Cyber-Star Wars: Securing Satellites and Critical Infrastructure
Space systems are now classified as critical infrastructure, making them prime targets for cyber‑attacks amid heightened geopolitical tensions such as Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Iran conflict. Attack vectors include DDoS, spoofing, supply‑chain malware, and command hijacking, with a reported 300% rise in incidents over five years. On 26 March 2026 the IEEE approved Standard P3536 for Space System Cybersecurity Design, aiming to embed protection into satellite architecture. Industry leaders warn that compromised telemetry or propulsion commands could cause catastrophic debris‑generating failures.
MIT Celebrates Haystack Observatory’s Return To Operation
MIT’s Haystack Observatory has brought its 37‑meter radio telescope back online after a multi‑year upgrade that began in 2010. On Dec. 8, 2025, the facility used Very Long Baseline Interferometry with the VLBA and Greenland Telescope to capture unprecedented detail of the...
UK University Develops First AI Benchmark for Satellite Collision Avoidance
Northumbria University, together with the University of Sheffield and industry partners, has launched the SSA‑LaMB project – the first standardized AI benchmark for satellite collision avoidance. The initiative addresses the growing risk posed by more than 40,000 tracked objects and...
DARPA and Northrop Grumman to Launch First US On-Orbit Satellite Servicing Mission This Summer
DARPA and Northrop Grumman are set to launch the Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) mission this summer, marking the United States’ first on‑orbit satellite servicing capability. The robotic spacecraft will operate in geosynchronous orbit, performing inspection, repair, refueling and relocation...
Bangladesh Ocean Satellite Ground Station Prepares To Start Operations
Bangladesh’s first Ocean Satellite Ground Station, housed at Chittagong University, will begin trial operations on June 9, 2026. Developed with technical assistance from China’s Ministry of Natural Resources Second Institute of Oceanography, the facility will downlink data from more than 11 satellites,...
Airbus Picks Airtificial to Supply Components for Eurodrone UAV
Airbus Defence and Space has chosen Spanish aerospace firm Airtificial to supply composite cowlings for the Eurodrone UAV. The components are critical for the drone’s propulsion efficiency and reliability. Airtificial, which produced over 60,000 composite aircraft parts in 2024, will...
Britain Launches the First X-Ray Eye on Earth’s Magnetic Shield
A joint ESA‑China mission, SMILE (Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer), launched on a Vega‑C rocket on 19 May and became the first satellite to image Earth’s magnetic shield in real time using X‑ray technology. The UK Space Agency contributed...
Korean Air To Offer Starlink Wi-Fi Services To Passengers
Korean Air will begin offering free in‑flight Starlink Wi‑Fi on its twin‑aisle aircraft starting July 2026, with a rollout extending to the entire fleet through 2027. The service promises peak broadband speeds of up to 500 Mbps and will be available...
GalaxySpace Unveils Deployable Umbrella Antenna For LEO Satellites
On May 18, 2026 GalaxySpace announced a deployable umbrella antenna designed for low‑Earth‑orbit satellites. The antenna claims up to ten‑fold stronger connectivity than conventional Q/V‑band steerable dishes and occupies less than 12% of the satellite’s stowage volume. Its integrated mesh‑forming...
U.S. Army Requests Nearly $1 Billion in FY27 Budget to Procure Small Counter-Drone Systems
The U.S. Army has asked for nearly $1 billion—specifically $994 million—in its FY 2027 discretionary budget to buy small counter‑unmanned aircraft systems (c‑UAS). The request targets off‑the‑shelf and pipeline technologies that can detect, track and defeat low‑cost commercial drones. Funding is earmarked solely...
The Lab Trying to Make $100bn Worth of Satellite Data Actually Useful
Singapore has launched its first dedicated space innovation lab within IMDA’s Pixel hub, backed by Deloitte and run by the Singapore Space & Technology Think Tank. The lab aims to turn the $100 billion ASEAN GDP boost projected from Earth‑observation data...
SpaceX Starship V3 Delayed: When To Watch The Biggest Rocket Test Yet
SpaceX postponed the inaugural flight of its Starship V3 megarocket by one day, now targeting a launch on Wednesday, May 20 at 6:30 p.m. ET from Starbase, Texas. The test will feature 22 dummy Starlink satellites, showcasing both engineering progress and...
Ukraine Showcases “Simba” UGV During NATO Exercise
During NATO’s Crystal Arrow 2026 exercise in Latvia, Ukraine’s UGV Laboratory debuted its Simba unmanned ground vehicle. Simba performed logistics missions, delivering supplies and hauling over 300 kg payloads while covering up to 70 km per sortie, accumulating more than 1,600 km across...
Intuitive Machines Buys Goonhilly Earth Station
Intuitive Machines of Texas announced the acquisition of Goonhilly Earth Station, including the UK‑based group's COMSAT assets and 44 antennas worldwide. The purchase follows years of collaboration, during which Goonhilly’s deep‑space‑rated antennas supported Intuitive Machines’ IM‑1 and IM‑2 lunar lander...
LandSpace Zhuque-2E Rocket Successfully Launched
On May 14, 2026, Chinese commercial launch provider LandSpace successfully lifted off its Zhuque-2E rocket, marking the nation’s first large‑scale use of liquid‑oxygen‑methane propulsion. The two‑stage vehicle features four TQ‑12A methane engines on the first stage (828 kN sea‑level thrust each)...
NASA’s AI Flood Detector Is Now Running in Orbit and It Could Change How We Watch Earth
NASA and IBM have successfully deployed the Prithvi geospatial AI foundation model in orbit, testing it aboard Australia’s Kanyini satellite and the IMAGIN‑e payload on the International Space Station. Trained on 13 years of Landsat and Sentinel‑2 imagery, the model...
NASA TESS Releases Its Most Recent View Of The Sky
NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has unveiled its most comprehensive sky map since launch, cataloguing almost 6,000 exoplanets. The mission, operating since 2018, has confirmed 700 planets while identifying over 5,000 additional candidates. The new mosaic visualises 96 surveyed...
Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 4 Clears Major Design Milestone Ahead of Lunar South Pole Mission
Firefly Aerospace announced that its Blue Ghost Mission 4 has cleared the preliminary design review, a critical checkpoint in NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. The dual‑spacecraft mission, featuring the Blue Ghost lander and the Elytra Dark orbital relay, targets...
The Northern Lights Are Back Over the UK Tonight — Here’s When and Where to Look
A recent solar flare and associated coronal mass ejection have driven geomagnetic activity far enough south to make the auroral oval visible over the UK tonight. The Met Office and NOAA forecast unsettled to active conditions, with the highest chances...
Details On The Rock That Got Stuck To The NASA Curiosity Rover Drill
NASA's Curiosity rover experienced a drill jam on 25 April 2026 when a rock dubbed “Atacama” adhered to the drill bit. Engineers worked remotely to free the rock, which finally detached on 1 May and fractured on impact. Mast‑camera images captured on...
![A Tiny Water Droplet Became the Star of Artemis II [VIDEO]](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://orbitaltoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/nasa-video-bubble.jpg)
A Tiny Water Droplet Became the Star of Artemis II [VIDEO]
NASA released a captivating video from the Artemis II mission showing astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen release a small water droplet inside the Orion capsule. In microgravity the droplet hangs, coalesces into a perfect sphere, and...
JAXA Mach 5 Aircraft Engine Successfully Tested
Japan’s aerospace agency JAXA, together with Waseda University, has successfully completed the first Japanese combustion test of a Mach 5 ramjet engine. The test reproduced conditions of 5,400 km/h at 25 km altitude, confirming the engine’s heat‑resistance and thrust performance. Researchers say the...
Viral Rainbow Clouds Stun Indonesia: Here’s What They Really Are
A series of vivid, rainbow‑colored clouds captured over Jonggol, Indonesia, went viral after viewers assumed the footage was AI‑generated. Scientists identified the spectacle as cloud iridescence, a diffraction effect that occurs when sunlight passes through thin, uniform droplets in high‑altitude...
NASA’s Spacecraft Is About to Slingshot Past Mars — and the View Is Already Breathtaking
On 15 May NASA’s Psyche spacecraft will skim 2,800 miles above Mars at roughly 12,300 mph, using the planet’s gravity to bend its trajectory toward the metal‑rich asteroid Psyche. The flyby, a propellant‑saving maneuver for the solar‑electric‑propulsion craft, follows a 12‑hour thruster burn...
Orbex Was Burning £2 Million a Month Before Collapse, Administrators Reveal
Orbex, the Scottish launch‑vehicle developer, entered administration in February 2026 after burning roughly £2 million ($2.5 M) each month, accumulating about £73.3 million ($91.6 M) in losses. The firm had secured more than £130 million ($162 M) in grant and equity financing, including £29 million from the...
Rocket Lab Has Signed An Agreement To Purchase Motiv Space Systems
Rocket Lab announced on May 7, 2026 that it has signed an agreement to acquire California‑based Motiv Space Systems, with the transaction slated to close in the second quarter of 2026. The deal will rebrand Motiv as Rocket Lab Robotics and bring...
Astronomers Discover A Giant Galaxy That Isn’t Spinning
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope and Keck Observatory identified XMM‑VID1‑2075, a massive galaxy only two billion years old, that exhibits no net rotation. The galaxy’s stars move randomly, and an excess of peripheral light suggests an external object is...
Internet Apocalypse: Can a Solar Storm Actually Disconnect the World?
Scientists warn that the 2025‑2026 solar maximum could trigger geomagnetically induced currents that damage submarine fiber‑optic cables, fragmenting the global internet. Research originating from a 2021 SIGCOMM paper shows that repeaters’ power conductors act as massive antennas for solar storms....
Blue Moon Mark 1 Live: Blue Origin Begins NASA Center Lander Tests
Blue Origin has started physical testing of its first lunar lander, Blue Moon Mark 1, at multiple NASA facilities across the United States. The test programme is intended to verify the vehicle’s propulsion, navigation and landing systems ahead of a cargo‑delivery mission slated...
Zimbabwe Starlink Subscriptions Now The Largest In Southern Africa
Starlink’s Zimbabwe subscriber base hit 67,057 in Q4 2025, a 31.6% quarterly jump and 117% growth since early 2025, making the country the Southern African leader in satellite internet. The surge lifted Zimbabwe to over half of the region’s Starlink users,...
Satellite Images Reveal Wider Damage to US Bases in Middle East Than Previously Reported
High‑resolution satellite imagery reveals that Iranian strikes since late February have damaged or destroyed at least 228 structures across 15 US‑operated bases in the Gulf region. The most affected sites include Naval Support Activity Bahrain, Ali al‑Salem Air Base, Camp...
SatVu’s New HotSat-2 Satellite Captures Cuban Attempts At Oil Refining
SatVu announced that its HotSat‑2 satellite has achieved first‑light, delivering high‑resolution thermal infrared imagery of three strategic energy sites: Jamnagar refinery in India, Gorgon LNG plant in Australia, and the Hermanos Díaz refinery in Cuba. The satellite detected Cuba’s attempt to...
Uzbekistan And China Explore Possible Space Cooperation
Uzbekistan’s space agency, Uzcosmos, met with Chinese Ambassador Yu Jun to explore cooperation on space technology. The talks highlighted China’s civil‑space expertise as a catalyst for integrating space tools into Uzbekistan’s agriculture, water management, and infrastructure planning. Both parties discussed joint...
Impersonators Claim The Pakistan EO-3 Satellite Has Released Its First Image
Pakistan’s EO-3 Earth‑observation satellite lifted off on April 25, 2026 aboard a Chinese Long March‑6 from the Taiyuan launch centre. Within weeks a counterfeit SUPARCO Facebook page circulated a multispectral image, claiming it was the satellite’s first picture of Karachi...
Scientists Test How to Restart the Heart in Space: New Study
Concordia University engineers built a 3D‑printed cardiovascular mannequin that mimics human blood flow for CPR research in reduced gravity. The device was flown on parabolic‑flight campaigns, where automated chest compressions generated higher systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressures in hypogravity...
Anthropic in Talks to Buy AI Chips From British Start-Up Claiming to Beat Nvidia on Cost
Anthropic is in early talks to buy inference chips from UK startup Fractile, which claims its processors run AI models 25 times faster at one‑tenth the cost of rivals. Fractile’s chips, built for inference rather than training, are not yet...
NASA’s STORIE Set To Observe Earth’s Ring Current
NASA’s STORIE mission will launch aboard SpaceX’s 34th ISS resupply flight and attach to the station’s exterior. The instrument will image energetic neutral atoms to reveal the composition and dynamics of Earth’s ring current, a key component of space weather....
Japanese Astronomers Identify Trans-Neptune Body With An Atmosphere
Japanese astronomers at the Ishigakijima Observatory announced the detection of a thin atmosphere around the distant trans‑Neptune object (612533) 2002 XV93. The envelope is estimated to be 50‑100 times thinner than Pluto’s and may be composed of methane, nitrogen or carbon monoxide....
Amazon Leo Prepares To Bring Satellite Internet Service To Kenya
Amazon’s Kuiper Kenya subsidiary has submitted a Network Facilities Provider Tier 2 licence application to the Communications Authority of Kenya, seeking regulatory clearance to launch its Leo satellite‑internet service. Kenya, which gained Starlink coverage in 2023, could soon host a second...
South Korea Has Launched Its First Privately Built EO Satellite
South Korea successfully launched its first privately built Earth Observation satellite, the Compact Advanced Satellite 500‑2 (CAS500‑2), on 3 May 2026 from Vandenberg Space Force Base using a SpaceX Falcon 9. The 534 kg platform carries a high‑resolution optical sensor capable of 0.5 m panchromatic...
Firefly Aerospace’s SciTec Selected for Space-Based Missile Defense “Golden Dome”
Firefly Aerospace’s subsidiary SciTec has secured an Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement to support the U.S. Space Force’s Golden Dome space‑based missile‑defense architecture. The contract makes SciTec one of 12 firms receiving a share of the $3.2 billion Space‑Based Interceptor (SBI)...
NASA Prepares To Get The Roman Space Telescope Ready For Launch
NASA technicians moved eight high‑efficiency particulate air (HEPA) wall modules and other ground‑support gear to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility in Florida, advancing preparation for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The Roman telescope will carry a Wide Field Instrument and a...
Texas Residents Sue SpaceX Over Starship Launch Activities
On April 30, 2026, Texas residents filed a lawsuit against SpaceX, claiming that the noise, vibration and sonic booms from Starship launches have damaged their homes. The complaint cites 11 launches between April 2023 and October 2025 that generated more...
Tanzania Satellite Development Procurement Has Been Completed
Tanzania’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology announced on April 30, 2026 that the procurement phase for its first CubeSat, TanSat‑1, is complete. The 10 cm, 1.3 kg satellite will be built by the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology in partnership...
UK Project Nova Builds Global Telescope Network to Track Satellites & Debris
The UK Space Agency has launched Project Nova, a £40 million (~$51 million) programme to build a worldwide network of optical telescopes for tracking satellites, space debris and near‑Earth asteroids. The first phase places three autonomous telescopes on Bermuda, creating an Atlantic...
UK Nuclear Space Tech Passes Rocket-Force Testing in Major Milestone
A British nuclear heating unit has cleared a critical rocket‑launch stress test, moving the Generation 5 Americium Radioisotope Heater Unit (Am‑RHU) toward flight‑ready status. The device endured more than 25 g sine vibration, 28 g rms random vibration, and thermal cycling from –70 °C...
How The UK Protected Space In March 2026
The UK National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC) reported a 10% rise in March 2026 re‑entries, totaling 72 objects, most of which were satellites. Potential collision alerts dropped to 1,847, while two fragmentation incidents were investigated. The total catalog of UK‑tracked...
SpRCO Awards Contracts For Radar Warning Satellites
On April 29, the Space Rapid Capabilities Office (SpRCO) partnered with SpaceWERX to fund three small firms—Assurance Technology Corporation, Raptor Dynamix, and Innovative Signal Analysis—with $3 million contracts each for radar warning receivers. The receivers will detect ground‑based radar emissions that...
Hamburg Students Build A Dark Matter Receiver
Undergraduate researchers at the University of Hamburg have constructed a compact cavity detector to hunt for axion dark matter, a candidate particle for the universe’s missing mass. Backed by a modest student grant and equipment from the MADMAX experiment and...
ESA Opens Applications for Hands-On Earth Observation Mission Design Course
The European Space Agency has opened applications for its 2026 Earth Observation Satellite Systems Design Training Course, a two‑week intensive program where 30 students will design a complete EO mission. The on‑site week runs 28 September‑2 October at ESA’s Academy in ESEC‑Galaxia,...