission. Northrop Grumman is developing the E-130J Phoenix II aircraft to take over the Navy’s Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) mission from the E-6B Mercury fleet. The TACAMO mission provides connectivity between the National Command Authority and U.S. nuclear forces. Northrop Grumman was selected as prime contractor for the E-130J Phoenix II in late 2024. (10/6)

Why is NASA Bringing 7,500 Contractors Back to Work as Civil Servants? (Source: Ars Technica)
As a flight director during NASA’s Apollo missions, Gerry Griffin led several lunar landings. He helped bring the crew of Apollo 13 safely back to Earth. Later, he directed Johnson Space Center in Houston. Through these experiences, Griffin learned the value of teamwork in spaceflight—during the dynamic moments that can make or break a successful launch or landing, you absolutely have to trust your colleagues in the trenches.

After he left NASA, that began to change. “Midway through the space shuttle era, I was surprised to find that a lot of the jobs in Mission Control had gone to contractors,” he said. Griffin doesn’t want to denigrate contractors. They play a critical role in extending the agency’s expertise for subsystems built for the space agency. But over time, often as a way to increase headcount at the space agency without raising the NASA civil service count, critical jobs were outsourced to contractors.

This year, in a move that has largely gone under the radar, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman sought to reverse this trend. As part of his “workforce initiative,” Isaacman is bringing 7,500 contract positions back into the agency, making them civil servants to rebuild what he calls “core competencies.” This is a massive shift in how NASA does business, and it’s not without controversy. But Griffin said he welcomes the change and believes it will be better for the agency in the long run. (10/6)

Advanced Navigation Builds U.S. PNT Manufacturing Hub in Huntsville (Source: Inside GNSS)
Advanced Navigation America, the U.S. arm of Sydney-based Advanced Navigation, is establishing a Positioning, Navigation and Timing Center of Excellence in Huntsville, Alabama, to manufacture navigation technology for GPS-denied environments on U.S. soil.  The center will research, develop and manufacture what the company describes as counter-electromagnetic warfare technologies across fiber optics, MEMS, laser sensing, photonics, vision-based systems, AI and quantum sensing. The company says the site will also accelerate U.S. mergers and acquisitions, grow its U.S. workforce and strengthen onshore capability to support classified U.S. defense programs. (10/6)

EU Deepens Collective Space Security with Mutual Defense Pact (Source: Breaking Defense)
For the first time, the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) officially have given approval for a collective response — via political, economic or even military means — to threats against any one nation’s satellites and related terrestrial infrastructure, under a recent decision by the group’s ruling Council of Ministers. The key tenet of the multifaceted Sept. 23 Council Decision 2026/2195 is a green light for joint action, according to several US and European analysts. (10/6)