November 4, 2026

Space-Grown Brain Tumor Models Mimic Advanced Glioblastoma More Closely (Source: Beyond LEO)
Miniature brain tumors grown for 40 days on the International Space Station turned out to resemble advanced human glioblastoma more closely than the same kind of models grown on Earth. Researchers used three-dimensional organoids made from glioblastoma (GBM) cells and innate immune cells. These are laboratory models of a tumor, not treatments, and no patient was involved. Their value lies in giving researchers a more realistic stand-in for a cancer that is notoriously hard to study and to treat. (11/2)

AT&T and AST SpaceMobile Switch a Phone Connection From Ground Network to Satellite (Source: Beyond LEO)
AT&T and AST SpaceMobile say they have passed a phone connection from a ground-based cellular network to a satellite network that talks directly to handsets, in what they believe is the first successful handoff of its kind in the industry. The test took place outside Granite Falls, Washington, at 8:15 a.m. PT on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, using ground-based technology from Ericsson and Nokia. (11/2)

Europe Looks at Post-ISS Options (Source: Space News)
Europe is examining its options for life after the International Space Station. The agency has outlined three possible paths: relying largely on commercial space stations developed by others, using those commercial platforms while contributing European infrastructure and transportation, or pursuing a European-led orbital outpost. ESA has made progress on all three, including agreements with commercial space station developers and awarding study contracts to examine the feasibility of a European-led station. Member states are expected to debate those plans at an intermediate ministerial meeting in Rome in mid-December. (11/3)

Cygnus Cargo Mission to ISS will Honor James Lovell (Source: Collect Space)
The next Cygnus mission to the ISS will be named after James Lovell. Northrop Grumman said last week that the Cygnus spacecraft for its NG-25 mission to the ISS, scheduled to launch later this month on a Falcon 9, will be named the S.S. James A. Lovell after the former NASA astronaut who died last year. Lovell is best known as the commander of the Apollo 13 mission in 1970, but also flew on Gemini 7, Gemini 12 and Apollo 8. The announcement continues a company tradition of naming Cygnus spacecraft primarily after deceased astronauts. (11/3)

Rocket Lab Launches Another Japanese SAR Satellite From New Zealand (Source: Space News)
An Electron launched a Japanese radar-imaging satellite Monday on the rocket's last double-digit launch. The Electron lifted off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 11:41 a.m. Eastern and placed into orbit the QPS-SAR-20 satellite for Japanese company iQPS. This was the 10th launch for iQPS with eight more Electron launches under contract. The next Electron launch will be the 100th for the vehicle since its introduction in 2017. That launch, also for iQPS, is scheduled for no earlier than Nov. 14. (11/3)

China's Kinetica-2 Rocket Launches Qianfan Satellites (Source: Xinhua)
A commercial Chinese rocket launched a set of Qianfan satellites Monday. The Lijian-2, or Kinetica-2, lifted off from the Dongfeng commercial launch complex at Jiuquan at 7:15 p.m. Eastern. It carried 18 satellites for the Spacesail constellation. This was the second flight of the rocket, which is capable of placing up to 8 metric tons into sun-synchronous orbit. (11/3)

Amazon Anticipates Accelerated Leo Deployment with Rockets Returning to Service (Source: Space News)
Amazon is betting that the deployment of its broadband constellation will soon accelerate. The company has launched less than 400 Amazon Leo satellites because of delays and setbacks with the Ariane 6, New Glenn and Vulcan Centaur rockets. The company is expecting that deployment pace to speed up as New Glenn and Vulcan return to flight, with Vulcan launching a set of Amazon Leo satellites as soon as Nov. 13. Analysts say 2027 could be an "inflection point" for Amazon Leo if those vehicles can increase their flight rates. (11/3)

Space Force Should Move Faster on New Surveillance Satellites (Source: Space News)
The Space Force is not moving quickly enough on a program to develop a new series of space surveillance satellites, industry claims. At a conference last week, companies criticized the Space Force for its management of the Geosynchronous Reconnaissance and Surveillance program, known as RG-XX, where the service aims to replace a small fleet of expensive, custom-built surveillance satellites with a larger network of commercially derived spacecraft operating in geosynchronous orbit. Companies say the first orders under the program may be considerably smaller than industry had hoped, reducing the economies of scale they had expected. They also criticized the pace of the program, with the Space Force expected to order the next RG-XX satellites in 2027 for delivery in 2030. (11/3)

Vantor Can Deliver Imagery Within 7 Minutes of Request (Source: Space News)
Vantor says it has demonstrated the ability to deliver satellite imagery to Ukrainian troops within just seven minutes of a request. The company completed a demonstration in which imagery was delivered directly to a handheld tablet on the battlefield seven minutes after the satellite was tasked, the geospatial intelligence company said last week. The company has previously reported delivery times of approximately 12 to 15 minutes under favorable conditions, although imagery can take several hours to reach users depending on circumstances. (11/3)

Future Intel Sat Designs May Cater to AI Users (Source: Space News)
Intelligence agencies may design future satellites around the needs of AI rather than human analysts. Didi Kuo, principal deputy director for geospatial intelligence at the NRO, said advances in AI could challenge longstanding assumptions about the image quality required from intelligence satellites. The NRO, which builds and operates U.S. intelligence satellites, has demanding image-quality requirements intended to support human analysts that affect the design and cost of satellites. Designing around AI needs could alter those designs, resulting in cost savings. (11/3)

Computer Glitch and Gyro Fault Likely Doomed Mars Orbiter (Source: Space News)
A combination of a computer glitch and a faulty gyro likely caused the demise of a NASA Mars orbiter last year. NASA lost contact with the MAVEN spacecraft last December and declared the mission over in June after failing to restore contact. The final report of an anomaly review board, recently released by NASA with no fanfare, said the most likely cause was a single-event upset in the spacecraft's flight computer or a software issue that caused the computer to reboot. When it rebooted, it relied on data from a gyro that had previously been turned off because of degrading performance. The gyro provided faulty information to the computer, causing it to fire thrusters and spin up. Investigators said they could not definitively prove this was the root cause of the failure but noted that other possibilities, like an impact from a micrometeoroid or debris, were far less likely. (11/3)

Saltzman Joins Voyager Board (Source: Space News)
The recently retired commanding general of the Space Force is joining a Voyager Technologies board. The company announced Monday that Chance Saltzman will chair its board of advisers, providing strategic advice on Voyager's space and defense programs, customer needs and the changing security environment. The appointment comes two months after Saltzman stepped down as chief of space operations, the Space Force's highest-ranking uniformed position. For Voyager, Saltzman's appointment comes as the firm expands into military space and defense markets. (11/3)

New X-Plane To Be Announced At Max Power Airshow (Source: TWZ)
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman says a new X-plane will be announced at the Max Power exhibition at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida this coming weekend. He insisted, however, that this is unrelated to an SR-71 Blackbird that mysteriously disappeared from public display earlier this year. Isaacman also deflected a direct question about that SR-71 and the possibility that it could fly again, quipping that “we’re just cleaning it, man.”

“Since I didn’t answer your question that you asked before, I will give you some insight that we will announce a new X-plane at it [Max Power], and it is not the one you’re thinking about,” the NASA director said in an ensuing discussion on the podcast about that event, which is set to kick off on Saturday. “I am gonna deliver on the promise there will be more X-planes.” (11/2)

Should Utah’s Spaceport Launch Rockets or Catch Them? Experts Are Split (Source: Deseret News)
Recent momentum has brought Utah's spaceport project nearer to reality. However, a core debate has emerged regarding its primary function: whether the facility should serve as a launch site, a recovery location or combination of both. The Legislature formed the Spaceport Exploration Committee aiming to assess the feasibility of a Utah-based facility that could play a potential role as a place to launch, land and even develop the next generation of space vehicles.

The committee completed its work last week, issuing a final report identifying two locations, Delta and Green River, for a potential new multimodal space facility and encouraging lawmakers to move forward with development efforts. Their report concludes that both launch and reentry services are feasible in Utah and identifies launch and reentry routes that meet FAA safety requirements at both preferred locations. But some industry experts and at least one committee member say Utah should set different priorities. They believe the most viable route for Utah to elevate its standing in the newspace sector is to focus on reentry and recovery and, for the time being, deprioritize the pursuit of a launch facility. (11/2)

Trump Vows to Protect Musk, Floats Pre-Emptive Staff Pardons (Source: Axios)
President Trump said Monday he'd move to protect Elon Musk if Democrats investigate the SpaceX and Tesla CEO after the midterm elections. He also suggested the possibility of pre-emptive pardons for staff and others around him if Democrats pursue investigations. Trump is positioning himself for a combative final two years in the White House, as polls increasingly point to the prospect of a significant blue wave. (11/2)

SpaceX’s Starfall Just Went From Secret to Storefront (Source: Reuters)
SpaceX has put up a dedicated commercial page for Starfall, its disk shaped reentry capsule, laying out for the first time what customers actually get when they book a flight. The page, live at spacex.com/starfall, pitches “affordable, routine access to microgravity” and invites companies to get in touch about flying manufacturing, research or testing payloads.

The specs are short and specific. Each Starfall mission carries up to 1,000 kg of payload, supplies 1 kW of power and connects through an Ethernet interface. Mission length is tailored to the customer, and the payload stays online the entire time through Starlink, which means researchers can pull data from an experiment while it is still in orbit instead of waiting for splashdown. (11/2)

China Publicly Discloses Plan for a Lunar Landing Within Three Years (Source: Ars Technica)
Chinese space officials confirmed this weekend that the Asian nation plans to land its astronauts on the Moon within three years. At the Seventh Manned Spaceflight Conference in Beijing, officials, including Wang Xiang, chief designer for the lunar exploration program, laid out the country’s most publicly detailed plans yet for a series of missions leading up to a crewed lunar landing “before 2030.” (11/3)

Space Force Cislunar Space System Under Consideration (Source: Defense Daily)
The U.S. Space Force is exploring a future Cislunar Space System (CSS) with plans to award up to five preliminary design study contracts for a constellation of up to five satellites operating beyond geosynchronous orbit. The spacecraft are targeted to be ready for launch by late 2029, with initial operational capability slated for 2031. The system will consist of up to five space vehicles, each carrying a payload of more than 2.2 tons and designed to serve as seed vehicles for a future proliferated cislunar network.

Key interest areas include space domain awareness (SDA), communications, and positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) between Earth and the Moon. The service is prioritizing existing commercial, non-developmental hardware, propulsion for station-keeping and orbital transfers, and artificial intelligence/compute capabilities for long-duration autonomous operations. (11/2)

What is Starshield? (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX is building and operating two satellite networks at the moment, Starlink and Starshield. What’s the difference between the two, and who uses them? Starshield is SpaceX’s network for serving national security customers. The company announced the program in December 2022, stating it would apply Starlink technology and SpaceX's launch capability to government needs, initially in three areas: Earth observation, communications and hosted payloads.

"They are using the same satellite buses," says Bleddyn Bowen, associate professor of astropolitics at Durham University in the U.K. “They look the same, but they have a lot more kit on them that allows them to do more things. They provide similar broadband internet, but with more secure hardware and software and hardened systems.” The company says it has won multi-billion-dollar, multiyear contracts from the U.S. military in 2026 for Starshield-related services. (11/2)