November 6, 2026

AST SpaceMobile Plans to Build Blacklift Launcher with Firefly Engines (Source: Space News)
AST SpaceMobile, whose deployment of a direct-to-device constellation has been slowed by launch vehicle issues, is taking matters into its own hands. The company announced Friday it will develop its own rocket, Blacklift, capable of carrying five of its BlueBird satellites per launch. Blacklift will be powered by Miranda and Vira engines from Firefly Aerospace. The two companies announced a $1.3 billion agreement where Firefly will provide the engines for the first three Blacklift launches along with engineering support and a license to allow AST to produce its own engines for later flights. AST released few other details about the rocket other than it is planning a first launch as soon as late 2028 and that the rocket will be "designed for reusability." (11/6)

ULA Confident in Fix for Vulcan Solid Rocket Motors (Source: Space News)
United Launch Alliance is confident changes to Vulcan's solid rocket boosters will address problems seen on two launches even as an investigation continues. Vulcan will return to flight next week, nine months after a launch that saw a "significant performance anomaly" with one of the solid boosters. ULA CEO Mark Peller said in an interview that changes made to the booster's nozzle will address all the potential causes of the anomaly while the investigation into the root cause continues. ULA hopes to conduct at least one more Vulcan launch this year as it works towards a goal of performing two launches a month. ULA also announced this week it is buying the production line for Vulcan payload fairings and other composite structures from Beyond Gravity, which has been producing them inside ULA's Alabama factory. The deal, ULA said, will allow it to reduce costs and increase efficiencies. (11/6)

Blue Origin Plans New Third Stage for New Glenn with New Engine (Source: Space News)
Blue Origin plans to develop a third stage for its New Glenn rocket along with a new booster engine. The company announced Thursday it is building GS3, a third stage powered by the company's BE-7 engine, that will support high-energy missions such as direct injection of satellites into GEO or flights to the moon. GS3 will make its debut in 2028 on a cislunar mission for an undisclosed government customer. It also announced Northstar, an engine that produces 12% more thrust than its BE-4 but is 30% lighter and has 50% fewer parts. Blue Origin did not discuss how it would use Northstar on New Glenn or other vehicles. (11/6)

Blue Origin Delays New Glenn Return-to-Flight to January (Source: Space News)
Blue Origin has notified its workforce that the next New Glenn launch has been delayed to January . The company had hoped to resume launches by the end of the year but said unfavorable weather this summer has slowed the rebuild of the launch pad damaged in a pad explosion in May. (11/6)

Space Force Grappling with Falcon Retirement (Source: Space News)
The U.S. military is grappling with how to deal with launches once SpaceX retires its workhorse Falcon rocket. SpaceX has not announced a date for retiring Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy, and there is no evidence that it intends to walk away from its existing national security commitments. But it has made clear its plans to wind down Falcon in the coming years in favor of Starship. Space Force officials have said they expect SpaceX to continue to provide launches under its current contract, but there are unanswered questions about what vehicles will be able to serve the national security market as effectively once Falcon is retired. (11/6)

Dems Flip Colorado House Seat with Multiple Space Force Bases (Source: Space News)
Democrats have flipped a House seat in Colorado that includes several major Space Force bases. Jessica Killin defeated first-term Republican Rep. Jeff Crank in Tuesday's election, taking over a seat that had been in Republican hands since it was created more than 50 years ago. The congressional seat encompasses Peterson and Schriever Space Force bases, Fort Carson and the U.S. Air Force Academy. The region also hosts major space operations, missile warning activities and a substantial aerospace and defense contractor workforce. Killin made the Trump administration's decision to move Space Command's headquarters from Colorado Springs to Huntsville a campaign issue, arguing that Crank failed to do enough to keep the command in Colorado. (11/6)

Space-Grown Organoids Could Advance Brain Cancer Research (Source: CASIS)
Could space help unlock new treatments for glioblastoma, the most aggressive and deadly form of brain cancer? In a new study published in PNAS, researchers at the University of Notre Dame found that glioblastoma-immune organoids grown in microgravity on the ISS more closely mimicked the biology and behavior of human tumors than those grown on Earth. These improved models could help researchers better understand disease progression and accelerate the development of new therapies. (11/6)

Artemis Launch Tore ‘Hole’ in Earth’s Atmosphere, Disrupted GPS (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
A NASA rocket launch for a lunar mission may have punched a hole in Earth’s atmosphere, potentially disrupting GPS signals, a new study found. The Artemis II mission launched April 1 from Florida, carrying astronauts around the moon on humanity’s first lunar mission since the Apollo program ended in 1972, NASA said.

Atmospheric disturbances recorded during the launch suggested the rocket may have punched a hole in Earth’s ionosphere, according to a study by researchers at Taiwan’s National Cheng Kung University. Earth’s ionosphere is a region of the upper atmosphere, extending from roughly 30 to 600 miles above sea level, where solar radiation ionizes atoms and molecules, according to NOAA. (11/5)

Lawmakers Demand Answers From Air Force on Cuts to China Aerospace Studies Institute (Source: FNN)
Lawmakers on the House Select Committee on China are demanding answers from the Air Force about its decision to eliminate all civilian positions at the service’s premier think tank dedicated to studying Chinese aerospace. In a letter to Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, Reps. John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) said that losing the China Aerospace Studies Institute’s expertise could “undermine the ability of military leaders and civilian policymakers to understand the [People’s Republic of China’s] aerospace strategy and capabilities and, by extension, deter Beijing from using them in a military conflict.” (11/5)

CesiumAstro Raises $730 Million for Constellation (Source: Space News)
CesiumAstro has raised $730 million to fund work on its satellite constellation. The company announced Thursday it closed a Series D round that included $630 million in equity led by investment firm Janus Henderson and $100 million in debt from JP Morgan and the U.S. Export-Import Bank. The funds would support work on Synchronicity, a 737-satellite constellation operating in Ku-, Ka-, and V-bands. It will use onboard artificial intelligence to dynamically optimize and allocate communications resources in response to changing needs and operating conditions, targeting commercial, sovereign and defense missions. The company launched a precursor satellite, Element-1, last month. (11/5)

Rebuilding America’s Aerospace Research and Test Infrastructure (Source: Aerospace America)
America’s aerospace research and test infrastructure has been built over decades, thanks to investments from NASA, the Pentagon, universities, and private industry. Many facilities may be older, but they still hold immense value, with some even offering unique capabilities that are costly to replicate. However, age becomes a pressing issue when facilities can’t meet new demands, when their instruments become outdated, or when maintenance limits access. Hypersonic testing, for example, requires ground facilities to recreate extreme aerodynamic and thermal environments, while flight testing needs specific locations, airspace and extensive coordination. Expanding these facilities isn’t a quick fix, and limited testing availability can disrupt development timelines.

These challenges extend beyond military applications. The commercial aviation sector is increasingly relying on unconventional aircraft designs and propulsion systems, while spacecraft developers need to test materials and systems in rigorous conditions. Smaller companies and universities often lack the resources to build such specialized facilities but still require access to them to innovate.

What’s crucial is not that every aerospace program faces the same limitations but that we recognize the need for a national research enterprise that can adapt to increasingly advanced technologies. We need to identify where testing capacity is adequate, where it falls short, and where new capabilities are necessary. Click here. (11/5)

Avio Scales Back Reusable Rocket Demonstrator Program Amid Technical Challenges (Source: European Spaceflight)
Italian rocket manufacturer Avio has scaled back plans to develop two liquid-fueled rocket demonstrators intended to validate technologies for a future reusable launch vehicle. In its half-year financial report published on 10 September, Avio disclosed that it had agreed to revise the scope and funding of its Space Transportation System (STS) program.

“This program saw certain technical difficulties arise in connection with the development activities, which proved to be more complex than expected,” the report explained. “An analysis of the situation led [by] ESA, in agreement with Avio, to amend the contract, reducing the scope of work and partially reducing the funding.” The company added that additional technical difficulties may still arise before the project is completed. (11/6)

Orbital Taps Orca Aerospace for Onboard Autonomy Software (Source: Payload)
Orbital’s data center sats are getting a killer navigator. Satellite autonomy startup Orca Aerospace announced a deal worth up to $20M with LA-based Orbital to put its software on Orbital’s planned data-center fleet. Orca’s says its software will act as an autonomous navigator, linking each sat’s flight software to Orbital’s ground control. It will enable satellites to handle maneuvers, tasks, and fault responses on their own, consulting humans only when needed. (11/5)

OHB Awarded €554 Million Contract for Next-Gen Sentinel-3 Satellite (Source: European Spaceflight)
German satellite manufacturer OHB has secured a €554 million contract from the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop the first Sentinel-3 Next Generation Topography (NGT) satellite for the European Union’s Copernicus program. In a 4 November announcement, OHB revealed that it would lead the European industrial consortium developing the first next-generation Sentinel-3 satellite, with the contract also including an option for the development and manufacture of a second spacecraft.

The Sentinel-3 NGT satellites will form one half of the system that will replace the existing constellation of Sentinel-3 satellites. The current generation of satellites carries a combination of instruments to monitor ocean and ice surface topography, ocean and land colour, and surface temperatures. (11/5)

SkyFi Brings Satellite Intelligence to Robinhood Investors for $10 a Month (Source: Space News)
Satellite imagery typically available to government agencies and Wall Street hedge funds is coming to individual stock traders through a new service that lets Robinhood customers monitor activity at factories, warehouses and other corporate facilities from space. (11/4)

Guardian Arena Competition Planned at Cape Canaveral Spaceport on Dec. 5-7 (Source: USSF)
The Space Force’s 4th Annual Guardian Arena this Dec. 5-7, held at Kennedy Space Center and Patrick Space Force Base, Florida. Guardian Arena is the premier service-level competition for the Space Force, showcasing the most tactically proficient, physically fit, and mentally resilient Guardians in the nearly seven-year-old service.

Guardian Arena Qualifiers was an exceptionally competitive selection process this year, with more than 415 competitors — a 47% increase from 2025. The selected finalists will represent the Space Force as one of 40 elite three-person teams competing in the service-wide Guardian Arena main event December 5-7 at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida. They will face grueling physical, tactical, and cognitive challenges designed to test their mental resilience and teamwork. (11/2)

Texas Governor-Elect Requests Pause on SpaceX Land Talks (Source: Bloomberg)
Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa used her first news conference since winning election to spotlight her scrutiny of the potential sale of state park land to Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Hinojosa said she spoke to the head of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department on Thursday to “request that no action be taken” during her transition to power. Texas Monthly reported last month that the state was considering the sale of Boca Chica State Park with SpaceX as the prospective buyer, although Governor Greg Abbott later said no deals would come up for a vote anytime soon. (11/5)

Astrolab Plans Solar Power and Communications Nodes to Serve Customers on the Moon (Source: Sky Nightly)
Astrolab, a developer of lunar rovers, wants to sell power and connectivity on the Moon as well as vehicles. On 4 November at Kennedy Space Center it introduced the Lunar Utility Module for Industrial Services, or LUMIS, a solar-powered node designed to supply energy, communications and data services to customers on the lunar surface. None of the hardware has flown. Astrolab is targeting a first deployment in 2028. (11/5)

MDA Space Starts Work on Antennas for the First 66 IRIS2 Satellites (Source: Beyond LEO)
MDA Space has been cleared to begin work on the antennas for the first satellites in IRIS2, the EU Secure Connectivity Program, but the full contract has yet to be signed. The Toronto-based company said on 30 October 2026 that it had entered into an authorization to proceed (ATP) agreement with Thales Alenia Space. Under it, MDA will start work on MDA AURORA broadband digital phased array antennas and a digital antenna controller for the 66 Layer 1 IRIS2 satellites in low Earth orbit. MDA valued the agreement at more than $100 million. (11/5)

Voyager Wins Five-Year NASA Contract Worth $35 Million to Run HUNCH Student Program (Source: Beyond LEO)
Voyager Technologies will keep running a NASA program in which high school students build hardware for the agency, under a new five-year contract the company values at $35 million. The Denver-based company, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, announced the award on 4 November 2026. The contract covers management of NASA's High school students United with NASA to Create Hardware program, known as HUNCH. Voyager has managed the program since 2021, so the award extends an existing role rather than bringing in a new operator. (11/5)

Mars May Host an Environment Similar to Hydrothermal Vents on Earth, Where Life First Arose (Source: Live Science)
A noxious gas found seeping through cracks on Mars hints that there may be magma flowing beneath the Red Planet's surface — and perhaps even an environment similar to habitable ones on Earth, a new study suggests. Europe's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) spacecraft spotted a possible signal of hydrogen chloride gas leaking from rifts in the region of Alba Mons, the largest volcano on Mars in terms of surface area. Scientists interpret this gas as emissions from hot magma below the regolith of Mars. Although more research is required to confirm the emissions, the team suggested that Alba Mons may host an environment similar to hydrothermal vents on Earth, where life once likely arose and continues to thrive today. (11/4)

Drone Warfare in Space: Swarms of Autonomous, Laser-Shooting Cubesats Could Defend Western Satellites in Orbit (Source: Space.com)
U.K. startup Shield Space is racing to apply the lessons of drone warfare in Ukraine to develop swarms of up to 100 very small, low-cost, attritable drone-like autonomous spacecraft called cubesats. Released by a car-sized carrier in Earth orbit, these microwave-sized spacecraft will act as interceptors to protect Western satellites, and their deployment will mark a next step in the evolution of orbital warfare. Shield Space says that these space drones will use "effectors" like lasers or microwaves to defend Western satellites even if controllers lose contact with them. (11/5)

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Is Wobbly—Scientists Have a Fix That Could Reveal New Alien Worlds (Source: Scientific American)
Directly spotting a planet around another star is like trying to see the constellations at noon. Even the biggest planets can be more than 10,000 times fainter than the stars they circle, and their light gets lost in the glare. Astronomers built clever software for the James Webb Space Telescope that makes this task less challenging, giving the observatory a better chance of spotting planets closer to their stars.

But this template is a snapshot taken by the telescope at a different moment—and a telescope is never in the same state twice. Stars sit slightly off-center, temperatures shift, JWST’s 6.5-meter mirror flexes. These tiny mismatches leave smudges of starlight that can hide a faint planet in the image, meaning that the telescope’s ability to see smaller planets is limited by its overall stability.

The researchers’ new software, called Physics-Based Learning for Imaging Planets (FLIP), incorporates a detailed physical understanding of how the telescope and its mirrors work and simulates how it would take in starlight, instabilities and all. Rather than borrowing glare from other stellar measurements, FLIP simulates it based on how the light of the target star travels through this virtual telescope. (11/5)

Will NASA’s Newest X-Plane Bring Science Fiction to Life? (Source: AeroTime)
Described as a “high-performance, highly adaptable research platform”, the X-70 Fractal is designed to “accelerate the development and testing of advanced aviation technologies”. According to the NASA chief, the X-70 Fractal will join the NASA Aeronautics fleet and take flight under the space agency banner within the next two years. “The science fiction future we imagined as children is ours to build… and I promise, there will be more,” Isaacmann teased.

NASA said that the crewed X-70 will feature advanced, rapidly reconfigurable flight-control technology that will allow staff to “explore aircraft maneuverability in ways never before demonstrated in crewed flight”. “This crewed, modular aircraft will allow the agency to rapidly swap out internal & external payloads to help keep pushing the frontiers of aviation technology,” NASA Aeronautics said. “This is why people come to NASA: to build, to learn, and most importantly, to fly,” Isacmann added. (11/5)

Trump’s Transportation Secretary Supercharges American Dominance in Commercial Space (Source: FAA)
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy today announced four key regulatory actions by the FAA to streamline commercial space launch and reentry licensing along with plans for a major regulatory overhaul in 2027. The Department also announced a hiring initiative to supercharge the agency’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation. The actions cut regulatory burdens and enhance operational flexibility without compromising FAA safety standards.

Looking ahead, the FAA will initiate a comprehensive overhaul of its licensing framework in 2027 to keep pace with rapid commercial space innovation and support an anticipated cadence of 1,000 launches per year by 2030. To support this mission, the agency is expanding its Office of Commercial Space Transportation workforce with its first Associate Administrator and a new team of aerospace engineers. These engineers will conduct safety analysis, evaluations, and mission authorizations to accelerate application turnaround while keeping the public safe during space operations. Applications must be received by December 4. Click here. (11/5)