November 9, 2026

Russia Already Using Its Own Starlink Rival Over Ukraine, Kyiv Intelligence Says (Source: United 24)
Russia has begun using its Rassvet satellite communications network for military operations over Ukraine, potentially allowing its drones to adjust flight paths in real time and operate with greater resistance to Ukrainian electronic warfare systems. A representative of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (HUR), confirmed that Russia is already employing the satellite network, developed as a domestic alternative to SpaceX’s Starlink. However, the system remains limited in its capabilities. Russia currently lacks enough satellites to provide continuous coverage over Ukraine, meaning communications are available only during periods when the spacecraft pass over specific areas. (11/7)

How Does Sand Flow on the Moon? GraviTower Enables New Insights (University of Bremen)
Understanding how sand, dust, and other granular materials move on the Moon or Mars is crucial for many future missions – from safe landing to on-site resource utilization. :ocated at the University of Bremen’s Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity, an international research team has investigated how reduced gravity affects the flow of granular materials. The results demonstrate the great potential of the Bremen research laboratory for international exploration research.

The study addresses the question of how granular materials, such as gravel or Moon surface dust, flow under reduced gravity – and more specifically, under what conditions they stop flowing. Such a “clogging” event can occur, for example, when granular material flows through a narrow opening. At the GraviTower in Bremen, the researchers were able to precisely investigate the behavior of different sand types under Martian and lunar conditions, and demonstrate that the probability of clogging increases significantly under reduced gravity. The extent of this effect depends on the properties of the material in question. (10/29)

ETH Zurich Develops its Own Satellite Mission (Source: ETH Zurich)
ETH Zurich is developing the ETHOS research satellite in collaboration with the Physical Meteorological Observatory Davos, the University of Bern and EPFL. The satellite uses four instruments to simultaneously measure solar radiation and changes in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. With ETHOS, ETH Zurich is assuming full responsibility for a complete satellite mission, from the planning stages through to launch, for the first time. (11/2)

Second Successful Launch of the SyLEx Sounding Rocket (Source: Ariane Group)
ArianeGroup has built the second SyLEx sounding rocket (Système de Lancement d'Expériences, or Experiment Launch System), which was successfully launched on November 4 under the direction of the French Defense Procurement and Technology Agency (DGA) from its Missile Testing Centre in Biscarrosse. This successful launch of the single-stage version carried a payload for DGA and the French Ministry for the Armed Forces and Veterans. This was the second launch of the SyLEx system and its first operational flight, following a successful demonstration flight in November 2025. Developed in less than three years for DGA, SyLEx provides France with its first sovereign suborbital launch capability. (11/4)

Prometheus Reusable Rocket Engine Reaches New Development Milestone with Hot-Fire Test (Source: Ariane Group)
On 29 October, the Prometheus reusable rocket engine reached a new development milestone with the validation of its operation integrated with the P5 test bench owned by the European Space Agency (ESA) and operated by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). This milestone once again demonstrated the engine's ability to complete several hot-fire tests with stabilized operation in a single test day. Meanwhile, ArianeGroup teams are preparing an improved version of Prometheus®, known as Mark 2, for its test campaign that will take place at ArianeGroup's Vernon test center. (11/6)

Varda's W-8 Capsule Returns Safely from Orbit as Three Vehicles Operate in Space (Source: Varda)
Varda Space Industries, the leader in orbital pharmaceutical processing and hypersonic reentry, today announced the successful reentry and recovery of its W-8 capsule, which landed at the Koonibba Test Range at 5:58am Pacific time after 35 days in orbit. W-8 launched on Oct. 1, 2026, simultaneously with the W-9 vehicle, the first time two commercial reentry vehicles were launched together. (11/5)

Embry‑Riddle Researcher Helps Solve Mystery Around Heating of Sun’s Corona (Source: ERAU)
Based on 27 years of research into a space weather phenomenon that creates powerful surges of energy — combined with brand-new images from the surface of the sun — Dr. Katariina Nykyri has proposed an answer to a long-standing mystery: how the sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere, is heated to more than a million degrees, hundreds of times hotter than its visible surface. Interpreting this process is important to life here on Earth, said Nykyri, professor in the Department of Physical Sciences at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University. (11/5)

NASA Unveils $10B Moon Base Contract as SpaceX, Blue Origin Join Lunar Gold Rush (Source: Fox Business)
NASA announced Saturday that Elon Musk's SpaceX, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and six other aerospace companies are eligible to compete for up to $10 billion in lunar delivery contracts as the agency advances plans to establish a permanent base on the moon. The announcement, made at the MAX POWER aerospace expo and air show at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, expands NASA's commercial lunar program, bringing together private companies to deliver scientific equipment, technology and infrastructure to the moon's south pole.

The new Commercial Lunar Payload Services framework has a maximum combined value of $10 billion over 10 years, with the figure representing a ceiling for future task orders, not money already awarded to participating companies. Alongside SpaceX and Blue Origin, NASA selected Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, iSpace US, Lockheed Martin Space, Northrop Grumman Space Systems and Voyager Technologies to compete for future lunar delivery missions. (11/7)

Caltech Robotic Space Demo Successfully Builds in Space (Source: Caltech)
A robotic truss builder that was conceived, designed, and built by Caltech researchers and funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has successfully built a structure in space—without the help of astronauts—for the first time. The truss builder, part of DARPA's Novel Orbital and Moon Manufacturing, Materials, and Mass-efficient Design (NOM4D) program, consists of an autonomous manipulator that picks up struts and joints held in nearby dispensers to repeatedly assemble identical sections, or bays, of a perimeter truss. (11/5)

Germany's Rheinmetall Announces Record Growth and Profitability (Source: Rheinmetall)
Düsseldorf-based Rheinmetall AG is heading into the final stretch of the 2026 fiscal year with record growth in sales and earnings. The first nine months of the year have seen the Group expand its revenue by more than a third and significantly increase its profitability. The technology group’s order backlog remains at a very high level. (11/5)

Orbital Lasers Signs R&D Contract with JAXA to Develop LiDAR Altimeter Payload for HTV-X Demonstration (Source: Orbital Lasers)
Orbital Lasers announced that it has signed a research and development (R&D) contract with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to develop the LiDAR altimeter payload, building on the conceptual design, prototyping, and evaluation conducted under a previous contract with JAXA signed in fiscal year 2024. The payload is planned for installation aboard HTV-X, the new unmanned cargo transfer spacecraft, for an on-orbit demonstration.  the mission payload comprising a LiDAR altimeter and imager system (the “LiDAR altimeter payload”). (10/30)